Page 2 of Entwined
“You should go home.”
I stared at him. “That’s not happening.”
“Then I’ll go home. I don’t need to be here.”
He hit the button on his bed and the hydraulics sat him almost upright in bed.
“You need to be here.”
“I don’t. I can be transported for treatments. I can walk, I’m eating. I don’t want to stay here any longer.”
I yawned then rose from the couch, smoothing the wrinkles in my slacks. Across the room, I caught Colson’s gaze as it darkened.
“I hate you in pants…I really do.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Always trying to control me.”
Colson held out his hand. “Come here.”
I did as he asked, slipping mine hand into his. He gently squeezed it and pulled me toward him for a kiss. I missed the intimacy we shared, and I kissed him back with hunger. In true Colson fashion, he gripped my hair, sliding his tongue past my lips. A sarcastic laugh from somewhere in the room broke us apart.
“Father,” Vaughn said. “It doesn’t surprise me that you’re still trying to act like nothing is wrong.”
“Vaughn!” I ground out.
In his eyes, I could see the hurt he was feeling. He was using sarcasm to hide his emotions. As competitive as he was with his father, he didn’t want to lose him. Colson held up his hand.
“It’s all right, Joey. My son doesn’t have a compassionate bone in his body. Don’t let it bother you.”
I clenched my jaw as I backed away from Colson, brushing by Vaughn with an air of superiority. His father was dying, and he couldn’t put aside his shitty attitude.
“I came to discuss the Svensen deal – unless you want me to handle it on my own.”
Colson frowned. “Since I set it up and all the interactions for the deal with Karl have been through me, I think it’s best I close it.”
Vaughn let out a frustrated breath. “I thought with your condition…Karl wants to have dinner at Toast tonight to discuss a few details.”
Colson shoved the covers off. I jumped up from the couch where I had settled.
“You’re not going anywhere!” I yelled. “Let Vaughn handle it.”
Vaughn stepped back as Colson slid off the bed.
“What time?” he said, pressing the button for the nurse.
I stepped in between the two men, hugging my husband. “You can’t do this. You need rest,” I whispered.
“Josephine, I’m not dead yet. I can still work.”
He placed a kiss on my cheek as the nurse entered the room. “I need you to remove these,” he said, gesturing to the tubes in his arms. “And have the doctor draw up discharge papers. I’m going home.”
“Sir?”
“Now!”
Despite my husband’s sickness, the old Colson was back – commanding, domineering and ready to rule the world. I threw up my hands in exasperation while Vaughn smiled, stepping back to let the nurse do her work.
Colson was determined, and I knew better than to try and stop him. He was like a man possessed, every movement deliberate as he pulled on the crisp suit he had been brought into the hospital with. His hands trembled as he buttoned the shirt, and I could see the beads of sweat forming on his forehead. His breath came in short, shallow gasps, but his eyes were steely with resolve.
