Always Tried and Proven (44 page)

      “So, you’ve been sitting out there watching me, huh?”

     “Yeah.”  Sam grinned.  “Can’t seem to stay away.  Especially, when I knew you were lying here with your eyes pinned open, staring at the ceiling.”

       She sighed.  “Oh, Sam.  It’s not easy.”  She sighed.

      “I know.”  He soothed.  “But it’ll be over after tonight, and everything will be all right.”

     She nodded.  “That booklet they gave me on seizure disorders helped.  At least there’s a chance that they won’t be permanent.  Sam, you’ve been so good to me.  Don’t you want to get some sleep?”

      “I’m quite certain that I won’t entertain the idea of sleep until you do.”

    Callie looked at him unhappily.  “Sam, I’ll be fine.  You don’t need to stand guard over me through the night.”

     He shrugged.  “I suppose that’s a matter of opinion.  I’ll be fine.  I’m not going to leave until I’m sure you’re down for the night.”

    Sam found a hundred things to talk to Callie about, and in an hour or so he saw her eyelids begin to droop.  He smiled to himself, and kept talking.  Callie was still out of it enough that she had a hard time tracking conversation with any complexity.

     Sam rattled on and on about everything he could think of, and it certainly did the trick.  Because she couldn’t focus on it, she began to zone out and tire.  It didn’t take long before she was breathing steadily and checking her eyelids for leaks.

     Sam sat for a few moments, watching her, and then he quietly slipped out.

    Callie was able to sleep through some of the night, and Sam managed a few hours.  Callie had to stay one more day, while Dr. Adams reviewed her test results and decided on medication levels.

     She had one more seizure, luckily while Sam was there with her.  This one was worse than the first, but Dr. Adams assured her that he believed there was a good chance that they were temporary.

     After having a long talk with Sam, Callie decided she wanted to try to do without the medication.  She was almost never alone, and had no real need to drive anywhere.  She felt it would be better to see if they didn’t decrease or go away completely, on their own.  If the severity, duration or frequency increased, she could always go on the meds.

     Dr. Adams was surprisingly supportive of the plan.  He ordered her a large bottle of the pills, and told her to call him if anything changed.  Then, he could start her immediately on the pills and she’d have them at hand, no matter where she was at the time.

    The following morning, Sam picked Callie up at the hospital to take her home.  She was still fairly weak, and found herself dizzy at the drop of a hat.  She dressed while Sam paid careful attention to discharge instructions.  Finally, they wheeled Callie out the front doors of the hospital with her overnight bag in her lap.  Sam’s eyes crinkled into a smile of appreciation.  The girl looked good, regardless of the time or place.

     “What are you grinning about?” she asked, when they were both settled in the van.

     Sam raised his eyebrows, and shot her a quick look of satisfaction.  “I was just thinking how downright pretty you are.” He confessed.  “I’ve never seen anybody come out of a hospital turning heads, before.”

     She chuckled.  “Well, Sam, thanks.  I guess it’s in the eye of the beholder, because I feel a mess.”

    “Well, you don’t look one.”  He assured her.

    She smiled, and Sam felt a weight lift from his heart.  She was such a trooper.  He felt a new hope rise up in him, that he and Callie would be happy together.  Since they’d first met, both their lives had been turned upside down.  It had made him extremely hesitant to marry Callie; he was still concerned that perhaps life with him would not satisfy her.

    He wouldn’t blame her for it; a life of travel and stress and upheaval was not always easy.  But Callie seemed to want to try, and he desperately wanted her.

CHAPTER NINE

     Callie received quite a reception when they reached the tent camp.  Cheers went up, and strong arms lifted her out of the van seat.  She shrieked as she found herself perched atop strong shoulders.  She was laughing hysterically as they carried her in triumph to the trailer.

     She found to her delight that the trailer was perfectly clean, free of debris and glass.  A piece of plywood had been securely fitted into the window opening and painted white to make it less dreary. Pictures of the sun, trees and grassy hills were added in crayon, to make it cheery.  Callie had to smile at the childlike artwork that the team had added.

  “Sorry we couldn’t get the window fixed before you got home.”  Clyde apologized.  “They’re going to have to send one from the factory.  It’ll take a couple of weeks.”

      “Clyde, thank you.”  She said emotionally, causing a blush to steal up Clyde’s neck.

     Sam stood watching, looking lean and handsome to Callie, in his jeans and tank top.  When he grinned, it was like the sun coming up.  “You get yourself in that bed and rest.”  He ordered, as the others reluctantly filtered away.

     “Sam, I just got here.”  She pouted.

     “That’s right.  And you can have visitors between times of rest.  But you are to have two hours of uninterrupted rest, right now.” He insisted, ignoring her imploring eyes.  “I had to promise Dr. Adams, or he wouldn’t have let you come home.”

     “Oh.”  She capitulated immediately.

     Sadie appeared, holding her freshly laundered cotton nightgown.  “Put this on and climb into bed.  I’ll sit with you for a few minutes and talk while you settle down.  Sam, make yourself scarce.”

     Sam gave Sadie a look that made her wish she’d chosen softer words.  “I hired you for your efficiency, Sadie; but I’m afraid there’s a need now, for a bit of rearranging.” 

     Callie and Sadie exchanged a wide-eyed look.  Sam came up the steps into the trailer, picked Sadie up under her arms, and deposited her firmly on the ground outside the trailer.  “Please excuse us.”  He said pleasantly.  Then, he closed and locked the door behind him.

     Callie looked up at him with wide eyes, clutching her ruffled gown against her chest.

     “Now, then.” He said, drawing her into his arms.  “You and I are going to have one or two quiet seconds alone.  Why don’t you get your nightgown on, and get in bed, and I will sit with you while you settle in.” he suggested smoothly.

     She raised her eyebrows and searched for the right words.

     “The bathroom door will open all the way across the aisle.  You’ll have perfect privacy.”  He assured her lightly.

     “But Sam, what would Sadie think?  I shouldn’t undress with you in here, no matter how careful we are.”

     “Blast Sadie.  Anyone who wants to, can wag their tongue to their heart’s delight.   Get changed.”  He ordered, opening the bathroom door.

     Callie tried to smother her mirth, and shook her head.  “Okay, Sam.”  She agreed.  She called to him when she was in bed, and he closed the door and joined her.

     She felt shy as he sat on the edge of the bed.  This man was so wonderful, so sweet.  What had she ever done to deserve him?

     “Now, isn’t that better?” he demanded softly.

     “Oh, Sam.  It’s wonderful.”  She agreed, sighing.  “I
was
getting tired.”

     “I could tell.  Now, lovely lady, you’re going to have to start settling down for a nap, or I’ll be forced to sing you a lullaby.”

     Callie smiled.  “Hmm.  Sam, I think I’d like that.”  She said sweetly.

   He chuckled.  “Well, all the cats in the neighborhood would flee in terror.  Perhaps I’d better try to avoid it.”

     “Not!  I heard you singing in the tent, and it was
wonderful
.”  She insisted.

     He shrugged.  “Yeah, well.  I guess you’re entitled to your own opinion.  But I’d rather kiss you.”

     “That will
not
settle me in for a nap.”  She advised strongly.

     “Really?  Why not?” he asked curiously.

     “Because, Mister, your kisses have quite the opposite effect on me.  And you know it.”  She chastised.

     “Do they?” he asked in mock astonishment.  “Are you saying that when I kiss you, you feel … no.  Couldn’t be.” 

     She grimaced and looked up at him.  “Sam,” she protested weakly.

    He narrowed his eyes and leaned close.  “Are you telling me that my kisses affect you in a …” he paused, “A sexual way?”  He watched her intently as the blush spread up her neck.

     “Sam,” she protested, laughing.

     “That you feel primal urges take hold of you and …” 

     “Sam!” she objected, pounding his arm with her fist.

     He silenced her with his mouth, and she laughed as he growled.

     “You’re impossible.”  She whispered as he released her.

    “Eh, you’d like it if I were, so you could tell me to go away.  But now, I know your secret.  You
like
it when I kiss you.”

     “I always have, and you knew it from the first one.”  She corrected dryly.

     He chuckled.  “Well, perhaps I recognized a certain attraction.”  He admitted with a sigh.

     “Uh, huh.”  She agreed sardonically.  “That’s why I chased  you to Vermont, and then turned my life upside down to follow the tent.”

     He smiled down at her thoughtfully.  “Did you, Callie?  Did you really come with the tent because of me?”

    She lowered her lashes, and felt a blush on her cheeks.  “Yes.”  She answered quietly.  She lifted her eyes to his face.  “I love the tent, but I’d leave it in a second if it meant going on with you.”

     Sam’s eyes were thoughtful.  “Well.  Perhaps then, if I asked you on a date, you’d really go out with me.”

     She tried not to laugh.  “I’m a very demanding date, you know.”  She warned.

     “Are you?  How so?” he challenged lightly.

  “I’m the kind who likes kisses, and slow dancing, and parking on a bluff overlooking the city or the beach.  And ice cream cones.  Things like that.”

   “Sounds awful.”  He teased.  “If you were to wear something really sexy, I might just oblige you in one or two of those demands.”

    She looked at him hopelessly.  “You’re impossible.  Negotiations are off.”  She sniffed.

   “Good, then I’ll just take what I want.”  He growled, and attacked.  Callie squealed as he nuzzled her neck, and captured her lips.  “You forget, I’m bigger and stronger than you are.  You should really concentrate on negotiating.”

     “Foolish man.  You don’t even realize I’ve made you do what I wanted.”  She charged.

     “Eh, it figures.”  He groused.  “You always did have a way about you.  But this isn’t getting you the rest I promised Dr. Adams, is it?”

     “No.”  She agreed primly.

     “All right, then.  Do you think you can sleep now?”

     “No.”  She sighed.

     Sam laughed.  Her eyelids were drooping.  He was pleased that she wanted him to stay, but he knew she needed to rest.  “Liar.”  He accused.

     “I’m not.”  She argued, stifling a yawn.

    “Tell you what.  I’ll sit on that bunk over there and read for a bit, and if you simply can’t sleep, then you’ll still have me to talk to.”

     “All right.”  She agreed.  “But couldn’t you just sit here beside me on the bunk?  I’ll move over, and then you can sit at the other end, and put your feet up.”

      Sam was touched that she wanted him close by.  “All right.  Kiss me again, and then I’ll let you drift away.”

     Sam waited until she was out cold before he left her, and exited the trailer.  Sadie was sitting in a lawn chair outside, with her arms folded and her eyebrows in a crash. 

     Sam smiled at her and kept walking.  “She’s asleep.  Let her alone, Sadie.”  He warned.

     Sadie just stared after him with a very pointed and owlish glare.  He ran into Clyde, who fell in step. 

     “What’s up, boss?” Clyde asked lightly.

     “Nothing.  Why?”  Sam answered.

     “You look like the cat that got the canary.  I’d bet money you’ve got something pretty darn big up your sleeve.”

     Sam gave him an innocent, shocked look.  “Me?  What do you mean, Clyde?”