“How are we doing?” she asked.
“Better,” Cole replied, getting out of his seat a bit more easily than he’d been moving before she’d gone to get the car.
“Well, good. Thank you,” she said to the pilot. “I really appreciate your help.”
“No problem.”
Dani took Cole’s hand and they walked off the plane, Dani going first down the stairs. She got him into the passenger seat, but he was already grumbling. He really was the worst patient.
“You know, most people say they have a headache before sex, not after,” she said when she got into the driver’s seat.
Cole clicked his seat belt. “Very funny. You know I would never turn down sex. Not even right now.”
Dani started his truck and put it into gear. “Somehow I doubt that.” She pulled past the security gate. “I know the hospital isn’t your favorite place, and I know you already said you don’t want to go, but I really think I should take you.”
“I really don’t want to go tonight. I’m sure it’s nothing. Probably just the stress of the sting. I can go see the doctor in the morning if I’m still in pain.”
“Well, I don’t feel comfortable with the idea of you being alone tonight. And I’d rather not stay out at the ranch. I don’t like being away when the boys get up in the morning, and we’ll be closer to the hospital at my house.”
“Are you inviting me to sleep over?”
“Yes. But there will be no sex. Just resting. And if you aren’t feeling completely better in the morning, I’m taking you to the doctor.”
“But—”
Dani held up a finger. “No buts. My rules.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“And who’s your doctor? I need to know who to call.”
“Dr. Lee. Royal Memorial,” he muttered.
“Good.”
The drive to her place was thankfully short, especially this late. It was nearly 2:00 a.m. by the time they got to the house. Between the adrenaline rush of the sting and sex on an airplane, Dani was exhausted, but she managed to help Cole upstairs to her room.
“We need to get you out of that suit,” she said.
He grinned, but she could see a wince around his eyes. He was still in a lot of pain.
“Get your mind out of the gutter. You’re going straight to bed. To sleep.”
With some rambling commentary from him about how she was being a stick in the mud, Dani was able to help him take his pants and shirt off and got him into bed.
She sat on the edge of the mattress right next to him. It was impossible to not think about the last time she’d taken care of Cole, in the weeks after the accident. She’d always worried so much about his job, and then the near worst had happened. At least she hadn’t lost him, she’d told herself over and over again. That would’ve been an unbearable loss. He was her everything then—her sun and moon, the reason for getting out of bed in the morning. Her career was important to her and she loved to cook, but that didn’t take up space in her heart the way Cole did.
When someone you cared about that much had a brush with death, it made you realize exactly how much you loved them. Honestly, it scared her at first, walking into that hospital and understanding exactly how much was on the line. It was overwhelming—creating a burning pit in her belly, making her feel cold and helpless at the same time.
One of the worst parts was the scene that unfolded in the waiting room while he underwent surgery. Cole’s family had been there, and his mother got downright territorial about it, trying to send Dani home. “We only need family here right now,” she’d said. Dani would’ve been hurt if she wasn’t so damn mad about that. His parents had never approved of her, the kid from the wrong side of the tracks, no impressive family lineage to back her up. “We can call you when he wakes up,” she’d said. Dani’s only response to that had been to grit her teeth and politely reply, “I love your son, Mrs. Sullivan. So, no, I will not be going home.”
Dani had loved Cole deeply before that day, but it was a young love built on invincibility. She’d worried about his job, but the reality of her worst nightmare was almost more than she could bear. She threw herself into his recovery, doting on him, making sure he had everything he needed. And, impossibly, her love for him only grew. It reached depths she had never imagined. It was impossible during those moments not to think about the what-ifs.What if he’d been paralyzed? What if he’d been burned?Or even worse,What if he hadn’t made it out alive?Thoughts like that made her cry her eyes out when she was alone. She was so thankful. He was so lucky. They were incredibly fortunate to have each other and to have found each other. She had to hold on to Cole’s love forever. She’d never, ever known a love like the one she had with Cole at that time. Not even close.
Which made the breakup not only more crushing, it had made it impossible to believe. Of course you wouldn’t break up with the person who had just nursed you back to health and shown you unconditional love in the face of dire circumstances, ones you were facing because you had refused to do the one thing your loved one had begged you to do—quit your job. Who would do that? Who would take that kind of love and devotion and throw it away?
Cole Sullivan, that was who. And she was still desperate for the answer to one question—why?
He settled back in bed and closed his eyes. “Thank you,” he said. “I think I just need to get some sleep. I’m sure I’ll be feeling much better in the morning.”
