Bring Me Home for Christmas

Three




Denny watched Troy and Becca in the front seat of the truck for about a half hour, drinking coffee, laughing, talking. He caught a little casual touching—Troy reached toward her face; she put a hand on his shoulder—stealing glances over his shoulder while he crouched in the blind. Dirk and Rich were in the boat, right in the midst of some shoreline reeds.

Finally Troy exited the truck, grabbed the shotgun that leaned against it and went back to his cozy little nest in the bushes at the water’s edge. Every few minutes one of the guys would blow on a duck call, but other than that the only sound was the occasional rustle of leaves in the wind.

Then a flock of ducks burst from the narrow end of the lake and took flight. Shotguns blasted as all the hunters fired, but the flock escaped unscathed. Nothing dropped from the sky. Nothing.

Rich and Dirk brought the boat in and dragged it up on the bank, ready to take a little break while any fowl that remained nearby regrouped and recovered from the shock of gunfire.

“I think I’m done in,” Denny said. He looked at his watch—it was barely after noon. “How about you guys?”

“I got a couple of hours in me,” Rich said.

“I’m good. You gonna wimp out?” Troy asked.

“Might just,” he said. “I’m going to help out in the bar tonight. I could use a shower before that. Looks like Becca’s had about enough. Tell you what, I’ll leave the thermoses and food in your truck, Dirk, and take Rich’s truck back to town. I can give Becca a lift. When you boys are done, bring in the boat and the decoys, will you? And I’ll see you at Jack’s for dinner. How’s that?”

Rich, Dirk and Troy looked back and forth between each other. Finally, Troy said, “Sure, Den. Okay.”

“We’ll do it again tomorrow. Maybe Becca will take a pass.”

“Denny, Becca’s no trouble,” Troy said. “She’s not asking to leave. She seems to be holding up fine. I bet she’d sit in the truck till dark, if that’s how long we stay out.”

“Yeah, probably,” Denny admitted. “But there’s no reason for her to do that, since I need to get back to town, shower and help Jack round up a good meal for you diehards. So I’ll see you at Jack’s.”

“Sure,” Troy said as the other two nodded.

Whew, that was close, Denny thought. Before anyone could decide to tag along, he headed for Rich’s truck. He opened the back door and began to gather up thermoses and the food. Becca looked at him curiously. “I’m going to put this stuff in Dirk’s truck. They want to hunt awhile longer. I’ll take you back to town.”

“You don’t have to do that,” she said. “I’m fine.”

“Well, you’re not hunting, so I’ll take you back.”

“I’m fine.”

“You’re just sitting in the truck.”

“So? Am I bothering you? I can sit in Dirk’s truck if you want to go.”

“Becca,” he said in exasperation, “let’s just go back to town.”

“I don’t need to go back to town,” she said. “But if you need company so you can go back to town, by all means. Let’s go.”

He frowned at her but held his tongue. Instead, he moved the coffee and sandwiches to Dirk’s truck. When he was walking back, he noticed his friends standing on the bank of the lake, just watching him. He smiled at them and waved, then got in the truck and got the hell out of there before he had company.

They drove for about five minutes of stony silence before Becca said, “Well, that was a fast getaway, Denny. What’s eating you?”

“Nothing’s eating me, Rebecca!” he snapped. “I thought you were done hunting and so we’ll leave!”

She just laughed softly and for some reason that lit a fire in him.

“Is something funny?” he asked. “I thought you said you had a serious guy in your life. It makes me wonder what he’d make of the way you cozied up to Troy.” He glanced at her.

“You’ve completely lost your mind,” she said.

“Wouldn’t you say you’re a little overly friendly?”

She shook her head. “No.”

“If I were the guy, it would look that way to me,” he said, totally amazed by how childish he sounded, even to himself.

“If you were the guy, you’d be studying for finals at UCLA and would’ve said, ‘Have a good time and be careful.’”

“Must be a freaking god,” Denny muttered.

“Jeez, what is up your butt?” she asked.

“I just thought a stand-up guy would get you out of what could be a bad situation. If you’re practically engaged, you probably shouldn’t be messing around with Troy.”

She shook her head. “I wasn’t. Unless you call having a cup of coffee and talking messing around. If so, I mess around almost daily.” She smiled indulgently. “I’m very loose that way.”

“Damn it, Becca, don’t you get what I’m saying?”

“No, Dennis, I’m completely lost. I don’t know what your deal is. You almost act like you’re jealous or something…”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” he said. “Why would I be jealous?”

“I can’t imagine,” she said.

“I guess I just don’t get it, why you’d go hunting with a bunch of guys if you have a serious boyfriend. It makes no sense. Maybe I can do the guy a favor by a little intervention…”

“Intervention?” she asked, frowning.

“Well, you get a little flirty. And that’s not smart.”

She inhaled sharply, not sure if she was more offended by being called flirty or not smart. Her mouth formed a thin line, her nostrils flared, her eyes glittered and she said, “Stop the truck.”

He looked over at her. “What?”

“I said, stop the truck!”

“This is a bad place to stop!”

“Stop anyway!” she yelled back.

There wasn’t much of a shoulder, but he pulled over. The road was built up about three feet and ran between drenched fields that were probably lush with grain and corn in the summer. He stared at her.

“I made a big mistake here and I’m going to cut my losses,” she said. “I thought if we spent a little time together, we might get some closure so we could both move on, but it’s impossible if you’re going to be such an ass! I’m going back to where we were hunting. I’ll either sit with the guys or in the truck, but I’m not putting up with this bullshit anymore. I haven’t heard a word from you in years. You have no right to judge me or my behavior.” She opened the door.

“Becca, wait a sec,” he said, reaching toward her.

“Seriously, if you had anything to say to me, you might’ve called or maybe shot me an email or—hey! You could’ve ‘liked me’ on fricking Facebook! But I haven’t heard squat from you, so trust me, you have absolutely no right to even suggest who I talk to.” She made a derisive sound. “Flirty,” she muttered. “Of all the nerve.”

“Becca, no—” he said, reaching out to her.

“Denny, yes!” And with that, she stepped out of the vehicle, forgot it was such a long step down from her brother’s jacked-up truck, hit the very narrow shoulder with one booted foot, twisted her ankle, buckled, fell and rolled off that raised road and down to the mushy, muddy field below. And she did it all with a scream that included a very unladylike expletive.

In spite of himself, he laughed and lowered his head to the steering wheel. Well, he was an ass, like she said. And she never had listened. She was always full-steam ahead. He got out of the truck, walked around to her side and stood on the road, hands on his hips, looking down at her. She was sprawled, looking a little like she was ready to make a snow angel—in the mud. She glared up at him.

It was all he could do to keep from doubling over in hysterical laughter.

“I tried to stop you. I tried to tell you I’d take you back there…”

She blew a sputter of air through her lips to rid them of a splatter of mud. “Sure.” Then she sat up. “Screw you.”

“Come on,” he said, trying to carefully slide down the bank to help her. “You’re right and I was wrong. I have no right to tell you how to act or who to flirt with… I mean, talk to.” He smiled, ready to duck if a mud clot came at him. “All right, let’s just get you back to town so you can get out of those muddy clothes. I’m sorry, Becca,” he said, unable to keep the laughter out of his voice as he looked at her. He reached a hand out to her. “Really, I’m—”

“Ah!” she cried, trying to stand. She grabbed her right leg. “Oh, crap!”

“What?” he said, jumping in the mud with her.

“Oh, God, I think I did something!” She reached for her ankle. “Damn, oh, damn! Oh, God!”

Denny crouched. “Maybe you sprained it,” he said. “I can’t look at it with the boot on. I have to get you up the hill and back to the truck. Then we’ll look.”

“On one leg?” she asked. Despite her sarcastic tone, tears of pain glistened in her eyes.

“Well, it would be easiest to just carry you.” He reached out to pull her upright. “Just put the weight on your good leg.”

“Denny…” she whimpered, giving in to the pain as she let him help her stand.

“It’s okay, Becca, just lean on me.” Once she was upright, balancing on her left leg, he wiped the tears with his thumb. “Over my shoulder, that’s the best way.”

“Noooo,” she wailed.

“It’s the best way for me to keep my balance getting up to the truck.” He gave her a little smile. “You used to think it was fun.”

She shook her head. “I used to think you were fun. I’m not sure I think so anymore.”

He bent at the waist, put his shoulder in her midsection and folded her over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry. “Try not to wiggle too much or you’ll topple us both.”

“Ugh,” she said. “God, it hurts! What did I do?”

He took a few wobbling steps up the hill and said, “Watch your head,” as he hefted her into the passenger seat. “Stay like this, legs dangling out. Sit tight.” He went to the truck bed, lifted Rich’s tool storage bin and found a tool with a sharp edge.

When he came back to her, she pulled her knees up fearfully. “What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to cut off your rubber boot, Becca. You don’t want me to pull it off—that would be awful. I’ll get you a new pair.”

“I don’t care about the boots! I just don’t want you to cut my leg off with that thing!”

“I’ll be very careful,” he promised.

“I’ve had a run of bad luck lately. Owwww!” she wailed as he carefully slid the slit boot off her foot.

Her foot dangled there at a very odd angle, pointing inward and limp. And it was already starting to swell. He lifted his eyes to hers. “Oh, man,” he said. “That doesn’t look too good.”



Becca tried to hold back her tears all the way to the hospital and Denny tried to see how often he could apologize for being a total idiot. “I have no idea why I baited you like that,” he said. “I really don’t know. I think I’m still a little upside down that my old girlfriend is here with the guys.”

“I don’t even want to hear it,” she said. “Where’s the goddamn mute button?”

Denny laughed.

It was a long way across the mountains, through Virgin River and down the mountain to reach Valley Hospital. Denny lifted her carefully out of the truck and carried her into the E.R. From the odd angle of her foot, Denny suspected a break, and E.R. staff agreed with him. They contacted the on-call orthopedist to come to the hospital.

One of the nurses started an IV and Becca was given pain medication and a sedative, making her much more comfortable. While Denny held both her hands in both of his, the doctor gave her a shot of anesthetic right in her ankle. Then he gave it a sharp pull, setting it right. Becca half rose off the E.R. bed with a cry; Denny pulled her up against him, holding her tight until the pain subsided again.

“We’re going to have to operate on this ankle, Becca,” the doctor said. “It’s a little too swollen right now, but we’ll elevate it, put an ice pack on it and in a few hours we’ll be able to do the surgery. You can stay overnight and go home in the morning.”

“Operate?” she asked.

“A small plate and screws.” He smiled. “You’ll be good as new.”

“I don’t want to stay all night,” she said. “I’m miserable!”

“I can appreciate that, but there’s no alternative. What you really need is to go to a room where a nurse can get you out of those nasty clothes and get you washed up, into a hospital gown and comfortable. I’ll come back in a few hours and we’ll fix you up. You’ll go home with a splint and crutches. I’m afraid you can’t put any weight on it for six weeks—that’s going to be the hard part.”

She shifted her eyes to Denny. “Denny?” she said softly in a shaky voice.

“Easy, honey, you need to get taken care of. While you get cleaned up and put on some dry clothes, I’ll call Jack’s and make sure Big gets a message.”

“Becca’s going to need clean clothes to leave the hospital in,” the doctor said. “Maybe you could do that while she’s getting cleaned up and I take care of the ankle.”

Denny lifted her chin and looked into her eyes. “Would you like me to do that, Becca? Get you some clothes? Leave a message for Big Richie that you’re here?” She nodded.

“I’ll see you later,” the doctor said, ducking out of the curtained cubicle.

“Becca, I’m sorry. You can add this to the list of things that are totally my fault. If there’s room on the page, that is.”

She just averted her eyes.

“Are you in a lot of pain right now?” he asked her. “I’ll stay with you till you go to surgery, if you want. I can get your clothes then.”

“It’s okay,” she said. “You can leave. Maybe Rich could bring me some clothes in the morning and bring me back to Virgin River.”

“I’ll do it, Becca. I want to. And I’ll bring back my own truck, which is a lot easier to get in and out of than Big’s truck.”

“Are we going to be able to get along?” she asked with a hiccup of emotion. “Because I’m just not in the mood for any more conflict.”

He nodded. “Absolutely,” he said. “I’ll come back tonight….”

“That’s all right, you don’t have to—”

“How bad is it?”

She shook her head. “It’s throbbing. But it feels far away, like it’s someone else’s foot.”

A huff of laughter escaped him. He ran a finger along her jaw. “You really scared me with that foot, the way it looked.”

“Scared you?” she asked, sinking back into her pillows.

A big orderly pulled back the curtain. “Ready to go for a ride, miss?”

“I hate to leave you,” Denny said.

“Just go on. Tell Rich to absolutely not call our parents. Absolutely not.”

“Don’t you think they’d want to know?” Denny asked.

“I’m going to take care of that. And tell him I’m sorry about getting the inside of his truck all muddy. He worships that truck. He’s going to marry that truck…”

“I’ll clean it up,” Denny said. “Try to rest.”

Before heading to Virgin River, he went through Fortuna, stopped at a full-service gas station and had the truck cleaned up, inside and out. He drove out to Jack’s guesthouse to retrieve his duffel and shaving kit, then went to his room above the Fitchs’ garage and took a shower. Next, he opened Becca’s suitcase and gathered some clothes to take to her. When his hands fell on her silky panties, they lingered there, remembering. God, how he had missed her! Then he folded her bra and panties inside a pair of jeans and a sweater, hiding her lingerie from view. Her camouflage vest was filthy, so he brought a jacket for her.

Then he went to Jack’s. It was still before five, but the sun was setting and the place was starting to fill up with a few locals and some die-hard hunters and fishermen. Denny sat at the bar.

Jack came over. “Where’s the rest of your posse?” he asked.

“I guess they’ll be coming in anytime. I was bringing Becca back here this afternoon and she had a little accident. She fell getting out of her brother’s jacked-up truck and twisted her ankle. Turns out it’s broken. I took her to Valley Hospital for an X-ray, but the doctor says he needs to put a small plate and some screws in it. She has to stay overnight, but she’ll be fine and can be released first thing in the morning.” He looked down. “She’s gonna be on crutches.”

“Well,” Jack said. “I always said, if they’re running away, just kick their legs out from under them. That’ll slow ’em down.”

Denny scowled. “That’s not funny.”

“Not to you, maybe,” he said with an amiable smile.

“She’s in pain.”

“I can imagine. Looks like you’re feeling some pain, too. Need a beer?”

“Beer and a sandwich, if it’s not too much trouble.”

“Sure you don’t want some of Preacher’s dinner? Stew. Hard rolls. Cake.”

“As soon as I tell Big where his sister is, I’m heading back to the hospital. She’s fine, but she might wake up and not want to be alone.”

Jack served him up a draft. “Any chance she could wake up and not want to be with you?”

“Ah, yeah,” Denny admitted sheepishly. “Always a chance of that. But it’s a chance I’m going to have to take.” Right then the door to the bar opened and his buddies came in. “Jack, would you make that sandwich to go?”

“You bet, kid,” he said.

Denny stood up from the bar. “Any luck?” he asked them.

“Nothing,” Rich said. “But we reserved a couple of ducks for tomorrow.”

“About tomorrow,” Denny said. “I think you’re going to be on your own. I’ll be tied up. Rich, Becca fell.” And then he explained as best he could, leaving out anything that would implicate him. “Your truck is outside, but I’m going to take her some clothes at the hospital. She’s probably asleep, but I’m going to sit with her so I can bring her back to town as soon as they discharge her. I told her I’d be there for her in case she wakes up during the night.”

“She did that by falling?” Rich asked.

“Well…by jumping out of the truck. She must’ve hit it just right. The doctor said it’s not real bad, but a procedure is necessary and she’ll be on crutches for six weeks.”

“I should probably go,” Rich said, yanking off his cap and running a hand through his hair. “My mother’s going to kill me.”

“She said not to call your parents.”

“Because they’re headed for Mexico in the morning,” Rich said. “Bet that’s why Becca doesn’t want to call them. So my mother can kill me when she gets back. She expects me to look out for my sister.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Denny said. “I feel responsible—she was with me. I told her I was going to let you know what’s going on and bring her some clothes and she said okay. She’s expecting me to come back for her and I want to.”

“And then?” Rich said.

Denny shrugged. “I’ll get her comfortable in my room over the garage and wait on her hand and foot while you guys hunt.” He clapped a hand on Rich’s shoulder. “No offense, buddy, but she doesn’t want you to take care of her.”

“My mother’s going to kill me,” he said again.

“Becca’ll be okay. She’s gonna get a splint that’s almost like a cast.”

Jack brought a wrapped sandwich out of the kitchen and put it on the bar. “Here you go, Denny.” Then he looked at the three young hunters. “Serve you boys up something?”

“Starting with a cold draft,” Dirk said.

“Tall and cold,” Rich seconded.

“By all means,” Troy said.

“Sorry about the inconvenience, guys,” Denny said. “Jack, you’re okay with the boys using the boat and decoys, right? And put whatever they need on my tab—they’re my guests, even if I’m not the best host.”

“I’ll take care of your boys,” Jack said. “Been a while since Preach and I took advantage of a bunch of greenhorns at poker. I can help out there. Hope you guys brought some money.”

“Yeah, that’s what you think, gunny,” Dirk said. “I’m going to take your money, and I’ll hunt tomorrow, but I’m not getting up at four. There weren’t any more ducks at dawn than there were at noon.”

“I second that,” Rich said.

Denny picked up his sandwich. “I should get back to Valley Hospital. Who knows? Maybe they’ll let her out sooner.”

“Go for it,” Jack said. “Tell her we all hope she’s doing all right.”

“Thanks.” He headed out of the bar.

He was barely down the steps when he heard, “Denny.” He turned around to find Troy standing on the porch. “Total accident?” Troy asked him.

“Yeah, what else?”

“You said you felt responsible. And you haven’t been real happy about her being here,” he said.

“Look, it really threw me off, all right, her being here. And I tried to stop her, warn her, before she jumped out of the truck—we were stopped on a raised road by a muddy field and she fell…”

“You were stopped?” Troy asked.

“Talking. That’s all. We had some things to get straight so we could enjoy the rest of the week. You know I’d never let anything happen to her if I could prevent it.”

“I’ve never known you to be mean to a woman.”

“No, you never have and you never will. Really, I should get going…”

“Were you telling the truth when you said she wants you back at the hospital?” Troy asked.

Denny stiffened. “She said I didn’t have to. She said she didn’t need anyone to be there, but I said I wanted to.”

“Listen,” Troy said, stepping closer to the edge of the porch. “You gotta be careful with her. I get the idea you have issues with the ex-girlfriend. You get real pissed off around her and that’s not going to work.”

“Are you giving me advice about how to treat my—” He stopped and cleared his throat. “Hey, I feel bad enough that she fell without you telling me how to act.”

Troy frowned at him. “You should work this out, Denny. Without the drama. Without all the attitude.”

The fact that Troy was absolutely right didn’t go down easy. “Maybe I’ll get you to script that out for me later, since you’re such an expert.”

Troy touched his cap. “Give Becca my best. Tell her if there’s anything I can do, just let me know.”

“You bet,” Denny said. And he thought, Don’t worry, man. I got this covered.