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Corey stood up first, his hand still in hers. His grip wasn’t strong and unyielding, but soft and gentle. As if telling her it was her choice whether she kept ahold of it while she walked.
For now, she’d lean on his strength. Because being weak and fragile was better than being humiliated. She wasn’t ready to fall on her ass because she was too proud to take the help offered.
She tightened the grip on his hand and stood. Her legs, as usual, felt like jello. Wobbly and unstable. Yet, the more she used them, the less the feeling became. She just had to keep doing it. Keeping standing. Keep walking. Keep moving.
For the first time, she walked to the bathroom with only someone holding her hand instead of around her waist. Progress. Baby steps. She could do this.
One day at a time.
Three days later, she was discharged from the hospital. She was supposed to attend physical therapy four days a week and had a follow-up appointment with her doctor in a month. But she didn’t want to worry about any of that.
She wanted to soak up the love and happiness from the little girl sitting on her lap. Genevieve kissed Amelie’s head and smiled as the little girl giggled at the bouncing bear singing his ABCs on the TV. Amelie hadn’t wanted to wait when Corey helped her inside the apartment. She crawled so fast to her, Genevieve was surprised. She didn’t remember Amelie being so quick. That sweet girl would be walking soon.
Of course, she had felt terrible when she couldn’t pick Amelie up. Oliver, who had been babysitting her, did. While Corey helped her sit on the couch, Amelie wiggled in Oliver’s arms until he finally set her down and she crawled to her once again. She’d been sitting on her lap ever since.
Corey sat down next to them, throwing an arm behind her shoulder. “The bar should be operational in another two weeks.”
In other words, he’d be here to wait on her hand and foot. Not that she didn’t appreciate it, but she wouldn’t get any stronger if she didn’t work for it. Work for every step and build the strength back up in her body.
“And after the two weeks?”
She had no illusions that she’d be up to par within two weeks. Although she didn’t break her legs, it pained her to walk. Her lower back hurt no matter how she sat or laid down. Her knees wanted to crumble every time she stood. Even her feet felt achy in places she had no idea could be bothersome.
Time and patience.
And she hated both things at the moment. She wanted one to fly and the other to move its ass.
“Well, between your brothers and parents and my brother and friends, we’ll figure it out. That’s the nice thing about friends and family. They help when it’s needed.” He leaned closer and kissed her. “It’s going to be okay. It’ll be hard, but we’ll get through this.”
Yeah, hard. She didn’t want to deal with hard.
But life wasn’t giving her a choice.
* * *
“Hey,guys. I didn’t expect to see you here.” Which made him wonder who the hell was watching Amelie since he had left her with Oliver and Brock, the two men standing in front of his bar at the moment.
“Oh, Mom stopped by and insisted we come. She’s spoiling Amelie rotten as we speak.” Oliver had to lean closer, in between two people who were occupying the stools. They weren’t together and had their backs to each other, so it was the best place to squeeze in. Not a seat in the bar was available. Their re-opening night was turning out to be a smashing success.
“Genevieve and the rest of the gang are in the back area. Tell me what you want and then you can head over there.”
Oliver and Brock both ordered a beer, which Corey grabbed with quick finesse, and then they were disappearing into the heavy crowd.
When they started advertising their re-opening, they expected to be busy, but not as slammed as they were. The place was so packed, it was hard to walk from one end to the other without jamming an elbow into someone. Of course, Corey wouldn’t complain. Heavy business meant money. Money meant he could spoil Amelie and Genevieve rotten—as her parents were currently doing right now.
It also meant he could give Genevieve the wedding of her dreams. Something they’d talked about a few times the past two weeks. Sure, while he stopped in on the progress of the rebuild of the bar, the majority of his time he spent with his girls.
The hospital had taken off Genevieve’s ring before they wheeled her to surgery. He had slipped it back onto her finger, telling her he loved her. Dreading the next morning something terrible would happen after uttering those words once again. When nothing had other than Genevieve near tears from her physical therapy, he decided it was time to stop being afraid. Nothing was going to happen if he didn’t make it happen.
So he bought her a notebook with pens the color of the rainbow so she could start planning their wedding like they should’ve over two months ago. Because he knew how much she loved color in her life, always wearing the most vibrant things, he suggested the bridesmaids and groomsmen should each wear a different color. The way her eyes lit up with delight and her lips spread into a wide half-circle, he knew she loved the idea. That was the only thing he had suggested and from there, she let the ideas flow. The notebook was already half-filled with ideas for venues, flowers, food, and the guest list.
They still hadn’t set a date, but they were thinking next summer. Enough time for them to plan and get settled into their new life, new routine.
Physical therapy was hard on Genevieve, but only though it’d been two weeks so far, he could see the progress she was making. Her steps were more confident, more firm than before. Her back pain was subsiding but not completely gone. The light in her eyes was returning to normal. The Genevieve of old was back in his arms.
The night flew by as he and Ricky along with Dom ran the front of the bar like they’d been born to do it. It wasn’t something he’d envisioned growing up to be—a bar owner. He’d actually thought he’d like to be a zookeeper. Animals had fascinated him growing up. The way they lived, interacted with each other. He’d only been to the zoo once, but his mother had made it such a memorable trip, he had been stuck on the idea that he’d live there one day. Right there with the animals.
Then life happened and dreams faded and he found himself owning a bar with his brother.
