and within a few minutes, Jimmy was being wheeled through the corridors to Clay’s room with her and her family trailing along behind. -
Mary Jane, Shannon, and Brittnie each said a few words to Clay, kissed Jimmy good-night and slipped away, leaving. Becca to settle into a chair and ponder exactly how this had come about.
“When’s Dad gonna wake up?”
Becca tried to ignore the whining tone in her son’s voice though it was beginning to annoy her greatly.
“He’ll wake up when he’s ready,” she answered for at least the tenth time.
“When can we go home?”
Dr. Kress wanted to check Jimmy once more before releasing him, but as the doctor on call at Tarrant General, he’d been summoned to deliver a baby. She didn’t feel like explaining all that to Jimmy, though, so she just said, “When your dad wakes up.”
“Mom, I need a drink,” Jimmy went on, not even pausing for breath between one demand and the next.
Becca looked at her son with a growing mixture of frustration, amusement, and despair. She knew he was playing his injuries, minor though they were, for all they were worth. She was delighted that his twenty-four hours in the hospital were almost over so she could take him home. Her only hope was that she wouldn’t be tempted to lock him in his room when she got him there and throw away the key. He had been demanding and petulant all morning, exactly the opposite of his usually sunny nature.
“You just had a drink,” she said, moving to stand beside his bed. She was exhausted, having slept very little the night before. Her family had insisted she go home and rest and Brittnie had stayed with her, but she hadn’t fallen asleep until far past midnight.
“I need another one,” Jimmy said.
She picked up the small plastic pitcher and started to pour water into a glass.
“I want orange soda.”
“No.”
Jimmy stiffened in his bed and his bottom lip popped out. “But my head hurts.”
“James Harold,” Clay spoke up from the other bed. “Stop annoying your mother. You don’t need another drink. Now be quiet.”
Becca glanced up and Jimmy subsided as he, too, looked at his father in surprise. She had thought Clay was still sleeping, as he had been most of the day—though she didn’t know how he had slept through Jimmy’s demanding bouts of whining.
She turned to him, noting the improved color of his skin and the brightness in his eyes. “Well, good afternoon,” she said, cautiously.
One corner of Clay’s mouth eased up. “I haven’t slept this late since the last time I had a hang....” He glanced at Jimmy. “...nail,” he finished, and Becca laughed at the unexpected silliness of his remark.
Jimmy scooted out of his bed and hurried over to get as close as possible to Clay and pepper him with questions. “How come you didn’t wake up, huh, Dad? You been sleepin’ all day.”
“Not all day, son. They keep waking me to make sure this bump on my head didn’t really hurt my thick skull. Looks like you’ve got a bump, too.”
“Yeah.” Jimmy grinned suddenly. “We’re twins.”
Clay chuckled and the sound seemed to calm Jimmy. He asked his father more questions and though Becca knew his head must be pounding with pain, Clay answered, reassuring him that they would go skiing another time. Becca wondered uncomfortably how much he remembered of their argument yesterday just before he’d been struck by Joey’s car. She didn’t relish the thought of opening that discussion again, but she knew Clay well enough to know that once he felt better, he would pursue it like a bloodhound.
Right now, though, her greatest problem was the one she’d been wrestling with since the day before. Where was Clay going to go to recover once he was ready to leave the hospital?
She walked over to the bed and gently urged Jimmy away. “Honey, Dad needs to rest. His head hurts, too, just like yours has been hurting.”
Clay looked up at her and she felt a tingle of surprise when she noted how the bandage that slanted across his brow gave him a rakish appearance. And somehow, the expression in his green eyes seemed more...relaxed.
“I actually feel pretty good,” he said, then lifted himself onto his elbow. “Ah, maybe a little weak, though.” He lay back down.
Becca stared. She’d never heard him admit to a weakness before.
He grinned at her. “I’m glad you’re here, Becca.”
Becca’s jaw sagged. “You’re kidding.”
“It’s good to see you.”
She gave him a long look. “Clay, I think you need to rest a little more.”
“I feel fine.”
He certainly looked fine, considering the shape his leg was in, not to mention his head—and the black eye that was going to be spectacular. In fact, if he wasn’t so banged up, she would think he looked better than he had in a long time. There was a light in his eyes she hadn’t seen in.... She couldn’t remember ever seeing it before, and a teasing smile tilted his mouth.
Becca felt her surprise settle into disturbing warmth that thumped down to rest in the pit of her stomach. Unconsciously, she folded her hands at her waist as if to hold it there.
Off balance, the next thing she knew, Jimmy was tugging at her skirt and saying, “Dad’s awake so we can all go home now.”
She blinked down at his happy face. “What?”
“You said we were waitin’ for Dad to wake up so we could go home. So let’s go.”
“Jimmy, I meant we were waiting so you could see him before I take you home. He can’t leave the hospital yet. He’s not well enough.”
“Oh. Then we can come back and get him tomorrow.” Jimmy scurried back to Clay’s bed and gave it a quick examination. “Are you gonna need a special bed like this when we get home?”
Clay looked at Becca’s stunned face, then back to his son. “No. I’ll be able to use a regular bed.”
“Like Mom’s?”
“Just like Mom’s.”
The little boy nodded with satisfaction. “Then we’ll come back and get you tomorrow and take you home to live with us again.”
CHAPTER THREE
“SON, that sounds like a great idea.” Clay nodded thoughtfully at Jimmy’s suggestion.
“Wha...at?” The word wheezed from Becca’s throat as she stared at him in astonishment. “What does?”
“For me to come live with you again,” Clay said,
