Page 49 of Sudden Summer

I slipped my left hand out of his hold, giving him a thumbs-up. I was actually starting to feel pretty relaxed. My eyes drifted closed as I took his advice, resting my head back on the flat pillow.

“Okay, easy. Don’t even try to get out of this truck on your own. I’m carrying you up into the house, and I won’t hear otherwise.”

Beau’s command would have normally made me laugh, and then I would have done whatever the hell I wanted because I hated when he tried to boss me around.

But my body hurt. I was exhausted and on painkillers that made it hard to think, and yet also made me very willing to say whatever was on my mind. I needed to keep my mouth shut and sleep them off.

“Here we go,” he announced as he opened the passenger side door and scooped me out like I was nothing more than a rag doll. My body rocked as we made our way up the front porch steps and into the house.

I couldn’t stop myself from reaching up to touch his face. He hadn’t been shaving, which made my stomach swoop.

“Don’t shave. You look so handsome like this…”

His arms tightened around me. “Didn’t know you liked it so much, Chickadee. I would’a stopped shaving years ago.”

He would have done that just for me. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew I was blushing, but honestly, my face was pretty numb and I was in an eternal state of feeling really sleepy. I’d gotten the all clear from neurology—no concussion. But my body was starting to hate me for keeping it awake for so long.

Still, I tried to store away the memory of Beau saying that to enjoy later, when I wasn’t so loopy.

“Oh my God,” Dolly’s voice washed over me. I was on the couch in the next breath, wrapped in the most protective maternal hug. It was exactly what I needed. Somewhere in the back of my foggy mind, I knew I was crying. Maybe it was the way Dolly held me, how her hand gently stroked my head. It was still sore from where the man had pulled my hair so violently, but it didn’t matter. I needed that love poured into me.

I could hear Daniel and Beau talking over my shoulder, but couldn’t make out anything more than the low gravel of their hushed voices.

“You’re going to be just fine, sweetheart. As soon as Beau told me what happened, I came right over. There are fresh sheets on the bed, and I put the comforter out in the sunshine for a little bit. Violet brought over a heating pad and Hayes dropped off some ice packs. He uses those cold caps for his headaches, and I thought that might be nice if you had one, too.”

“Dolly…”

“Hush. It’s nothing. I had just enough time to make a batch of my chicken dumpling soup for you to have when you feel up to eating.”

“T-thank you,” I managed to sniffle out my appreciation before more tears came. “I’m o-okay. I don’t know w-why I’m crying.”

“Yes, you do, honey. It’s normal. Just let it come when it comes, and don’t try to stifle it. We’ll get you to the other side of this in one piece, I promise.”

I finally lifted my head off her shoulder, wiping at my eyes. If my head was feeling foggy before, it felt downright stuffed with cotton now that I’d cried.

“Where’s Juniper?” I asked Beau as he sat on the arm of the sofa next to me.

His fingers swept some of my hair back behind my ear, looking at me with such gentleness that I fought the urge to stand and show him I was okay, just to make him feel better. “I told you, she’s fine. Jessie is keeping her overnight.”

Never mind. I was going to stand up. And I did. Although, it felt more like a baby deer attempting to walk for the first time than a woman who was about to scold someone. No matter what, I wasn’t about to force him to stay away from his daughter. I wouldn’t be the reason they weren’t together.

“What are you doing?” he asked, catching me around my wobbling waist and pulling me in tight against him before sweeping me up into his arms.

“Let me go! Tell Jess to bring her back here!”

“I need to get Birdie up to bed,” he said to his parents. “Thank you for being here when we got back.”

I tried to protest, but Dolly laid her hand on my arm, and I knew it was a battle I wasn’t going to win.

“You call us if you need anything. Or your brothers and sister, Beau. One of us will be here, no matter what.” Dolly smiled like I wasn’t actively trying to barrel roll out of her son’s arms.

“Thanks, Ma.”

Dolly nodded, Danny tipping his cowboy hat down at us before his hand landed at the small of her back and they walked into the kitchen. I heard the back door clicking shut as Beau started up the stairs, his tight hold of me not losing an ounce of its protective edge as we made our way toward the bedroom.

“Beau, you have to get Juniper. It’s not fair⁠—”

“I’m not leaving you,” he growled. “Not for one fucking second. She’s fine with my sister today, and she’ll get to have her first cousin sleep over tonight. She’ll be okay. This way I can keep my eye on you without any distractions.”