Page 106 of Coming Home

“I love you,” Noah moaned, his eyes darting to the pair of hands holding his head up.

“It’s Clayton. I’m here. We’ve got you. Nat and me,” he said, relief softening his features.

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

“Wouldn’t it be fun if all the castles in the air we could make come true and we could live in them?”~Louisa May Alcott,Little Women

Nat perched on the edge of Noah’s hospital bed. She’d ridden in the ambulance with him using her girlfriend and doctor privileges. A girl must use all she’s got to get what she wanted. And what she wanted at this moment was to not be apart from Noah. Elle and Clayton had gotten in touch of Noah’s parents, theirs, and Todd, who would take care of the businesses for Noah. The families were in the waiting room for now, until Noah had been admitted, then they could visit him. He’d broken some ribs, and they wanted to keep him overnight for observation due to his concussion.

Doug, the motorcyclist, was still in the emergency room. Nat found out he would be released and not admitted. The police were still investigating, but it looked like Doug was speeding and ran the stop sign. When he weaved into Noah’s path, out of instinct Noah swerved to miss him and slammed into the telephone pole. It could have been so much worse. Nat hadoverheard one of the police officers giving Doug quite a talking-to. Just overhearing the dressing down put the fear of the goddess in Nat, so she didn’t have to stretch to imagine how the teenager felt.

“You love me.” Noah smiled, looking up at her.

“Well, you said it first, so it was only fair,” she teased.

Noah winced as he pushed himself up in his bed. “I do love your dedication to fairness.”

“You love everything about me.” She grinned as she leaned in.

“That I do.” He pressed his smile against hers.

A loud clearing of a throat broke their kiss. Turning, she found Noah’s parents, hers, and Elle and Clayton standing inside the room. Deep in their love bubble, neither had noticed their families slip in. Dad wore a big smile. Clayton tucked Elle into his chest, both grinning. Scott scratched his gray-speckled black beard. Mom and Maura high-fived.

Nat and Noah gaped at their mom’s.

“I knew it!” Maura cheered.

“I was a little worried when Duncan came along, but you were right.” Mom hip-checked Maura.

“Excuse me?” Nat’s right brow lifted.

“Oh, Natalie Joan, don’t look so shocked. I snuck around enough with your dad when we were teenagers to see all the signs of a secret romance,” Mom said, winking at Dad.

Soft crimson colored Dad’s cheeks, and he shrugged.

“I’m just happy this finally happened. We’ve been hoping for this for the last five years.” Maura beamed.

“I guess I wasn’t the only one who noticed the signs.” Dad chuckled.

“A doctor? Nice going, son.” Scott smirk covered face turned serious. “Jokes aside, thank god for Nat.” He offered a thankful grin to Nat.

“Agreed. Thank you, Nat.” With a concerned expression, Moira moved to her son’s bedside. “How are you, honey?”

“I’m good. Thanks to Nat and Clayton.” He looked between both.

Maura’s blue eyes flicked between Nat and Clayton. “Thank you both. You’ve always had my son’s back. He’s lucky to have you two.”

Clayton stepped up to the bed. “We’re lucky to have him. I am lucky to have him not just as my friend but as my brother.” He placed his hand on Noah’s. “I love you, brother, and I’m sorry I was a dick.”

“Why were you a dick to Noah?” Mom asked, hands on her hips.

“When I found out about Nat and Noah, I went all over-protective big brother.”

“I did not raise my son to be a dick.”

“I don’t know if I like mom using the word ‘dick’ so much,” Nat cringed.

“I’m really sorry, man. I shouldn’t have reacted like that even…” He halted, his eyes bounced to his parents. “…if it was jarring to find out. You’re a good man. The type of man I want for Nat. I’m sorry that I questioned that.”

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