Page 20 of His Forever

Marleigh squeezed his hand and he looked down at her. “Thank you again for finding me this morning,” she told him.

“You’re welcome.”

“And I’m glad that this didn’t start last night and ruin our date,” she continued. “Although, it must be said that it’s a bit mortifying that the man you’re crushing on finds you throwing up,” she muttered. He chuckled because he was positive she didn’t realize she had said the last comment out loud. “Oh my God, I said that out loud, didn’t I?”she shrieked.

He leaned down and brushed her hair back, saying, “Si, mi siempre hermosa, but guess what? That man is crushing on you too and only wishes he could take away how miserable you feel.”

She closed her eyes as memories assailed her. She had gotten the flu and her parents were out of town and she had called Colton.“Sorry, babe, but I can’t handle puking,”he told her.“You’ll be fine.”She had ended up calling Paulie and Gray and they had come over, masked up to prevent catching it themselves, and nursed her back to health. That wasn’t the first time he wasn’t there for her. In fact, looking back, he wasneverthere for her when it was important to her, whether it was her college graduation or being ill. Nothing.What a douchebag.

Zeus, watching the emotions flitting across her face, wondered what she was thinking but didn’t push. If she wanted him to know, she’d tell him he reasoned. She finally looked at him, eyes all bloodshot where the blood vessels had burst and looking like a stiff wind would blow her over and said, “Except for Paulie and by proxy, Gray, you’re the first man who has ever taken care of me like this, Zeus. You have no clue how much that means to me.” He had an idea if her facial expression was any indication. It meant the world.

Once all the women were checked out, the nurse came back in and got them all discharged. He loaded his mother and Marleigh back into his vehicle, having sent Lena ahead to make sure both houses were cleaned up from the morning’s mess. His other sister, Moira, left with prescriptions for both women in her hands, promising to stop and grab ginger ale and saltines as well.

***

He was careful on the drive home not to jostle the two women too much. Both had gone back to sleep and his heart smiled when he looked back and saw his Mamá’s hand resting on Marleigh’s wrist. He knew his Mamá liked the younger woman, which was a good thing since he felt the way he did. Pulling into the driveway, he saw Lena come out onto the porch and he got out of the truck and carefully got his Mamá out, carrying her into the house and to her room, where he laid her on the bed. “Make sure she takes her medicine, Lena,” he said to his sister. “I will be at Marleigh’s if you need me.”

“Moira just called and she’s on her way back. She’s going to stay with me so we can keep Mamá from doing too much. You know how she is, si?”

He chuckled. His Mamá was like a Tasmanian devil. She was always going, always pulling in strays, always busy. This would set her back a bit and it would take all of them to get her to rest and recuperate. He felt that Marleigh was likely the same way. Going back outside, he saw his truck was empty and he glanced to the stairs where Marleigh was slowly making her way up, one step at a time. Running over, he scooped her up and quieted her protests about being too heavy and got her inside and on her couch.

“Mi siempre hermosa, if you will tell me what they get, I will feed the cats,” he told her.

“What? Oh, they usually get a can of wet food to share and I refill their dry food,” she replied, leaning her head back.God, I feel so gross.My hair is a mess, I probably stink to high heaven and here he is, still taking care of me!

“Zeus? I need…I need to take a shower,” she finally said.

“Can you wait until Moira gets back? I will have her help you,” he replied.

“Uh…just saying, I’ve been bathing myself a long time,” she told him.

“I know. Humor me, please? You’re weak, mi siempre hermosa and I know we’re not at a place where you want me seeing you naked.”

She blushed at his words. “Um…well…I have a bench in the shower, I can always sit on that while I’m in there.”

He thought about what she said and decided that would work. “Okay, but please keep the bathroom door open and if you need help, call and I will help you, alright?”

Ha, as if she was going to let him see her naked. Out loud, she said, “I will, I promise.”

He helped her into her room where she got clean clothes, then made sure everything was in reach before he left her, reminding her of her promise.

***

Heaven. The hot water pouring down on her felt like heaven. She lathered and allowed the water to wash over her, feeling lazy and decadent. Figuring she only had a few more minutes before he came to check on her anyway, she made short work of washing her hair and had gotten out, dried off and dressed, before she heard his voice at the bedroom door. “Mi siempre hermosa? Are you decent?”

She rolled her eyes knowing he couldn’t see her and got ready to brush her teeth. “Yes. Just brushing my teeth,” she called out.

He came to the bathroom door and she could see the way his eyes heated up seeing her standing there in a camisole top and capri pajama bottoms. He smiled slightly as he got her brush and hair dryer off the vanity and went back into the bedroom. When she came out, he was sitting in the middle of her bed and motioned for her to sit down. Once she sat down, he began drying her hair and again she was struck by the differences between his actions and all the words Colton used to say.

***

Hair now dry, he put the brush down and kissed the top of her head, saying, “I need to go get Duke and then see if Moira is back yet with the prescriptions. You go ahead and get comfortable, okay? I will be right back.”

“Okay, Zeus.”

He left the apartment and went down to his house, grabbing Duke and his food along with a small bag with a change of clothes and his own toothbrush, then headed back over to his mother’s house. Moira had just arrived and she smiled at him, saying, “Hey, mi hermano. Here’s your girl’s stuff.”

He tweaked her nose and said, “My girl, huh? Says who?”

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