His voice softened a bit more, but carried a hint of mischief. “I miss sleeping in the same bed with you.”
“Me too,” she whispered.
“I miss you curling up next to me on my side of the bed, crowding me out.”
Me too.
“But most of all,” he spoke a bit louder now, “I miss your snoring. I haven’t slept a wink for days, it’s been so quiet.”
She groaned. “Hey, what’s up with that?” She shook her head in disbelief. “I don’t snore.”
“Sure you don’t.” Nathan chuckled. “But really, the nights have been the hardest.”
Kellie sighed. “I agree.”
“We’ll make up for it tonight. I’ll be there by seven-thirty at the latest.”
“Why so late?”
“I’ve got a lunch appointment and two afternoon meetings. I should be able to get out of here by five, but then I’ve got to swing by our place and load up the car.”
“Ah. Speaking of which, did you get that list of things I need from the condo?” Kellie thought back over the email she’d sent the night before. Had she left anything out?
“I almost ran out of ink printing up the list. And I’ll have to rent a moving truck to get it all to you.”
She sniggered. “Very funny. It’s just a few things.”
His voice changed a little and a seriousness took hold of the conversation. “How is your dad? Any changes?”
“Nothing. . .” she glanced at her mother and chose her next word carefully. “Nothing significant.”
“I don’t know when I’ve ever prayed more in my life.”
“Same here,” she confessed. In truth, she had devoted hours of each night to prayer.
Nathan sighed. “I was really hopeful he’d be awake by now.”
“I know.” She checked on her mother out of the corner of her eye. “Me too.”
“Well, I’m certainly bringing enough stuff for you to stay at least a week or two.” He paused. “Did you talk to Mr. Weston about getting some work done from up there?”
“I did.” Not that she really wanted to talk about—or think about—work.
“What did he say?”
“He told me to take a couple more days to see how my dad’s doing. Then, if it looks like I’ll have to stay longer he’ll give me the go-ahead. I think he’s really more worried about me than the business, to be honest. At least, he sounded like it. And he knows that Bernie can take care of my people while I’m gone. If you don’t mind the fact that I’m not picking up any new clients, I’m certainly content to stay awhile longer.” Truth be told, she had barely missed her life at the brokerage. If only she and Nathan could be together, she would almost be at peace here for a while longer.
“Of course I don’t mind. And I’m glad Weston wants you to take a little more personal time. You need it.”
“I know.”
“Things are a little more complicated here.” Nathan’s voice seemed to tighten as he talked about his job. “Tempers are rising and problems are escalating. Nothing I’m in the center of, thank goodness, but just the same, it’s been pretty tense around the office ever since I got back. I sure don’t think I could get away with being gone too long.”
Kellie tried to focus on the good. “I understand. But you can stay all weekend. That’s all that matters.”
“Yes.” He paused then rushed through the next few words. “That’s my other line. I’ll call you when I get on the road, okay? I love you, Baby.”
“I love you more.” She whispered the words then snapped the phone shut. With tears she could no longer disguise Kellie leaned her head back against the seat and turned her face to the window. She began the arduous task of counting the minutes until she would see her husband again.
Just as she began to lose herself in the emotion, Kellie’s phone rang out. Her hands trembled the moment she recognized the number on the Caller I.D. With a fresh sense of fear gripping her heart, she glanced across the front seat at her mother then spoke the necessary words. “Mom, it’s the hospital.”
***
Nathan drove toward Brenham in a frenzy. Kellie’s rushed call from the hospital had been enough to cause him to cancel both afternoon meetings and come right away. He had quickly put together a bag of clothing items from her list, but felt sure he’d left something out.
Not that it mattered. All that mattered right now was getting to Brenham. He pulled off of the highway at a quarter till four. Five minutes later, he drove into the crowded parking lot of the hospital. By four o’clock straight up, he was standing at the door of the I.C.U., preparing to go inside. Kellie stood alongside him, hand tightly gripped in his own.
“When did they call you?” he asked.
Her fingers twisted nervously inside his palm. “It was just after I hung up from talking to you this morning.”
“And what did they say again? Tell me every word.”
“They. . .” She started to explain as the doors to the I.C.U. opened and a nurse ushered them inside. Nathan followed along behind Kellie and her mother to his father-in-law’s bedside. From outward appearances, nothing appeared to have changed.
And yet, everything had changed.
“Daddy?” Kellie spoke softly at first, then a bit louder. “Daddy, you have visitors.”
Nathan watched in stunned silence as his father-in-law’s eyelids fluttered open, then shut—open, then shut again.
“Can you hear me, Kenton?” Norah implored. “If you can hear me, squeeze my hand twice.”
They all looked on in shocked amazement as he slowly squeezed her hand two separate times. Tears rushed down Kellie’s cheeks and Nathan felt as if his heart would leap from his chest. It’s true. He’s really awake.
For nearly twenty minutes, with tears in every eye, they celebrated the quiet victory. Nathan watched it all in awe. Though his father-in-law couldn’t seem to formulate words, the older man’s mind was clearly at work. Moisture brimmed his lashes as each person communicated their love and well wishes.
By the time they left the I.C.U., Nathan had little doubt his father-in-law would recover. The only question now was how long it would take. Regardless, he would do all he could to lend support, knowing that’s exactly what any one of them would have done for him.
They drove back to his in-laws’ house to spend the night. All along the way, Nathan couldn’t drop the nagging feeling that he’d left something at home—something important. It wasn’t until they arrived at the house and Kellie asked about her laptop that he realized what it was.
six
Kellie opened the front door to her condo and tentatively stepped inside. For some reason, she expected it to look different—more inviting, maybe. Instead, it felt oddly cold. I’ve just been away too long.
Ten days, to be exact. Ten long, exhausting days - days filled with prayers and fear, conversation and hope. Days filled with more time to think clearly than she could remember in a long time.
She dropped the stack of mail on the kitchen countertop and stepped back to look over her home. Sooner or later she would feel right about being here again. In the meantime, something felt off, odd.
“What’s that smell?” She looked around, nose wrinkled. Ah. They must have exterminated while she’d been away.
No doubt, many things had happened while she was in Greenvine. The first thing to tackle would be the monstrous stack of mail on the kitchen counter. She gave it a quick glance-over. Bills. Ads. Junk, mostly. One caught her eye, however. She ripped open an envelope and glanced at her bank statement inside. Her heart lifted as she took in the total. “Not bad, not bad.”
“Everything okay?” Nathan appeared at the door, her luggage in hand.
She set the envelope back down. “Yep. Thought I’d lost you.”
“After I dropped you off up front, I headed to the parking garage. But I had a whopper of a time finding a spot. If you can believe it, I had to park on the top floor.”
“Again?” She groaned.
“Who took our spot?”
“The guy in 712. Want me to report him?”
Kellie sighed. “It won’t do any good.”
“You’re right.” He smiled. “I see you got the mail.” Nathan gestured toward the countertop. “Should we sort through it tonight?”
“I already did. Nothing that can’t wait till morning. I’m too tired to mess with bills tonight, to be honest.”
“I hear ya.” Nathan carried her luggage into the bedroom and lifted the larger suitcase onto the bed.
Kellie followed behind him and opened it right away. “I’m sure my clothes are a wrinkled mess.” She couldn’t help but groan as she pulled out the soft green designer blouse on top. Ninety dollars—and look at it.
“I need to make a run to the dry-cleaners anyway,” Nathan said. “I’ll be glad to drop off your things too.”
“You’re awesome.” She gave him a kiss on the cheek and he drew her close.
“You know, you could do this in the morning,” he whispered as he gestured toward the suitcase. “I can think of a lot of things I’d rather do than unpack laundry.”
Kellie tried to avoid his gray-blue eyes. “I know. It’s been awhile.”
“Two hundred sixty-three hours, eleven minutes and. . .” Nathan glanced at his watch. “Sixteen seconds. But who’s counting?”
She couldn’t help but smile. “Wow. Somebody’s been keeping track.”
“I estimated the eleven minutes part,” he confessed. “But the rest is pretty close.” He whispered in her ear. “I’ve missed you, Kellie. It just hasn’t been the same without you.”
“I know.” She planted tender kisses on his cheek. “It’s been awful. Our first time apart. It almost killed me.”
“I don’t know how people manage,” he said. “I could never be one of those husbands who had to travel all the time. It would drive me crazy to be away from you.”
She sighed. “It couldn’t be helped. I needed to be there. And I’m going to have to go back—at least on the weekends. As long as daddy’s in the rehab, my mom’s going to need me. It could be weeks. Even longer, maybe.” Her heart twisted with the words. Even now, she longed to get in the car and head right back to where they’d come from.
“I know. And I’ll be there with you as much as I can,” he said. “But your mom had a long talk with me. She’s concerned that you’re missing so much work. I think she feels a little guilty about it.”
“I hope I didn’t make her feel that way.” Kellie pulled back a step, deep in thought. “It probably didn’t help that Mr. Weston called so much. He was an ever-present reminder, I’m afraid.”
She sat on the edge of the bed and contemplated this revelation. To stay away much longer could potentially put at risk all the well-laid financial plans she and Nathan had settled on. If they didn’t meet their financial goals, they would have to put off their dreams of buying a house—and having a child—even longer.
Nathan continued on, clearly oblivious to her ponderings. “Your mom just wants the best for everyone,” he said. “For your dad, for you. . .” He paused and looked into her eyes with some concern. “She’s so used to taking care of everyone. I’m sure it must feel odd that everyone is now sweeping in to take care of her.”
“She needs it. Thank goodness my sister is able to spend a few days with her. Otherwise I don’t think I could have left.” Kellie reached to pull a gray skirt from the suitcase. Great. This one needed to go to the dry-cleaners too.
“True. And you’ve been there for her every step of the way. But doesn’t it feel great to be home again?”
She looked around the familiar bedroom and nodded. There was a certain comfort to this place—a familiarity. In spite of the smell. In spite of the pull to be elsewhere. This was still home.
“Now. . .” he zipped the suitcase closed and lifted it down onto the floor, “What do you say we forget about dirty clothes and parking spaces for awhile and just focus on us?”
“I think. . .” she gave him a teasing look, “that sounds perfect.”
***
In the days that followed Kellie’s return to Houston, Nathan watched over her closer than ever before. He couldn’t help it, really. Something in her demeanor had changed. Sure, she had settled in at the condominium. She had even returned to work with a vengeance. But something was. . . off. He could just feel it.
Daily, she called her mother for an update. The news remained unchanged for the most part. Though her father had been transferred to a rehab facility, his recovery would be slow, tedious. Kenton could formulate a few words, but would have to completely re-learn how to function in most every area of life.
“I can’t even imagine.” Nathan voiced his thoughts aloud as he eased his car through traffic on Houston’s busy 610 Loop. To lose all of your ability to function, to work. . .
How could a person re-learn how to work, how to enter the job force? Would Kenton ever return to his job? Would his God-given skills regenerate, or was he destined to live a half-life? Nathan shrugged that idea aside. Of course his father-in-law would make a full recovery. They wouldn’t give up on praying for that very thing.
As he reached the Post Oak exit, Nathan wound his way through the mob and counted the minutes until he arrived at the restaurant where Kellie probably already waited. He had planned tonight’s outing with much anticipation. After so much time apart, he now chose to take advantage of each moment.
He pulled up to valet parking at Le Jardin, one of Houston’s classiest restaurants, known for its tempting French cuisine. After handing off the keys, he sprinted toward the door. He reached in his pocket to feel for the familiar jewelry box. In just a few moments he would draw it from its hiding place and set it on the table in front of his beautiful bride.
The host led Nathan to a small table in the back of the restaurant, where Kellie waited. She sat with laptop open, typing with a vengeance.
“Hey, baby.” He kissed her on the forehead.
She startled then looked up into his eyes with a smile. “Hey. Just catching up on some work. Can you believe they have wireless Internet access in a high-end restaurant like this?”
“I believe it.” He shook his head. “It’s scary, but I believe it.” He smiled at his beautiful bride. “So, how are things at the office? Getting settled back in?”
She rolled her eyes. “This probably wouldn’t be the day to ask.”
“Ah. Well, things are finally slowing down for me. I was actually able to sneak away to the health club for an hour this afternoon.”
“Good for you. I’m going to try to do that tomorrow. I haven’t worked out in weeks. And with all the food my mom’s friends brought in, I’ve probably added at least three inches to these hips of mine.” She flashed him an impish grin. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much fried chicken in my life. Or cakes. Have you ever seen that many cakes in one place?”
Nathan’s heart twisted. Lord, how long has it been since I’ve seen her smile like that? “The food was great, but you haven’t changed a bit. You look awesome.”
“Thanks, Baby.” Kellie snapped her laptop shut and picked up a menu. “But all this talk about my ever-widening hips has reminded me. . .I’m starving. What sounds good to you?”
“I don’t know. Let’s have a look.” They quickly settled on lobster bisque and steak with béarnaise sauce.
Once their waiter—a stocky fellow with contrived French accent - disappeared, they sat in silence a moment. The clinking of silverware and soothing instrumental music provided the perfect backdrop, Nathan reasoned. He and Kellie would enjoy a beautiful meal together, and fill the empty spaces with conversation that excluded work-related things.
“I haven’t been here in ages.” Kellie looked around the room in quiet contemplation.
“Me either. It seems like we’re always eating on the run.” Nathan garnered up the courage to continue. “In fact, that’s one of the reasons I wanted tonight to be so special. I wanted to let you know that I thi
nk we should have a regular date-night.”
She smiled. “That’s a nice idea. I’ll take a look at my calendar and pencil you in.” She was teasing, but something about her words bothered him.
“No.” He felt his lips curl down. “We have to stop fitting each other in. We have to make sure we put our relationship above our jobs.”
“Wow.” She took hold of his hand and squeezed it. “That actually sounds like something I had planned to say to you tonight. I don’t know how much longer I can go on with things the way they’ve been. I mean, what’s the point of having great jobs, a great place to live and all of that if we hardly have time to see each other?”
“Amen.” He flashed a broad, heartfelt smile. “Sounds like we’ve prepared the same speech.” He paused and gazed into her beautiful eyes. “So. . . what do you think we should do about that?”
She shrugged. “I like the date-night idea. It might be a little harder, now that we’re driving back and forth to Greenvine every weekend. But I have Tuesday evenings free, for sure. What about you?”
“Tuesdays are good for me. At least for now.” He pulled out his phone to double check his calendar. “Yep. That’ll work.”
“And we can take advantage of our drive time to my mom’s place,” she suggested.
“What do you mean?” Nathan’s curiosity got the better of him.
“I mean. . .” she grinned mischievously, “We should spend that time talking. Really talking—about our hopes, our dreams, our innermost thoughts.”
“Our innermost thoughts?” Nathan couldn’t help but smile. Kellie had such a definitive way with words.
“You know.” Her gaze shifted to the table. “We need to talk about things like. . . children. When we’re going to have them.”
“Ah ha. Those innermost thoughts.” Nathan nodded. “I agree.” He reached into his pocket and grasped the tiny box. “But in the meantime, I have few innermost thoughts of my own I’d like to share with you.”
Her face flushed. “Right here?”
“I can’t think of a better place.” He stared into her eyes and shared his heart. “I love you, Kellie. I want you to know that. You’re more important to me than anything else.”