Page 77 of Unmasking Her Shadow

She nods, sweat dampening her forehead. “Yes. But I don’t think I can stand up yet.”

I chuckle and force my own shaky legs over the side of the mattress. “I’ll be back with your medicine, breakfast, and coffee.”

She reaches for me, and her face pinches when she grabs my arm. I cradle her hand in mine and kiss her palm. “Lie with me for just a few moments like this.”

I can’t deny her. She moves over so I can lie next to her, and she climbs on top of me. “Skin to skin is healing,” she states, resting her head above my heart. I trace my fingers up and down her spine and play with her hair. My entire world is in my arms right now, and I never want to let her go.

When her stomach rumbles, she lazily climbs off me, and we get dressed. Ryker is gone, probably to work. Nyx glares at me, still mad about being locked out of the bedroom. The house is quiet.

“When are you going back to work?” she asks, filling the toaster while I make our coffee. This is a very late breakfast, but there’s no rush. The day can start whenever we want or need it to.

“When you are okay to be here by yourself.”

She’s staring at the object between her hands as if she’s studying it. I chuckle quietly, taking the avocado from her.

“I’ll be fine. We can prep stuff ahead of time. The bandages won’t be on forever, and I’ll be able to close my fist more each day. I’ll be careful.”

Not wanting to add to any lingering dark thoughts swirling around in her mind, I don’t tell her I’m scared of leaving her side. That those moments without her killed me, and my heart races, and I feel like I’m suffocating when I so much as think of being away from her right now.

“Sounds to me like you’re trying to get rid of me already,” I joke.

She elbows me in the ribs. “It’s not that. I just don’t want you to stop your life because I got injured. I won’t be able to go back to work for weeks. At least not to the spa.”

Sam loves the calm, but with the right amount of chaos. Not working for weeks is going to drive her nuts.

“How about this,” I counter, decorating her toast with the sliced avocado and sprinkling it with salt, pepper, and seasoning. “When you can do this yourself, I’ll go back to work.”

“Deal,” she concedes, lifting it to her mouth and taking a bite before carrying it to the table. I trail behind with her coffee. As much as I despise waking up before the sky, I miss our mornings on the porch watching the sunrise together. Maybe the nightmares won’t wake her tonight, and tomorrow will start anew.

My parents show up mid-afternoon with several foil pans filled with dinners.

“Oh, my goodness, mama,” I laugh, moving things around in the refrigerator to fit them all.

“That’s not even all of it, Ki,” my dad chimes in.

“I’ll be right back with the freezer meals,” my mom yells over her shoulder before walking back outside. I look to Sam and she’s covering her mouth, her shoulders shaking with silent laughter.

“These can be dumped in a crock-pot,” she explains, handing me several gallon bags filled with random ingredients. She wrote on each one with a marker to show cooking times.

“Thank you so much, Mrs. Hayes,” Sam says, appreciation shining in her eyes.

“Oh, honey, call me Mom,” she replies, pulling Sam into a hug. “You’ve been through enough. Don’t none of you need to worry about cooking for a few days. Oh—” she yelps grabbing her chest. “Ryker’s grandma sent over some pies. I forgot them in the backseat.”

My dad grabs her by the shoulders, “I’ll go get them, sweetheart.”

She finally wraps her arms around me, and I hug her back, patting her on top of the head, a reminder that I’m taller than her and she hates it.

She pulls back and pushes my hand away. “How are you doing, hun?” she whispers.

I nod. “I’m okay.”

She cocks her head, not believing me.

“I’ll be fine, Ma. Almost losing her was hard. I’m taking time off work for her, but also for myself. I can’t be away from her yet.”

“Your heart will ache every time you are away from her from here on out. That’s what happens when you find your soulmate.”

She extends her arm towards Sam, and she abandons the pie to join the hug.