The nurse grins. “So, in order: one, she will be,” she begins, marking off the points on her fingers, “two, she has a concussion and a nasty case of whiplash. She sustained a compound fracture in her right femur, but we’ve managed to realign the bones and hold them in place with screws. In her left leg, she has a compression fracture in her femur and a closed fracture in her fibula, and she’s going to need a brace and physical therapy. And three, yes, but there’s a long road ahead in terms of recovery.” She turns to me. “I’m afraid you’ll have to wait on your partner hand and foot for the foreseeable future while we get her walking again.”
“We aren’t - ” Nat begins in a strained and husky voice, but I interrupt her.
“I will,” I say firmly. Because this would beperfect. Nat’s house is fine and everything, but mine is larger and better suited to installing adjustments while she recovers. I’d get to look after her the way she needs. Besides, my bedroom, which she will be taking over, has an ensuite; hers does not.
The very least I can do is relocate to the spare room.
For a little while, at least, before I win her back. Then… I smother a dark smile. If Iamlucky enough to finally get what I’ve always wanted…then you’d best believe we’ll be making up for lost time the moment she’s fighting fit again.
After all, it’s not like I didn’t warn her years ago that our time would come, in the end…
…and that she’d better be ready for it, forme, when it did.
Chapter 4
Now
Nat and Tim are both 30
Tim
“Man, you really are covering all bases,” my brother-in-law says as he unpacks the grab rail for the shower. When Sadie married Leo, I didn’t so much lose a sister as gain a brother, and one who is always ready to pitch in at a moment’s notice. And thank god for it; everything I need to do to prepare for Nat’s discharging would be tough to finish by myself.
“Some of it is overkill.” Sadie gives me a pointed look, but she’s smiling. She knows how I feel about Nat; she’s always known, even when I played it down, even when I refused to talk to her about it. Twins can’t fool each other, at least in our experience.
That’s also how I know something is different about her. I may not be able to pinpoint exactlywhat, but she’s not her usual self. Looks like she slept badly, from how heavy her eyelids look, and she keeps sipping water from her bottle.
“Like what?” I fake incredulity, but she does have a point.
She’s sitting on my bed, freshly made with a brand new bed set covered in snowdrops print, Nat’s favourite flower. Nat also likes scented candles, so there’s a large new one on the bedside table that smells like lemon meringue pie, her favourite dessert. I’ve already installed a new TV on a new unit at the end of the bed. Leo’s helping me install hand rails and move furniture around so she’ll will be able to move around easier, and when Sadie swipes my phone from my hands, she hoots with laughter when she sees what I’ve been looking up. “You donotneed an intercom system!”
Leo looks up and grins knowingly. “I can see the benefit. Have you ordered it?”
I sigh. “I was thinking about it.”
“What would be the point? You’re going to be checking on her constantly anyway.” Sadie shakes her head at me, eyes dancing with amusement.
“Yeah, but…what if she needs me when I’m in a different room?” I shrug. “I don’t want her to have to wait for anything.”
“I hear that,” Leo pipes up, looking thoughtful. “Maybeweshould - ”
“Forget it,” Sadie cuts in.
“Hear me out,” he says, crooking his finger at her. When Sadie finally wanders over after a brief stare-off, he hooks a finger in her vest strap to bring her closer. “Imagine the possibilities,” he murmurs, and in and among the things he whispers to her, I hear the words ‘…order you to strip from another room…’
“Yeah, nope. I don’t need to know this shit.” I hold my hands up and glare at them both, unable to still the twitch of my lips. “You guys are gross.”
“And set to get even more gross.” Leo looks up at Sadie and lifts his scarred eyebrow, silently asking her a question.
Sadie rolls her eyes. “OK, OK…” She turns to me, standing up and stretching a little. “Well, it was deliberate this time…”
I frown, not getting it, until she pulls her loose smock top a little tighter to her stomach, and I see the unmistakable curve of an early baby bump. “No way!” I feel myself beaming, walking over to hug her. “Congratulations.”
“Yep, he shoots, he scores. Leo knocked me up again.” I snicker when he blows on a finger gun, and hug him, too.
“How does Rhiannon feel about it?” My little niece is four, so old enough to understand a little of what this means.
“Um…” They look at each other and make awkward faces. “Jury’s out. One moment she’s listening to my tummy and giving it kisses, the next minute she’s hiding some of her toys in case the babies try to take them away from her.”
