Almost a Family

Jason took advantage of his morning off to visit Kim alone. The hospital was hushed, with few visitors on her ward. When he slipped inside her room, s

he woke from a nap with a smile.

“Hey, neighbor,” she said with a groggy tilt to her lips.

“Hey, yourself. Sorry I woke you. Should I go?” He gestured back toward the open door.

“Absolutely not.”

He took off his coat, draped it over a chair and then pulled the chair next to the bed. “How’re you feeling?”

“Stiff. Annoyed. I am not healing fast enough. I want out of here like yesterday.” She scowled.

“You’re doing fine.” His gaze lit on the bouquets of flowers that were past their prime. “You want me to do something with those?”

Kim followed his gaze. “Keep the cards for me? I’ll get housekeeping to do something with the vases.”

He nodded, falling silent.

“Something on your mind?”

“Yeah. You can guess what.”

Kim laughed a little, careful not to jar her ribs too much. “I figured as much. Surprised you haven’t been in earlier. She giving you grief?”

“I know we needed her to help with Sara, but I wish she’d never come.”

Kim reached over and took his hand, squeezing. “Dredging up the past isn’t fun, is it?”

“It’s torture,” he confirmed.

“We both know you can’t use me to hide anymore, though. Don’t we, Jason?”

He looked down at her bruised, pretty, understanding face. Kim knew things. She knew what had happened six years ago, but she’d never assigned blame. She’d listened, making room for him in her life when he was lonely and full of wishes. She’d filled a spot in him and he’d tried his best to do the same for her. It hadn’t been easy on her, bringing up a baby all by herself. No father. No parents around, no sister to pamper and indulge her. In a way, part of the anger he felt toward Molly had to do with how she’d abandoned her sister as well. Like their mother had when she’d remarried after their parents divorced. And Molly should have known better.

“I know that. I just…needed to see you today.”

“What happened?”

“Before or after I seduced her in the laundry room?”

Kim coughed, choking on a sip of water. “You guys had sex?”

“No…well…almost. It was a close thing.”

“You stopped.” Her eyes narrowed. “Then what happened?”

“I propositioned her. Suggested a fling, can you believe that?” His cheeks heated even as he admitted it.

This time Kim couldn’t hold back the laugh. She snorted and grabbed her sore rib in response. “An affair? Oh, my. I wish I’d been a fly on the wall. And…”

“And she turned me down flat. What was I thinking, Kim?”

Using the bed rails, she pushed herself up to a half-sitting position. “You weren’t thinking. Or you were, but not with your head.” Her teasing grin faded. “You guys never said goodbye, so the past six years have been prolonging that. Neither one of you has a clue how to deal with the other, so you’re feeling your way around. And it’s probably easier to fool around than actually talk about it.”

“How did you get so wise?” He crinkled his eyes at the corners. “You always could do that, put things in perspective,” he added. “And I love you for that.

For the past two years, Kim and Sara had come to be family. He wasn’t such an idiot that he didn’t know why. Their relationship had begun with her as a replacement, a stand in, pure and simple. She was alone and raising a daughter, and at first he’d been happy to help. She’d always been nice to him when he and Molly had been dating, showing none of the baby sister jealousy he’d expected. After the break-up, he’d thrown himself into his studies, but once he’d come back home to start his own practice, he’d started thinking about family again. The family he wanted. The one he’d thought he would have with Molly. To find Kim next door with a baby had filled a need. At least then he’d been able to pretend he wasn’t alone.