Page 49 of Doubting Hearts

I walked up to him and stroked the hair back from his face.

“Hey you,” I murmured softly as the nurse watched me out of the corner of her eye. “How are you doing?”

“I’m fine,” he said between gritted teeth. “Just wish they’d bloody hurry and fix me up so I can go home.”

I was glad he’d said home and not work. “I’m going to take you back to my place,” I said softly. “That way you’ll get to have some rest.”

His mouth opened to argue, and I leaned forward, closing it with a well-aimed kiss. The nurse went pink and pretended not to see. I drew back with a grin.

“No bloody arguments. Doctor’s orders, and we all know those are sacrosanct, don’t we, nurse?”

The nurse nodded primly. “Yes, it’s always best to do what the doctor orders, Mr. Prentiss. Your young man is quite right.”

She stood back with a satisfied smile. “I think that’s it. Remember, don’t get the bandages too wet, even if they are the waterproof ones.” She rolled her eyes. “Sort of, anyway. They’re not the greatest. And the stitches are the dissolving kind, so you won’t need to come back in to have them taken out. Wait here in the bed until the doctor says you can go.” She smiled and left the room just as Tammy came in.

She moved over and hugged Toby, her face white. “Toby, I’m so glad you’re all right.”

Toby smiled tiredly. “I’m fine, Tam, honest. Just a flesh wound.”

I huffed. “Yeah, right. That doesn’t wash with me. You’re still coming back to my place, to lie up and rest.”

Toby scowled, and I chuckled. “I’ll play doctor if you like,” I murmured slyly, and there was a gleam of interest in his eyes.

Tammy watched us worriedly. “Neil is still unconscious,” she said. “The doctor said Toby must have hit him pretty hard.”

Toby flinched, and my chest filled with anger. “I don’t fucking care how Neil is.” My voice was tight. “Look what he did to Toby. He meant to hurt him badly or, at worst, bloody kill him.” My voice caught. The thought of no Toby in my life was something I didn’t want to contemplate. It made my head ache and my stomach clench in fear. Toby was silent, but I saw the tic of his jaw and the set of his chin. He was scared, and I could only imagine he thought he’d be in trouble.

But he had nothing to worry about, surely. It had been a clear case of self-defense.

Tammy’s face went white at my words. “I saw Dave Webber coming into the hospital at the same time Lucas and I arrived. He was with Neil’s dad.”

Toby’s head swung round to face her, his eyes watchful. “Digger’s here?”

Tammy nodded. I couldn’t have cared less if the Pope himself had walked in. “Bully for them.” I scowled. “Where is Lucas, anyway? And who’s looking after the hotel with you and Toby both being here?”

“Lucas is talking to one of the doctors. I got hold of Chris, and he came in earlier to take over.”

Toby shifted on the bed, and I reached out to clasp his cold hand. He dredged up a wan smile for me, but I could tell his mind was elsewhere.

Tammy sniffed. “Guys, I have a very bad feeling about all this.” Her voice trembled. “Webber and Digger won’t let this go. They’ll try and blame Toby for it all, I know they will. We have to be careful.”

“Let them try,” I said fiercely. “The bastard attacked him. Anyone can see he came off worse.”

“I’m going to be fine, Tammy,” Toby said quietly. “Stop worrying. I can take care of myself.”

“Like you did now, Toby?” Tammy’s eyes flashed. “Neil could have bloody killed you.”

Toby’s jaw clenched, and he looked down at the floor. Just then, Lucas appeared at the door, walked over to Tammy, and laid a large paw on her shoulder. She reached up and clasped it.

Lucas looked at me and motioned me outside. I didn’t like the expression in his eyes. I looked at Toby, who was wincing now and trying to shift himself into a more comfortable position on the bed.

“You stay here. I’ll be back in a moment.” I followed Lucas out into the corridor. He turned to me and spoke quietly.

“I was talking to the doc about Neil. Thank God he’s come around at last, and they think he’ll be okay. I was worried he wasn’t going to be.”

“Why do you care?” I said angrily. By now Tammy had joined us.

Lucas looked at me steadily.