Page 53 of It's a Widow Thing

Sabrina leaned down and cupped the side of his face. “I’m glad I could be there for you.” She didn’t see herself as controlling, but the thought of anyone else being there with him at that moment made her stomach sour. With everything on the line, she wanted to be his person.

“You were there forus,” he said. “If I’d had a heart attack while I was driving, you could’ve been hurt, too.”

“I guess you’re right.” Sabrina hadn’t worried about that once. She’d been so focused on saving Michael that she’d completely forgotten about herself.

Michael turned to Lydia. “Mom, can Sabrina and I have a few minutes alone?”

Lydia’s vision flew to Sabrina, and there was that moment when the baton was silently passed—when the woman who’d cared for him his entire life relinquished the duty to someone else. For what it was worth, Lydia did it with grace. If it hurt her feelings, she did not let it show. “Of course, honey. Whatever you want.”

Michael and Sabrina held hands while Lydia and Brian left the room.

“I’m an asshole. I’m so sorry.” Michael shook his head, his eyes full of contrition.

“What? No you’re not. You’re amazing.”You’re everything.The realization hit her in one swift and powerful blow.

“I’m the one who started the fight in the car. All because my ego was bruised. I promised you we would take it slow, and I broke our pact.” He squinted, and scrubbed his forehead with his one free hand. “I guess I was just frustrated. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I swear.”

“But I’m the reason you have to be here. This has to be so hard for you. I’m in the freaking hospital for God’s sake. Are you okay? Do you need to leave? It’s okay if you feel like running, screaming out of the building.”

She reached for the latch on the side rail and lowered it, then sat on the edge of the bed. Funnily enough, Michael’s way of putting it forced her to reframe her thinking. Even though it had scared the hell out of her, this wasn’t the same situation she’d experienced with Andrew. “I won’t lie. I don’t love being here, but it was empowering to know how it works. I know how to talk to doctors and nurses. I know when to ask questions.”

“I’m still sorry that you had to do it at all. It doesn’t seem fair.”

“I wanted to do it. You needed help and I was glad I could be there.”

“Well, thank you.”

“Don’t get me wrong. You scared the crap out of me. It wasn’t all smooth sailing. I did get a little panicky.” She reached out and brushed his cheek with the back of her hand. “But I need you to know that no matter what, I’m not going to walk away from you. I promise. I just need time. I know that’s frustrating for you, but I’m hoping you’ll give me the space to think things through a little more.” She wanted to say bigger words, but the timing was so shitty, and she had to be absolutely sure. She needed to get away from this setting and clear her head. She would not hurt Michael by expressing sentiments that might not hold up later.

“You don’t need to worry about me, either. I’m not going anywhere. Obviously. I’m in a hospital bed.”

“And you have an IV.”

“And no clue where my pants are.” He laughed heartily. It was one of the best sounds she’d ever heard.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“We’ve established that I have no means of escape.”

Now it was her turn to laugh. “I’m just wondering if your heart problem was part of the reason you were feeling so philosophical the night of the party at the Van Cleeves’. Why you were questioning your life choices and thinking about so many weighty topics.”

He shrugged. “Well, yeah. Having a doctor tell me that my chest pains were serious definitely forced me to sit back and take a long look at what in the hell I was doing. It was the first time I’d ever had to really face the fact that I’m not going to live forever.”

“I think we all have that moment when we have to take stock of everything.”

“And you’ve had more than your fair share of those.”

“I’m not sure what anyone’s fair share is, but there have definitely been days when I had to do it a lot.”

A knock came at the door and the nurse poked her head into the room. “Mr. Wright. I see that you’re finally up. I need to check your vitals and go over next steps with you.”

Michael sat up a little straighter in bed while the nurse checked the monitors, inspected the levels on his IV bags, and made sure the pulse oximeter on his finger was placed correctly. Lydia and Brian filed back into the room.

“I’m assuming that ‘next steps’ means no more fun?” Michael asked.

“It depends on your idea of fun,” the nurse replied. “Your cardiologist back at home will go over the long-term plan with you. We’ve already booked a follow-up for you, for a week from Wednesday. For now, you’re going to need to take it easy for the next two weeks. That means no work. Only light exercise. No heavy lifting. No driving.”