She swayed and then leaned against the doorjamb.
His heart clenched, the way it had been doing since her collapse at the restaurant. He hated feeling so helpless, so useless. “Let’s get you in bed.”
A glass of water and a bottle of ibuprofen sat on the nightstand. Rizzo must have gotten those when he brought Hadley her medication.
She crawled beneath the covers in the queen-sized bed. “I appreciate your help. You must be exhausted.”
“I’ll be fine. There’s one more thing I need to do before I turn out the lights.”
She coughed before scrunching her nose. “What?”
He walked to her side of the bed. “I need to tuck you in.”
As she gripped the edge of the comforter, her knuckles went white. “Why?”
“It’s a Lowell family tradition, right?”
She stared warily, though some of the effect was lost because of her heavy eyelids, which kept wanting to close. “For the kids.”
Blaise shrugged. “Audra and Ryder would approve.”
Hadley coughed, sipped some water, and then placed the glass on the nightstand. “They would.”
“So it’s okay?” he asked.
Nodding, she lowered her gaze.
“I may be a newbie at tuck ins, but Audra and Ryder thought I did a decent job, so have faith.”
That brought a chuckle.
What had Wes’s medical team told him? Laughter was the best medicine, which had prompted comedy movie marathons and bad jokes galore. They hadn’t stopped, either, once he went into remission.
Blaise pushed the edge of the sheet under the mattress. Strands of her auburn hair spread across the ivory pillowcase. He focused on doing his job. That appeared snug enough…
Memories rushed to the surface. His mother. His father. Putting them into bed. Cleaning up after them. Wondering if they were asleep or dead. Searching for a pulse or breath.
This is different.
Hadley will be okay.
Blaise repeated that.
It was true, but the old feeling of being out of his element was the same. So was his desire to help. Do what was right. Make her better.
As he double-checked the sheet, he tucked away his emotions. That was where they belonged, hidden not visible. “How’s that?”
She smiled softly. “It’s been years since someone tucked me in. You did a wonderful job.”
His chest puffed. “Do I need to check for monsters?”
“No. I’m safe here.”
She was kidding around, but pride swelled, knowing he’d done something right for her. Everyone needed to feel safe and secure. He would do what he could so she continued to feel that way with him.
“I’m leaving the door open,” he said. “If you need anything, yell.”
Her eyelids fluttered. She appeared to be losing the battle to keep them open.
