place for you.”
Home.
An image of Sea Glass Cottage formed in her mind, warm and welcoming. Her refuge and her retreat.
“That would be wonderful,” she said. Could Dr. Adeno hear the longing in her words?
“You obviously can’t be there on your own, at least at first. I need to ask, will you have someone there who can help you for the first few weeks, until you’re a little more independent? After that, you shouldn’t need as much care.”
“My daughter and my granddaughter.”
“Perfect. Now let’s talk logistics. Tell me some particulars about your house. Is your bedroom on the main floor?”
“Yes. And I have an en suite bathroom as well.”
“Good. Good. What about getting into the home? Do you have stairs?”
“Yes. Four up to the porch. I’ve been worried about that.”
“That will present a problem,” Dr. Adeno said.
“No. It won’t.” At the new voice, she looked up, beyond Dr. Adeno. Henry Cragun stood framed in the doorway, looking big and tough and wonderful.
“Why is that?” Dr. Adeno asked him.
“She has a ramp now.”
“Since when?” Juliet exclaimed.
“Since Jake, Caitlin and I built one last night. It’s only temporary, from the sidewalk out front up to the porch, but it should work while you need some extra help. When you no longer need it, we can take it down and you’ll never know it was even there. We didn’t trample so much as a flower while building it.”
His thoughtfulness made her want to cry, though she told herself it was simply a side effect of the pain medication. “Thank you!” she breathed, her heart warming.
“You’re welcome. Like I said, Jake and Caitlin helped. It was really a team effort.”
Maybe, but she was fairly confident she knew who provided the brains and the brawn and the pocketbook behind it.
“Happy birthday.” Henry came closer and her heart danced a little, as it had been doing for weeks whenever he was near.
“Thanks,” she said, hoping he didn’t notice the heat she could feel rising on her cheekbones.
“You didn’t tell me today was your birthday,” Dr. Adeno chided. “I should have noticed that on your chart. What are you now? Thirty-nine?”
Juliet rolled her eyes. “Considering I have a granddaughter who is a sophomore in high school, thirty-nine would certainly make me precocious.”
Today in this hospital bed, she felt every one of her fifty-three years, but she chose to focus on the positive. “I can’t believe you built a ramp.”
He shrugged. “Like I said, it’s temporary. Totally removable. I just figured you won’t be able to get around at all if it’s impossible for you to easily get in and out of your own house. This should help.”
Drat the man. Why did he have to be so... Wonderful?
It was a question she had been asking herself for months.
Juliet couldn’t escape the grim realization that her birthday marked yet one more milestone, another year between them. He was forty-five, which meant she was officially eight years older than he was now. A lifetime, it seemed, though she knew his birthday in September would shorten that age gap.
She managed a smile. “Thank you. I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything. It was nothing, I promise. I had extra wood from a job I did up the coast. Caitlin and Jake were happy to help. Olivia pitched in, too, but she was busy at the garden center until we were almost done.”
Dr. Adeno smiled. “What wonderful neighbors you have, Juliet. People told me I could expect this kind of thing in Cape Sanctuary. It’s nice to see the town lives up to the hype.”
“It’s wonderful but I hope you never find yourself in a position to need help.”
“I have to say, having your home more accessible does set my mind at ease about releasing you from here, especially since you’re determined not to go to a rehab facility.”
“I want to go home,” Juliet said. She would much rather recover at Sea Glass Cottage than in a rehab facility with strangers taking care of her.
She wanted to be home, so desperately. She missed her cats; she missed the view of endless sea; she missed Caitlin running in after school, slamming her backpack onto the kitchen table.
“I don’t blame you. I think most of my patients who can manage it do better in their own spaces, in their own beds.”
“So you think she can go home today?” Henry asked.
“We’ll have to work on arranging physical therapy and possibly home care to come in and help you at first, but if