“Hmmm?”
“I’m not paranoid. It’s just that I love you and don’t want to lose you.” Not to Susan. Not to some bear-like monsters from Addy’s dream world. Not to anyone or anything ever.
“You won’t.” He yawned again.
I wanted to believe him. I really did.
Chapter Twelve
Christmas … The Butt Crack of Dawn
Something was poking me in the shoulder.
I swatted at it, shifting away from it.
It poked me again, harder.
“Mom,” a voice whispered in my ear.
“What?” It came out more of a groan than a word.
“Wake up! Santa came.”
Doc shifted in the bed beside me, his hand sliding up my ribcage, settling under my breast. I started to scoot closer to him and then stopped cold.
Shit. We had an audience.
I opened my eyes.
Addy and Layne stood at my side of the bed, their gazes going back and forth between Doc and me.
My glance at Doc found his eyes still closed. His hand started to drift higher.
I let out a squeak and jackknifed upright. “Look at all of that snow,” I said, pointing at the window.
While their attention was diverted, I nudged Doc awake. He blinked a couple of times and then his focus locked onto the kids as they turned back to us.
“Doc’s in your bed again,” Layne pointed out.
I couldn’t read if he was unhappy about that or not by his poker face. “Uh, yeah, he sure is.”
“Are your ribs still hurting?” Addy asked Doc, her forehead creased. “Mom said it would take awhile to heal.”
His bruised ribs requiring a nighttime nurse was the reason we’d given for him being in my bed last week when the kids had found him by my side.
“They’re a little sore yet.” He shot me a questioning glance. “Did Santa come?”
Layne crossed his arms. “No boy has ever slept in this room with Mom before besides me.”
When the kids were younger, I’d let them sleep in my room with me when we visited, but only one was allowed in bed next to me at a time. The other camped out on the floor in a sleeping bag. That’s when I’d told Layne that he was the only boy who’d ever slept in the bed with me. I was surprised he remembered that detail after all of these years.
“Really?” Doc sat up. “Did you like this bed?”
“It was okay. Mom has cold feet though in the winter.”
“Oh, boy, does she,” Doc agreed with a chuckle, dodging my pinching fingers. “Did your mom kick you when you slept with her? Because I think she bruised my shin last night.”
“She moves her legs a lot like she’s running from something,” Addy explained. “One time she kneed me in the back so hard it made me scream awake.”
“It wasn’t that hard,” I defended. “And it was more of a squeak than a scream.” I’d been stressed out at the time about my old job at the dealership and a customer who was giving me hell about a car repair gone bad. Those problems paled in comparison to the shitstorms I faced these days.
“Hey!” Natalie said from the doorway. She had her hair pulled back in a ponytail and my mom’s thick terrycloth wildflower robe belted around her waist. “Are we opening Santa’s presents or what?”
Both kids grinned wide at her before turning to me again. “Can we, Mom?”
“Of course! Go with Nat and start dividing up the presents. Doc and I will be right out.”
The kids took off in a flash.
Nat made room for them to pass, watching them go. “You owe me one for that distraction, babe.”
“Agreed,” I said and shooed her away. “Close the door behind you, please.” I didn’t need to have my parents stopping by for a visit while we were still in bed.
After the door was shut, I hopped out of bed and pulled my yoga pants on over my satin skivvies.
Doc sat up in bed, watching me. “Oh man. Now I’m going to be thinking about that slippery satin all day long.”
I grinned, grabbing my thick sweater. “Are you going to get dressed or what?”
“So, I’m the only man who’s ever slept with you in your bed, huh?” His smile had a cocky glint to it.
I pulled the sweater over my head. “Yeah. You want to make a big deal out of it?”
“I might. A trophy would be nice. Maybe a crown with a sexy little ceremony later to commemorate it. Your red satin panties optional, of course.”
I laughed, pulling the covers off of him. “Come on. The kids are waiting. We have presents to open.”
Even though I was mostly dressed when Doc crawled out of bed, he still managed to beat me out the door, catching my hand and dragging me along behind him.
Natalie, my parents, and Aunt Zoe were waiting for us in the living room with the kids. Susan was missing, much to my relief. Harvey came knocking as we were settling down, joining in the Santa fun. According to him, Reid and Cornelius were starting to rattle around next door when he’d left, and Cooper was in the shower.
A glance in Natalie’s direction at that last bit about Cooper ran smack-dab into a steely glare. I shrugged with a grin and focused on my kids and their presents.
The Tasmanian devil had nothing on Addy and Layne when it came to tearing through presents. Squeals of delight filled my ears for the next thirty minutes or so, including one from my mom when she saw the new robe covered in stars and moons that Aunt Zoe had given her.
The expensive bottle of imported mead from Poland that I special ordered for one of Doc’s gifts earned me a heart-palpitating smolder. He leaned over and kissed my cheek, whispering, “You do remember that mead is the elixir of love, right?”
I licked my lips in reply, eager to try the mix of fermented honey and raspberry along with him.
After the chaos had died down, I escaped
