“You were going to have an abortion.”
The untrue statement out of left field had her stepping back. Shock rippled through her body, sending chills down her spine.
“What are you talking about?” She faintly remembered him saying the same thing the morning they first went to see Dr. Duffy. At the time, she’d been too nervous and too scared about the test results to understand the implication of his words.
“You’d gone to get an abortion even after saying you never would.”
“Again, what are you talking about? I told you how I felt about that. I could never get rid of our baby, through an abortion or adoption. I loved him the second we conceived him.” Her hands covered her belly in maternal instinct, even though it had been ten years since a baby had filled her womb.
“You’re telling me the thought never crossed your mind?”
“Never. I made that crystal clear, I thought. Why. Do you wish I had?” Ellie retreated further in the kitchen, needing to put distance between them.
“That’s not what I’m saying. Don’t jump to conclusions.”
“Maybe you should take your own advice.” She pointed to the back door. “It’s late and we have an early start tomorrow. You should go before we both say or do something we’ll regret.”
Ignoring her plea to leave, Colton crossed the kitchen in a fraction of a second and kissed her swiftly on the lips. His expression wasn’t entirely unreadable, but unclear all the same. There were no crinkles at the corner of his eyes, and his lips weren’t turned down in a frown. They were flat. Not angry. Not happy. Something in between. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
Ellie touched her lips with the tips of her fingers, trying to keep his taste on her lips as long as possible. When the taillights to his truck could no longer be seen, she climbed into bed, hugging her pillow tight, wishing it was Colton.
Chapter Eighteen
Colton
“That’s an interesting request.” The nurse eyed Colton speculatively and broke out in laughter when she realized he was serious. “You don’t look the type, but I’ll see what I can do.”
Colton was hooked up to an IV, a heart monitor, and some other contraption that looked vaguely familiar from his last stint in the hospital. He didn’t feel anywhere near as shitty as he had when he came to after losing his leg. He reached out blindly for the remote to the bed and tilted it so he was sitting.
“Son of a bitch.” He grabbed his side and swore again when he touched his incision.
“It’s you tough guys who are the worst patients.” The nurse came back, a folded garment in her hands. “You’ve been awake for ten minutes and you’re already trying to break free. Lie back down. The doctor will be in soon to let you know when it’s safe for you to move about.”
“Is CJ out of surgery yet?”
“That’s the fourth time you’ve asked me the past ten minutes.”
“I want to be there when he wakes up.”
“So you’ve said already. Wearing this.” She tossed the hospital gown at him with a chuckle. “Kid’s lucky to have a dad like you.”
Ignoring the untrue compliment, Colton lifted his arms, cringing at the tug in his side, and threaded them through the Batman gown. Even with the loose armholes, it was snug against his biceps.
“Maybe I should have gotten you the Incredible Hulk. We don’t have many superhero johnnys in your size, Mr. Riley.”
“This is fine.” He had no intentions of wearing it long, just for CJ to see when he came out of surgery.
“Don’t you look pretty?” Blake teased as he walked through the door, a coffee in one hand and a donut in the other. “I agree with Nurse…” He peered at her nametag and flashed her a quick wink. “Nurse Katie. Paint you green and Bruce Banner is instantly the Hulk.”
“I’ll let you two visit. Keep the coffee and donut away from my patient, though. Unless you want his vomit all over your sneakers.”
“She seems nice,” Blake said when Nurse Katie left.
“Have you heard from Ellie? How’s CJ doing?”
“The family is upstairs in the waiting lounge with her. Still have some time before the surgery will be done and then a bit longer before the kid’s awake.”
“I need to be there.”
“Easy, Bruce Wayne. What’s with the Bruces anyway? You’d think they’d be more original. Tony Stark, Peter Parker, Clark Kent. Why two Bruces? Why not Blake? Blake Wayne?” His brother shoved the rest of his donut in his mouth and plopped in a chair. “Or Blake Riley. That could totally be a superhero name.”
“Seriously?”
“No doubt. What should my superpower be?”
“If you could make yourself invisible that would be great.” Colton could tolerate only so much of his younger brother’s idiot ideas.
“The doctors obviously aren’t giving you enough happy medicine. Want me to call your nurse back in?”
“I want you to grab my sweats from the shelf and…” Blake was the only one of his family members who had seen his prosthetic. At the mercy of his flaky brother, he barked out his favor. “And grab my prosthetic from the drawer.”
Blake tossed his pants at him, then sobered for a moment and nodded. Colton watched him pull open the drawer and carefully pick up the leg. As if carrying a baby, he walked toward Colton. “You sure the doctor wants you up already?”
Colton raised his eyebrow at his brother, giving him the death stare. He was tired of people questioning his ability. A few stitches in his stomach wouldn’t keep him from seeing his son.
“Yes.”
“You’re not pulling my leg?” Blake snorted at his own joke, wiggling the leg, the moment of seriousness over.
Colton couldn’t help but grin as well. His brother had some unconventional tactics. His whole family did.
“Looks like you’re ready to move around,” Dr. Sutton said from behind Blake.
“Can you get me up to CJ’s room? Please.”
The stitches prevented him from bending over far enough to strap on his leg. He had two choices. Ask his brother or Dr. Sutton to help him, or go without and look like an invalid in a wheelchair.
“I’ll take that.” The doctor took his prosthetic from Blake and set it back in the drawer. “I want you up and walking soon, but not this soon. I have a feeling you’re going to be the kind of patient who refuses his pain medication and who ends up pulling out his stitches.” Colton didn’t disagree with him. “You can go upstairs as long as you take it easy. Promise me you’ll stay in the chair for a little bit and then we’ll have you up and around tonight. Okay?” Right on cue the nurse came back, pushing a wheelchair in front of her.
“Fine,” Colton growled, struggling to get his right leg through his sweats.
“Don’t you think a Hulk nightie would look better on my brother than that flimsy Batman dress?” Blake asked the nurse while he casually helped Colton get his right foot in to his pants.
Blake may pretend to be a numb pretty boy, but he was the master of distraction. Colton had never been modest until his accident. He didn’t care that his chest was exposed, riddled with scars and puckers from the roadside bomb. Most of the damage above his waist wasn’t too gnarly. Not like his legs.
He’d been stripped naked for the surgery, a large gauze bandage taped over where his kidney used to be. The fresh incision made it difficult to yank up his pants over his ass while keeping the thin sheet over his junk. Blake continued yakking away about stupid powers, not making eye contact with Colton while he dressed him like a baby.
Colton clenched his teeth when he tried to sit up.
“Mr. Riley. You’ve been awake for less than an hour. You can’t push yourself too hard or you’re going to end up staying here longer than you’d like.”
He had forced himself awake and called for a nurse as soon as he could move his hand and find the call button to remove his catheter and the other tubing. He still had the IV in but it could be wheeled around with him.
�
��I’m not sure if you’re aware, doc, but my brother is on stubborn side of the spectrum. He doesn’t like to be told what to do.”
Blake smiled at Colton and patted his shoulder as if he’d spoken words of wisdom or revealed some great secret.
The doctor laughed. “I picked up on that from my first meeting with him. I suppose you’re going to see CJ one way or another, so I might as well make sure you get there safely.” He handed the clipboard to the nurse and lifted the sheet. “You are not to get out of this chair until I say it’s okay. Most patients I have to force out of bed and convince them to try to walk after surgery. Not this soon after, though.”
With the help of the doc and Blake, Colton inched slowly out of bed. Four large hands grabbed him under his arms and thighs, carrying him to the wheelchair.
“If you fart on me I’m gonna drop you. Just sayin’.”
The sweat dripping down his forehead stopped in the fold of his grin. His brother may be an idiot, but he loved him for his unconventional tactics.
Needing a minute to catch his breath, Colton tilted his head back and closed his eyes.
“What the hell are you sweating and panting for? All you did was sit there. The poor doctor and I had to lug your concrete body and be all careful of your stitches lest you cry like a little girl.”
“Can you put my brother on the brain transplant list?”
Dr. Sutton chuckled as he stuck his stethoscope in his ears and listened to Colton’s chest. After clipping the IV on the chair, he handed him a cup of water.
“You can start putting fluids back into your body. Slowly. If you look weak or green, I’m getting you out of there and sending you back to bed. Understand?”
“Ten-four.”
Blake pushed the chair, following Dr. Sutton to the elevators. Colton hated the prying eyes on him and was tempted to scowl at the onlookers. Without his prosthetic on it was quite obvious he was missing his leg. The sweats hung loosely past his left knee, dragging on the floor.
“Easy, killer. They’re checking out your Batman dress,” Blake said loud enough so only Colton could hear.
When they finally made it to the waiting room everyone turned around to stare. His entire family and extended family was there, except for Rachael’s husband Jake. He’d been assigned Inn duty while the girls stayed tight with Ellie.
A family unit, the Rileys were.
Ellie had her back to him, her arms folded across her middle, her shoulders slouched in exhaustion. The room quieted when he rolled into full view and Ellie turned around at the sudden stoppage of conversation.
“Colton!” She rushed to his side and hugged him fiercely.
“Ouch.”
“Oh my god. I’m so sorry.” Ellie dropped her arms and stepped back. “Did I hurt you? I’m so sorry. Oh, your stitches.” She moved forward again, this time more slowly, and took in his body with her heated gaze. Reaching out her hand, she hovered it over his incision. “Does it hurt?”
“Not too bad,” he lied.
“Are you supposed to be out of bed already?”
“Not exactly.”
“I couldn’t keep Batman away any longer. He’s in love.” Colton and Ellie snapped their heads up at Blake. “With CJ,” he stammered, yet the gleam in his eye told Colton the slip was intentional. “It’s pretty obvious how much they love each other. I mean, everyone can see the look in their eyes when they’re in the same room.”
If Colton had the strength, he’d strangle his brother. The innuendo was clear as the fishing hole at Stone Ridge stream.
“Go find yourself a nurse to hook up with.”
“Don’t mind if I do.” Blake clicked his tongue and strolled off down the corridor.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there when you woke up. I needed to be here…just in case…”
“Don’t apologize. I would have been angry with you if you were in my room instead of waiting here for CJ. I got here as soon as I could. How is he doing? Any reports?”
Ellie shook her head. His surgery had taken a couple hours and as soon as they removed his kidney, they clamped and stitched him up and started their work on CJ. His surgery would take a little longer, and he probably wouldn’t wake up as quickly as Colton had.
“Nice dress,” Graham teased, followed by echoing taunts from Luke and Lucy.
“CJ will love it.” Ellie’s eyes filled with tears.
“They didn’t have my size but it will do.” He didn’t tie the front closed and wore it like an unbuttoned shirt. His chest warmed when Ellie’s gaze returned to his torso and he was piggish enough to flex his muscles.
“Ow.” Yeah, maybe he shouldn’t have done that.
“What is it?” To say her eyes were blue was like saying a rose was red. A simple color could not describe what shone from her, and if he’d been more poetic, romantic in the least, he’d be able to explain or at least classify what she did to him.
“You look tired. Why don’t you sit?”
“Another insult to my looks?” Her eyes crinkled at the corners, telling him she wasn’t offended.
Colton wheeled himself to a spot next to an empty chair and set his cup on the table next to it. “Sit.” She did, keeping their hands locked.
He could feel the stares of his family members, all keeping their distance. Wise but unnecessary. He knew his mother was respecting his space and was a nervous mess inside. Ending her misery, he called her over.
“How do you feel?” Doreen kissed the top of his head and cupped his face in her hand. “Your color is good.” She felt his forehead. “You feel warm. Make sure to follow the doctor’s orders.”
“Yes, Ma.” She kissed him again and he reached out his free arm to give her a one-arm embrace. “I’ll be home in a few days.”
“Why don’t you stay at the house? You’re going to need some help for a little while.”
Colton squeezed Ellie’s hand and looked at her over his shoulder. “Your offer came a bit too late. Ellie’s already condemned herself to being my slave until I can move around on my own.”
“That’s very kind of you, Ellie. And please let me know if he gets to be too much to bear.”
“I will.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” His mother tapped his shoulder and Ellie stroked his hand.
“You have a tendency to be grouchy when you don’t get your way,” Graham offered from the couch across from them.
“Thanks, brother. Remind me to throw you under the bus when your baby comes.”
“What does he mean by that?” Maggie glared at Graham while stroking her belly.
Colton didn’t have a clue what he meant himself, but had felt like tossing out the idle threat all the same.
“We’ll all be in and out of the Inn driving the three of them crazy. Let us know when you need to get away and we’ll make the boys take care of…the boys.” Maggie patted Graham’s leg lovingly.
“Ms. Fairfield?”
Ellie jumped, still holding Colton’s hand. “Yes. How is he? Is he out of surgery? Did everything go okay?”
Colton’s family swarmed around his wheelchair as Dr. Duffy placed a reassuring hand on Ellie’s shoulder.
“Your son is a trooper. The transplant went off without a hitch. Mr. Riley’s kidney was in perfect condition and as far as we can tell, CJ’s body is accepting it. We’ll have to keep him on watch for a few days to make sure his body doesn’t reject it, and if all goes well, you’ll all be back at home by Monday.”
“When can we see him?” Colton asked.
“He will be in ICU for a few hours. He can have one visitor at a time for ten minutes an hour until he’s moved into his recovery room.”
“Go.” Colton kissed Ellie’s knuckles. “We’ll be right here.”
Ellie bit her lip and nodded, following behind the doctor.
The next hour was just as torturous as the first. When Colton could finally see CJ, the boy was still asleep, unresponsive to his words and his touch. So small and pale. Machines b
eeping, tubes and wires attached to CJ’s arms and chest. It wasn’t fair that someone so small, so innocent had to endure such a surgery.
Although CJ had it better than some of the other kids he’d passed in the hall. Colton couldn’t imagine being a parent of a child who had cancer or leukemia and went through chemotherapy countless times. It was heartbreaking.
It definitely put life in perspective. Having a child made him not care so much about his own shit, his own insecurities. Colton attempted to shift in his wheelchair. His stitches pulled and without his prosthetic on, he didn’t trust himself to stand up. His body was still too weak to balance only on his right leg. The urge to hold his son in his arms was strong. Not being able to caused tears to form in his eyes.
Colton stroked CJ’s tiny hand, his skin soft and frail, yet his son had a fighting heart. He’d come out on top of this. The surgery would make him stronger. Soon they’d be tossing a football out back behind the Inn.
There’d be Little League games, soccer tournaments, birthday parties. Colton wanted to be part of it all. The three of them together. And his boatload of siblings as well. Future nieces and nephews. Cousins for CJ.
Waiting was hell, but he had Ellie and his family to get him through.
“Mr. Riley?” the nurse called softly behind him.
Knowing his time was up, he lifted CJ’s hand to his lips and kissed it tenderly.
There were three new people in the waiting room when he returned. They’d aged over the years, but he’d recognize them anywhere.
The Fairfields. Colton had a few choice words he wanted to say to Thomas Fairfield, but not until he could stand on his own two…on his own. His hands turned to fists, and his fingernails dug deep into his palms until he thought he’d broke skin. But this anger was nothing compared to how he felt the last time he saw Thomas Fairfield.
The man he had looked up to as a decent employer was a lying, good-for-nothing son of a bitch. He’d brainwashed Ellie for too many years and ditched her when she was pregnant and in need. He’d have hell to pay. Colton seethed, keeping his temper in check like he’d been trained to do.
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