Page 117 of Mine For The Winter

“Can I see him now?”

“Yes. He’s in recovery. Slowly coming out of sedation so he’s a little groggy. We’ll monitor him for a little while in post-op before we take him up to his room. Why don’t you come with me.”

She looked at her dad and he nodded, a smile on his face. “Give Cole a big hug from me.”

“I will.”

“I’ll be coming, too,” Lyle said. The doctor looked at him with a raised brow.

“You’re the father?”

“That’s right.”

There was something in his tone that made the doctor look at Kelly again. She shrugged, because Lyle had every right to be with Cole as he recovered. At least in the eyes of the law.

Giving her dad a hug, she urged him to go home again, then followed the doctor through the door, Lyle trailing behind. She still hadn’t gotten over how he’d arrived so fast. How he’d been close and hadn’t said a damn thing to Cole.

But this wasn’t the time or place to get into that.

When they reached Cole, he was laying on the hospital bed, his head elevated, a sheet covering him, an oxygen mask on his face. He was hooked up to an IV drip, and his eyes were closed like he was asleep.

“Hey, bud.” She touched his shoulder. Cole murmured but didn’t open his eyes.

The nurse next to him looked up. “He opened his eyes a few minutes ago, but he’s very groggy. It’ll take him a while to wake up fully. I’m just monitoring his vitals and waiting for his room to be ready, then we’ll arrange for you to be taken up.

“How long will he be in here for?” Kelly asked.

“Not long. If all goes well we should be able to release him tomorrow.”

“So soon?” She was happy to hear that but scared as well. She wasn’t exactly the world’s best nurse.

“Yes. He’ll recover faster than you can believe. He’s young and the surgery wasn’t that invasive. He’ll be up and walking around in the next few hours.”

Tears stung at her eyes. Happy ones this time. “Will he be in any pain?”

“No. We’ll take him off the IV pain meds in a while and then transition him to normal painkillers. Don’t worry, we’ll give you everything you need to make sure he’s comfortable before you take him home.”

“Mom.”

The sound of Cole’s voice – no matter how soft his whisper was – made her lip wobble.

“Yes, honey?”

The nurse lifted the oxygen mask from Cole’s face so he could speak easier.

“I’m hungry.”

She wanted to laugh. And wasn’t that a miracle, because less than an hour ago it felt like her world was collapsing. “I bet you are, honey. You’ve been through it. But everything is good now. They took your appendix out and now you can get better.”

“Once you’re in your room we’ll arrange for some food,” the nurse promised him. “Hang in there.”

“I’m here, bud.” Lyle walked forward. “Dad’s here. I’ll take care of you.” He stepped between Kelly and Cole.

“Dad?”

“Yeah, son. It’s me.”

“Why are you here?”

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