West of Want (Hearts of the Anemoi) Read Online Free PDF

shoulder and begin therapy right away. The ripping sensations that shuddered through her right side as he examined her nonexistent range of motion made his order seem frankly ludicrous, but injured muscles and ligaments apparently couldn’t sit idle too long without causing other problems down the line.
    Begrudgingly, Ella agreed to the regimen he laid out before her and accepted the referral to a physical therapist who could see her day after tomorrow. Even without the sling, she found herself cradling her arm under her breasts.
    As the therapist departed, a nurse breezed in and settled a bundle of fabric on the foot of the bed. “They cut your jacket and top off when you came in the ER, so here’s a fresh set of scrubs. How ’bout I help you into them?”
    “No, that’s okay,” came Ella’s knee-jerk reaction.
    The woman arched an eyebrow. “I wouldn’t risk your shoulder by attempting this yourself right now.”
    “Oh, right. Guess I wasn’t thinking.”
    “No worries, hon.”
    Dressing was a torturous affair. Clearly, she’d be wearing a lot of button-up shirts for a while. She couldn’t have gotten the top over her head alone if she’d tried all day. She chuckled when she wondered how she would get it off again, but couldn’t share her thoughts with the nurse, who was under the false impression she’d have help at home this evening. Guess she’d cross that bridge when she came to it.
    After sitting around all day, her departure from the hospital went comparatively quickly. An orderly wheeled her from her room, through the front lobby, and out to the circular drive, while a second man carried her bag of personal items and flowers. A taxi already waited, so with the men’s assistance, she slipped from one seat right into the other. The gentle drumming of the rain and the rhythmic thump of the windshield wipers filled the silence as she stared out the window.
    The driver took her the back way to home. Down the busy strip of West Street, past fast food restaurants and car dealerships, to the historic part of Annapolis. At Church Circle, he veered right, then right again to head down the hill toward Eastport, her neighborhood that was really its own separate enclave within the town. Over the drawbridge they went, the metal surface a loud whirr under the tires, and Ella’s gaze couldn’t help but be drawn to the masts clustered together everywhere along the shorelines. A pang squeezed her chest when she thought about True Blue . She didn’t know her condition. And, likely, it would be a few days before she was up to checking her out.
    A few quick turns later, the driver pulled up in front of the little yellow cottage that had been her brother’s home for the past three years. Now it was hers.
    She dug into the bag with her ruined clothes and found her keys zipped into a side pocket of her windbreaker. Thank God. The cabbie carried Ella’s things to the front porch and waited while she ducked inside and grabbed some money. Ella threw a few extra dollars in when the older man offered to bring the flowers to her coffee table. It wasn’t like she could lift the heavy vase, and she’d become rather fond of them. So she agreed. The driver took the money with a smile and a “good-night,” and then Ella was all alone.
    For the first time in the almost two months she’d resided here, she was truly alone. Marcus wasn’t here any longer. Not even in the form of his ashes. She didn’t even have the urn—
    She shuffled over to her bag and yanked her tattered jacket onto the coffee table. Holding her breath, she grasped her right pocket. Sure enough… She grinned so wide it hurt her chapped lips. Somehow, the urn’s lid had stayed in her pocket through everything. With a groan, Ella reached up and settled the brass cover on the mantel. It was stupid, really, but having it there made her feel better. She could almost imagine she wasn’t alone.
    Moving like an eighty-year-old, Ella grabbed a drink from the