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“You did?” I grinned and brushed back her hair.
She nodded. “You run fast, and you almost fly.”
My eyebrows rose. “Fly?”
She nodded again. “When you go high up in the air to kick the ball.” Her right foot moved under the covers and I put my hand down on her leg over the blankets.
“Don’t move too much, sweetheart.” I knew she meant the overhead back kicks that had taken me years to master. “Would you like to learn that when you’re feeling better?” My face was close to hers and my hand continued to stroke her hair. She was so small; my hand could cup her entire head.
“I don’t think so.”
“Really?”
“It looks like it hurts when you fall down.”
I laughed softly, so happy to be talking with her. “It does sometimes, but it’s worth it. It helps me win.”
“You win a lot. Mommy and me like to watch you.”
Pride filled me from head to toe. Teagan may have kept Remi from me, but I was grateful she didn’t keep me from Remi. “I’m happy you do. It makes me want to win even more. How about you and me make a signal so you’ll know it’s just for you when I’m on the field?”
Her little bow mouth curved into a smile of genuine happiness that exposed two missing teeth. “Yeah!”
“Hmmm. What should it be?” I teased.
She lifted one shoulder lightly, bewildered. “I don’t know.”
I laughed lightly, noticing how the slight movement made her wince. She was the spitting image of Teagan, but I could see myself around her eyes. I couldn’t believe how devoted and deeply in love I was with this little girl, already. “Well, you make my heart happy, so why don’t I touch my heart, like this?” I placed my hand on my chest, my fingers splayed out.
Remi nodded, “But you gotta do it twice. Like this.”
“Careful, honey. You’re sore, remember?”
Remi nodded then she copied my movement gently, but then lifted her hand and patted her chest a second time. “Once for me and once for Mommy, because she loves you, too. Kay?”
My heart felt like it would explode with emotion. I felt elated, flying, amazing… full to the brim with love. “Are you sure?” I teased.
“I’m sure. Please?”
I nodded. “Okay. Deal. Two pats over my heart.”
“Don’t forget, ‘cause she’d be jealous and stuff.” Her eyebrows rose and she looked at me pointedly. She was so damn cute that I could barely stand it. Sick and sore as she was, she was happy.
“Never. You’ll see,” I agreed adamantly.
“Okay, you two, what’s going on in here?” Teagan said skeptically as she came in carrying a plastic mug with the hospital name on it. It was overly large for someone as small as Remi.
My face twisted wryly and I winked at Remi, silently telling her this was our secret. “Nothing.”
Teagan’s head cocked and though I couldn’t see her face behind her mask, I knew she was wrinkling her nose. “Uh huh. You’re up to something,” she admonished, wagging a blue latex covered finger at me.
I put both hands up. “Hey, don’t look at me.”
“Yeah, don’t look at us!” Remi added, smiling.
Teagan laughed lightly and I realized how good it sounded to me, and how much I missed it. “Okay. Here’s your water, babes.”
I moved to the chair and watched Teagan maneuver around the hospital equipment, the IV bag, and the adjustable table that was a constant fixture next to hospital beds. She pushed a button that lifted the head of the bed and brought Remi up into a sitting position before she sat next to her, put one arm around her and helped her take a small sip from the big straw.
