“I’m all she has,” I protested.
“Not with Becky there. She’s trained to take care of her. If she hadn’t answered the phone, I’d have driven over there, but she answered. Your mom is sleeping, she’s fine.”
“I’m up now. I don’t want to sleep,” I said between yawns.
He sighed. Two seconds later I was face down over his lap.
“What are you doing?” I shrieked as he pulled up my nightshirt.
“Getting you to sleep.”
“Cole! That’s not going to work!”
“It worked before.” He kneaded my buns, and started swatting. “Spanking releases endorphins.”
“Did you read that in the police manual?”
“Hush,” he said firmly. His palm smacked one butt cheek, then the other, spreading the sting evenly over my quivering flesh.
It did calm me.
When he set me on my feet, I swayed drunkenly.
“Why are you doing this?”
I could’ve misheard him, but I swear he whispered, “Because you’re mine.”
5
Morning came and I woke. I got out of bed, but delayed leaving the room until I really had to pee.
The sight of me in the mirror, bruises under my eyes and hair a mess, made me cringe. Had I really said all those things last night? Done them?
I lifted the shirt Cole gave me to wear and checked my backside. Sure enough, there was some lingering redness.
So it wasn’t a dream.
I padded back to the bedroom and looked for a clock. There had been one on the bedside table, but it was gone. Light streamed through the curtains.
I hit the kitchen in a panic.
Cole leaned against the counter, sipping coffee and reading a paper. My body jolted to a stop at the sight of his long legs encased in jeans, a black polo taut on his muscled biceps and chest.
“Morning, sunshine,” he said.
“What time is it?” I demanded, and pointed to the microwave that said ten am. “Is that right?”
“Yes.”
“Goddammit, Cole!”
“Regina,” his voice crackled with authority. “Relax. I called and asked for a day nurse to come. Your mother is up and fine. The new nurse is Matthew. She calls him Peter, but the nurse told me that’s normal.”
“Peter is her brother. He’s been dead twenty years.”
“Well, she’s having a good conversation with him. Now come sit. We have things to talk about.”
I crept to the table, keeping my eyes on Cole. He looked rested and handsome, not a hair out of place.
