Cowboy Take Me Away(209)
They didn’t return home until the middle of the night.
Once they were in their bed, Carson reached for her again, almost desperately. He made love to her with such tenderness, with such sweetness, with such devotion, she couldn’t stop the tears from falling even as she shuddered in pleasure beneath him.
Afterward he kissed her, keeping the physical connection of their bodies. “I love you, Caro. I ain’t an easy man to love. I’m grateful every damn day that you see past what’s on the surface and know the man I am down deep. It’s never scared you—even when it’s scared me. You give me more happiness and love in one day than I ever thought I’d have in a lifetime. Thank you.”
She’d been married to the man nearly twenty years and he still had the power to surprise her. To move her. To remind her that she, too, was lucky.
The images turned fuzzy and then disappeared entirely. Then she floated in that gray matter again.
No! I want to go back. I want to relive what happens next. I have to remember it all!
But as Carson’s words, “Come back to me. I’m right here. Where I’ve always been, where I’ll always be. I love you. Please. Come back to me,” registered as the end of their time together, the grayness became black, swallowing her completely.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Hospital, Day 4—early evening
“Funny, you don’t look like the anti-Christ.”
Carson jolted awake. God. How long had he been asleep? He squinted at the clock. Only fifteen minutes. Between the flashbacks and the dreams, he had a serious time disconnect.
“Dammit. I woke you up, didn’t I?”
“Uh, yeah.” He blinked and tried to orient himself. He looked at his daughter-in-law. “Hey, AJ. Sorry I’m out of it.”
“Which I expected, given the circumstances. I won’t ask if there’s been any change, because even though you banned everyone from the ICU, you would’ve let someone know.”
“Of course I would have.” He paused. “They really are painting me out to be the anti-Christ, ain’t they? I didn’t ban them from the ICU waiting room, just the ICU itself.”
AJ opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it again. “Why don’t you sit over here?”
“That bad, huh?” he said as he lowered himself into a different chair.
She moved in behind him, setting her hands on his shoulders. “Just relax and let your head fall forward.”
“What’re you—”
“I’m massaging your shoulders and your neck because I can see your tension.”
“AJ, darlin’, you don’t have to do this.”
“I know. It’s my way of contributing to your well-being since rumor has it you’ve already gotten plenty of cookies.”
“Damn, girl, you didn’t bring me cookies? You can just get the hell out of here, right now.”
She laughed. “No secrets in the McKay family. But in all seriousness, I know my sisters-in-law have been here and have told you we’re on your side in this decision. But I’ll also point out that you passed on the stubborn male McKay gene to your sons, so it is partially your fault. The extreme reaction of them being unwilling to listen to reason is why we’re all so ticked off. They’ve got it in their fool heads that you’re just being petty because you can be. Granted, I didn’t grow up in your household, but I’ve never seen you as that kind of man. Then or now. So they’re just bein’ jerks because they’re scared.”