All of My Soul (10 page)

Chapter Seven

Somehow I managed to avoid a terrible
hangover. I had only a slightly fuzzy head the next morning when I
woke, and my mouth felt full of cotton, but other than that, I was
fine. All thanks to Lincoln.

I slid silently out of bed, trying not to
wake my sleeping man. I desperately needed the bathroom. I was
still wearing the robe Lincoln dressed me in last night, and as I
brushed my teeth, there was a soft knock on the bathroom door.

“Jillian? You okay?”

I smiled around the toothbrush in my mouth.
It was slightly embarrassing to have been that drunk last night,
but I couldn’t help but appreciate the way Lincoln cared for
me.

I quickly finished brushing my teeth and
opened the door to the bathroom. I found him leaning against the
doorframe with a concerned look on his face. His eyes roamed over
me. I think he was looking for signs of sickness, but there were
none to be found. Brushing my teeth had helped immensely.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

I nodded up at him.

“Did you get sick?”

“No. I feel good. Not sick at all. My head
doesn’t even hurt.”

He exhaled the breath he had been holding.
“Good. I was sure you’d at least have a massive headache.”

I hugged him around his waist and rested my
head on his chest. He had put pajama pants on, but he was still
bare from the waist up.

“Thanks for taking care of me.”

He sighed with comfort and wrapped his arms
around me. “I love taking care of you. You mean the world to
me.”

Lincoln’s love for me was unfathomable.
Somehow after all the pain in my life, God had smiled on me and
rewarded me with this wonderful man.

I pulled back slightly from our embrace just
enough so I could rest my hand on his cheek and look him in the
eye.

“How did I get so lucky to end up with
you?”

“I’m the lucky one, Princess. You make my
life complete.”

He leaned down to kiss me, and I looped my
arms around his neck. I kissed him with all the love I had for him.
I never wanted him for one minute to doubt how much I loved and
appreciated him.

He moaned and tightened his arms around my
body. Standing up straighter without breaking our kiss, he lifted
me so my feet just lightly skimmed the carpeted floor as he walked
to the bed. When he set me down on the edge, he immediately untied
my robe and pushed it off. His strong hands cupped my shoulders and
pushed me back on the bed until I was lying down.

My hands traced all over his back. I loved
the feel of his shoulder muscles as he held himself over me while
he kissed down my neck to my collarbone. Mm… I loved when he kissed
me there.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

“Auntie Jilly!” a little voice cried from the
other side of our bedroom door.

Lincoln froze on top of me. I had forgotten
the kids spent the night here.

“Is the door locked?” I whispered.

He nodded.

I tipped my head back to shout at the door.
“What is it, Tabby Cat?”

“Kenny made us waffles and says you need to
come eat!”

“We’ll be there in a little bit, Tabitha!” I
yelled in a shaky voice as Lincoln resumed his delicious assault on
my neck.

“Kenny says”—she paused—“Kenny says if you
don’t come to breakfast now—” She paused again, and I was almost
certain Kennedy was on the other side of the door with Tabitha
feeding her lines. “She’ll tell coach you were drunk last night!”
High-pitched giggles emanated from the other side of our bedroom
door.

Lincoln and his teammates weren’t forbidden
to drink during the season but it was frowned upon, especially the
night before a game. Anything that hindered their performance on
the ice was strongly discouraged, and if it interfered with the
game, they would be disciplined.

Lincoln remained propped up over me, but he
hung his head in defeat. “You have got to be fucking kidding me,”
he whispered.

“I hate your sister right now,” I whispered
back.

“Me too,” he agreed and rolled off me. “I
never thought she’d actually cock block me.”

I laughed. Kennedy loved giving Lincoln
grief, and there wasn’t a better way to do that than to interrupt
our private moment.

“We’ll be right there!” I yelled, and I heard
tiny feet scamper away. I rolled to my side and kissed his cheek.
“Tonight. I promise I’ll thank you properly for taking care of
me.”

He rolled to his side to face me and caressed
my hip. “Now I’m really not going to be able to concentrate on the
game today.”

I smiled. “You better. I want a win.”

He laughed. “Okay. Just for you,
Princess.”

~~~~~~~~

Our big group sat in the first three rows of
seats in the Blackhawks’ suite. Brian and Carter sat in the third
row behind Kennedy, Rebecca, Emily, and me, and the three kids, who
were quickly becoming friends, sat in the front row. I knew Tabitha
didn’t like hockey very much, but I hoped Ben would be able to
explain things and keep her interested in the game.

As usual on game day, there were a lot of
people in this suite. Any family members the players invited were
welcome, as were the major head honchos for the organization,
although they also had rink-side seats that they normally used.
Anyone who had made a substantial donation to the Hawks’ charities
had an opportunity to join us in the suite, as well as any special
invited guests.

On several occasions the Hawks had invited
kids from the children’s hospital to watch the game. It was
humbling to see those kids, most of them with bald heads and IVs
hooked up to them. They all acted like being in the Blackhawks’
private suite was the greatest gift they’d ever been given, and all
I wanted to do was hug each one of them and tell them they were
going to be okay. I couldn’t actually do that, but it made me
grateful for the life I had. Yes, I might have been scarred from
the fire, but I had a good life, and my loved ones were all
healthy. That was the important thing.

There were no hospital kids at today’s game,
but I recognized several of the players’ family members who were
watching the game with us. A few older men in suits stood in the
back of the suite near the bar, more concerned with their
conversations than the game in front of them.

“Does anyone want a refill?” Emily asked our
group at the start of the third period. This was the first time she
was able to join us to watch a game, and I think she was having a
blast. Even if a person wasn’t a huge fan, the energy from the
crowd was infectious.

Carter immediately stood up. “I’ll get it,
Emily. What did you want to drink?”

Emily looked a little surprised at Carter’s
enthusiasm, but she gave him her request. Rebecca asked for another
beer, but I was leery of any alcoholic drink. I still felt good
despite my night of drinking, and I had kept down breakfast and
lunch, but I didn’t want to push it, so I just asked Carter for a
soda.

When he returned and distributed our
beverages I took a long drink of mine. The fuzzy bubbles and sugary
lemon-lime liquid refreshed my senses, and before I knew it I had
drank most of it.

I watched as one of Lincoln’s teammates
fought an opponent for the puck in the corner of the rink. We were
all yelling encouragement at our guy even though he couldn’t hear
us. Finally the puck shot out from between the other player’s legs
toward the goal on the opposite end of the rink. Lincoln swooped in
and caught the black disc with the blade of his stick. He broke
away from everyone else on the ice as he rapidly skated toward the
opposing goalie. As he passed the blue line on the ice, he lined up
for his shot. It looked like he was going to shoot to the left, but
as the goalie moved to block him, he twisted his stick and sent the
puck sailing into the net through the goalie’s legs.

The stadium exploded with cheers as a siren
rang out and lights flashed.
Goal! Goal! Goal!
The words lit
up across the giant scoreboard, and the fans went wild.

I jumped up to cheer for him, but as I rose
out of my seat a wave of nausea hit me, and the whole arena
suddenly tilted to the left. I stumbled against the seat in front
of me but somehow managed to grab Rebecca’s arm. It was the only
thing that saved me from falling forward and landing on Tabitha. My
legs gave out, and everything seemed to happen all at once, but yet
in slow motion at the same time.

Rebecca reached out to grab me as I collapsed
to the floor. I heard Emily scream, and I think Carter hollered my
name. I was able to open my eyes for a second. Long enough to see
Tabitha staring down at me with absolute panic written on her face.
I wanted to tell her to watch the game, but the room spun, and the
fog in my vision got worse, and I blacked out before I could
speak.

Chapter Eight

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Oh God. What was happening? My head. It hurt
so bad.

“Jillian? Can you open your eyes?” a voice I
didn’t recognized asked me.

My eyelids fluttered as a bright light above
me pierced my vision, and I quickly flinched away from it, pinching
my eyes shut. My head swam, and I blacked out again.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

“Her pulse ox is back to normal,” a hushed
female voice said.

“Do you want to remove the breathing
tube?”

Breathing tube? I have a breathing tube?

Instinctually, I reached up to try to move
the odd weight pulling at my mouth, but someone stopped me.

“Jillian. Open your eyes.”

I squinted my eyes open and found a woman
with a stethoscope around her neck leaning over me. She had a
friendly-but-concerned-look on her face. Panic rose up inside me.
What had happened to me? Why was I in the hospital? I struggled
against the tubes and tape attached to me as the beeping from the
machine next to me increased.

“Shh… Shh… calm down. Don’t try to talk. We
had to put a tube in to help you breathe. But you’re stable enough
now that we can take it out.”

I didn’t understand. Why did I need a tube?
Where was Lincoln or my sisters? Oh God, it hurt to think so hard.
I closed my eyes again as my head throbbed.

“Jillian, open your eyes. I’m going to count,
and when I get to three, I need you to take a deep breath in and
then blow out and cough, okay? Jillian? One. Two. Three. Deep
breath!”

I breathed in as deep as I could and prepared
to cough, but when they pulled the tube out of my mouth, I had
little choice. I coughed so hard I gagged myself. After several
more deep breaths and another coughing spell, I succumbed back into
my unconscious world.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

“Jillian.” Lincoln’s voice broke through the
darkness. I felt a soft pressure on my cheek. “Wake up, baby.
Please wake up for me.” He sounded so worried. I needed to respond
to him.

“Jilly Bean.” My mom was here. “Open your
eyes. I’m tired of looking at your eyelids.”

I struggled to blink my eyes open as I tried
to answer them, but only a small cough escaped my lips.

“Jillian?”

“Mom?” I croaked and coughed again.

“Princess.” Lincoln was looking at me with
concern. Worry was etched in every detail of his face, and he
looked exhausted. He reached to the table next to my bed and
retrieved a large plastic mug with a flexible straw. “Here’s some
water.”

He pushed a button on a little control panel
on the rail of my hospital bed. The head of the bed elevated slowly
and allowed me to sit up better. Holding the straw close to my
lips, he offered it to me, and I took a long drink. The cool water
soothed my scratchy throat, and I coughed again.

“What—what happened?”

“Let me call the nurse,” my mother said and
pushed a red button on my bed rail. “Do you hurt anywhere?”

“My head.” I felt like my hangover had
finally caught up to me. Any time I moved my head, my brain
throbbed and my vision went a little blurry. “And my throat.”

“Here. Drink some more water,” Lincoln
said.

I complied, and the cool liquid helped ease
the scratchy pain in my throat.

“What happened?”

But before Lincoln could answer, a woman in a
white doctor’s coat stepped into my room. She was much older than
me. Older than my mom even. But she had a warm and friendly look to
her. She was followed by a young man in nursing scrubs.

“Jillian. You’re awake. I’m Dr. Ashburn. How
do you feel?” The woman leaned over me, her eyes roving over my
face.

“Confused,” I answered honestly. “And my head
hurts.”

Dr. Ashburn shined a penlight in my eyes and
asked me to open my mouth and stick out my tongue. She listened to
my chest before making me sit up and breathe deep as she moved the
stethoscope to several places on my back.

My mom stood up. “I’m going to step into the
hall and make some calls to tell everyone you’re awake. We’ve all
been so worried.” She squeezed my foot through the blanket and left
the room.

Lincoln stayed by my side while the doctor
examined me. She made me squeeze her fingers and touch my nose
while my eyes were closed. She checked my reflexes and ran a metal
tool up the underside of my feet, causing my toes to curl. I don’t
know what she was looking for, but I must have passed her tests
because she smiled warmly and told me she would order some
extra-strength Tylenol for my head.

“Can’t you give her anything stronger than
that?” Lincoln demanded.

“Lincoln,” I scolded him for being so
abrasive toward the doctor, but Dr. Ashburn simply smiled.

“We’ll start with Tylenol. If you’re still in
pain after that, Jillian, we can try something else.”

The nurse scooted out of the room just as my
mother returned with an unfamiliar man in a dark leather coat
followed by Carter. Lincoln’s brother didn’t speak, and the uneasy
look in my mom’s eyes as she took her seat next to my bed made me
wary.