Page 56 of The Road Back to Us

I scrunched my face and slouched back against the headframe.

“Sorry.” He let go and shrugged his shoulders as he gave me a lopsided smile. “Doctor’s orders, my love. No sex until after the babies are born, and even then, it’ll be a minimum of six weeks.”

“This sucks.”

“It does,” he agreed as he walked over to me.

I was about to keep pouting, hating how unfair this was, when an idea struck me.

“But... so do I.” I winked as I reached forward, dipping my fingers into the waistband of his sweats before he gripped my wrist and stopped me.

He didn’t say anything, just shook his head as his eyes lit up with a heated gaze.

“Come on,” I whined. “It’s not like it’s strenuous and it has nothing to do with my vagina.”

“True, but I’m not going to let you give me head when I can’t return the favor and make you come. We’ll just have to be patient.”

I pulled my hand back and dropped it in my lap, full on pouting again.

Cole’s phone dinged in his pocket before he pulled it out and looked at it. A smile spread across his face before his fingers started moving across the screen as he responded to the text message.

“Everything okay?” I asked, my curiosity outweighing wanting to give him privacy.

“Everything is perfect.” He tucked his phone back into his pocket and then looked at me. “I’m going to go make breakfast. Please stay in bed and rest. If you need anything, call.”

I rolled my eyes, hating that I felt so helpless and like a burden. He handed me the TV remote and then walked out of the room, leaving me with thoughts I didn’t want to entertain.

Fifty-One

Cole

I was in the kitchen, cleaning up, when the kids and my parents returned. I knew things had been off for everyone after Lyric’s accident, but I didn’t realize just how badly they had been until my mother mentioned something.

The kids had gotten really close to Lyric, and she had become more than just their guardian; she had become like a parent to them. When she got in the accident, it triggered something in Ben and Kara that I had missed because my attention had been so focused on Lyric. Not only had Lyric gotten hurt and almost died, but I hadn’t been around because I had been staying at the hospital with her. While it had only been a few days, it was enough to upset the kids, thinking they might lose another parent.

My mom asked if they could take the kids for a few hours this morning, and I said yes, knowing they always enjoy their time with my parents. What I didn’t know was that they all had a plan, and it was one of the nicest, most heartwarming things I had ever seen.

“Do you think she’ll like them?” Kara asked, fixing a piece of baby’s breath in the flower arrangement she had put together for Lyric.

“She’ll love them. They’re beautiful, and roses are her favorite flower.”

“I remembered that when I was picking them out. I wanted to find yellow roses, but they were limited in what they had. I had to go with pink instead, and at first, I wasn’t sure it would work. But then I remembered that her new clothing line is all pinks and browns, so I figured it was a safe bet.” Kara smiled proudly as she stared at the vase filled with flowers.

“You did a great job,” I replied, kissing the top of her head.

“Thanks.”

“We have the whole week planned for meals,” Ben said, drawing my attention to where he stood by the fridge. “We wanted to make her favorite meals, but Grandma could only remember a handful. We’re doing some of her recipes because you can’t lose when you make a Grandma dish.”

I laughed because that was true. My mom made some of the best food I’d ever had, and I knew how much Lyric enjoyed it, too.

Chloe and my mom were in the bedroom with Lyric because Chloe insisted on showing Lyric the new babies she’d convinced my parents to buy while they were out. Normally, I would complain about her having more toys, but now I was just thankful that it wasn’t a fish or farm animal to keep alive. She had recently asked to get a pig, and that had been a battle I wasn’t ready for.

“I think she’ll love all of it,” I replied, my heart feeling like it would burst at the seams from the joy filling it.

“Cool,” Ben said, nodding. “I also got stuff to make brownies and ice cream sundaes. I thought maybe we could make them tonight for family game night?”

My eyebrows rose in surprise.