Lift You Up (Rivers Brothers 1)

"Fair enough," he agreed, giving me a smile that touched his eyes a little.

"How long do I have to be in here?"

"Just the night. They wanted to make sure you were alright when you woke up. I can take you home by noon tomorrow. My home," he clarified. "Where I get to do the waiting-hand-and-foot thing Peyton mentioned."

"You don't have to do that," I assured him, the idea of someone doing that - let alone a man - completely foreign to me.

"I want to, sweetheart. You're going to need some help for a while. Let me be the one to do it."

There was a pleading in his voice, begging me to allow him to cook for me and clean up after me.

If I hadn't heard it with my own ears, I never would have believed it. My mother couldn't even get my father to warm her up a can of chicken noodle soup when she was down with the flu for ten days.

"Okay," I agreed, feeling a bit of stinging in my eyes, knowing I was going to get emotional if I kept thinking about it.

"Okay," he said, leaning down to kiss my hand this time.

"Tell me what happened," I asked.

"You should rest."

"I've spent most of this day unconscious. I can be awake for a little while. I want to know what happened."

He spent the next... eighteen minutes telling me all the details before, as Peyton predicted, we were invaded.

The entire Mallicks clan - minus the kids - visited over the next hour. How, I wasn't sure, since it was clearly after visiting hours. But no one batted an eye at their presence. And since I had a private room somehow - even though I had the shittiest health coverage known to man thanks to the ever-cheap Harry - it wasn't like they were disturbing anyone.

"Okay, she's too nice to say it, so I have to," Nixon declared a while later when all their love got a little loud, making my migraine start to break through the blessed painlessness I had known since waking up. "She's got a headache, and everyone needs to clear out," he added when everyone gave him their attention.

Helen was the second-to-last to say goodbye, leaning down to kiss my forehead, telling me quietly, "Don't worry. I will keep the hoards away for a day or two so you can settle in at home. But I do expect to see you for Sunday dinner next week."

"We'll be there," I assured her, watching as her smile went knowing, like she had maybe suspected, but I had just confirmed it. And I knew her well enough to know she was happy for me, for us, for the potential we had.

She filed out, leaving only Nixon at the doorway, giving me a long look.

"Thank you."

"Anytime you need someone to be an asshole for you, you know where to find me, kid," he assured me, turning and walking out, leaving me alone with Kingston.

"You should go home so you can sleep."

I knew it was pointless to even suggest it, that he was not going to leave my side.

"There's a chair here, sweetheart. I'll be fine."

"Help me scoot," I demanded, "pressing my hands into the mattress, trying to do it myself, but finding my leg too heavy to move on my own.

"Savvy, no..."

"Yes," I countered, gritting my teeth as I whacked one leg against the other, sending pain through my system.

"Okay okay, I'll help," he said, holding a hand up to stop me from hurting myself again.

With that, he helped me get as far to the edge of the bed as possible, allowing me to pat the space next to me.

It was a very small bed.

But we, well, were a very new couple.

We didn't mind pressing close.

He rolled onto his side, arm draping over my belly, face pressed close to mine.

"Worried I lost you," he told me, voice barely more than a whisper. "Before I really got to have you."

I pressed my head into the side of his, smiling. "If I recall correctly, you certainly had me once."

"Don't remind me," he grumbled, fingers rubbing over my ribs. "I'm gonna have to keep my hands to myself for the next two months."

"I'm sure there are ways to... work around this stupid cast."

"Don't tempt me," he said, voice warm. I didn't have to see him to know there was a smile on his face. A real one.

"Hey, Kingston?" I asked a while later as sleep got heavier on my eyes.

"Yeah?"

"You're sure they took care of the animals?"

"I promise," he told me, releasing my side to grab the button at the side of the bed. I didn't register what he had done until the last twinges of pain disappeared, an urge to sleep overwhelmed my system, taking me under.--"You look like that baby giraffe everyone waited months to be born. Then fumbled around on its stupid oversized legs."