Page 74 of Marrying the Gardener
“Honey…that doesn’t matter.”
Kaleb stops once he reaches me, and I get a better look at the wound. Firm, he says, “Stitches?”
Definitely stitches. I meet his eyes, worried to confirm such a thing right in front of Charlotte when she’s already so pale.
His lips find my forehead in a brief display of comfort. “I’ll drive,” he says, then he softens his voice. “Charlotte, sweetheart, do you want Ava to come with us?”
“Us?” Charlotte tenses, head shaking, curls bouncing. “No, no. I couldn’t ask that of you. I’ll be okay. I-I’ll go to my room, elevate it for a little while. Everything will be…fine.”
Everything will be fine because we are going to the hospital.
“I’ll get Ava,” I say, turning down the steps. “Get a towel to subdue the bleeding before you start the car.”
“On it.” His footsteps follow mine, then head the opposite way once we’re at the bottom of the stairs.
“Ava?” I call as I reenter the kitchen.
She looks up from chopping fresh broccoli florets. “Yes, Mrs. Nightingale?”
“Charlotte’s hurt. She stepped on glass. There’s glass upstairs in the hall. Will you come with us to the hospital?”
“Us?” Ava asks.
“Kaleb’s with her right now, getting something to staunch the flow of blood and bringing the car around.”
Adelhilde whacks her rubber spoon against the side of her pan. “You left Char alone with that man while she’s injured?”
“Adelhilde—” Ava hurries to forfeit the broccoli, “—not now, dear. Let’s ask Esmee to handle the glass on our way out.” Sheturns me around, ushering me from the kitchen. “Come now. Let’s not dawdle.”
So we don’t.
We don’t dawdle so completely, I forget entirely that I need shoes.
Chapter 23
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Mother practice I don’t need.
Crimson
“I can’t believe I’ve done this,” I mutter, leaning back against the car door, legs thrown over the center console, bare feet in Kaleb’s lap. “How could I forgetshoes? I walked down stone steps, across pavement, and I didn’t think—for even a second—huh, that doesn’t feel quite right?”
He kneads into my arch, utterly contented. “You were worried about Charlotte. You weren’t thinking about yourself. It’s beautiful, yet concerning. When you’re thinking about someone else, you fall away as you put their needs before your own. Certainly makes a husband anxious.”
I nudge him in the chest with my foot. “Well, stop being anxious. I hate when people worry about me over nothing.”
“I can’t help it.” He grips my ankle. “I love worrying. It’s my second-favorite hobby, right after gardening.”
“That can’t be good for you.”
“Probably isn’t.”
Sighing, I cock my head back against the glass and look across the visitor parking, at the hospital building. “I hope they get her stitched up quick and easy. Poor thing…”
“They might give her a couple staples instead of stitches. I’m sure she’ll be fine.” Blowing out a breath, Kaleb works his way up my calf, rubbing deep into the tissue. “I’m sorry that this situation makes my mood inconsistent with what had just happened downstairs. Also, you don’t need to watch your weight or anything, but do we need to talk about the fact you ate anentire carton of ice cream tonight?”
“Sometimes a woman has to eat an entire carton of ice cream, Kaleb.”
