Love Me Forever by Donna Fletcher Page A

longer, and her knees
trembled. The one thing she was grateful for was that she had
regained her breath.
    She focused on her breath, diverting her
attention away from the pain, and she did not know how, but she
managed to ease her backside to the floor and brace her back
against the bed. It took effort and it wore her out, but it
relieved the pain in her lower back.
    She gave herself time to breathe and think
of nothing else, for if she gave her situation thought, she would
grow upset, and she was too close to tears at the moment. Tears,
however, would do her no good. A clear head was what was needed for
her to evaluate her dilemma and decide on a course of action.
    Fool.
    The word echoed loudly in her head and she
agreed. She was a fool. Sitting up in bed and moving around
was a grand accomplishment for her, but she certainly had been
foolish attempting to stand on her own with no one about to help
her.
    This was one time her determined nature got
her into a difficult situation. She began to feel a chill creep
over her body and realized that a draft of cold air came from
beneath the front door and hovered on the floor. Her bottom was
getting cold quite fast.
    She reached up and over her head and pulled
at the blanket on the bed. She managed to pull it down around her,
but she did not possess enough strength to get the warm wool
blanket beneath her to where she needed it the most. And she knew
for certain that she did not have the strength to return herself to
the bed.
    Her only option was to wait until Royce
returned. He told her he would not be long. She could manage to sit
there and wait. She had no choice, she had to, and she intended to
convince herself that she could. She had courage, she had strength,
and she had a relentless throbbing pain in her back that began to
move down her leg.
    She lost track of time; she did not remember
when her tears began, she only knew she could not stop crying. Her
cries turned to sobs, and that is when the door opened.
    She had no intentions of calling out to him.
She did not wish to embarrass herself any more than necessary. But
the open door brought a rush of cold air, the pain had grown
unbearable, and she ached for the comfort and safety of his
arms.
    She called out to him through her sobs.
“Royce.”
    He shoved the door shut at the same moment
he dropped the gutted rabbit he held. He rushed to her side and
lifted her up into his arms, the blanket falling off her and her
cry of pain tearing at his heart.
    “My back,” she said between labored
breaths.
    He placed her gently on the bed, turning her
so that she rested on her stomach and he could examine her back.
The dark bruise on her lower back and hip was taking its time
healing, and it had spread down her leg. He ran tender fingers over
the discolored area and she flinched.
    He wanted to yell at her for being so
foolish, but now was not the time, though he intended to have his
say.
    “It hurts,” she said, her tears continuing
to fall. “And I am so very cold.”
    He ran a slow hand over her backside and
down her leg, brushing off the rushes that stuck to her tender
skin, skin that felt like ice. “I am going to move you to rest on
your good side so that the pressure will be taken off your injured
side, and then I will get you warm.”
    She nodded and allowed him his way with her.
She simply did as he asked of her. She placed her arm around his
neck as he directed, held on to him until he finished bracing
pillows along her back. He was easing her pain and his warm hands
felt so very good against her chilled skin. The pain faded slowly,
but she was grateful that it faded, and she knew soon, very soon he
would take her chill away.
    Royce slipped his fur cloak off and covered
her naked body with it. He then piled three wool blankets over her,
covering her up to her chin and tucking the blankets in tightly
around her so that no cold air could penetrate her warm cocoon.
    He wiped at her tears, his heart aching for
her, and it was