Chapter Ten
Aurora
I open my eyes and immediately look over at Leah.
She is still propped up on pillows, asleep.
Between the nebulizer saline treatments and the steroids in the IV, they calmed the spasms in her airways and eased her cough.
I have no doubt those same steroids will have her hopped up and anxious later, but I’ll worry about one thing at a time.
I sit up and discover I have a crick in my neck from sleeping on the small couch. I stand, stretching my back and rolling my head from side to side. I’ll have to ask a nurse for ibuprofen to ease the discomfort, but first I need a cup of coffee to get myself moving.
I walk to the bathroom located in Leah’s private room and do my best to clean myself up with the small toiletry bag the hospital provides. I don’t want to go all the way to the cafeteria and leave Leah alone. Luckily, after talking to the morning nurse, the lovely woman brings me a cup of coffee.
Leah wakes up and is fussy this morning, but I don’t blame her. Everything hurts, from the coughing to the IV, and she was awakened during the night to have her vitals taken. Even I’m cranky, though a second cup of coffee is helping.
I stand by Leah’s bed, sipping my drink, when a knock sounds on the door. Expecting a nurse, I look up to see Mark walk in.
“Hi, Mr. Wheeler,” Leah says.
“Hi, Leah. How are you feeling this morning?” he asks.
She puts on her best pouty face. “I don’t feel good.”
Mark nods in understanding. “I bet you don’t. Mimi said to say hi,” he tells her.
“I miss Mimi.”
“You’ll see her soon,” I say. I pick up the TV remote and turn on a show for Leah, then glance at Mark and tip my head, indicating I want to talk.
I walk a few steps into the hall and turn to face him. “I really appreciate your help last night, but you didn’t need to drive all the way back here.”
“I wanted to see how you both were doing,” he says, putting a hand on my shoulder.
I nod, and decide against telling him he could have called or sent a text. I don’t want to be rude, and after all, we are neighbors. I want to keep things positive between us. After all, I definitely needed his help last night. “That was kind of you. We’re fine, as you can see.”
I glance over at Leah who is immersed in television, fascinated by how the voice comes out over the remote control. “How did you get up here? Hospital policy is family only.”
He shoots me a sheepish grin. “Just like last night, I told them I was her father.”
“I’m sorry, what ?”
Nick’s sudden appearance takes me off guard. “Nick! You said your flight wasn’t until later this morning.”
Nick appears as exhausted as I feel. He wears a pair of jeans and a wrinkled t-shirt, but he still looks extremely hot, with the scruff on his handsome face and his dark hair messy from what had to be his hands running through it.
Then again, whether he has slicked hair or messy strands, the man looks sexy.
While he’s been gone, when I wasn’t worried about Leah, I’ve been thinking about my last night with Nick.
My body was putty in his hands. I never felt a sense of belonging before, the way I did when we came together.
And when I see him standing in the doorway, here and not in Florida, I feel better than I have in days. I’m not alone.
I don’t know how to have a relationship—or believe in them, really.
But if I’m going to try for anyone, it will be Nick.
Will he have patience for my issues? I don’t even trust my own family to show up this morning.
I rarely verbalize my feelings, but I can sum them up in one sentence—it is better to push people away before they disappoint me.
Nick looks from Mark to me. “I hired a private plane and figured I’d surprise you. I certainly didn’t expect to see another man playing daddy.” He turns to scowl at my neighbor.
To his credit, Mark’s face flushes red. “I was just trying to be helpful. Aurora called me last night and asked me to drive them to the hospital. It was the only way they’d let me up so I could check on them. I didn’t want Aurora to be alone.”
Oh, God. This might go south fast, I think. “Nick—”
He shakes his head and glances at her neighbor. “Mark, I appreciate you being here for my girls when I couldn’t be.” He extends his hand, taking me off-guard.
And Mark, too, if his stunned expression is anything to go by. Mark accepts Nick’s hand. He looks between us, obviously gauging the tension in the room and trying to figure out what his role is.
“Aurora, I’m glad Leah’s okay. If you run into trouble, you know I’m right next door,” Mark says, taking the hint. “Nick.” He tips his head and leaves, heading out into the hall.
“Well, that was awkward,” Nick mutters.
I bite my bottom lip with my teeth and release it. “I had no choice. In any of it,” I say, hating how defensive I sound. “I brought Leah to the car and she refused to get in the backseat alone. So I called Mark to take us.”
“And assume the role of her father?”
“That was his idea. He wanted to get past the desk and check on what was going on. I had no idea he would show up again this morning.” I look up at Nick, so grateful he’s here. “That was very magnanimous of you, the way you handled Mark at the end.”
Nick shrugs. “I might not appreciate how he acts but you’re right. He was here when I wasn’t. I can’t exactly complain when he helped you out.”
But the pain he feels at hearing someone else calling himself Leah’s daddy is obvious, and I melt towards him. Ignoring the voice in my head that is always there, the one reminding me to protect myself, I run to him and he catches me, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me close.
** *
Nick
I managed to make some calls and rent a private jet, enabling me to leave earlier this morning. And now that Aurora is in my arms, I know I’ve done the right thing. Her body shakes against mine, and I realize she is finally letting go of her fear and pain, all the emotions she’s had to hold in.
I stroke her silky hair with my hand, giving her what comfort I can. “How is she?” I ask.
Aurora releases me and steps back. Her eyes are red, and dark circles have formed beneath them, but she is still the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.
“They’re giving her steroids and nebulizer treatments. Both have calmed things down enough for her to sleep. She’s exhausted from having that awful cough.”
“I’m sure you’re wiped out, too. Where is your family?” I ask, surprised she isn’t surrounded by her siblings.
“I tried to reach Melly last night. I wanted to ask her to go with me to the hospital, but there was no answer. She called this morning when she got my message, and I told her not to rush over. The doctor said they’d send Leah home later today. Besides, visiting hours don’t start until noon.”
“And the rest of the family?” I’m pushing her on purpose. She’s been here all night, alone, and I want to know why.
“I didn’t want to bother them. They all live so far away. It would take a long time for any of them to get here. Leah and I were fine,” she insists.
I narrow my gaze. Does she not realize how she’s deliberately sabotaged the very things she craves?
“Mommy?” Leah’s raspy, low voice calls out from inside the room, followed by coughing that hurts me to hear.
If this is sounding better, I can’t imagine what Aurora has been dealing with.
Aurora meets my gaze, and I follow her into the room.
“Hey, baby!” Aurora rushes over and eases herself down on the bed. “Look who’s here.”
Before I even make it to her other side, Leah’s eyes light up. “ Daddy !” Her exclamation results in a coughing fit that has me wincing.
But I can’t miss the joy that fills me at what Leah called me. I look at Aurora, wondering how she’ll take the change, but all I see is a soft smile on her lips.
“Yeah, baby. I’m here,” I say, with a lump in the back of my throat. I walk around to the head of the bed, pushing the IV pole out of the way.
Tears from coughing track down Leah’s little face and she swipes at them with the back of her free hand. The other arm has the I.V. in.
“How are you feeling this morning?” Aurora asks softly.
Leah rubs her eyes, her skin still pale. “My arm hurts.” She points to the tape holding the IV needle where her arm bends.
“I’m sure they’ll take it out soon,” Aurora reassures her.
“My throat hurts, too.”
I slide my hand over her head, then lean down and kiss her cheek.
“That’s from coughing,” Aurora says. “Let me go talk to the nurse. Maybe they can get you something to drink, okay?”
Leah bobs her head.
“Nick…I mean, Daddy will stay with you.” Aurora rises to her feet and rushes out to find a nurse.
“Hey, kid. I missed you,” I say.
Eyes so like my own look back at him. “I missed you, too. Me and Mommy watched sooo many movies,” she says in the dramatic fashion I adore.
I chuckle. “I bet you did.”
“Here you go. Apple juice.” Aurora comes back into the room and hands her a plastic cup with the sealed foil top pulled back and a straw inside. “I’ll hold it. You sip.”
Leah slurps down a good amount of the drink, which I’m pleased to see.
“Ms. Kingston?” A nurse steps inside.
“Yes?”
The redheaded nurse smiles. “The main desk called up. You have family downstairs, and there are too many people to let up at once.”
Aurora blinks, her eyes wide in obvious surprise. “Oh! I’ll go down and talk to them. Is it okay if we do shifts, so a couple of people can see her? Or would it be better if I ask them to go to Leah’s grandmother’s place, where they can see Leah later,” she says, more to herself than to the nurse.
“I think that second option might work better,” the woman says.
I withhold my grin. Of course, her family has shown up, despite her telling them not to come. She has a lot to learn about what families do for those they love. And I intend to teach her.
We haven’t had another conversation about our feelings or the future, but I have to be optimistic. Without hope, what else is there?
***
Nick