Skin Walkers: Monroe by Susan Bliler Page B

dual-cab truck, but the truck hit a bump and the jarring motion lifted her broken leg and dropped it heavily.  She gasped and swore she was going to be sick; instead she went back out. 
    When Eden finally came to, she was in a hospital room.  The interior of the room was dimly lit.  She licked parched lips before turning t o eye the window.  It was night and snow was falling.  The lone chair in the room was empty, and her door was closed.
    She fumbled for the nurse-call button and pressed it. 
    A few moments later , a short blonde haired woman wearing a beaming smile entered the room.  “Oh good!  You’re awake.  How you feeling?”
    Eden licked her lips again, her tongue too dry to offer any moisture.  She cleared her throat.  “Fine.  Is this Great Falls?”
    The nurse smiled at her.  “Yep.  And I’m Robbie.  Do you remember what happened?”  Robbie pulled a clip board from a nearby table and pretended to inspect it, but Eden could tell she was under the nurse’s scrutiny.
    “There was a bear.  Grizzly.  And two poachers.”  Eden’s brows shot up.  “Did the one survive?”
    Robbie shook her head her lips forming a moue, “No, sadly both men died at the scene.”
    “What about the bear?”
    “Well, no word on the bear.”
    “Jesus!” Eden moaned, “ The bear was hit.  It’s probably suffering as we speak.” 
    “Well , so are you.”
    For the first time, Eden looked down the length of her body to assess the dam age.  Her leg was bound in white padding from her knee down to her ankle and it was held in place by some weird metal contraption.  “Broken leg?”
    Robbie snorted, “It’s a litt le more than a broken leg.  Your femur was shattered.  You’re scheduled for surgery tomorrow.  In the mean time,” Robbie turned to eye the door over her shoulder, “You’ve got some visitors that have been itching to get in here.  You up for a short visit?”
    Eden eyed the door and sighed reluctantly, “Yeah, let ‘em in.”  She expected Micah, Cole, Ransum, and Peyton to enter.  Instead, Robert and Kevin both walked slowly into the room.  Eden’s eyes flashed behind them.  “Where are the kids?”
    “They’re fine, Edie .” Robert supplied, “How you feeling?”
    Eden let her head fall back, “Like shit!”
    “What happened?” Kevin demanded.
    She licked her lips again wishing for a drink of water.  “They got the jump on me.  I didn’t find the wolf, I didn’t save the grizzly, and I got myself snared by two men who were going to kill me.”  She shook her head as self-loathing washed over her.
    “Fuck the wolf and the bear , Edie!”
    She looked up with rounded eyes at Kevin’s outburst.
    “You could have died out there , and all you care about are those damn animals.  You’re so…you’re so…  You’re so nearsighted!”
    She laughed at Kevin’s rare show of emotion. 
    “He’s right,” Robert admonished.  “I shouldn’t have let you go up there.  It was dumb.”
    Hearing Robert’s own self-recrimination, Eden felt bad.  She respected Rob and didn’t want to ever put him in a position where he’d felt pressured into doing anything he wasn’t comfortable with.
    “I’m sorry , Rob,” she apologized.  “You were right.  I should have waited until tomorrow to go up.”  Her eyes flicked to Kevin as he crossed his arms over his chest.  “And you’re right too, Kevin.  Sometimes I get so caught up with protecting these animals that I forget to protect myself.”  She shrugged, “Which wouldn’t be too bad if I didn’t have four kids at home that relied on me to make it back every night.”  Her eyes darted to the hall.  “Are the kids coming in?”
    When Robert shot a glance at Kevin and both men fidgeted nervously she knew something was up.
    “Where are my kids?”
    Robert spoke first.  “They’re with Monroe StoneCrow.”
    “What?” She tried to sit up but her leg hanging in the contraption prevented the act.