Page 24 of Mine For The Winter

“Kelly.”

The sound of his voice cut through the turmoil of her thoughts. She turned to look at him. “Yes?”

“Cole is amazing. You’re a great mom.” His words were so unexpected they winded her for a moment.

Oh God, she was going to cry. A few words of comfort and she had no idea how to deal with them. “Thank you,” she said again, her voice thick and husky. Kris held her gaze for a moment, and she felt her whole body shiver.

He nodded and she gave him the smallest of smiles back. “Good night, Kris.”

“Good night.” She could feel the heat of his gaze on her as she pulled the door open and stepped onto her driveway, closing it behind her as she grabbed her keys and walked to the door. He didn’t back out – he was too chivalrous to leave without making sure she was inside safely, and she took one last look at him before she opened the front door and walked inside.

He was still staring at her. She swallowed hard and smiled at him. He smiled back.

It was enough. It had to be. Hastily she stepped inside and closed the door, leaning back against it as she tried to catch her breath.

“That you, Kel?”

She exhaled heavily. “Yeah. Why are you still up, Dad?”

“Couldn’t sleep.”

The light was spilling out from beneath the living room door. She pushed it open to see her dad sitting in his chair, his legs extended on the footstool, an ice pack on his knee.

“Are you in pain?”

“Just a little.” He was in his pajamas. The television was on, but he must have muted the sound when she walked in.

She walked over to him, grateful for the distraction from her thoughts. “You taken some pain meds?”

“All the ones I got.”

She hoped he was joking. “Want me to make you a cocoa?”

“No, honey. You go to bed. You must be exhausted.”

“I’m fine.” She put her hand on his shoulder, trying to show him some solidarity. “We need to get this surgery booked.”

If they had the money he could have the surgery in early January. That’s what the doctor had told him at his last appointment.

“You know we can’t.” He gave her a pained smile. “It’s okay. The pills will kick in soon.”

She sat heavily on the sofa next to him. “We can take out a loan to pay for it.”

“No.”

Damn, he was as stubborn as she was. There was no guessing where she got it from.

“Dad…”

“Who’s going to give me a loan?” he asked her. “I’m a bad bet.”

“We can use the Tavern as collateral.”

“No!” He was vehement this time. Enough to make her flinch. “That’s not happening.”

She caught his eye. “We’re going to lose it anyway.”

“No, we’re not. The Tavern is safe. It’s the only thing that brings us money. This is the end of the conversation, Kelly. I’ll be okay, just let it be.” He picked up the remote and switched the sound back on.

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