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He just stared at her. Unable to speak.
“Are you okay, Joe? Where did you drift off to?”
He blinked his eyes hard. “I’m sorry. I guess I’m just tired.”
“You’ve had a tough couple of days. Why don’t you go to bed and get some rest,” she urged as she rose to her feet and reached toward him.
He grasped her hand, and used his other hand to hold his side as he lifted himself from the couch. “I’ll sleep in the office on the futon, and you can take my bed.”
He wanted so badly to sleep in his bed with her wrapped in his arms, but with the kids in the house, he knew he shouldn’t.
He stopped at the hall closet and grabbed some bedding for the futon.
Elizabeth immediately snatched it from his hands. “I’ll take the futon. You’re in no shape to sleep on that thing. You’re tired, you’re sore, and you need a good, comfortable rest.”
He parted his lips to respond to her but she immediately placed her fingers over his mouth. “I don’t want to hear it. Go to bed and rest,” she said as she stretched up on her tiptoes and gently pressed her lips to his. She spun on her heel and padded off in the direction of the office.
Joe slid into bed. Exhaustion, worry, and pain consumed him. He just wanted to get a peaceful rest. His thoughts drifted to Elizabeth, and how much he had grown to love her. He wanted to tell her a few minutes ago, but the words just wouldn’t come out of his mouth. After Amanda had died, he was sure he’d never love again.
He was wrong.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Joe opened his eyes and looked about the room. His routine morning stretch quickly reminded him of his bruised body.
Ouch!
As he swung his legs over the side of the bed, he heard the faint voices of Max and Molly, as well as Jake’s deep bark in the background. His heart skipped a beat.
Shit, they’re outside! They know they’re not supposed to go outside without letting me know.
He glanced at the clock. It was 10:00 a.m. He did a double-take. His attempt to spring out of bed was almost halted completely by his uncompromising bruised abdominal muscles. He about fell on his face during the attempt. Pausing for a moment, he tried to pull himself together both physically and mentally, but he knew he needed to hurry; the kids were outside by themselves.
After pulling on his jeans, he hobbled down the hallway as quickly as his sore leg muscles would allow.
“Where’s the fire?” Elizabeth asked from her seat at the kitchen table as she tapped her pencil against a mass of papers sprawled out on the table.
