Page 120 of Mine For The Winter

Or perhaps ever. In front of your ex and your child while he was recovering from surgery.

Kris chuckled and the panic slowed. “I love you too.”

Oh.OH. Her heart felt like it was about to burst. Her chest actually hurt but in a good way. “Good,” she whispered. Oh so good.

“I’ll hang around the waiting room,” he told her. “If you need anything just holler.”

“You don’t have to. You should go home, get some rest. There’s nothing you can do here.”

“You just told me you love me. I wasn’t going anywhere before and I’m definitely not now.”

Okay then. So this was what support felt like.

She could get used to this. And maybe she’d let herself. This fear had been holding her back for too long.

Maybe it was time to stop letting it dictate her reactions.

* * *

A few hours later, Cole was more awake. He’d eaten half a bowl of plain pasta and was sitting up in the bed. They’d taken him off the drip, though the catheter in his hand would be there until discharge. He’d even managed to get out of bed and walk to the bathroom with her assistance.

And now the doctor was in, checking on his wound.

“It’s all looking good for discharge tomorrow,” she told them. “I’m about to go off shift, but I’ll be here in the morning to make sure all is well before we let you leave.” She gave Cole a wink. “You’re one of my favorite kind of patients.”

“I am?” Cole asked, looking pleased.

“Yep. You’re recovering fast and doing everything we ask of you. If you can keep doing that for your mom and dad when you get home I think you’ll be able to have a great Christmas.”

“Dad’s coming home with us?” Cole asked.

Kelly glanced at Lyle. He wouldn’t meet her eye. “I’ll be around,” Lyle muttered.

The doctor looked at Kelly and mouthed ‘sorry’, as though she realized she’d messed up.

Kelly gave her a reassuring smile. It was fine. Cole was used to Lyle not being around. And if he decided to spend more time with his son this holiday season, well she was fine with that, too.

She just wanted Cole home, healthy and happy.

An hour later Lyle left, saying he’d be back the next morning to help get Cole home. And if she was being honest she wasn’t sure if he was going to come back or not, but that was okay. She had this covered. Although Cole would love to spend time with his dad.

Either way it was good. She wasn’t going to let anything spoil her happiness now that her boy was okay and recovering from a horrible day.

At six, the nurse came back in and Kelly asked her a question. “Is it okay for Cole to have visitors?”

“Of course. Two at a time including you. Or if you want a break, two people can come in while you’re gone.”

Kelly wasn’t going anywhere. But she wanted Kris to come in now that Lyle was gone, so she sent him a message and five minutes later he was walking through the door. At the sight of him her heart started doing some kind of workout against her ribcage.

His first glance was at Cole. And she liked that a lot. Because Cole was the most important thing in her life and Kris knew that.

When he saw that Cole was dozing, Kris walked over to her and pulled her into his arms. She hugged him back so tightly she was surprised he could still breathe.

And yet he could. He could kiss her, too, his lips brushing against hers in the sweetest possible way.

“He still doing okay?” he asked when he let her go.

“Great. We’re going home tomorrow.” She lifted a brow. “Apparently Lyle is coming back for that.”

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