Just A Woman (Marina: Part Two: Naughty Nookie Series) Read Online Free Page A

clear that he was back on track.  She’s been kind.  More
than.
    I’ve arranged for
a bouquet of flowers to be delivered here for her.  It’s the least I can
do.  Hell, it doesn’t feel like enough.
    I’m not the most
tactile of people.  As a kid, I learned not to be.  But there have
been times here, where I’ve really missed the easy affection Mona will bestow
upon me, the one-armed hugs that Eddie will give me if we’re sharing a joke or
whatever.  Betsy has filled a hole I hadn’t really noticed existed until
I’ve been separated from my friends.  The women who I’ve always considered
sisters, but who now, I’m only just starting to appreciate. 
    Talk about the
story of my life.
    “His silence is
unusual, Marina.  You’re lucky the doctors haven’t sent him up for a psych
evaluation.”
    God, if anyone
needs the psych evaluation it’s me!  Nate’s the most rational and logical
man I know. 
    I snort at the
idea of him needing to see a counselor.  He told me once, that when he
lost half his forearm after his ‘stay’ in Somalia, his medical team tried to
make him see a psychiatrist.  Their suggestion was ignored.
    If he didn’t go then ,
when he probably should have done, then he sure as hell won’t now.
    “There’s nothing
wrong with Nate.  Not in that sense, anyway.  He’s pissed off at
me.  It’s not like he hasn’t spoken to the doctors.  Only the nurses
know he ignores me.”  Tears gather in my throat.  I know the blame
for all of this lies on my shoulders, but I wish I could just press my lips to
Nate’s.  Revel in the realization that he’s alive and well. 
Celebrate his release from the hospital with him.  Instead, I’ll have to
herd him out of here. 
    I don’t even know
if he’ll accept the fact we’ll be returning to the ranch together.
    “Yeah, well, Fran
told them.  It’s only because I said there was nothing to worry about that
they backed off.”
    “Thanks,” I
whisper.
    She shrugs. 
“If they’d really believed her, they’d have had him evaluated.  My voice
just nudged them in the right direction.”
    “Still.  Thank
you .  If he’d had to go through that, he’d ignore me until the next
Millennium.”
    Pulling her bottom
lip between her teeth, Betsy studies me a second and on a sigh, asks, “I’m
dying to know why he ignores you.  Why he won’t talk if you’re in the
room.  I know it’s not my place to ask, but you know what they say. 
Curiosity killed the cat and only the answer brought it back.”
    In the bright
overhead light, I could be anywhere in the world.  There’s no scent of
hospital.  That turbo-charged essence of disinfectant and bleach is
nowhere to be found.  It just smells clean. 
    Sleek slats of
teak panel the walls and silver-embossed signs indicate which ward number is
which and the general direction of certain departments.  Low, black
leather sofas with silver feet and matching armchairs are dotted about for
patients’ relatives to use, when they’re asked out of their relatives’
ward. 
    I hate
hospitals.  Have done ever since Jimmy died.  The only reason I can
stand it is because this place could be an office, or a hotel. 
    Only the people in
white coats with stethoscopes, nurses in scrubs and janitors with huge trolleys
spoil the designer effect.
    It will be weird,
but a good weird, to be out of here.
    My eyes dart to
the large silver clock behind the neat and streamlined administration
desk.  As the minute hand ticks away, I ponder what to say.  We or
should I say I lied to the police about what happened that night. 
As far as I’m aware, considering I’m still here, Nate stuck to the story I
spouted off to the officials.  Something I told him about one night to
make sure our tales were straight, and to which he’d shown a complete lack of
disinterest...  Either that or he pulled the amnesia card, when they
interviewed him.
    Otherwise, I’m
sure I’d have been carted off.  Maybe for