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“Yes, why?”
“Dude.” Cole’s eyes narrow into tiny slits. “That woman wouldn’t let me step foot in here.”
“You need to beef up, I guess.”
“Stop.” Layla smacks Connor in the chest with the back of her hand and then straightens when she notices Mr. Burke in the room. “Mr. Burke, hi.” Her face turns flush as pink tinges her cheeks. “I’m sorry. I didn’t see you there.”
“It’s fine.” His eyes twinkle as he watches my ragtag crew hover around me. “I’m enjoying the show.”
“Good.” She steps to him and grasps his upper arm. His navy-blue jacket pinches under her fingertips. “Harbor is moving back home where she belongs, living with Cole, and they’re going to live happily ever after.”
“Layla!” I swallow hard. “Cole and I haven’t discussed where I’m going to live. I may stay with my parents.”
Cole rakes his hand through his hair. “You want to live with your mom and dad?”
“No, but I don’t want to invite myself to live at your house, either.”
“You invited yourself there to do a lot of other things.” Connor crosses his arms and glares. “I should know. I heard half of it.”
“Please.” I flip my hand at him dismissively. “That was not half of it.”
“Point heard and received. Please don’t elaborate.”
“Josephine is going to love you guys. I hope when we get settled in, you’ll all come out for dinner.” Mr. Burke glances at his watch. “But I need to go.” He brushes his sleeve back down over his wrist. “Harbor, take the next couple of days off, and then we have a lot of work to do to get everything ready to move my operation to Meadow Bay.” He tips his head toward Cole. “Take care of her and make sure she doesn’t hurt herself again.”
“It wasn’t my fault. I was stopped in line. The other vehicle careened into me. I was perfectly innocent.”
And here comes my mom, marching toward my room. My mother is on a mission; I’ve seen that expression more times than I can count. It was usually on her way to the principal’s office when one of my brothers got into trouble at school, and she dragged me along with her because I was too young to stay home or in the car by myself.
Her face is pale as she stomps one foot in front of the other “Harbor.” Her gaze rakes over me. “Are you okay?”
“Perfect.” Cole laces his fingers through mine. “I’m perfect.”
Chapter Forty-Eight
Cole
Once I have Harbor settled in her bed, I kick off my shoes and join her, wrapping my arms around her and waiting while she adjusts so that nothing hurts.
“Thank you.” She glances up at me with her head on my chest. “I don’t know what I did to deserve you, but I’m glad I did it.”
I kiss the tip of her nose. She smells like her soap, which is not as good as when she smells like me, but it beats hospital soap any day. “I’m the lucky one.”
The corners of her mouth turn upward. “How about we settle for mutually blessed?”
“That sounds about right.” I snuggle deeper into the pillows but remain in a seated position. Even though I’m exhausted from rushing to her and the whirlwind chaos that occurred at the ER, I’m not about to go to sleep. There’s too much to do.
She shakes her head. “I can’t believe you were going to quit the station.”
“Well, as of right now, I’m still quitting.”
“What?” She half sits up with a shocked expression on her face. “You haven’t called him yet?”
“Babe, you’re my priority. I haven’t had time to call Chief Monroe.”
She snatches my cell phone from my T-shirt pocket and dials a number.
“You realize I’m a big boy, right?”
