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His lips connect with my forehead in a lingering kiss. The spot in the center of my head continues to tingle after he pulls back. He lifts my chin, pinning me with his sorrow-filled eyes.
“I’ll be just outside, okay?”
A jerky nod is the most I can manage. My vocal cords still burn from screaming my anguish in the rain.
Cami works around without my help. She takes my vitals with efficiency and speed.
“Your temp is low, ninety-three degrees. I think we can manage warming you up here. Are you feeling all right physically?”
“I’m tired.”
“I know.” She lays her hand over my shoulder.
“There’s so much to do. I have to get my car. I need to get on a plane right now. I have to help somehow.” Hot tears prick my eyes. “Caiti needs me.”
“We’re going to help you, okay? I’ll get Kiersten on the phone with the airline to book you a flight. We can watch Ghost until you’re able to come back, and if you leave your client list, I can call and let them know you need to leave town for a bit.”
Her willingness to take charge quiets some of my anxiety. I nod and let my attention flit away. The door opens, but I’m lost to memories. Caiti’s waterlogged voice on the other end of the phone delivering news I never thought I’d hear. Plans for the future quashed in an instant while a new tangent for my life forms. Losing my parents was sudden, and I thought that was hard.
But Eric was my lifeline. How does a person live without their lifeline?
Cami returns quickly with a stack of clothes in her hand, reminding me of the cold residing within my bones. I’ve been shaking for so long I can’t differentiate between the emotions or the chill. My muscles ache from the relentless shivering.
“Let’s get you into something warm and dry. I have soup ready, and heaters are running in the guest bedroom so you can eat and sleep.”
“How can I sleep when I’m already dreaming?”
A sigh slips free. Cami sets the folded clothes on the edge of the vanity and plucks a men’s hooded sweatshirt from the top. “You aren’t dreaming, honey. It takes a while to adjust, but you’re going to get through this.”
I dash away a tear with the back of my hand. “You can’t possibly know that.”
She helps me change out of the top Rhett slid on me with clinical efficiency. Taking my hand, she encourages me to stand. With the hem of the sweater covering my bottom, I pluck my wet panties from my skin and let them drop to the floor. As she extends a pair of men’s sweatpants, it hits me that these are Rhett’s clothes. The thought soothes a bit of the heartache.
“My brother died from leukemia when I was pregnant with Evelyn, and I’d lost my parents before that,” she shares tenderly. Her eye contact remains steady. “Everyone is different with their grief. When you find that something that makes you feel close to him, it gets a bit easier.”
“Did you find something?”
“I did. And you will too, honey. But it isn’t going to be today.”
“Oh, God.” I choke on a gut-wrenching sob, wrapping my arms around my abdomen. “This isn’t going to stop.”
“Shh, I know.” Her arms encircle my shoulders. “Let it out.”
The door to the guest bathroom bursts open and bangs against the wall behind it, startling us both. Rhett enters with a fierce look of determination on his face.
“My turn.”
Cami turns me easily into Rhett’s outstretched arms. I don’t have an ounce of combative energy left in my body.
“I’ve got you.”
We only need to maneuver around one corner before I’m in the guest bedroom. The scent of vanilla and smoke from a nearby candle gives me something else to focus on. Cami must have lit the wick and turned down the covers in preparation for my arrival. Rhett leads me to the queen-sized bed where I sit heavily on the plush mattress.
“You’re not wearing socks.”
Not needing my confirmation as he can see clearly for himself, Rhett opens a set of drawers and returns with a thick pair tucked in a ball.
“I moved in this room the day I found out Nora was cheating on me. I’m glad to see she didn’t trash all my shit when I moved out.” He talks as he slides the thick material over each foot. His gentle touch stirs my slumbered feelings for him, and when he squeezes each foot in a hand, my heart jolts. “Up you go.”
