him. He couldn’t lift the tent to see if his leg was still attached or not.
“Oh,” Barker said, following his gaze, “your leg is still there. I told the ortho to stabilize you, do what he could, and bring you here where I’d do the final operation on you and determine whether or not we could save your leg.” She smiled a little. “And we did save it. Me and my team. But Dr. Travis is a brilliant ortho surgeon and he helped make my job possible.”
“I still have my leg?”
“Sure do, Sergeant. And you’re going to keep it.” Her brows went down. “But because you’ve got a lot of screws in the bones, holding the femur together so it can knit and grow strong once more, you’re in for a lot of bed time.”
“How long?” Dan tried to steel himself, watching Cait who had stood back, her hands at her sides, her expression open and vulnerable.
“Two months minimum, Sergeant. It’s a very difficult recovery and that’s why so many surgeons amputate. Your recovery time is going to be a lot longer, a lot more painful, but I have a great PT here.” She motioned toward Cait. “And she felt saving your leg was a viable option. So did I. Cait will be your PT specialist, Sergeant. I know you know one another, so that’s a plus. Cait said you are fast friends.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Dan said. “We’ve known each other for eleven years.” And I’ve loved her all that time. He glanced over at Cait, whose eyes glimmered with unspoken joy, and he managed to lift one corner of his mouth to show he was glad, too.
“These first two months are going to be a special hell, Sergeant,” Barker warned him. “You’re lucky—I understand Cait plays a mean game of Monopoly. You play Monopoly, Sergeant?”
Dan grinned a little, trading a glance with Cait. Her cheeks were flushed now. “Yes, ma’am. She usually beats the pants off me.”
“Well,” Barker said, smiling a little, “be prepared to play a lot of Monopoly these next two months. You’re bed bound for the first six weeks, and you’re going to be bored out of your skull. Miss Moore can’t begin PT until we can get you ambulatory, and that won’t happen until the six-week mark. So get your mind wrapped around that, Sergeant Taylor, for the long haul. Okay?”
“Anything to keep my leg, ma’am.” Dan held the surgeon’s gaze. “Thank you for saving it...”
Giving a curt nod, Barker said, “It was my pleasure. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.” She moved on to the soldier in the next bed.
* * *
Cait tried to get a hold of her emotions. She walked from the swimming pool area at five o’clock, finished with her last soldier of the day. Wanting to see how Dan was, she’d promised to have dinner with him tonight. How she looked forward to seeing him! She hurried through the massive medical center and made it up to the third-floor Ortho. When she entered the ward, she saw Dan had been placed in Fowler’s position, and he looked sad but alert.
“Hey,” she called softly, “how are you doing?”
Dan lifted his head. Instantly, his heart took off with joy. “Better now that you’re here.”
Grinning, Cait came over and looked him over. “How’s your pain level? Holding?”
“Yeah. Nurse was just in and adjusted the drip.” Cait’s red hair was now tamed into a ponytail, the tendrils lovingly caressing her high cheekbones. “I’d give anything to get a shower, though.”
Cait sat down on the edge of the bed gently, not wanting to cause his leg any discomfort. “Hasn’t the nurse given you a bath yet?”
“No.” Dan grimaced and rubbed the seven-day growth of beard on his face. “I’d like to get cleaned up. Is that possible?”
“Do you mind if I give you a bath and a shave?” She held up her hands and she smiled. “I’m well trained.”
The idea of Cait doing that for him damn near sent Dan into a boiling cauldron of heat and need for her. “Sure...”
Cait stood. “Be back in a minute. I know there’s a nurse who’s out sick today on the Ortho ward, and that’s probably why you didn’t get your bath. I’ll ask the head nurse if she minds if I take care of you instead. Be right back.”
Within ten minutes, Cait was back with everything she’d need. Using the rolling tray, she set up what she’d need to shave his face.
“I didn’t know you did this kind of thing,” Dan muttered, apologetic, his throat tightening with sudden emotions. Cait had brought over a small washbowl of warm water and applied the shaving foam to his face, which felt like sensual foreplay to him.
“Well, you’ve never asked what I do here,” she teased lightly, her palm light against the side of his face while bringing the razor downward from his temple to his jaw. “Now,” she said, smiling into his eyes, “don’t talk while I’m shaving you, okay? Just sit back, relax and enjoy it...”
Dan closed his eyes, head against his pillow, drawing comfort from her quick, light touches. Cait was so close, her hands delicate and yet firm against his flesh. Sparks of heat zigzagged down through him. This was intimate. This is what he’d always wanted to share with Cait. In no time, she’d scraped the beard free from his face. Dan was sorry it was over as she gently patted his face clean with a warm, damp towel.
“Are you always going to shave me?”
She laughed and took a warm cloth, gently finishing cleaning up his face. “Only until you feel stronger. Maybe a day or two more. Why? Was I that bad?” She tilted her head, studying him. “No cuts.”
Dan managed a sour smile of sorts. “No...it was good. Thank you...”
Cait gave him a serious look. “Have you ever been bathed before, Dan?”
He stared at her. “As in a hospital bath?”
“Yes.”
“No...never. Why?”
“Because—” she cleared her throat “—it’s kinda intimate.” She gestured down toward his lower body. “Everything gets washed.” She gave him a worried look. “I don’t know if you want me to do this. Would it be embarrassing for you? Uncomfortable? Maybe you’d rather wait and let a nurse you don’t know do it for you?”
Dan noticed how Cait’s face turned red with embarrassment. “Oh” was all he managed to choke out. And then he searched her eyes. “You don’t have to do this, Cait. It’s all right. I understand.” Because she’d never seen him naked. Never seen his whole body. The thought filled him with a sudden shaft of boiling desire. His dreams were coming true in real life. Only, as he saw Cait’s face and expression, he said, “I’m okay with it. But are you?”
She shrugged. “Listen, I bathe guys in the ortho ward. Sometimes, when they’re short a nurse and I don’t have a PT patient, I’ll come up here and lend a hand. I’m game if you are.”
He was more than game, but he tried to look serious about the issue. What was he going to do if he became erect? Still, Cait wasn’t totally innocent...and she was a professional. “Okay,” he said gruffly. “Let’s do it.”
Cait nodded and leaned over him, pulling him slowly into a more upright sitting position in order to start the process. “I’ll untie your gown and then I’ll pull the curtains around your bed so you have privacy.”
Dan nodded, his skin tightening as her fingers flew over the three ties against his back, releasing them. Suddenly all his torrid thoughts, all the hot dreams of loving Cait he’d had through the years, rose unbidden. Dan watched as she pulled the long, light green curtains around his bed. When she turned, he saw how serious she’d become.
“Are you sure about this?” he demanded. Because he loved her, cared for her and never wanted to hurt her or make her feel embarrassed. He was the antithesis of his alcoholic father, would