“I love you. Sleep tight,” he said, and then the line went dead.

Anne held the phone to her ear a moment, and then, when she was sure there was nothing more there, she replaced the handset gently in its cradle.

“Cripes,” said JJ, when she told him, which reminded her of Harry. She was feeling so lonely she could hardly bear it. If she had known how awful this day would be at the Mickelsons’, she would have stayed home in Superior and had a nice Thanksgiving with her own family. Though she knew that what had happened wasn’t Harry’s fault, she couldn’t seem to help being a little irked that he had brought her here.

“Is he going to be all right?” JJ asked.

“I don’t know anything more,” Anne said.

JJ reached for the decanter again.

She folded her arms, wanting to stop him; telling herself it was none of her business, really.

“It helps the pain,” he said, and when she looked at him, she saw he had sensed her discomfort.

She pursed her lips. She took a step backward, ready to excuse herself and go back downstairs.

“Make you a deal,” he said, taking his hand off the decanter. “You give me a back rub, and I won’t have another drink. My nurses always give me back rubs. You give your patients back rubs?”

She had told him about her Red Cross volunteer work. Still, though, she felt strange about his request, and pressed her crossed arms to her stomach. “Well, I’m not really a nurse.”

“Oh, I bet you’d do fine,” he said. “It sure would help my pain, too. Probably a lot better than a drink.” He raised his eyebrows appealingly. “Deal?”

She hesitated.

He reached toward the decanter again, slowly, eying her.

“All right,” she agreed, finally. She was responsible for him, after all, and if he was monstrously drunk when everyone got home, they probably wouldn’t be too happy with her.

He grinned, and immediately pulled his T-shirt off over his head. She drew in her breath at the suddenness of it. His chest was smooth, and he was very thin, but his arms were wiry. On his biceps was a tattoo of a coiled snake, and the words DON’T TREAD ON ME. Everything below his waist was hidden under the sheets; if she hadn’t already known his leg was missing, she wouldn’t have been able to tell that there was anything the matter with him at all.

He grinned at her. She forced herself to stay calm as she assisted him with moving out of the way some of the pillows he’d been leaning on, and soon he was settled, lying flat on his stomach. She stood at the side of the bed, and reached toward him.