Chapter Twelve #2
When he set the walker at the end of the sofa, she had her phone in her hand. Did he look at her funny? It seemed so to her.
With a shrug, she explained, “I need to call Annette about a few issues. I fell down the stairs before I had a chance to check in with her this morning.” When he shook his head, she demanded, “Why are you shaking your head?”
“Calling Annette can wait till tomorrow. For now, just lie back and close your eyes.”
She scowled up at him. “You don’t know whether it can wait or not.”
“Okay then,” he replied, his voice velvet-smooth and far too soothing. “You tell me. Can it wait? Or not?”
“Oh, probably,” she grumbled. “But just till tomorrow.”
“Deal—and you do need to call Bright Beginnings to let them know I’m coming for Dillon.”
“I’ll do that.”
“Okay, then,” he said. “So here’s my plan. I’m going to go check in at the office, then I’ll pick up Dillon, and after that, I’ll run by my house to grab a few things. I’ll be back by the time you need to ice your ankle again.”
“Wait a minute. What about Roger?”
“He’s hanging out at the office as usual. I’ll pick him up when I run by there.” He had that look, like he needed to remind her yet again of her situation because he knew she was trying to pretend that there wasn’t one.
“Go ahead,” she muttered darkly. “I’m listening.”
“All right. Keep your ankle elevated. Don’t get up if it’s not absolutely necessary. If you have to go the bathroom, use the walker, take it slow and don’t put any more weight than you have to on—”
“Josh. I have the instructions. I promise I’ll follow them—all of them.”
He stood there smirking at her for a good ten seconds. “You are a very crabby patient.”
“I don’t want to be a patient.”
“Yeah, well. Right now you don’t have much of a choice.”
“Too true—and, well, thank you. Again.”
“You’re welcome.” They just looked at each other. And then he added quietly, “Any time.”
* * *
When Josh entered the classroom at Bright Beginnings, a few other parents had already arrived, and most of the kids were getting ready to head home.
Shane rushed at him. “Dad!”
Josh scooped him up for a quick hug. “Hey, buddy…”
“Are you picking me up today?”
“Not today, son. Your mom will be here soon, I’m sure.” When he set Shane down, Dillon was right there, staring up at him through eyes so much like Riley’s. He was about to explain things when Lenore walked in.
She seemed as puzzled as the boys. “What’s up?”
“Today, I’m here to pick up Dillon.”
“Why?” both Dillon and Lenore asked simultaneously.
Josh knelt and focused on Dillon. “Your mom is at home and resting. She’s going to be fine, but she hurt her ankle and bumped her head, so I came to get you.”
“Yikes!” cried Lenore. “But she’s okay, right?”
“Right,” Josh replied, his attention still on Dillon. “But she needs to rest, and that’s why I’m here to pick you up and take you home to her.”
Dillon gulped and nodded. His eyes were wide and worried. “She’s really okay?”
“She will be. Right now she’s taking it easy. She has to be careful of her ankle, and she needs our help. I figure you and I can take care of her together.”
Dillon brightened at that. “Okay!” he said with enthusiasm. “We better get going then.”
“Yes, we should.” Josh rose and held down his hand. Dillon took it.
Lenore said, “Tell Riley to get well quick.”
“Will do.”
Shane moved close. “If you guys need me, Mom can bring me over. Won’t you, Mom?”
Lenore nodded. “Whatever you need…”
Bemused, Josh reached down with his free hand to pull his son closer still.
Shane leaned on him briefly and then looked up. “I think I should come with you, just for a little while because I need to make sure everything is all right.”
When Josh glanced at Lenore, she nodded—just like that. No whining. No trying to make it all about her.
Awesome. Even worried about Riley as he was right now, he could almost get misty-eyed at the change in his ex-wife. The miracle had happened. Lenore was finally moving on.
“Looks like I’ll need two car seats,” he said. “Can I get the other seat from your car?”
“Absolutely,” she replied.
* * *
While Josh was gone, Riley had to use the walker to get to the downstairs bathroom. It took forever—to get there, to get her pants down and then get them back up again once she was done.
Everything was awkward, and her ankle, which hardly hurt at all while propped on a pillow, throbbed like a son of a gun the whole time she was upright. The stress and renewed pain made her head throb harder than ever.
But hey. She did it.
By the time the front door opened and Josh, Dillon, Shane and Roger burst in, she was back on the sofa with her foot propped up and a smile on her face.
“Mom!” Dillon came running. He slid in between the sofa and coffee table and bent close. “Josh said you got hurted!”
“Yes, but I’m okay, sweetheart. I just have to take it easy for a while.”
Dillon patted her shoulder. “You need to rest.”
“That’s right. And I am resting, see?”
He nodded, his face solemn. “And you don’t have to worry. We are here now, and we will take very good care of you.”
This kid. He made her day—every day. “I feel better already.” She glanced at Josh and Shane, who smiled at her from the far side of the coffee table. “Hey, Shane. Good to see you.”
“Riley, I came to make sure that you are okay.”
“And I’m so glad you did! Thank you for coming to check on me.”
Shane gave a shy little nod. “You’re welcome. I wanted to come.”
“I hope you’ll stay for dinner…”
Shane considered that idea. “Sure, I’ll stay.”
“Great.” She gave Josh a sly smile. “What are we having?”
He stuck his hands in his pockets and shrugged. “Guess me and the boys better go figure that out…”
* * *
They feasted on chicken nuggets, fish sticks and carrot sticks, too.
Riley had enough greens and veggies in the fridge that Josh was able to toss them a salad.
They ate at the coffee table, Josh and the boys sitting on the floor so that Riley could be with them and also keep her foot elevated.
Roger ate, too. Josh had brought along the dog food and treats he kept in the office at Bravo Construction.
After the meal, Josh took Shane to Lenore’s. He didn’t get back for a while and when he did, he brought a bunch of stuff—a big duffel bag and a lot of doggy supplies.
Josh supervised Dillon’s bedtime preparations. That took a while. But when Dillon came back down to kiss her good-night, he explained that Josh had already read him a story. “Because you’re not supposed to put a sprain on your eyes.”
“I think you might mean strain,” Josh suggested diplomatically.
“Yeah,” said Dillon. “Strain.” He puckered up and dropped a minty-smelling kiss on her cheek. “’Night, Mom.”
“’Night, honey…”
Josh hustled him back upstairs.
Riley waited till Josh came back down to ask about the duffel bag and the dog bowls and such that he’d brought when he returned from Lenore’s.
He gave her an easy shrug. “Well, I figure Roger and I will be staying here with you for a while—at least a week or two.”
“You do, huh?”
“Absolutely. You’re going to need help until you’re able to get up and down the stairs and handle the day-to-day stuff on your own.
” Before she could muster an admittedly weak argument that she could manage just fine, he started in about this knee crutch he would get for her.
“I saw it online. It’s hands-free. Great for going up and downstairs.
You’re going to love it. It will make it possible for you to get back to work sooner, given that the Statesman only has that one ancient elevator.
Think about it. It’s going to make all the difference during your recovery. ”
She listened to him going on about the damn crutch and, well, he really was amazing, and she wanted him to stay. With him here, everything seemed manageable.
She kept thinking she ought to call Annette, ask her to come stay for a bit. But Annette was already stuck running the hotel solo for the time being. She deserved to have a life of her own when the day’s work was done.
However, letting Josh move in even temporarily seemed unwise. She was already far too gone on him for her own emotional safety. Having him here all the time, watching him being competent and wonderful… Could her poor heart withstand that?
Probably not.
But he made her life so much easier. And right now, she needed things to be easier because everything was hard. Just going to the bathroom presented a major logistical challenge.
However, if she let him stay, she could definitely lose her poor heart to him. She could fall so deep she would never get over him.
Maybe she should look into hiring a home health aide for a few weeks…
He was watching her from the far side of the coffee table. “You don’t want to impose on Annette. She’s got enough going on right now.”
Great. Now he could read her mind. She was in such big trouble here…
He went on, “And you don’t need to hire some stranger. Not when you’ve got Roger and me right here willing to help.”
At the sound of his name, Roger jumped up from the floor and went to stand beside Josh. The dog wagged his tail and looked up at Josh as though to say, You know I’ve got your back, buddy. Whatever you need, I’m on it.
The truth was, she didn’t want Josh to go. She had to be realistic. She needed him right here to help her out for a while. Tonight would have been nothing short of impossible without him. And he was willing to be here.
It wouldn’t be forever. Just a few weeks, until she was back on her feet again.
“All right,” she said. “I shouldn’t take advantage of you, but—”
“Yes, you should.”
“Well, you did offer.”
“That’s right, I did.”
“So, then…”
“Say it, Riley.”
And she did. “Stay, Josh. Help me out, please.”
* * *
Josh carried her up the stairs with Roger following along behind.
In her room, he set her on the bed, then went back down to get the walker.
Roger stayed. He came to her and plunked his head in her lap.
She stroked his silky ears. “Hey, boy. How you doing?”