go?” I ask as I reach for him.
“Ava told me she loved me and that she’s thrilled to be my mother-in-law and that I can call her Mommy as she forced me down to the ER,” he says. “Should it be Mommy? Ma? Mom? Mum?”
“It can be anything you want,” I say as I hold my hand out until he takes it with his left. “Did you break it?”
“Teeny tiny itty-bitty fracture. He wants me to go to some doctor tomorrow that will determine if it needs a splint or cast or whatnot. It’s fine. It’ll heal on its own.”
I stare at him.
He sighs like I’m torturing him into this. “Or I’ll… go?”
“I can’t believe you got hurt because of me. I’m really sorry,” I say as I pull him into me.
He lifts my hand up to his mouth and kisses it. “Nah. It was all in good fun.”
I’m positive that’s not what it was so I squeeze his hand again. “God, I feel like shit.”
“You look it too. I mean… oh, my lovely honey bunny. You’re so gorgeous and beautiful!”
I glance at what he’s wearing and wonder how I hadn’t noticed it before. “At least I don’t look as bad as you.”
He beams at me as he pulls his hand back to do a dramatic pose with his stomach stuck out unnecessarily far as the shirt strains against him. The pants aren’t buttoned at all and the zipper shoots down in an attempt to keep from breaking.
“Why, these are my date clothes. Do they not make you H-O-R-N—”
The nurse steps in and looks at Leland who is still striking the pose.
“E?… T?” he finishes as the pose deflates.
“Do they not make me hornet?” I ask.
“Yes… shhh… shhhhhhh…”
“Good news,” the nurse says with a smile. “You’ll get your own room soon where you’ll be monitored but have some more room for your family. That sounds nice, right?”
That sounds all right, not nice. “Can I leave instead? That sounds better,” I say as I look to Leland like he’s going to steal me away. I’m more than positive he would if I just simply asked.
“Not yet,” the woman says as she changes an IV bag and pokes around at a machine before smiling at me. “Need anything else?”
“Freedom.”
“You’ve been awake only a few hours. How about we worry about feeling better first?” she says.
“My gun shrine is going nowhere, babe,” Leland assures me as if that might be why I want to go home. To check on his “gun shrine.”
“Sadly,” I say.
Leland ends up taking short breaks with my parents, but it’s never long before he’s champing at the bit to be beside me again. It’s not until much later that they move me from the ICU to my own room. My parents stay long enough to see me get settled in before heading on their way for some sleep. It’s clearly been a long day and I’ve been asleep for most of it while everyone else has been forced to fret about me.
Once I’m settled in and the others leave, it’s just Leland and me. I can tell that even though he’s joking with me, he’s anxious. He keeps pacing and picking at the wrap on his hand.
“Leland, stop,” I say as I hold my hand out. It seems to be the only thing that can calm him, so I wrap my fingers around his and pull him toward me. Mason thankfully brought him some clothes that actually fit since I was afraid he was going to tear a hole in the ass of the jeans every time he leaned over.
Leland glances down at me. “Do you want me to break you out of here? I already have it planned. There’s the nurses’ station near the door but only two nurses there. If I call one away, I’ll only have to deal with the other one. I can either A) choke her out and drop her under the desk—it’s a deep desk so no one will find her for a while or B) I could—”
“Or C) we wait for them to clear me and send me home. Stop fretting and sit down with me.”
“Right here?” he asks as he glances at the bed.
“Yep.”
“No, you need to rest. What if I bump you or something?”
“Please? It’s the only thing that’ll make me feel better.”
He bites his lip, but I know he can’t pass up an opportunity to crawl in next to me. He climbs onto the bed as slow as Cayenne