Liability (Suncoast Society #33)(69)

He suspected keeping her in some semblance of a routine would help her cope with this better.

Finally, he convinced her to get up and get moving again. Nearly ninety minutes later they were at Kim’s apartment. After calling the hospital to check on Mason, Cole collapsed into bed with Kim, with her arms wrapped around the pillow Mason usually used.

Cole didn’t even mind that she wanted to hold it between them as she lay facing him.

Smelling his lover’s scent was comforting to him, too.

He just hoped that it wasn’t the last time he’d ever be able to bury his face in Mason’s scent like that.





The next morning, Cole felt disoriented despite knowing he was in Kim’s bed.

She still lay facing him. It didn’t look like she’d moved during the night.

He’d awakened ten minutes before his alarm and he shut it off to let Kim sleep a little longer.

He needed a couple of minutes alone to get his head on straight anyway.

After using the bathroom, he went to the kitchen to start the coffee. It didn’t help that when he opened the cabinet where Kim kept the bags of coffee, the first one he saw was Mason’s favorite.

Dammit.

He got the coffee started. He’d brought his phone out with him and called the hospital to check on Mason.

Still stable, no change. Sometime today they’d be doing another CT scan to check the swelling, but they didn’t know when yet. They’d likely fit him in on the schedule between other patients, meaning there was no telling when.

After hanging up, he poured coffee for himself and Kim and fixed their mugs the way they liked, sipping his as he carried hers in to her. He set them both down on the bedside table on her side before leaning in to gently nudge her awake.

“Hey, sweetheart. Morning.”

He wasn’t sure she was awake yet, until she shuddered, then started crying.

With a heavy heart, he slipped into bed with her, behind her, spooning around her. “I called the hospital already. He’s unchanged, but not any worse. He survived the worst of this. It’s just a matter of being patient until he comes back to us.” It was hard enough to deal with his own pain.

Trying to comfort her on top of that was even more difficult.

He could barely hear her voice when she finally spoke through her tears. “Do you really think he’ll come back to us?”

“I know he’s a tough guy. Tougher than me, that’s for sure. I know it’ll be a hard road sometimes, but I have no doubts that he’ll come back to us.”

None that he’d voice aloud in front of her, anyway.

Not yet, at least.

She finally released the pillow and rolled to face him. He wrapped his arms around her, stroking her hair.

“I love you,” she said. “Please don’t leave me.”

“Baby, I’m never going to leave you. I promise. Not unless you want to leave me.”

“I don’t mean…leave. I mean…” She sniffled.

He pressed his lips to the top of her head. “I’ll do my best. I don’t want to make you a promise I have no control over. I’ll always do my best to come home to you. How’s that?”

She finally looked up at him. “Okay.”

“Are you going to be okay to drive today?”

“Yeah.”

“Maybe you should think about calling in.”

A heavy sigh escaped her. “I can’t. Well, I mean, I can, but I don’t want to do that to Emery. And I might need the paid time off later when Mason’s…awake. If I use up all my paid time off now, I won’t have any later.”





Plus Kim knew if she went to the hospital today and spent all day there, she wouldn’t want to leave. She’d put her whole life on hold until Mason was awake and able to talk to her and order her to get back to doing what she needed to do.

And she suspected Mason wouldn’t want her to do that.

She more than suspected that. She knew it.

No, he’d need her more later, when he’d need her. It only made sense. Cole had some medical background, even though he wasn’t actively involved in patient care. He knew way more of the lingo than she did.

Besides, she needed to try to put on a brave front for Cole. She wasn’t the only one hurting and didn’t have the patent on pain right now. It would be all Cole could do to deal with Mason’s recovery. The last thing she wanted to do was saddle him with trying to deal with her, too.

Time to put the big-girl panties on.

Cole took a shower with her, holding her for a moment before they got out. Before they left to go their separate ways, he kissed her one more time.

“Will Emery be okay with that?” He nodded, indicating her wrist.

She’d wrapped her collar around her right wrist and fastened it, like she’d seen Tilly do with hers at the hospital.

“Yeah. It’s just a bracelet. Right?” She stared at it, imagining Mason’s fingers buckling it around her neck and the sense of peace she always felt when he did.

Like her world had righted and settled and was the way it should be.

She choked back the sob that wanted to break through at that thought.

She made it to the office first, the way she usually did. Technically she was the office manager, which really didn’t mean a lot. She wasn’t an insurance agent, even though she knew a lot about the business now, stuff she’d absorbed through osmosis over the past several years. Emery had hinted several times at being willing to compensate her to get her license, but…