“You’ve truly lost your mind, Cole Bishop. We’ve only known each other for like a day. Now you’re telling me that I’m moving in with you. That’s not going to happen. You’re only saying that because I’m hurt. You’ll think differently when I’m better.”
“You said you loved me. I love you more than you can even begin to understand. You’re coming to my house, so I can take care of you. Now, get some rest. I’m going out in the hall to talk to Courtney and Bobby.” He gave her a hasty kiss on her lips before he walked out of the room. He motioned for Bobby to follow.
“If you need me, call me. I will be here in two seconds flat. The guy is obviously nuts about you. Just know that if he hurts you, I am gonna chop off his balls!”
“Oh good god… Don’t tell him that! He will get all excited thinking you have his balls on your mind. Trust me. Those threats don’t really seem to faze him. I’m gonna be fine. Thank you for checking on me. Love ya girl.”
“Love you, too. Take care of yourself, and I’ll come see you tomorrow at Bishop’s when you get settled,” Courtney said. Tessa sighed with frustration as she watched her walk out of the room.
When Courtney made it into the hall, Bishop and Bobby were talking quietly. Bobby was taking down notes on an old receipt. “We’ll take care of it. You go take care of your girl. We’ll grab everything she’ll need and bring it over to your place tonight. It’ll be ready when she gets there. Just let me know if you think of anything else she may need,” Bobby assured him.
“Thanks man. I really appreciate it,” Bishop patted him on the shoulder and headed for Tessa’s room.
“Bishop?” Courtney called as she walked over to him. She placed her hand on his arm and said, “I’m sorry about what I said in there. I know you didn’t mean for that to happen to her. When I get upset, words just seem to spew from my mouth! I know you care about her. I was just worried about her.
“It’s okay, Courtney. I know you meant well, and you love her. It’s easy to see why you’d be mad at me. I deserved it. I just hope she’ll give me the chance to make it up to her.”
“She will. She’s already forgiven you. You just need to take care of her and make her rest. I’ll call her mom and see if she can keep the kids a little longer. They can stay with me for a little while if that helps.”
“Thanks. I think that’d be good. I’m sure she’s gonna want to see them soon, but she needs some time to heal. Maybe I can get her to wait a few days before she gets them to come home. I’ll see you both at the house tomorrow.”
Courtney gave him a bear hug before she turned to leave. Bishop noticed that Bobby reached for her hand as they walked down the hall.
When he walked back into Tessa’s room, she was sitting up waiting on him with an intense look on her face. “We need to talk.”
“Whatcha got on your mind?”
“I need to know how you see this all playing out. You and Myles have been on your own for a long time. We haven’t even talked about what’s going on between us, and now you’re talking about moving us all into your home. That’s a lot to take on, Cole. I’m not sure we’re ready for that. What if you don’t like having us there? What if we don’t work out? I don’t want my kids to get hurt again.”
“I wouldn’t do this if I wasn’t sure, Tess. The kids will be fine. They already get along great, and Drake and Myles have become friends without us even trying. It’ll be good for Myles to have y’all around. I told you last night that you were mine. I take care of what’s mine, and I plan on taking real good care of you. You just have to trust me.”
“Is anything ever easy with you?” Tessa asked with sarcasm.
“Loving you has been pretty easy. The rest will work itself out.” Bishop sat on the bed beside her. “We’ve got a good thing here. I don’t plan on letting anything happen to us. It’ll take some time to get used to the change, but it’ll be worth it. You’re worth it.”
“I hope you’ll remember that when things get crazy. Having three kids under one roof is gonna be tough.”
“I’m looking forward to it. Now, stop worrying about all this and get some rest. We’ll get you settled tomorrow, and the kids can come at the end of the week when you’re feeling better.”
“Okay.” Tessa said as she began to settle into her pillow.
“I love ya.” Bishop said kissing her lightly on her lips.
“I love you, more.” Tessa replied as she closed her eyes. She quickly fell back to sleep with Bishop sitting by her side.