“Are you sure? What about working as a nurse on all seven continents?”
“Five out of seven isn’t bad. All I wanted was adventure. After lions, quicksand, and driving across the narrowest railway bridge in the world ahead of a freight train a hundred feet above croc-infested waters, what more is there?”
He chuckled. “I see your point.”
“I think it’s time for a different kind of adventure—one where we do normal stuff together.”
“Yeah? Like what?”
“Watching TV. Eating real food. Sleeping in a bed made for two.”
“That sounds pretty dull for a woman who slings Molotov cocktails.” She could tell by the gleam in his eyes that he was teasing her.
“With you, nothing is dull.” She bent down, kissed him.
21
They landed in Denver at four in the morning the next day. Malik and Kristi were taken via ambulance to University Hospital, where Cobra’s concierge physician team met them and took over Malik’s care.
Grateful for the morphine now, Malik slept through the MRIs—and woke to the unwelcome news that he would need surgery.
“Torn rotator cuffs,” the doctor said. “With surgery and good physical therapy, you should heal well. You’re relatively young and in peak fitness.”
“How’s my wife?” Malik had gotten so used to calling Kristi his wife that he didn’t realize he’d said it, but once the words were out, he didn’t take them back.
Okay, maybe that was the morphine. Or maybe it wasn’t.
The doctor looked confused. “I didn’t realize you two were married.”
Malik cleared his throat. “It’s a secret. We haven’t told our parents.”
“She’s doing well. Her smoke inhalation was mild, and the irritation in her lungs will settle down over the next few days. I told her to wait outside because I didn’t know she was family. She ought to have told me she was your spouse. I’ll bring her right in.”
“Please.” Score.
She walked into his room, sat beside him. “The doctor says he thinks you’ll make a full recovery after surgery. That’s good news, isn’t it?”
“Yeah.” He hoped the doctor was right. “When are you leaving for San Francisco?”
Some selfish part of him wished she could stay, but he knew she wanted to see her parents, and they wanted to see her.
“I’m staying, Malik. I can’t leave now, not when you’re about to have surgery. We’ll get through this together.”
That was exactly what Malik had hoped to hear. “What about your folks?”
“They know I’m back, and they know what happened. I told them I hoped to be home for Christmas but that I would be living in Denver and taking care of you until you’re back on your feet. They seemed to understand.” She took his hand. “Also, I told them that I’m in love with you—and that you’re Black.”
Uh-oh.
“Is that going to be a problem?”
Kristi considered his question. “I’ve heard my grandfather say a few things I didn’t like when I stayed with him in Beijing, so I was worried about how my dad would take it. My mother said you could be purple for all she cared. My father said, ‘We are Americans. In our country, such things do not matter.’”
“So, you’re sticking around, huh?”
“I’d stick around no matter how they felt about it. Strings, baby. You couldn’t get rid of me if you tried.”
Kristi stayed by his side until they took him to surgery. She was there in recovery when he woke up. She stayed with him overnight, making sure he got pain meds on time, keeping his ice bags refreshed, helping him to get out of bed, waking him when he had bad dreams, watching over him like his own personal angel.