Page 119 of Mine For The Winter

But he needed to hide it. Kelly didn’t deserve any of that.

“You heard from Kelly?”

Kris looked up to see Paul standing there, leaning on his cane. “Yeah, she just messaged me. Good news.”

“Damn right. You know what would be even better news?”

He had an idea. “What?”

“If that asshole ex of hers disappeared from all our lives.” Paul shook his head. “The way he talks to her.”

“Everybody’s a little heated right now. But the important thing is Cole,” Kris said.

“You’re right. Still hate the guy.” Paul sighed. “I’m going to call a cab and head home. That way I can make sure I’m ready to split caring duties with Kelly later.”

“I’ll drive you home. No need to call a cab.” He’d probably be waiting for hours anyway. There were so few taxis in this part of West Virginia, and today they’d be busy picking up tourist fares.

“You sure?”

“Of course. Can you message Kelly and let her know I’ll be driving for a while? I’ll drop you off and come right back here.”

“No problem.” Paul touched Kris’ arm. “And thank you. It’s a relief to know there’s at least one good man in Cole’s life.”

His words touched Kris. He nodded at Kelly’s dad. “Two. Between you and me there are two of us.”

* * *

Cole was asleep again. They’d settled him into his room on the children’s floor – a sunny corner room that overlooked the parking garage. The floor was decorated for the holidays, with a little tree on a dais near the nurses’ station.

Lyle was sitting in the chair on the other side of Cole’s bed, his feet resting on the rungs beneath Cole’s bed, his phone in his hand. Kelly was holding Cole’s palm in hers, watching for any signs of pain or distress. The pediatric nurse had taken his vitals when they’d arrived in the room and told them to call her once Cole was awake and wanted some food.

Her phone buzzed and she could see Kris’ name flash up. He was calling her, not messaging. She answered right away, lifting her phone to her ear.

“Hi.” Her voice was soft because she didn’t want to wake Cole. Lyle heard her, though. He looked up from his phone and frowned at her.

“Hey. How are you doing?”

It was so good to hear his voice. She swallowed and nodded. “Yeah, holding up I think. How about you?”

“I’m fine. You don’t need to worry about me. I just wanted to let you know that your dad’s settled at home. I cleaned up the bathroom. And then I checked in on the tavern. Everything’s fine, you don’t need to worry about anything.”

She exhaled raggedly. This man was just… God, when was the last time somebody took care of her like this?

The last time you were friends with Kris.

Yeah, maybe then. Whenever it was, it felt good until it didn’t.

“Thank you. I appreciate you so much.”

“I just want to take care of you, Kel. You’re not alone in this. Anything you want you just message me, okay?”

“Thank you.” She could feel herself choking up. Lyle narrowed his eyes, still watching her as though she was some kind of show put on for his entertainment. And then, because her brain was stupid and it was the most inappropriate moment, the three words she’d been hiding from her heart slipped out. “I love you.”

Her heart hammered against her chest. Had she really just said that out loud? She looked at Lyle who was staring back at her, his eyes narrow.

Yes, she had. She held her breath because it was so stupid and she felt so vulnerable. But she’d finally stopped lying to herself and to Kris.

Thankfully Cole was still asleep. And she was already regretting it, because that was not how you told somebody you loved them for the first time.

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