Page 58 of Whispers of My Skin

“Yes, we are, but you don’t need to worry about any of that right now, that’s my job. You just need to concentrate on getting back to full strength.”

It’s hard for me to switch off from being responsible for everything to do with Redlands, but he’s right. The whole point of finding him was because he’s far more qualified to handle things, so now I should just let him get on with it.

As we park up in front of the house, Joel’s warm, strong hand covers mine, letting me know that he’s here with me. To care for me, protect me, love me.

Happiness floods through me.

Because I have a chance. We have a chance at an amazing future. Together.

Fermin is waiting for us on the porch, with glasses of lemonade at the ready. I’ve no doubt Fermin’s preferred option would have been champagne, but Dr. Wang has insisted on a strictly teetotal regime for me, to allow my liver to fully recover. So, lemonade it is, and that’s absolutely fine by me, although I certainly wouldn’t have begrudged Joel and Fermin a glass or two of champagne.

“Well, took y’all long enough,” Fermin exclaims, in an exaggerated fake Southern accent.

We both roll our eyes as we walk in, but as soon as we enter the house we hear a loud popping noise, which spooks Joel so much he immediately pushes me to the floor and throws his body over mine.

Then a mass of golden paper petals floats down over us.

“Umm…welcome home…” Fermin says rather sheepishly, holding a large confetti cannon in his hand. Ah, of course, his subtle version of a welcome home.

I want to jump up to give Fermin a big hug, but my husband’s strong arms hold me firmly in place.

“Take it easy, baby, you only just left the hospital,” he exhales loudly.

I think poor Joel is the one who needs a moment to recover, since his hair trigger reaction shows he’s still worried there’s someone out there who wants me gone.

“I’m fine, babe,” I murmur, gently kissing his cheek as I extricate myself from his arms. I stand and admire the hundreds of gold, coral, and blue balloons decorating the foyer of the house. “This is fabulous, Fermin!”

“Well, someone had to make a statement. After all, we’ve plenty to celebrate, such as you being alive, healthy and finally back home,” he declares, picking me up and twirling me round.

Joel smiles as he looks on, as happy as I am at my friend’s words.

It’s true.

I’m alive.

I’m free.

And I’m happy.

“The cook has fixed some lunch for us out on the terrace. All your favorites—rib eye steaks, salad, corn on the cob, followed up with blueberry pie, so I sure hope you’ve both got a good appetite.”

“That sounds great, Fermin. And thank you for taking care of the house, and organizing all of this,” Joel says, dropping my bags on the floor. He claps him on the back as they share a man hug, and I’m beyond thrilled to see my husband and my best friend bonding in this way. Joel still has to act the grump though. “But I’m not cleaning up all this shit. That’s all down to you, Brummell.”

He doesn’t fool anyone for a second though. I can tell that Joel’s happy, like really happy.

“No sweat,” Fermin replies. “I’ve hired a cleaning company to come in later and clear all this up, and then they’ll be coming in weekly to keep on top of things. Plus, bearing in mind your doctor’s instructions about the importance of a healthy diet for you Tara, I’ve also retained the cook to make sure you’re eating properly.”

“Oh, have you now?” Joel states, crossing his arms over his chest. “You didn’t think to check with me first?”

“Didn’t think it was necessary,” Fermin calmly replies. “You left me in charge of household matters, so I just went ahead and used my initiative. No need to thank me.”

I smile, not bothering to join in their little squabble. Since Fermin is well aware of our financial difficulties, I have little doubt he’ll be covering all the costs and I also have little doubt that he’ll refuse point blank to let us make any kind of a contribution.

Over the next couple of weeks, I spend time in my father’s old den going through some of the endless paperwork. With Fermin’s help, I also make a few changes around the house—moving furniture, painting walls, trying to make the house seem more like ours, since Joel and I need to leave the past behind and start afresh. Although Fermin still wants to throw all the old furniture away, I persuade him to have the better items refurbished instead. Just because he has money to burn doesn’t mean I feel comfortable with him spending so much on helping us out.

Today, Joel left early for San Antonio, with a full schedule of meetings and appointments ahead of him. This is the first time he’s left me alone for more than a few minutes since I came home from the hospital, and he was still reluctant to leave me, but realistically he knew that the real world was done waiting.

Naturally, before he left he gave me a long lecture about not overdoing things, not leaving the ranch under any circumstances, to stay close to Fermin, to call him if I was in any way worried. In the end, I had to practically force him out of the door to get him to shut him up and actually leave.

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