Page 341 of John + Siena: The Complete Duet

FOUR

“So, how are you feeling?”

“Really good,” Siena answered her mother-in-law honestly. “The first week after I was discharged was … long seems like a good word.”

Which wasn’t at all a lie. She spent the entire first week mostly in bed. Although this time, without the coughing and inability to breathe. It was as though her body and mind decided to shut down and make her recover. Not just from the illness, but from the stress of it all. Honestly, Siena truly needed the break.

Her second week out of the hospital had been a great deal better, thankfully. She was out of bed, actually eating three meals a day that were not made up of some kind of soup or broth, and she could make it through an afternoon without needing a two or three-hour nap. Although really, who didn’t need a good nap once in a while?

Naps were life.

It didn’t matter how old she was.

“You were still tired, probably,” Jordyn said.

It brought Siena back to the conversation at hand. Other than a few visits to see if there was anything in the house that needed done, or phone calls to check up on her, most everyone had left Siena alone to recover. She didn’t mind; it’s what she needed.

“All the time.”

Jordyn laughed. “Sickness has a way of doing that to us women. And then when you become a mother, it’s even worse because guess what? You don’t get time off. It doesn’t matter if you’re on your deathbed, someone is going to need you, and you’re just going to have to suck it up. But you understand … you have your younger sisters and all.”

Siena sighed. “Yeah, I know.”

“But what matters is you’re out of the hospital and can finally get back to normal. Which means we can also figure out what we’re doing for your sister’s birthday—”

The opening of the front door had a smile growing on Siena’s face. The last thing she wanted to do was seem rude to her mother-in-law, but she didn’t think Jordyn would mind when she interrupted her to say, “We can plan that another day—John just got home, I think.”

“Ah, then yes we can. Say hello to him.”

Siena smirked. “And I will make him call.”

He didn’t do that enough. In fact, his least favorite thing to do was talk on the phone. People would get a better response out of John if they just texted him because that was easier and faster than him making time to sit down and chat. Oh, he tried—definitely. Sometimes, though, life just became too much and John disengaged from everything. And more often than not, that meant taking a step back from others.

Including family.

At least now, Siena thought the people around them were better at recognizing that’s what John was doing and not purposely trying to cut them off. Occasionally, he needed to take time for himself to recharge. Just because he did it in a different way than someone else might do it for themselves didn’t mean he shouldn’t do it.

“I have the best daughter-in-law,” Jordyn mused, the smile in her tone clear.

Siena laughed. “I am your only daughter-in-law.”

“And yet, that changes nothing.”

“I’ll get John to call.”

“Thank you, sweetheart. Have a good night. We’ll chat soon.”

“Sounds good.”

Siena had just hung up the phone and tossed it aside on the couch when footsteps approached her from behind. Tipping her head back, she smiled at John as he shrugged off his suit jacket and came closer. Without saying a word—not even a hello, although that was fine with her considering the way he did greet her—he leaned down and kissed her. Those teasing lips of his moved smoothly against her own, coaxing them open until he could get the taste he was so clearly looking for.

Then, his mouth traveled over her chin. The sweet kisses dotted over her skin, leaving sparks every single spot that they landed.

God.

She loved this man.

All too soon, though, John pulled away with a teasing grin. “Missed you today, babe.”