Pulling back, he wiped his face. "So was I, baby, so was I."
Their eyes searched each other, pure relief evident on their features.
Their room bustled with hospital staff coming in and out, but that didn't matter to anyone in the room. Beth was back and her health would return.
"That's it, as soon as you're out of this hospital we're getting married," Sean blurted.
Eyes still shedding tears, Beth nodded. "Okay."
"Now wait one minute." Mr. Connors cleared his throat. "I'll have none of that. I'm walking my daughter down the aisle in a church ceremony."
"We'll up the date, sweetheart," Mrs. Connors interjected. "So everyone gets what they want."
"Yes," Sean agreed and turned back to his girl. "So I can keep an eye on my Beth."
"She was my Beth well before you came along," Mike challenged.
"Michael," Jill said softly.
So much for his camaraderie with Beth's father. They were back to their pissing contest over the woman they both loved, only with a more respectful banter.
Two days later, Beth was transferred to the step-down unit. Every four hours she received breathing treatments from respiratory who didn't care if she was sound asleep in the middle of the night. They woke her religiously. Exhausted, her parents finally went home in the evening to get some rest, but assured her they'd return first thing in the morning. Sean refused to leave her side.
Feeling lethargic, she hit the remote to position the bed into a lying back posture. The television sound was turned down low, and the lights in the room were dimmed. Sean sat in a chair next to the bed that he dwarfed. There was no possible way he was comfortable.
"You don't have to stay," she said softly. Slowly her voice started to return to normal though still had a scratchy tone. She could feel the pain subsiding, which was why she tried to keep the talking to a minimum for the time being.
"Yes, I do," he said and gave her a look that said he wasn't to be trifled with.
"You look uncomfortable."
"It's nothing comparably," he said.
Tilting her head, she didn't understand what he meant.
He seemed to comprehend she didn't grasp his meaning. "I mean, I'll put up with the pain so long as you're alive."
"Oh," she breathed.
Lips quirking, he said, "Yeah, oh. Get some rest. You look tired, honey."
"Thanks," she said sarcastically.
His smile grew wide. "You're welcome. I say that because you have dark circles under your eyes, and you're starting to look pale again. That's all."
Sighing, she closed her eyes. "You're right, as usual."
She imagined he loved hearing those words spill from her mouth. Succumbing to the onset of exhaustion, her body drifted into a deep sleep. Well, at least for four hours.
After only a couple of days, Beth's condition continued to rapidly improve, which got her transferred to the general admission floor. The doctor even said she'd probably be discharged within the next day or two, that sent her mind back to her home. According to Sean and her parents, her house was destroyed. A pile of charred debris. Everything she owned, ashed. Sadness crept over her. She hadn't had much in the way of material objects, but what she had she was proud that she'd earned it on her own without help. But worse than anything, the loss of her home was causing an argument between her father and her fiancé.
"Beth will come home with her parents until you're married. That's final," her father ranted. His jaw clenched, his chest puffed out, and he menacingly crossed his arms over his chest. She watched her mother swoon and lick her lips. Good lord.
"She can move in with me and get acclimated to living together," Sean said.
"We're both home to take care of her. You have to get your office up and running. How long will you be gone during the day? Hours at a time? Not only that, she can't be left alone in your house until you get that system installed," her dad demanded.
Sean stiffened, his chest puffed, and he grew a couple of inches in stature. Was this what her life would be like with these two men?
"She'll be perfectly fine. My brother will be there to look over her as well. What better care could she get than from a doctor and a nurse?" he said.
"Wait...you're brother is living with you." Her dad turned to her. "You're moving in with him and his brother?"
"Dad, they're very close. They need each other, and if you saw the two of them together you'd understand. Ryan is a good man. He acts like my big brother, something I've never had," she said softly. Her father visibly melted sympathetically. It wasn't as if her parents didn't want more children, but her mother suffered complications after having her and couldn't get pregnant again. "I love Ryan, too, Daddy."
"There isn't some weird ménage stuff going on here, is there Elizabeth? Because I'll drag your ass back home and lock you up." Her dad pegged her.
"Dad!" She cringed.
"Michael!" Her mom clearly shouted.
Sean came up to her side of the bed. "Mr. Connors, your little girl will be looked after as my wife and as a sister my brother has never had."
She looked at Sean, mentally arguing with that comment. Courtney was the sister they never had. From what her mother told her, their cousin had been a constant presence at the hospital while she'd been in bad shape, but Sean refused to accept her compassionate concern. Her mom explained how Courtney helped in getting the equipment delivered to his office settled, and how she offered her assistance in any manner to her parents.
An ardent intensity enveloped the room. Her father and Sean refused to back down. Beth understood her father's concern, yet she empathized with Sean's need to have her in his arms at night, knowing she was safe and unharmed, and he could protect her. Men.
"I'll stay with Mom and Dad until we're married." Beth finally broke the tangible standoff. "That way you and Ryan can oversee the system installed," she said softly. God, she hated having to admit she needed special equipment to help her live life daily. But it was that hardware that saved her life.
Mr. Connors grinned in triumph while Jill rolled her eyes. Sean's shoulders deflated. Beth grasped Sean's hand into hers. "I love you."
He dissolved into a pile of mush in the palm of her hands. "I love you." He leaned over and kissed her gently.
Surprised her parents and Sean weren't waiting for her the moment visiting hours started, Beth sat on the edge of her bed ready to be discharged. Today was the day she was going home. Her vision blurred. How close she'd come to death. From what she was told, she'd been on the edge but somehow survived. Sean constantly looked at her with a gaze of pure admiration while her father treated her like a piece of priceless glass. Her mom was a combo of the two. Then there was Ryan, who joked about her going to need an iron lung in a few years and how when she got angry, smoke literally blew out of her nose and ears. Beth had been in stomach cramping hysterics during that mindless discussion. She supposed she should get used to her future brother-in-law's sense of humor.
Out of her peripheral vision, someone stood at the doorway to her room. Glancing over, Courtney stood with flowers in hand.
"Can I come in?" she asked.
Beth nodded, taken in by her beauty. God, she was stunning. Perfectly coifed hair, designer jeans, long sleeve tee shirt, and heels. Confidently she glided into the room followed by an extremely handsome man dressed in a dark, tailored suit. Beth recognized him as one of the men who'd been in Sean's home when Courtney's husband beat the snot out of him. The man leaned against the wall, out of their way, and shoved his arms into his pants pockets. His stance was anything but casual.
Courtney approached and handed her a striking bouquet of wildflowers. "For you."
"Thank you," Beth said softly.
"May I?" Courtney motioned to the end of the bed.
She nodded.
Propping herself on the hospital bed, Sean's cousin smiled warmly. "I wanted to visit before you were discharged and Sean arrived."
"I see," she said.
Glancing away and gazing out the window at the bright day, sadness was evident in Courtney's amazing blue eyes that matched Sean's. Turning back to her, she said, "I'm grateful how strong you are, Beth, to survive that fire. I don't want to upset you, but I drove by your home. To see the destruction, my heart aches over what you must have gone through."
Beth didn't want to think about it. That terrifying night assaulted her constantly, especially when she closed her eyes. The pure panic she still felt to her bones.
"I owe you a sincere apology. I'm sorry for my actions the night of the dinner," Courtney said, her eyes beseeching. "I have no excuse for my behavior." Her shoulders curled inward. "Sean's right though, I have turned into someone different." She smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "Surrounded by men who'll drop anything they're doing the minute I ask, tends to go to your head. My husband wouldn't have it any other way though."