Chapter Nineteen
Jimmy woke up witha smile on his face and a sore bottom. All of the building tension he’d suffered since being taken had melted away under Cold’s strong hand, and he hadn’t slept so well in days.
He flailed around in bed for a few more minutes before he finally decided that he wasn’t going to be able to fall back asleep. It was almost lunchtime, and he figured Cold had told Jerry to let him sleep in.
Besides, he thought with a smile, he had to start thinking about where to buy a ring for Cold.
He sleepily shuffled around to get dressed and head downstairs.
Cold was in the living room, calmly reading the newspaper. He had his glasses on and peered over the rims when he saw Jimmy walk in. “Good morning.”
“Mmm, it isn’t ‘good afternoon’ yet?” Jimmy asked, flopping down on the couch next to Cold.
“Not quite,” Cold chuckled, shifting his arms so Jimmy could lay his head in his lap. He folded the newspaper and set it aside, reaching down to gently pet Jimmy’s hair. “How are you feeling?”
“Okay,” Jimmy replied. He wrinkled his nose and found it tender. “Still kinda hurts.”
“There is that additional pain medicine left by Dr. Queen if you’d like to take some.”
“Maybe later,” Jimmy said. “Stuff makes me kinda woozy.”
“Mmm. Are you hungry?”
“Mehhh?” Jimmy stretched his legs and got settled. “Have you eaten lunch yet?”
“No.” Cold made a face. “My sister has been hounding me about the wedding. It would seem that she has elected herself honorary wedding planner and is in the process of ousting Charlie... in summary, I don’t have much of an appetite.”
“That’s, uh, nice of her?” Jimmy chuckled. “I guess it’s good someone is taking care of things.”
“If we end up with a margarita bar at the reception, don’t be surprised.”
There was suddenly a loud commotion at the front door.
Jimmy could hear Jerry screaming angrily in French and the guard dogs barking away. He could feel his muscles tensing and lifted up his head worriedly. “Rod?”
Cold tensed, his eyes narrowing to icy slits. He clearly wasn’t expecting anyone. He stood up and said sternly, “Jimmy, stay here.”
