Very Private Duty Read Free Page B

when she’d left the farm to enter college was that she hadn’t left alone. Shewas seven weeks’ pregnant with Jeremy’s baby, despite being on the Pill.
    She had dropped out of college, given birth to a little girl and then lost her three months later, after they were run down by a speeding car. Her daughter died instantly, but Tricia spent weeks in the hospital with internal injuries.
    The intoxicated driver, a celebrated matrimonial attorney to the rich and famous had the clout and resources to delay the case for years. Against her attorney’s advice, Tricia settled out of court for less than she would’ve received if the case had gone to trial. At that time in her life she had been too depressed to relive the ordeal in a lengthy trial.
    She did not blame the drunk driver for killing her baby. Tricia blamed Jeremy. And if he hadn’t deserted her she could’ve returned to the farm to live. He had deserted her and their infant daughter.
    She married her attorney, but only after he insisted they sign a prenuptial agreement. Dwight Lansing claimed he wanted to marry her because he loved her and not for her money.
    “And you became a DEA agent instead of coming back to run the horse farm,” she retorted sharply.
    “We’re not talking about me, Tricia.”
    “And I don’t intend to talk about me, Jeremy. For the next month you and I are patient and nurse and nothing else.”
    Despite the pain in his head surpassing the one inhis leg, he affected a snappy salute with his uninjured hand. “Yes, ma’am!”
    She managed to hide a smile as she made her way to the windows and closed the vertical blinds, shutting out some of the bright sunlight pouring into the room. “Someone will deliver lunch in a few minutes. After that I’m going to help you get out of bed, even if it’s just for half an hour.”
    “I’m not ready to get out of bed.”
    “Your doctor wants you out of bed.”
    “He’s not here, so what he says doesn’t mean spit!”
    Tricia struggled to control her temper. As a pediatric nurse she had encountered children with a variety of illnesses and deformities, but invariably she was always able to coax a smile from them. Jeremy wasn’t a child, but a thirty-two-year-old man who had chosen a career that put him at risk every day of his life. He was alive, and for that he should’ve been grateful, not angry and resentful.
    “You will follow my directives.” Her voice was soft yet threatening. “You need me to feed you and assist you with your personal hygiene.” She knew he wouldn’t be able to feed himself easily because he was left-handed. “Growl at me one more time and I’ll take my time helping you to the bathroom. Lying in one’s own waste is not the most pleasant experience.”
    Jeremy gave Tricia a long, penetrating look. How had she known? He and the three surviving membersfrom a DEA Black Op team of six had hidden out in a swamp in the Peruvian jungle for forty-eight hours before they were rescued. Not only had they lain in their own waste but they’d been bitten repeatedly by insects. His team leader had come down with a fever and died within an hour of being airlifted to safety.
    He had no more fight left in him—at least not today. His head felt as if it was exploding. He wanted to tell Tricia that he knew how to use a pair of crutches and hobble, albeit slowly, to the bathroom, but decided not to antagonize her further.
    “All right,” he said, deciding to concede. “You win, Tricia.” And she would remain the winner, but only until his pain eased. “I’ll get out of bed.” Closing his eyes, he clenched his teeth.
    “Are you in pain?”
    He squinted. “My head.”
    “I’ll take your vitals, then I’ll give you something to take the edge off.” Ryan had left a blood pressure kit and a digital thermometer for her use.
    Jeremy suffered Tricia’s gentle touch and the hauntingly familiar scent of her body as she took his temperature and blood pressure. She gave him a