“Bite your lip. It’s not new. But now, without your eyes, I guess I’ve been watching your lips. The other day I thought you might put a hole through it.”
I started to giggle, but sucked my lip between my teeth as he lowered my one good leg to the ground. Once I was standing, I released my lip and said, “I don’t think about it, but maybe I do it to ease the pain from my ribs.”
He smoothed my hair, tucking some behind my ear. “I don’t want your ribs to hurt. I didn’t want any of this.”
Of course not. Who’d want their wife in an automobile accident?
“I know. It’ll take time, but it’ll heal.”
He lifted my gown. “Even with your bruises, you’re beautiful.” He unexpectedly brushed his fingers over the side of one of my breasts, sending goose bumps up and down my skin and bringing a gasp from my lips. “I hope that healing doesn’t take too much time.”
Reaching for his shoulders, I stood perfectly still. Only the sound of breathing echoed throughout the bathroom. Reverently he lowered my panties. After what seemed like an eternity, he lifted one of my hands to the handle. “You’d better sit, and I’d better leave you alone.”
I nodded, wondering if my desire was as obvious to his eyes as his was to my ears.
Once I was done, and as he carried me back to my bed, I asked, “Would it be asking or questioning to ask what you meant on the phone about you being present? I’m hoping it’s about Sister Lilith.” I added the last part hoping to take away from my question.
Jacob’s chest expanded and contracted with a big breath. “That would be questioning. I know Lilith upset you. She won’t be back today.”
“She said she’d be back tomorrow, and we’d be alone again.”
Jacob placed me on the bed. “Yes, she will and you will, but I’ll make sure she doesn’t discuss anything with you that she shouldn’t. If I return tomorrow to a wife as upset as you were today, I’ll have a talk with the Commission, and I guarantee that she’ll be in worse shape.” He tucked the blanket back around my cast and legs. “She may be a Commissioner’s wife, but she’s still a woman, and the Commission approved my petition. You may speak to me, but only to me.”
“Thank you,” I replied, nodding.
“Thank you?” Jacob asked. “You’re all right with that?”
“Yes, although I’d love to talk to Raquel, if I can only speak to you, I can’t talk to Sister Lilith, and she can only ask me yes-and-no questions. I really don’t want to say more to her than that, and then there’s Dr. Newton . . .”
“What about Dr. Newton?”
I exhaled and hoped that my honesty wouldn’t get me in trouble. “I understand that he’s a man and deserves respect, but I get a weird feeling from him.” I sat very still, waiting for my correction.
Jacob brushed my cheek. “Sara, never be afraid to be honest with me. I need to know these things to protect you.” He scoffed. “Perhaps God’s time is now.”
I didn’t know what he meant, so I waited.
“Your question, about what I said on the phone about being present. It wasn’t about Lilith. It was about Dr. Newton. I’ve forbidden him from being alone with you for any medical procedure. I must be present.”
I smiled and reached for his hand. “It’s always been like this, hasn’t it? You protecting me?”
He touched my lips. “I am protecting you, but stop questioning. I can only be patient for so long.”
His amused tone made me smile. As I settled quietly against the pillows waiting for my lunch, I decided that though this life still didn’t feel right, it no longer felt wrong.
CHAPTER 12
Sara
I lifted my face toward the swish of the opening door. Even after almost two weeks, my body reacted to sounds as if I could see, but I couldn’t, not yet. I hadn’t even tried. My bandages were always changed in the bathroom with the door shut and the lights off. Raquel reassured me that the room could double as a darkroom if I ever wanted to develop film. I didn’t, but it was good to know.
Dr. Newton explained that healing took time. He was especially concerned about the damage done by the flash of the explosion and warned that premature exposure to light could cause irreparable damage. Though I was curious, after he said that, I knew I’d wait.
“Hi, Sara.”
Recognizing familiar voices was getting to be one of my specialties. Excited and somewhat wobbly, I stood. “Elizabeth! I didn’t know you were coming to see me today.”
She rushed my way and steadied my shoulders. “Should you be doing that? Standing, all by yourself?”
I grinned. “I can do more than that. I can walk. Watch,” I said, taking one step and then another. “Jacob walked me around and around this room. I know every square inch. As long as no one moves the furniture on me, I’m pretty good. I’m not very fast, but I’m good.”
“Well, look at you go! You’ll be back to running before you know it.”
I stopped and turned toward her voice. “Running?”