I leaned my head back against the car seat. “That’s probably a good idea—at least for the next few days” I said.
“Excellent.” Thomas nodded.
“We’ll have to stop at the cottage and get our things.”
Thomas smiled. “That’s already been taken care of.”
***
When we arrived back at the mansion, Nina was waiting for us. Thomas helped me up the stairs and I discovered that Nina had sent one of the staff to go and fetch our things, while another had prepared two guest rooms. They featured an attached Jack and Jill-style bathroom, so Willow and I could share and be next to each other.
To my surprise it was Nina who had shooed the men out of the way. She might have been young, but Nina Vasquez brooked no-nonsense as she helped me change into a nightshirt. We managed to work around the sling, and it was odd having a woman who was eight years my junior cluck over me like a mother hen, but Nina was kind and efficient and it kept me from feeling too embarrassed.
No sooner had I been tucked into bed did Julian poke his head in the room. “How’s the patient?” he asked, bringing in an ice pack.
I took it gladly and placed it on my shoulder. “A little sore,” I said over Willow who was running around the large room whooping it up. She was wired after everything that had happened: The party, the accident, the police, and the ER. “Willow,” I said. “That’s enough.”
“I’m like a plane!” Willow ran past Julian with her arms out making airplane noises.
Nina laughed. “You’re like a girl who needs to go to bed, amada.”
“I don’t wanna!” Willow laughed and ‘flew’ into the adjoining room.
“This should be fun.” I groused, set the icepack aside, and pushed the covers back with my good arm.
“Whoa, wait,” Julian said. “What do you think you are doing?”
“I’m going to need to get her to bed,” I explained.
“No you’re not.” Thomas walked in and my jaw dropped. “You were told by the doctors to take it easy.”
I begrudgingly pulled the blankets back up while he gave me a lecture about keeping ice on my injury. Thomas reminded me what the doctor had said at the ER about the importance of the ice. I opened my mouth to argue, but he put the ice back in place himself. When I started to ask about repairs to my car, Thomas waved my questions away.
“We’ll speak of it the morning.” He walked over to the door. “Get some rest.”
Willow zoomed past Julian and Nina again, and Julian started to laugh.
“When she gets like this,” I warned them, “it takes a while to wind her down.”
“I’ve got this,” Nina said. “It will be good practice for me when Isabel is older.” She rubbed her hands together and marched after Willow. A moment later I heard Willow begin to laugh and then the water in the bathroom turned on.
“Can I get you anything, Maggie?” Julian asked.
“No.” I yawned.
“If you need anything, or some help, let us know.” Julian walked over and demonstrated how to use the household phone on the nightstand. “My room is right down the hall. Either Dad or I will come in and check on you later.”
“Thanks, Julian,” I said when he clicked on the lamp on the nightstand. He walked across the room, shut off the overhead light, pulled the door almost closed behind him, and left.
Well, I thought, I guessed they’d shown me.
Apparently I was resting whether I liked it or not. I shifted, trying to get more comfortable, and clenched my teeth when I moved the wrong way.
“Can I have a bubble bath, Nina?” Willow’s voice drifted clearly to me.
“Not tonight,” Nina said.
“Can I braid your hair?” Willow asked next.
“Perhaps tomorrow,” she answered. “Get in the tub.”
“I could take a shower,” Willow said. “I’m tall enough.”
“Well you could, but tonight it’s a bath and then bed.”
I knew what was coming before Willow spoke. “Mama reads me a book before bed.”
My girl was a champion wheedler, no doubt about it. The whole thing struck me as hilarious, and I figured the drugs were still in my system. Before I knew it I fell asleep, still propped up on the pillows.
CHAPTER FOUR
I woke up early the next morning. Cautiously, I got out of bed and shuffled my way to the bathroom. My eyes glanced toward the window and I was amazed. The snow had accumulated to several inches overnight. I’d never seen that much snow in my life. I paused at the window, marveling at the quiet. No one was out or moving in all of that. Willow was going to go crazy when she saw it.
I walked to the adjoining room and saw that Willow was sleeping peacefully. Carefully, I closed her door and headed for the bathroom, took care of business, and when I got a look at myself in the mirror…I was appalled.
Magnolia Irene Parrish, the professional event coordinator, the calm and cool bridal consultant looked like she’d been ridden hard and put away wet. I had a lovely bruise along my left temple. A neat bandage covered up the stitch I’d gotten, but my long, dark hair was a wreck and there was still some blood in it. I leaned against the bathroom counter with my good arm, wondered how to wash my hands—one-handed—and swore.
“That’s no way for a Southern belle to talk.” Julian’s voice from the other side of the door had me jumping.
“Are you decent?” he asked.
“Yes.”
The door swung open. “What are you doing in here?”
“Take a wild guess,” I said, trying not to act like I was uncomfortable standing in front of him in my nightshirt. Julian was standing there in only a pair of sweatpants and no shirt. The man—my cousin—was seriously gorgeous, and embarrassed, I yanked my eyes away from his bare chest.
He crossed his arms.
