THIRTY-FIVE
AN OVERDUE EXCHANGE of numbers at the hospital meant she’d been in touch with one Breckenridge or another all day. All except the one she craved.
Without going home, or really stopping to breathe, she got Yvette to cover close with Nessa and left work early to race to the hospital. Damn, even with all the assurances in the world, she couldn’t relax.
Not until she laid eyes on him again.
Rushing into his hospital room brought every face around, her awareness stuck on him.
“Am I interrupting?” she asked.
“Yeah,” Darroch said. “Eight hours too late.” He gestured. “Get over here.”
Crossing through the bodies, she dumped her bag, kicked off her shoes and climbed onto the bed on her knees, facing him.
Maybe she should’ve had more decorum, but instinct drove her to cup his head to match their mouths.
“How do you feel?” she murmured and kissed him again. “I was worried.” Another kiss. “Did they take you for the other scan?” One more. “What are they saying?” Oh, she couldn’t stop with the kissing. “Are you in pain?”
“Only when you’re not here.”
“She going to settle the debate or are we doomed to watch this show all night?”
“When was the last time you got some, Brant?” one of the brothers asked.
“Yeah, you’re damn bitter these days, man.”
“Stop teasing him,” Alice said. “We have to make a decision.”
“What’s the debate?” she asked, rocking into Darroch’s grasp when he tempted her mouth back to his for a longer tender kiss.
Thank God he broke the union, she would’ve stayed there forever otherwise.
“The doctors want me to stay another night.”
No debate. “Then you stay.”
“I don’t want to stay.”
Her fingers sank into his hair. “I don’t care, you take your medicine.”
“You don’t want me home?”
To be alone in bed with him, watching him rest? Safe and healthy? More than anything in the world. What she wanted didn’t matter. He’d do what was best for him, what would keep him with her for the longest time.
And she wasn’t ashamed of that truth. “I’d rather you spend one night out than a lifetime in the ground.”
“That’s kind of dramatic, baby.”
She kissed him. “You like that?”
“Kissing you?” This time he was the one drawing their mouths together. “Every damn time, baby.”
Her face stayed in the cradle of his hands, but she swayed away when he tried again to kiss her. “Harder to kiss me if you’re dead.”
“She’s got you there, bud.”
“If you’re staying another night, we’ll have someone posted in your room,” the white coat guy said, coming closer.
“I’m going home,” Darroch said.
“Against your lady’s wishes?” Troy asked.
“They’re posting a guy on the door, security, to keep us apart.”
Any barrier between them made her uneasy. A person responsible for standing between them…? Yeah, it upset her, but these doctors were professionals. If they believed he needed to be observed, could she advise against that?
She told the truth. “I want whatever is best for you.”
From him, she looked to Alice. If anyone else could appreciate her dilemma, his mother was the one.
“Ben is making arrangements,” Alice reassured her.
“Arrangements?”
“It would be best for Mr. Breckenridge to remain here,” a doctor type said.
“For observation,” Darroch added. “You’ve been observing, I’m fine.” He squeezed her knee. “And the drugs are out of my system.”
“Okay…” Benedict’s voice brought her attention around to him entering the room. “We have a neurologist on his way to the house and two home nurses will be there within the hour.”
“Mr. Breckenridge,” the doctor said. “If something goes wrong, it could happen fast. Having a specialist on site does not matter if they don’t have the facilities and equipment—”
“We’ll have a chopper parked on the grass,” Benedict said. “It’s arranged, the pilot will be ready to go at a second’s notice. We’ll have two pilots, and a dedicated flight doctor, just in case.”
What a family. As incredulous as she was, and impressed, her smile didn’t do her thoughts justice.
“What?” Darroch asked, catching her lowering chin with a finger. “Why the smile?”
“Our children will know nothing but love, will they?”
He smiled and eased her close. This time, he resisted the kiss. “They’ll have the best of everything in the world.”
And he wasn’t talking about material possessions. The next joining of their mouths was slower, deeper, much better suited to a bedroom than a hospital room… filled with his family.
“Does that mean we’ve decided?” Brant asked.
When they parted, all eyes were on her, including the patient’s.
“Promise you’ll take your medicine?”
“I promise.”
“And you’ll listen to the professionals?”
“I’ll listen.”
“Will you be honest, Gentleman? Don’t hide symptoms from us.”
“I won’t, baby.”
She sighed.
One of the brothers spoke up. “I’d add to that it’s probably best she goes on top for a while and…”
Outrage loosened her jaw.
As the brothers jeered, Darroch smirked. “He’s got a point there, Cherry.”
“The safest course would be abstinence.”
Whichever brother said that got a cheer. As dismay hit Darroch, triumph visited her. Yeah, sometimes life wasn’t fair. As long as he had it, everything would be okay.