For His Brother's Wife

While he stood there catching his breath and feeling lower than the stuff he scraped off his boots after a trip through the barnyard, she opened the back door for him to enter the kitchen. Following her through the house on the crutches was torturous, and by the time he got to the family room, Cole knew that physically he’d gone about as far as he could go without sitting down to rest.

“I anticipated climbing stairs being a problem for you,” she said as he made his way across the room. “That’s why we’re not going to attempt getting you up to your room.”

He shook his head. “I’ll make it. I just need to rest a little.”

“No, you won’t.” She pointed to the couch. “I’ve already pulled this out into a bed and I’ve added a four-inch-thick memory foam mattress topper to make it more comfortable for you.”

“You didn’t need to go to all this trouble,” he said, secretly relieved that she wouldn’t be watching him struggle to get up the stairs. He might have protested, but as he eyed the bed, he had to admit he was more than ready to lie down after the ordeal of getting from the car into the house.

“Don’t be silly,” she said, taking his crutches and setting them aside when he lowered himself to the edge of the sofa sleeper. “It’s no trouble at all.”

Even though he was having a hard time accepting his limitations, he was thankful for Paige’s foresight. She had not only made him a bed downstairs, she’d sent Aaron to the sporting goods store to pick up the pair of gym shorts he was now wearing. There was no way he could have gotten up all those stairs on crutches without falling and breaking his neck, nor could he have put on a pair of jeans. The bandage on his knee alone would have prevented that. But there was an added bonus in wearing the shorts. Because he was going to be in the family room and couldn’t go to bed in the buff as he normally did, he could wear them to sleep in, as well.

“Thanks for everything,” he said, being careful when he stretched out not to cause himself any more pain than he was already in. His knee was killing him, and he was more than ready for some of the pain pills Dr. Campbell had prescribed for him.

“You need some of your medication, don’t you?” she asked as she arranged pillows under his leg to elevate it.

Nodding, he closed his eyes against the throbbing in his knee. “If you don’t mind, I really would appreciate it.”

As she left the room, Cole wondered how things could get more complicated. He was not only laid up for the next week or so, he was being cared for by his brother’s wife—the woman he had taken advantage of when she had turned to him for comfort. And even though she had asked him to make love to her, he’d been well aware of the fact that she had been frightened and vulnerable. He should have been stronger—should have been able to keep his head and resist. He fully intended to talk to her and offer a heartfelt apology for his lapse in judgment when the pain in his knee calmed down to a manageable level. He just hoped like hell she accepted it.

When she returned from the kitchen with a glass of water and a couple of the pills, Cole didn’t waste any time downing them as quickly as he could. But he hated having to rely on medication to escape the pain. It made him sleepy and he couldn’t remember a damned thing from the time they kicked in until they wore off and he had to take more. But there was an added benefit. At least he didn’t have to see the pity in Paige’s pretty gray eyes—or if he did, he didn’t remember it.

“Try to get some sleep,” she advised as she carefully pulled the sheet up to his waist. She placed a small handbell on the end table beside the sofa. “If you need anything, all you have to do is ring this bell.”

As he watched her leave the room, he breathed a sigh of relief. At least she hadn’t asked why he’d gone out riding yesterday or mentioned anything about wanting to discuss the other night. It was something they needed and would do, but not until he felt as though he could talk without clenching his teeth against the throbbing in his knee.

Closing his eyes again, Cole felt as if he were floating and knew the medication was starting to kick in. As he drifted off to sleep, he smiled. Even though he was sure he came up lacking in her eyes, there wasn’t a thing about Paige that he didn’t find absolutely amazing. With her long, dark auburn hair framing her angel face and her gray eyes filled with concern for him, he didn’t think he’d ever seen a woman as beautiful or enticing as his Paige.

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