Guardian Angel

Part III

Meggie and Jeffrey

THUD!

The loud noise suddenly came from the kitchen. Jeffrey slowly headed that way, scanning the dark room. Nothing seemed out of place.

THUNK!

The kitchen window! He raised the gun, holding his breath as tried to focus on the location of the noise. Closer, closer, closer.

WHACK!

The window was opened a crack, and he could hear the crashing of thunder and the howling of the wind. He raised the gun, ready to shoot in a heartbeat as he inched closer. Was someone out there? As he neared the kitchen door, he reached for the handle, quickly yanking it open. Nothing, except the wind striking his face. He paused momentarily before taking a step outside. From the corner of his left eye, Jeffrey suddenly noticed the tall gorse bush flexing back and forth in the wind.

It’s nothing, he told himself, merely this dense and prickly bush smacking and clawing the window pane. He lowered the gun, allowing a small sigh to escape from his lips. Meggie needs to prune this back, his mind continued as he approached the shrub for closer inspection.

Standing over seven feet tall, the thorny and flowering evergreen shrub was typically considered an invasive weed in Australia. Despite this, the yellow flowers were in full bloom with a hint of coconut fragrance which prompted Jeffrey to recall the old country phrase: “When gorse is out of blossom, kissing's out of fashion."

He reached out to stroke one of the yellow buds, smiling as the thought of kissing and Meggie came to mind. Not paying attention, he suddenly felt a sharp prick on his finger. Pulling his hand back, he glanced down and saw the small cut caused by the thorny bush. “Definitely need to trim this shrub from Hell,” he muttered to himself.

Meggie paced back and forth in her moonlit bedroom, her mind running amok with every possible and terrible scenario. A loud, booming echo of thunder shook the windows, causing her to jump. She ran over to it, peering outside. The wind had picked up causing the trees to violently rock back and force.

“I’m not going to wait inside, not with you out there Jeffrey,” she said, grabbing her silk robe and slipping it on. Before reaching the top of the stairs, the electricity suddenly came back to life, filling the house with light again. Meggie hurried down and stopped. Jeffrey had headed towards the kitchen, she recalled. Jeffrey, please be okay.

After the close encounter with the shrub, Jeffrey proceeded to walk around the house, his eyes scouring the area for any signs of another human being. Deciding everything seemed safe, he turned and made his way back to the kitchen’s side door. Another strong gust of wind ravaged the trees, shaking their branches violently. However, Jeffrey focused his attention on putting the safety lever on. I need to teach Meggie how to defend herself…how to use a gun, he thought.

“Jeffrey!”

His head jerked upward, eyes locking on Meggie up ahead.

“Meggie, what are you…” he started to say before something firm struck him in the back. Jeffrey fell down hard on his knees, the gun flying out of his hand. Wincing, he shook his head, trying to make sense of what was happening. Sharp jolts of pain shot down his neck and spread across his back side. “What the hell…” he managed to say, gritting his teeth as his head began to throb and his breathing came in short gasps.

“Jeffrey!” Meggie cried, watching the entire incident in slow motion and being unable to react fast enough to stop it. The wind had ripped one of the tree’s lower branches, striking Jeffrey on his shoulders. She hurried over to Jeffrey where she knelt down.

By this time, Jeffrey had managed to sit up, his left hand rubbing his backside.

“Are you alright? My God, the wind just ripped that limb and…and…Jeffrey, you’re bleeding,” Meggie sputtered as she reached out to touch Jeffrey’s face. His lower lip was split with a small streak of blood coming from inside his mouth.

“What the hell happened?” he finally managed to say as Meggie’s hands continued to roam down his chest and side feeling for broken bones. He could see the panic in her eyes and face.

Thunder rumbled in the distance followed by another large cracking sound. Glancing up, Meggie felt small drops of rain beginning to fall. She needed to get him inside quickly. “Jeffrey,” she began, putting her small arms around him to try to lift him up, “can you stand? I need you to stand and lean on me. Need to get you inside.”

He nodded his head before trying to lift himself up. Doing so caused him to cry out as his back vibrated with pain. “Oh, shit,” he muttered. “Meggie….”

“Here. Lean against me. Okay, easy, easy.” She had managed to get his left arm around her neck. “Jeffrey, I need you to help me. We need to get inside, okay? Now, lean on me and see if you can manage to take a couple of steps.”

“Too heavy…for you…will crush you…” Jeffrey said. He winced as another wave of pain filled his body.

“No, I’m not leaving you. Now, ready?”

Though he tried to stand on his own, Jeffrey found himself leaning against Meggie for support. As the pain engulfed his senses, he struggled to stay focused and to take a few steps forward while rain drops continued to fall faster.

“Okay, just a few more steps. Almost…there.” Meggie gasped trying to help Jeffrey walk.

After what felt like an eternity, they managed to get to the kitchen door before the downpour began.

“Couch…living room,” he managed to whisper.

Together they headed towards the living room where Meggie helped Jeffrey slump down upon the couch. Moments passed before he could feel her hands on his face with something cold.

“Here, this will help the swelling,” she said as she held the damp cloth against his mouth tenderly. “Jeffrey, I need to get you to a hospital.”

“No. No…hospital. Fine…I’ll be fine.”

He could feel her warm body pressed against him and slowly, he leaned forward.

“Jeffrey…” she started to say as she reached out to stop him.

Taking a few deep breathes, the pain lessened slightly. Nothing was broken as far as he could tell except his whole body felt like he had been smacked by a truck. Meggie set the cloth down beside her before she touched his damp hair. “Jeffrey, you might need medical attention. You may have broken something. Could be suffering from spinal injuries or something.”

“No. I’m okay. Sore as hell, but nothing is broken. Just need to lie down for a bit.”

She sighed. This was not going to be easy. “Do you think you can climb the stairs, if I stay beside you again?”

“Yeah.” He closed his eyes and began rubbing his forehead. “Let me rest for a moment…you can’t….”

She shook her head in protest. “I can and I will…we will, together.” Though she felt like crying out of frustration and helplessness, she kept reminding herself to stay focused. Instead, Meggie offered him a crooked smile as she stroked the back of his head. “My bedroom. Get you in bed this time.”

He laughed, then winced in pain. “Why…Miss Ward…you plan on…taking advantage…of an old man?”

“You’re not old and I think you know the answer to that question already.”

“Damn,” he muttered softly as he opened his eyes and turned to look at Meggie. A sly smile spread across his face with that look he knew would make her blush. And it worked.

“Jeffrey. You…you…” Meggie stuttered, her face turning red. “Just wait until I get you upstairs.”

Together, the couple made their way slowly up the stairs and into the bedroom. Standing beside the bed, Meggie gently helped Jeffrey sit down and then lean back against the fluffed pillows. She squeezed beside him, her hand tenderly touching his cut lip before sliding downward to his chest. The first few buttons on his New York Jets shirt were opened, and she let her fingers touch his skin. Jeffrey closed his eyes, enjoying the sweet moment despite his aching body. He then opened them and reached up to take hold of her hand, his thumb caressing her fingers.

“Are you sure nothing is broken? Maybe I should take a look,” she said in a quiet tone. This would be the first time they had been this close and intimate with each other since her departure from the States a few months ago.

“Meggie.” Jeffrey whispered more than saying. “I shouldn’t be here. I’m dirty and wet. I’ll grab another shirt and some sweats from my bag to change into instead.” He struggled to sit up only to feel a burst of pain in his back.

“You’re staying here. I don’t care if your dirty or wet or anything. You are going to stay here, in my bed tonight. No sleeping on that hard couch.”

He started to protest, but before he could get a word out, Meggie quickly stood up and headed for the bathroom. Returning, she set down a box of bandages, a wet washcloth, along with a bottle of aspirin on the nightstand. She left again, this time coming back with a glass of water.

“Here. Take two of these,” she said, opening the bottle and dumping out two pills. Jeffrey took the pills, and after taking a few sips of water, leaned back against her pillows.

“Your hand. What happened here?”

“Huh?” He had forgotten about his encounter with the gorse shrub from Hell earlier. “Kitchen window. That overgrown weed of a shrub was scraping the window. I thought someone was outside and went to check. While it has the most beautiful yellow buds, the thorns are real…prickly.”

Meggie sighed. “Give me your hand.” She then proceeded to clean the cuts and apply medicine and a bandage. “Okay, my brave knight, where else do I need to check?”

Jeffrey smiled. Meggie’s attention and concern touched him deeply, perhaps more so because of the huge void his heart and entire life had taken on after going public on the tobacco companies, dealing with the smear campaign, and then the death threats. Along with his ex-wife’s inability to trust or to believe in him, coupled by the loss of his two daughters.

“Help me get this shirt off.”

She nodded her head and helped him slip it off. A small gasp escaped from her lips. A long scrape ran down his back featuring several red, swollen areas. “Jeffrey, you’re pretty banged up here. I still think….”

He placed a finger against her lips, hushing her. “Fine. I’ll be fine. Very sore and stiff for a while, but I’m fine.”

She frowned and began to carefully wipe his back paying special attention to the abrasion. “It’s not deep, but the skin is definitely raw and swollen. You’re going to need one hell of a bandage here for the oozing. More like padding and gauze.” Her hand stared to shake as she delicately moved to his chest. “And bruises. You’re going to have lots of them,” she said as her hand moved across his broad chest and then down towards his stomach.

Meggie then set the cloth down, this time resting her hand over his heart while gazing into his eyes. Jeffrey found himself holding his breath, afraid of breathing or speaking would somehow end this special moment between them. He brushed a wet strand of hair from her face and then placed one finger under her chin to lift it up. Jeffrey leaned down to kiss her, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close against his bare chest. She responded with her own tender kiss and hands reaching up to caress the back of his neck and shoulders.

“Ahhh…” Jeffrey muttered, flinching at the touch of her hands near his back. Meggie instantly pulled back, gazing intently into Jeffrey’s face.

“I’m sorry. I…we…shouldn’t…” she exclaimed. She stood up and headed towards the bathroom again, this time returning with a box of gauze pads, First Aid tape, and ointment. “I need to get that scrape covered up so it doesn’t get an infection.”

Jeffrey nodded and slowly leaned forward as Meggie began covering the wound with ointment. He felt her hand shaking as she began taping the gauze. He glanced up, noting the deep blush on her face as she finished. Her eyes then met his and she offered him a weak smile.

“Okay. This will do for now, but tomorrow you’re going to have a doctor check you out more thoroughly.” She then picked up the medical items and placed then on the nearby dresser. As she turned away, Meggie caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Sweat and dirt were streaked across her face, while her gown had dirt stains. She instinctively began to wipe her cheek before feeling Jeffrey’s arms wrap around her waist.

“Meggie, come with me. To bed. Now. Please,” he whispered in her ear.

She did and they soon found themselves nestled in each other’s arms. Meggie shifted on her side, carefully tucking her head under Jeffrey’s chin and placing her right hand lightly on his chest. He smiled and continued to hold her close to him until the break of dawn.