Because of You: A Loveswept Contemporary Military Romance by Jessica Scott Page B

your head?”
    “It’s killing me.” He rubbed his forehead between his eyes. There was no force behind his words. None of the violence that had been there just moments before. Was he giving up? She didn’t need him climbing out of bed on his own, but this? This was somehow worse. She blinked rapidly then poked him in his chest, in the soft flesh between his pec and his shoulder. He turned his face quickly and scowled at her.
    “Hurting yourself isn’t the way to get out of the hospital.”
    A slow flush crawled up his neck and Jen almost took a step backward, anticipating an outburst. Almost.
    Shane didn’t explode. Instead, his words came out quiet, the anger behind them barely concealed.
    “You have no idea what it’s like to sit here and not be able to do anything for yourself. So don’t talk to me about healing when I’m just another warehoused GI.”
    “You’re hurt. You need help. ”
    His eyes flashed and he leaned up, getting right into her face. His voice was a lowgrowl, deep in his throat. “I don’t
want
help. I don’t need your help. I
want
to get fixed and get back to Iraq.”
    She jammed her finger into his chest again. “You do need help, you’re just too stubborn to accept that the invincible Shane Garrison needs it. It’s not the end of the world.”
    “This is your idea of help?” He slammed his fist against the rail of the bed. “Keep it and get the fuck out!”
    She didn’t argue with him. She’d lost the one tattered edge of momentum she’d had. She left, and felt his rage burning holes in her back as she shut the door quietly behind her.
    * * *
    Jen’s hands shook and she balled them into fists until her nails bit into the skin. That had gone well. If by well, she meant utter failure. She closed her eyes as she calmed down, trying to remember how she’d felt when she’d been heaving on the bathroom floor after chemo. Thank God she’d had Laura. Her friend had cleaned up the mess and helped her into bed. And she’d stayed by her side all night.
    Just like Shane, Jen hadn’t wanted to hear that she needed help. Laura had stuck with her through those terrible times, even though she had been eight months pregnant with her second child and Trent had again been deployed. Jen had protested, but Laura had stuck. And when Jen’s brother had served her with legal papers contesting their grandmother’s will, Laura had still stuck.
    Jen pushed away from the door of Shane’s room, and the unpleasant walk down memory lane. Just then, Laura walked down the hall, like she was walking out of Jen’smemories. She looked exhausted and was carrying a large, colorful tote that doubled as a purse. Shane’s injury had capped off a month filled with bad news. Laura looked tired and Jen knew she wasn’t doing well. No one was. The Surge was taking its toll on all of them.
    “Have you heard from Nicole? How’s Vic doing?”
    Laura’s somber expression cracked into a genuine smile. “Making jokes. He’s taking her down to Italy before they head home. Listening to Nicole, you’d think he did no more than stub a toe instead of lose a limb.”
    “Well, that’s good, right?”
    Laura offered a one-shouldered shrug. “I think so.” She sighed and gripped the tote beneath her arms so tightly her knuckles showed white. Her gaze drifted over Jen’s shoulder to the door behind her. “How’s Shane?”
    Jen puffed her cheeks out and let some of her exasperation show. “Do you want the truth or do you want me to lie to you?”
    “Oh, the truth sounds like much more fun,” Laura said dryly.
    “He’s a pain in the ass.”
    Laura laughed out loud, then quickly covered her mouth with her hand. “Sorry. That’s more of a relief than you know.”
    “Any ideas on how I keep him from ripping his IV out every five minutes? You know him better than I do.” She was willing to take suggestions at this point. Anything would be better than feeling this helpless and out of ideas.
    Laura shrugged and