For His Brother's Wife

“You and Cole will be there, won’t you?” Lark asked, looking hopeful.

“I can’t speak for Cole, but I wouldn’t miss your wedding for anything, Lark,” Paige said, forcing a smile. “Do you have a gift registry at any of the shops in town?”

“Keaton and I really don’t need anything, so I didn’t bother,” Lark said, shaking her head. “We’ve decided to request that in lieu of a wedding gift, we’d like for everyone to make a donation to the Royal Tornado Relief Fund or the Family Crisis Center.”

“That’s such a wonderful idea,” Paige said sincerely. “There are still so many in need. I’m sure that both charities will be very appreciative. And I know firsthand they can put the extra money to good use.”

“That’s what we thought.” Lark checked her watch. “My break is almost over. I need to get back to the ICU,” she said, rising to her feet. “Good luck taking care of Cole while he recovers from his surgery. And if you need any help or have questions about it, please let me know.”

“I will,” Paige said, standing to give her friend a hug.

As she watched Lark, who was so thrilled about her upcoming wedding and future, walk out of the waiting room, she felt guilty. Even though she and Craig hadn’t been in love, he had been a good husband and the only thing he had ever asked of her was to watch over his father while he was out of town on business. He couldn’t help that her heart had been elsewhere on their wedding day or that she had felt as if she were marrying the wrong brother.

Her heart stalled and she gave herself a mental shake. It was water under the bridge now, and there was no sense in dwelling on the mistakes of the past.

As she sat back down to wait for Luc to come out and tell her how Cole’s surgery had gone, she thought about the mistake she had made the other night with Cole. It wasn’t so much that she felt their lovemaking was wrong. Nothing in her life had felt more right than what she had shared with Cole. It was the circumstances leading up to it that bothered her the most—the fact that she had practically thrown herself at him. What was there about the man that made her act so out of character?

“Cole came through the surgery just fine,” Luc said, interrupting her thoughts. Still dressed in his blue surgical scrubs, he walked over to her and sat down. “He’s just coming out of recovery and as soon as he gets dressed, you can take him home.”

“Is there anything special that I need to do?” She shook her head. “Let me rephrase that. Is there anything I need to try to prevent Cole from doing?”

Nodding, Luc chuckled. “It probably won’t be easy, but if you can, keep him off his feet for the next few days. Cole will be on crutches and that should help, but he needs to keep his leg elevated to prevent swelling. Dr. Campbell has a list of instructions that he sends home with his patients, along with a prescription for pain medication. He’s also made arrangements for in-home physical therapy to start on Monday. You can call when you get home and set up a time.” Luc stood up to leave. “Cole will have a follow-up appointment at the end of next week, but if you need anything or have a concern before then, don’t hesitate to get in touch with me.”

“Does that include calling you to come by and give him a lecture when he fails to listen to me?” she joked.

“If he gets too ornery, I’ll come out to the ranch and help you hog-tie him,” Luc said, laughing.

Listening to Luc, Paige decided there would be plenty of time later to analyze what there was about Cole that caused her to react the way she did. Right now, she needed to take him back to the ranch and see just how difficult it was going to be getting him to follow doctor’s orders.

Five

“Dammit,” Cole muttered as he tried to get up the back porch steps. He couldn’t use his right leg and he was convinced his crutches were a bigger hindrance than they were help.

“Do you need to lean on me?” Paige asked from behind him.

“No, I can make it,” he answered through gritted teeth. He was determined to get up the damned steps on his own or die trying. He wasn’t about to accept her help.

By the time he made it onto the porch, sweat beaded his forehead, and he’d silently run through every cuss word he had ever heard. He couldn’t think of anything more humiliating than for Paige to see his helplessness. No man wanted a woman to see how inadequate and weak he was—struggling to do even the basics. It didn’t just bruise his ego; it took a seriously large chunk out of it.