Read Online The Bride's Curse by Glenys O'Connell - Free Book Online
Authors: Glenys O'Connell
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paramedics, and it’s two forty-five a.m. right now.”
“So long?” Kelly’s stomach churned. She had lost more than four hours. She’d never been out as long as that before. Oh, God, was the damage to her brain getting worse?
She assured Brett that she was fine, that she intended to rest for a while and he should leave to get some sleep if he could before beginning his own busy day.
“You’re kidding, aren’t you?” The frown between his eyes contradicted his bantering tone. “After that little episode? I’d be worried sick about you.” He raised her hand to his lips and left a gentle kiss there—a kiss that seemed to tingle on her flesh long after it was over. “Honey, there’s no place I want to be right now other than with you.”
Kelly lay back on the pillows and allowed herself to bask in the sense of security his presence brought, a feeling that was rare for her. Brett tucked a colorful vintage quilt around her and sat on the edge of the settee, seeming content to have Kelly snuggle into his side.
The tall grandfather clock on the window wall ticked its lazy song and Kelly thought she had not felt this safe in so very long … not since that fateful day in Afghanistan. But she didn’t want to think about that now, and she relaxed into a gentle doze.
Sometime later, she woke again as Brett’s weight bounced the settee as he settled back down beside her holding two mugs of hot tea. “Drink this, Red. It’s supposed to be good for shock.”
He handed her one of the mugs and grinned when she snapped back, “Keep calling me Red and you’ll be the one getting a shock.”
She stretched languidly, raising an eyebrow when she heard the clock strike seven. “I didn’t even notice you’d got up. I guess the pills really put me out.”
“You needed your rest,” he replied, the twin lines of a frown puckering his forehead under the mop of blond hair. “How are you feeling? Any pain?”
She shook her head, wincing as a sharp throb raced through her temple. Brett gently stroked her forehead, checking for signs of fever as the paramedic had advised. The frown deepened as she stiffened when his fingers found the long, ridged scar that ran from just behind her hairline, over her temple and toward the back of her scalp.
“This is the wound that the paramedic was talking about?” His voice was tight.
Kelly struggled to swallow around the memories that flooded back. Among them one so much more recent—that fleeting glimpse of the ghost of an old man, the old man she’d last seen on the bench in front of Wedding Bliss, standing beckoning to her just seconds before the terrible pain ripped through her skull …
“You know that recently the U.S. government removed the exclusion of women in combat roles? Well, we were already there in some front line jobs. I was attached to a ground crew as a driver. We were in a convoy and there was an armored car before us and another one after us. We felt about as safe as anyone could feel in that situation. It was slow going because the crew ahead of us was checking for roadside bombs. Everything was going fine, we were on time with the supplies we were bringing to camp, and we were starting to relax. We were almost there when … when the truck ahead hit an IED and it was like the whole world blew up in our faces.”
Even now, years later, she could still feel the tension, the sick fear, welling up in her belly at the memory. Brett squeezed her hand and she glanced up at him, grateful for his comforting presence.
“It was just crazy. The Taliban opened fire and our guys raced to positions to return that fire. I grabbed a machine gun from an injured soldier and tried to protect him and me by strafing the area. Then I pulled him—fortunately he wasn’t a big man, although bigger than me. I started to drag him toward the nearest vehicle. Funny how God gives you strength in these life and death situations.
“Anyway, he was wounded real bad but I could hear
“So long?” Kelly’s stomach churned. She had lost more than four hours. She’d never been out as long as that before. Oh, God, was the damage to her brain getting worse?
She assured Brett that she was fine, that she intended to rest for a while and he should leave to get some sleep if he could before beginning his own busy day.
“You’re kidding, aren’t you?” The frown between his eyes contradicted his bantering tone. “After that little episode? I’d be worried sick about you.” He raised her hand to his lips and left a gentle kiss there—a kiss that seemed to tingle on her flesh long after it was over. “Honey, there’s no place I want to be right now other than with you.”
Kelly lay back on the pillows and allowed herself to bask in the sense of security his presence brought, a feeling that was rare for her. Brett tucked a colorful vintage quilt around her and sat on the edge of the settee, seeming content to have Kelly snuggle into his side.
The tall grandfather clock on the window wall ticked its lazy song and Kelly thought she had not felt this safe in so very long … not since that fateful day in Afghanistan. But she didn’t want to think about that now, and she relaxed into a gentle doze.
Sometime later, she woke again as Brett’s weight bounced the settee as he settled back down beside her holding two mugs of hot tea. “Drink this, Red. It’s supposed to be good for shock.”
He handed her one of the mugs and grinned when she snapped back, “Keep calling me Red and you’ll be the one getting a shock.”
She stretched languidly, raising an eyebrow when she heard the clock strike seven. “I didn’t even notice you’d got up. I guess the pills really put me out.”
“You needed your rest,” he replied, the twin lines of a frown puckering his forehead under the mop of blond hair. “How are you feeling? Any pain?”
She shook her head, wincing as a sharp throb raced through her temple. Brett gently stroked her forehead, checking for signs of fever as the paramedic had advised. The frown deepened as she stiffened when his fingers found the long, ridged scar that ran from just behind her hairline, over her temple and toward the back of her scalp.
“This is the wound that the paramedic was talking about?” His voice was tight.
Kelly struggled to swallow around the memories that flooded back. Among them one so much more recent—that fleeting glimpse of the ghost of an old man, the old man she’d last seen on the bench in front of Wedding Bliss, standing beckoning to her just seconds before the terrible pain ripped through her skull …
“You know that recently the U.S. government removed the exclusion of women in combat roles? Well, we were already there in some front line jobs. I was attached to a ground crew as a driver. We were in a convoy and there was an armored car before us and another one after us. We felt about as safe as anyone could feel in that situation. It was slow going because the crew ahead of us was checking for roadside bombs. Everything was going fine, we were on time with the supplies we were bringing to camp, and we were starting to relax. We were almost there when … when the truck ahead hit an IED and it was like the whole world blew up in our faces.”
Even now, years later, she could still feel the tension, the sick fear, welling up in her belly at the memory. Brett squeezed her hand and she glanced up at him, grateful for his comforting presence.
“It was just crazy. The Taliban opened fire and our guys raced to positions to return that fire. I grabbed a machine gun from an injured soldier and tried to protect him and me by strafing the area. Then I pulled him—fortunately he wasn’t a big man, although bigger than me. I started to drag him toward the nearest vehicle. Funny how God gives you strength in these life and death situations.
“Anyway, he was wounded real bad but I could hear
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