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“Morning,” Sean growled softly. “How are you feeling?”
“Better. Thanks.” She scanned the room again. “Where’s Hank?”
“Downstairs with your mom and dad. After I took him for a walk, your mom managed to convince him to stay with her. I think the bacon and eggs she was cooking had something to do that.”
She grinned at that. “So he can be bribed.”
“With the right incentive, apparently he can.” He glanced at his watch. “Your mom texted me a few minutes ago. Wanted to know if you wanted to go down for breakfast or to eat up here in your room. I told her I’d let her know.”
Though a part of her wanted to draw the covers over her head and hide away, she couldn’t do that. The biggest part of her mental recovery would be being with the people who loved her. They understood her better than anyone and would help her through whatever was going on.
“I’ll come down.” She swung her legs over the side of the bed, wincing a little at the tug on her healing ankle.
“Want me to carry you to the bathroom?”
Being carried around, even by her gorgeous husband, wasn’t something she wanted. “I’m good. Just hand me my crutches.”
As he handed them to her, he swept his eyes over her, and she couldn’t help but wonder how he saw her now. She knew he still loved her, but did he still find her attractive? He’d told her more than once that her curviness was one of his favorite things about her body. With the weight she’d lost, she wasn’t nearly as curvy as before.
Mentally rolling her eyes, she pulled herself up with the crutches. Worrying about her looks right now was the least of her problems.
“I’ll get dressed and go on down, unless you need me.”
Thankful for some alone time, she shook her head as she headed to the bathroom. “I’ll be fine. Give me about five minutes or so, and I’ll come down.”
“Serena?” Sean said.
She looked over her shoulder and saw the worry on his face. She knew she wasn’t acting like herself. This disconnect wasn’t something she’d ever experienced before, and it worried her, too. For right now, she did the only thing she knew to do—she changed the subject. “It’s so good to see you healthy and strong again,” she said, studying him. “You look like you’ve packed on some muscle.”
He shrugged. “Wasn’t much to do at OZ, other than get healthy and worry about you.”
“Your leg is better?”
“Yeah, for the most part. Still aches from time to time, but I’ve gotten most of my mobility back.”
“That’s a relief. Kingsley let me read your medical report. I saw that one of the doctors recommended amputation.”
“Thankfully, Brody got me out of there before anything like that happened.”
“Still can’t believe Brody was the one sent to kill you. Did he talk about his agenda? Why he’s involved?”
“No. Ash keeps in touch with him, mostly through Jazz. The guy’s given us some good intel, but he’s holding back on his reasons for how or why he’s involved. Jazz said it’s something to do with their parents’ murders.”
Serena nodded. She knew she should comment, engage in speculation, offer ideas. Right now, she had nothing other than a feeling of relief that she’d been able to navigate the conversation away from his concern about her. Serena took another step toward the bathroom. Just as she entered, he said gruffly, “You know you can talk to me about anything. Don’t you?”
Swallowing the lump in her throat, she whispered, “I know,” and closed the door.
Feeling increasingly lost and helpless, Sean grabbed a pair of sweats from his suitcase and slid into them. He then grabbed a T-shirt and quickly threw it over his head as he headed out the door. Showing up half dressed in his in-laws’ kitchen might not be polite, but he was way past that worry. Something was seriously wrong with Serena, and he needed to give them a heads-up. Besides, Ed and Mallory were the most grounded people he knew. They had raised six kids, including one amazing daughter. They knew her better than anyone. Getting guidance from them was imperative.
As he walked into the kitchen and saw the same worry on their faces from last night, he knew they were well aware that things were not normal.
“Serena’s getting dressed. She’ll be down in a few minutes.”
Ed poured Sean a cup of coffee and handed it to him. “Did she sleep?” he asked.
“Yes. She seemed to sleep deep and well. No nightmares that I know of.” And that was the crux of the matter. He didn’t know much of anything right now.
“Is she able to talk about what happened yet?” Mallory asked.
