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When the plane touches down, we rush to the truck and head straight to her house. Her mother comes out of the living room. “Hey,” she greets us, “they are upstairs sleeping.” She points upstairs, so Dakota rushes up the stairs toward the bedrooms.
“I can’t believe you flew back so fast.” Her father comes out of the living room.
“It was easy to get a plane,” I lie to them. I had to beg a pilot to take us back home and pay them double. But I would have done whatever it took to get her home.
Her parents go to the door, grabbing their jackets. “We are going to head home.” Her father helps her mother put on her jacket.
“Are you sure?” I ask, looking up to see Koda coming back down the stairs.
“Yes,” her mother affirms, and Koda comes over to hug them both and thank them for coming.
I shake her father’s hand, and her mother hugs me and squeezes my arms. I walk out with them, grab her bag from the trunk, and then return inside. I see she’s not there, so I place the bag on the carpet. “What are you doing?” she asks when she finally comes down the steps.
“I’m going to head out,” I tell her, and she shakes her head, coming to stand in front of me.
“No, you’re going to come upstairs and get into bed with me.” She puts her hands on my chest.
“The kids—” I start to say.
“The kids are sleeping, and they will be just as happy to see you as they will to see me.” She gets on her tippy-toes. “And I don’t want you to go home.”
“But—” I start, but she wraps her arms around me.
“But nothing. Stay with me. I’m not ready to let you go yet.”
“Are you sure?” I ask, knowing I would do anything for her.
“More than sure.” She smiles at me. “We just can’t sleep naked.”
“Then I can’t stay,” I joke, and she laughs. “I’ll go get my bag.”
“You packed pj’s in your bag?” she asks, and I shake my head.
“But I have shorts.” I rush back out to grab my bag, coming back in and seeing her waiting for me by the door. I grab her bag and my own as I walk upstairs to her bedroom.
I put my bag on the chair in the corner of her room and take her bag to her walk-in closet. “I’m going to go check on the girls one more time,” she whispers, and I nod.
When she returns, she walks over to her closet, and changes into her pj set. I have my basketball shorts on with a T-shirt. “What side do you sleep on?” I ask nervously.
“Any side you are on.” She winks at me, making me laugh. I slide into bed, and she rolls into me. “It’s not the same.” She looks up from my chest at me. “I like the skin to skin.”
“You aren’t the only one who likes skin to skin.” I roll toward her as she cocks her leg over my hip. “Go to sleep, baby.” I kiss her lips, then she buries her face in my neck as I turn over on my back.
I barely drift off to sleep when I hear Luna crying. Koda stirs from my chest, getting up. I blink my eyes open and get out of bed to follow her. “You are hot,” Koda says, touching her cheek to Luna’s forehead. “I’m going to go get your medicine.” Luna just nods at her.
“I’ll stay with her,” I tell Koda as she walks downstairs to the kitchen.
“Hey there.” I walk over to the side of her bed and sit on the twin-sized mattress. “I heard you weren’t feeling well.”
“I’m hot,” she whines, and when I lean forward to touch her forehead, she slides into my lap.
I turn to put my back against the headboard as I cuddle her, rocking her back and forth. “Mommy is going to make you feel all better,” I say. When Koda comes back into the room, I’m about to get up when Luna shakes her head.
“Here, take this,” Koda urges, holding a syringe filled with red liquid in her hand. “You’ll feel better after this.” Luna opens her mouth and takes it all, then asks for water.
She hands her the water bottle, and I feel like I shouldn’t be here, but I also know I don’t want to leave. I’m about to do the handoff to Koda when I look up at her, and she looks at me as if I’m the only person in the world. Her eyes are soft, and she smiles at me as Luna lays her head on my chest. “You’re incredible,” she says softly. “I hope you know that.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
