Page 111 of Tuck & Roll

“Sure, not a problem.” The nurse gave him a steaming cup of coffee and reminded him that he wouldn’t be able to stay much longer, the patient needed his rest.

“Okay. Once my fiancée is convinced our friend is good, we’ll go.”

He returned to the room to find Kylie in the bed curled up into Darren’s side, both of them asleep. He smiled and shook his head. Was there something wrong with him for thinking they looked cute together? He pulled out his phone and snapped a picture.

He imagined that once Darren left the hospital, Kylie was going to insist on taking care of him. It was only fair after all, considering everything he’d done for her. Translated, that meant she wasn’t moving out of Darren’s house anytime soon. So it looked like Tuck would be moving in with Darren, too. He smiled to himself, picturing how his friend was going to react to the news.

He took a seat and drank his coffee. For as long as he could remember, he’d always had feelings for Kylie. Somehow, back when they were teenagers, she’d burrowed under his skin and never really left. He’d always imagined, if he was given half a chance, he and Kylie could be really good together. He’d thought he would be jealous of any other man paying attention to her. And he had been when he thought Darren was the father of her baby. But now, seeing Kylie safe in Darren’s arms, he again wondered what was wrong with him? Why wasn’t he jealous of Darren?

He didn’t know how long he sat their watching his best friend and his woman sleep as he let his mind wander and formulate a plan. He nodded off for a little while and when he woke, it was to see Darren looking down at Kylie so reverently, it made his plan that much more solid. As if feeling eyes on him, he pulled away and turned to find Tuck watching him.

“I’m sorry, man. She climbed up here and the next thing I knew she was asleep. I guess I fell asleep, too.” His brow furrowed like he couldn’t figure out how that could have possibly happened.

“It’s all good. She was exhausted. I think that everything that happened finally caught up with her.” Tuck leaned forward, settling his elbows on his knees. “She’s really grown close to you. I wanna thank you for being there for her when I couldn’t be. It means more than you know.”

“Spending time with Kylie isn’t exactly a hardship.”

“I know. She’s the best damn thing that ever happened to me.” He watched as Darren seemed to close down, probably thinking he was overstepping with Kylie.

“Why are you guys talking? I’m trying to sleep.” Kylie raised her head enough to see Darren was awake. “How are you feeling?”

“Good considering I was shot and stabbed.”

“Yeah, not funny.” Kylie smacked his chest.

Darren was trying not to laugh. “Too soon?”

“Yes. Way too soon.”

“Seriously, Kylie. I’m fine, but I think my arm is asleep from where you’ve had it pinned between you and the bed rail.”

“Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry.” She sat up and would have gotten out of his bed if she could figure out how to lower the rail.

Tuck got up and came around to help her out. He lowered the rail and offered his hand so she could get out. He pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head. “Now that Kylie Jo has seen for herself that you’re all right, I’m going to take her home and let her get some sleep. We’ll be back tomorrow. Call if you need anything.”

“Sounds good.”

“Goodnight, Darren.” Kylie leaned down and kissed his cheek.

“Night, Kylie.”

Tuck had her almost to Darren’s before it dawned on her that they weren’t going to his house. She sat forward and squinted at Darren’s as he pulled into the driveway.

“Why are we coming here?”

“It’s closer,” he replied as he shut off his truck.

“But I don’t have my key to get in. I don’t have my purse. It’s at the police station.”

“It’s okay. I swiped Darren’s keys out of his pants pocket. Come on.” He waited for her to round the front of his truck, then took her by the hand and walked to the front porch. He unlocked the door and waved her inside. Neither of them got very far until he turned a lamp on next to the door.

“You hungry? Thirsty? Need anything?” He watched her kick her shoes off at the door.

“No. I’m just really tired and want to go to bed.” She yawned huge and blinked her tired eyes.

Tuck pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. It still pissed him off that Chet had hit her and bruised her face. “Okay. Let’s get you to bed.” He waited for her to get to the bedroom and turn on a light before he locked the door, set the alarm and turned out the light.

He stripped off his cut and his t-shirt, then sat on the end of the bed to remove his boots. Kylie stripped all her clothes off except her panties, then picked up his t-shirt and pulled it over her head. With her eyes half closed and looking like she could drop at any time, she climbed under the covers. He finished undressing and slipped in next to her.

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