and wincing at the pressure on her feet. She felt like some ridiculous
fairytale hag and she started laughing silently at the thought
of chasing kids off her gingerbread lawn.
?You shouldn?t have come on your own. You?ve worn yourself
out,? Lucas admonished her gently.
?I was fine a second ago, but it was farther than I thought. Your
house is huge,? Helen whispered, aiming her creaky body at the
chair next to his bed.
?You won?t be able to sit up long. Here,? he said as he pulled back
his covers. ?You?d better lie down.?
Helen looked uncertainly at his bed. She had spent all of last
night melded to him, but now it was different somehow. If she lay
down with him it would be a choice. She saw him smirking up at
her, and realized he thought she was being silly. Which she was,
because her knees were shaking with the effort to hold her up. She
tried to sit down as carefully as she could so as not to disturb him,
but at the last moment her legs gave out and she pretty much
flopped into bed with him.
?Sorry,? she whispered as she gathered the covers over them.
?It?s okay. Careful of your toes?my legs are splinted,? he warned
her. Helen peeked under the covers and saw that his lower body
was wrapped in soft casts. ?See? You?re completely safe with me.?
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He grinned at her in the dark and she grinned back, until the reason
for her draining trek came back to her. Her smile faded.
?How bad is it? Can you even tell right now?? she asked him seriously.
She propped herself up on an elbow so she could look directly
into his face and scan him for any well-intentioned lies. Even
in the low moonlight dribbling through the casement she could see
the intense jewel blue of his eyes.