Tuesday Teaser, 8/19/14: Wolf’s Lady Part 31

Well, this novella is up to 31,080 words now. Another couple of thousand ought to wrap this up. Just for comparison, Wolf’s Oath is 35,380 words long and Sherry’s Wolf is 32,899 words long. So Wolf’s Lady will be the usual length of one of my novellas.

I’m falling down on the job for my goal of finishing the rough draft of Wolf’s Princess done by mid-October. Either I’ll have to pick up the pace or push the target date back. I still have two months, so all is not lost yet. I think I need more sexual tension between Rose and Sky, so i’ll need to go back and sprinkle some in. it can’t be hard. Sky has wanted Rose since the moment he laid eyes on her in the Lakota Wolf Clan camp. Now that she’s finally within reach, he’s going crazy trying to control himself. Rose is leery of Sky, but he’s very handsome and she’s very curious about sex. Living in the den with all those wolves and their highly developed senses of hearing and smell means she hasn’t dared experiment in private.  Wish me luck in powering through the last two thirds of the book!

Do you recall that when we left Amanda and Sand last, he was in surgery and she was in the waiting room at the hospital? The judge who married them has just walked into the waiting room and announced he was going to write an arrest warrant for Terry Askup.  Please remember this has not been proofed at all, so there will undoubtedly be errors.  Feel free to point them out, but I’m sure the beta readers will catch anything that we miss.

Amanda gulped and shot Sky a glance. Seeing Terry locked up would give her a lot of satisfaction. Pissing Mayor McGrath off could result in widowhood for her and trouble for Sky. Sky moved smoothly toward Johnnie and led him out of the waiting room. Dean looked from their retreating backs to her.

“What’s that about?” he asked.

She considered whether or not to be honest and decided on honesty. “We don’t have any proof of who paid to kill Sand and steal me.”

“Hm. Terry Askup is a logical suspect.”

“Yeah,” Amanda agreed. “Do you know what would happen if you arrested him?”

Dean’s expression didn’t change. “Hm,” he said again, before turning and following Sky and Johnnie out into the hall.

Sara tugged her arm. “Come on. Sand will be awake soon. You should be there.”

When Amanda walked into the small room where Sand lay recovering, her heart clenched. Just for a second she thought his beautiful hair has been cut off, but then she saw it was slicked back into a ponytail. Oh, God, he looked so helpless lying in the narrow bed with the blanket folded down to his waist to reveal the bandage that was wound around his chest. Sara whispered for her to take the chair by the bed and told the nurse she would take over. The male nurse hesitated, then left.

 Amanda traced her husband’s pale face with her gaze, following the slashing line of his eyebrow to his high cheekbone to the straight, stubborn line of his jaw. From the first moment she’d met him in the hall outside her room, she’d thought him handsome. She remembered the first time she saw his chipped tooth. It could have detracted from his looks –maybe even should have– but it didn’t. That one slight flaw kept him from being too perfect. And now that she’d grown to know him, she found his face the most wonderful and beautiful art in the world. Love rushed through her like a tidal wave, crashing over her heart and washing down to her fingertips.

“Oh, Sand, I love you,” she whispered.

The corner of his mouth twitched. Amanda leaned forward to try to take his hand, but Sara pushed her unceremoniously out of the way. The younger woman lifted Sand a finches and tilted his head so he vomited into the basin she held for him.  She held him steady until he was finished then deftly wiped his face with a wet rag.

Amanda swallowed hard, trying to control her own gag reflex. Sara held a glass of water for Sand to sip.

“Now, spit,” she ordered, holding the basin.

He obeyed, and was laid back down. Sara thrust a clean basin into Amanda’s hands. “Here. In case he’s not done. I’ll be right back.”

She walked away holding the used basin and leaving Amanda clutching the fresh one. Her efficiency was almost frightening. Amanda looked at Sand. His face was gray except for the flush on his cheeks.

“Are you okay?” she whispered.

His eyes flicked open. “I’m done puking. I think. Where are we?”

“Hospital. They did surgery to remove the bullet. It broke inside you and they had to take the fragments out. Some ribs were broken too.”

“Oh. That’s why it hurts.” He closed his eyes again for a long minute before opening them again. “If Sky wants to keep the wolf stuff secret, I have to get out of here before they notice how fast I heal.”

“You can’t leave for a while,” Amanda began, but she broke off when Sara came back in, wiping the basin dry.

Sand turned his head to look at the teenager. “Cousin, you are a good nurse. You took care of me quickly and kindly, without hurting me. Thank you.”

“Yes,” Amanda agreed. “I’ve never seen you do your work at the hospital. I’m impressed.”

A flush of pleasure rose in Sara’s cheeks. She ducked her head like a shy toddler. “Will you tell Stone about it? He said I need to grow up and learn to care about someone besides myself.”

Amanda’s head snapped up with outrage. “He said what?”

Sara looked up, lips pressed tight together. “Nursing is the best way I could think of to do that. I’ve only just starting training six weeks ago, but I’ve learned a lot already.”

 “Yes, you have!” Amanda said. “You whipped that pan out like a professional.”

Sara’s brown eyes began to shine with tears. “Thank you. I’m trying.” She looked at Sand. “Tell him that, okay? Tell him I’m trying.”

“I will,” Sand promised. “How soon can I leave?”

Sara sniffed the tears back. “That’s up to the doctor. Four or five days, I’d guess.”

“It’s got to be sooner than that. Tomorrow at the latest.”

Amanda sprang to her feet. “No, you’re badly hurt. You need to stay until you heal—”

He looked right at her. “Darling, I’ll be just about well in four or five days.”

Disbelief made her jaw drop. “What? That’s impos… Isn’t it?”

He shook his head on the pillow. “No. I need to talk to Sky right away. Can you send a message to him?”

“I can do better. He’s here in the hospital. Should I go find him now?”

“Please. Sara will stay with me, won’t you, cousin?”

As Amanda went to the door she heard her cousin say, “You bet. Even if I didn’t like you, I’d stay because it’s my job. But I like you. I always did like you.”