Page 87 of Whispers and Wildfire
“You know what? I’ll leave your name in, and we can just cross it out if you decide not to come. But I bet you’ll be fit as a fiddle by Saturday. That’s almost a whole week.”
I wanted to tell her no. But then again, the SPS had actually done a lot for my family. The least I could do would be to stand on stage and let them auction me off for an evening. I’d just have to let the winner know I wasn’t up for any strenuous manual labor.
“You know what, Aunt Louise, I’ll be there.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful. I just know you’re going to bring in a hefty sum. I can feel it.”
“Just make sure people know I’m hurt. I wouldn’t want anyone to bid on me with the expectation that I can build a fence or something.”
“I’ll spread the word. Thank you, dear, I’ll see you soon.”
“Bye, Aunt Louise.”
With a slight shake of my head, I ended the call and set my phone down. This bachelor auction was going to be interesting.
In the meantime, I needed to get dressed. I went to my bedroom to throw on some clothes. I had to clench my teeth against the pain while I pulled on a pair of jeans. The T-shirt wasn’t as bad. I tugged it down gingerly and took a few deep breaths. It hurt, but I’d live.
Shoes, though. Those were going to be an issue. I had a pair that slipped on my feet easily enough, but tying them was going to be a special kind of torture.
I got them on, leaving them loose, and went to the living room to figure out how to tie the laces. I tried putting one foot on the coffee table to make it easier to reach, but I only bent over about three inches before I had to stop.
Maybe I needed to sit. I lowered myself onto the edge of the couch, took a breath, and tried to reach my shoe.
Pain wrapped around my midsection, making me feel like I couldn’t breathe. Groaning, I leaned back.
There was a knock on my door.
“Yeah, gimme a second,” I called out.
Melanie waltzed right in like she owned the place and shut the door behind her. “Ready?”
“I said give me a second. That means wait, not walk right in.”
“It was unlocked.”
“I could have been naked.”
She shrugged. “Nothing I haven’t seen before.”
She wasn’t wrong, but hearing her flippant reference to a time when we’d been getting naked together was both arousing and mildly infuriating.
I ran my tongue along my top teeth. “No, I’m not ready. I need a minute.”
“Okay.” She crossed her arms and glanced around.
Steeling myself to endure the agony, I sat up and started tobend forward so I could tie my shoes. The groan that crawled out of my throat was completely involuntary.
“Don’t hurt yourself.” She came over and got on her knees in front of me. “Here, let me.”
There was a hell of a lot of pride swallowing in letting Melanie tie my shoes for me. She was matter-of-fact about it. Didn’t make fun of me for not being able to do it myself, or drop a snide comment about deserving it because I’d done something stupid.
In fact, she hadn’t lectured me about the accident at all.
A feeling spread through my chest, and it wasn’t pain. It was warm and pleasant, a deep sense of gratitude. I wanted to reach out and run my fingers through her hair. Touch her face and bring her close. Kiss her soft lips.
Damn it, no. I didn’t want Melanie like that. I couldn’t. I couldn’t take that risk again.
“So when am I going to hear about it?” I snapped.
