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“I know the feeling, but like you said, we aren’t changing what we are doing to make him happy, and that has to mean something. You and I are both adults, and we both know what we want. I can tell you honestly that it is difficult for me to look your dad in the eye and know I want him to be my father-in-law. That wasn’t ever a thought in my head before a few months ago, and now it’s just what I want so badly, I can’t even see straight half the time.”
Erin laughed. “Geez, if I knew getting hit by some sail was going to make you so mushy, I might have had it happen a long time ago.”
I shook my head. “Sorry, I’m just glad that I have you, you’re okay, and we are now out in the open with our relationship. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy, and I know we have a long road of recovery ahead of us with your injuries, but I can tell you that I have such a light, positive feeling about this entire relationship, I know we’re going to be okay. There’s nothing we have to worry about tearing us apart. As long as you and I work together on this, we’re going to be just fine.”
“I sure hope so,” Erin said. “For the first time in as long as I can remember, I’m truly happy with every part of my life. I mean, except for Dad being pissed, of course, but you know what I mean. I have my degree, I have a good man, and we’re coming together to make a blended family, which I also love. I can’t think of anything I want more than being with you and Libby forever, and I mean that.”
I leaned over on the bed and kissed her gently, watching where I placed my hand because of her injuries. But she kissed me back with far more passion than I expected, so I had to stop her.
“It’s not time for that yet,” I said. “You have to get clearance from the doctor that you’re well enough to have sex again before you do that.”
“Why? We can be careful,” she begged, but I was adamant about it.
“I’m still going to be here when you’re healed up a little more. There’s no need for us to rush anything. Right now, you have to just think about getting better and we can have some sexy time after that.”
“Fine,” she said with a pouty lip. “If you insist.”
“Only because it’s the best thing for you. That’s all,” I promised her with a chuckle as I kissed her forehead. “Now get some sleep. I’m sure you’re exhausted after everything. I’ll be out in the other room if you need anything at all, okay?”
“Okay,” she agreed at last. I knew she didn’t want me to leave, but she had to get her rest, and if I was in the room, it wasn’t likely she would do that. With Libby in her room reading and the others out of the house, now would be a great time for her to get some sleep, so I insisted on leaving her alone for a while.
I would be back to check on her, of course, but I wanted to make sure she was going to work on sleeping before I did.
Right now, that was the best thing for her, and I might as well work on getting more of the book done while I had the peace and quiet to do it.
But, as I sat in my office, I had to agree with what Erin had just said.
I, too, was happier than I could ever remember. It had been years since the accident that took my wife, and I was sure that was the moment that my happiness ended. But with Erin in my life now and the love I felt for her, I knew some happiness had returned, and she was going to bring me so much more. I didn’t have to go back to the way I was before.
This was a true second chance in my world, and I was seizing it with passion. I felt I’d gotten a taste of what life with Erin could be like, and now that we had gone public with our relationship, I was confident things were only going to get better from here.
And I looked forward to the future.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Erin
“ThankGodthatwasthe last PT and doctor appointment!” I said as I let myself into the passenger side of the Jeep. “I’m ready to go home.”
“I bet you are,” Neils told me. “It’s been a long day.”
“But this is the last one we’ve got to deal with,” I told him. “Which is a real plus if you ask me. I was starting to think they were going to keep finding reasons for me to come back until I just get old and die.”
He laughed. “They just want to make sure you’re fully healed so they don’t give you the green light to get back to your real life and have you break down on them.”
“That’s fair,” I replied. “But I’m not so sure that’s the honest to God reason. I mean, the more I keep coming back here, the more we’re spending, which only makes me wonder whether this is about my health as much as it is about the money.”
“Probably a little of both if we’re completely honest,” he said with a shrug. “But then, who cares anyway? It’s not like we don’t have the money.”
“Again, that’s fair. But then, even if we have the money, it’s not like I want to spend it on doctors.”
“Amen to that. But let’s get you home,” he told me. “I have to go get Libby still, and I don’t want to be away from you very long.”
“I want to go with you,” I said. “It’s been so long since I’ve been able to come with you to pick her up.”
“Baby, I’m not sure today is a good day for that. I would rather just get you home and get you put in bed, then I can go pick her up, okay?” he pleaded with me. “I don’t want you to push yourself too much when you’re in the final stages of recovering. The sooner we can get you back to being one hundred percent, the sooner we can get life back to normal, and I would rather do that than to have you get set back a few times along the way.”
“Fine,” I said with a sigh. “But you better believe I’m going to come along with you starting on Monday.”
