“That…” I sucked in a breath, then let it out slowly. “It was no one. They had the wrong house. Now, let me fluff those pillows for you…”
My mother waved me away before settling back into the cushions. As she turned the TV on, we went into the kitchen and grabbed the coffee cups.
“I think I want to see exactly how growly you can get,” I said to Troy.
“Yeah?” He pressed a kiss to my head and then plucked the cups from my grip. “Be careful what you wish for, love.”
Before I could ask any clarifying questions, he walked past me and into the living room.
Chapter 34
Troy
“Go out!” Weeks later, Kimberley was sitting in her lounge room, waving her hands at us. “Go out for a hike, or a drive. If I had an Aussie hunk at my beck and call, I’d be showing him the sights.” With a wink at me, she shot me a rakish grin. “He looks like he’s the kind of man that appreciates a good view. I’d be making sure he saw mine.”
“Mother!” Mackenzie came bustling out of the kitchen with a tray piled high with healthy snacks, drinks, and Kimberley’s medication. “Stop being such a brat and take your meds.” Sitting down in the chair opposite, she leaned forward. “The doctor said you need to rest for the next couple of weeks.”
“And I’m here to make sure she does.”
Sandra was Alex’s mum, and I tried really hard not to hold that against her. She was kinda snippy with me initially, but I wore her down. Made clear I was going nowhere and that I would not make the same stupid mistakes her son did. The woman might not rate me too highly, but she had come to accept that Mackenzie was my girl. Sandra held up a bag full ofgoodies, none of which was on the nutritionist’s approved list of foods, as well as a couple of DVDs.
“Movie marathon?” she asked Kimberley. “I’ve got popcorn, cookies?—”
“Mom can’t have any of that,” Mackenzie said, rising to her feet as if to intercept the older woman.
“Mom gets to decide what she can and can’t have.” The iron in Kimberley’s tone had us all turning around. My future mother-in-law was a sweet lady, but I could see where Mackenzie got her stubborn streak from. The set of her jaw, the way her eyes narrowed when her daughter went to argue, made clear her stance. “One bowl of popcorn, a few cookies?—”
“And some Milk Duds, Twizzlers, and Skittles,” Sandra said, peering into her bags.
“Isn’t going to send me back to hospital.” As Kimberley stared at her daughter, her expression softened. “Honey, I’m fine, remember?”
When the doctor said the surgery had been a resounding success, I didn’t know how much I needed to hear that. Not just for Mackenzie, either. Being back in the hospital, seeing the lady passed out in the bed after surgery, it’d brought up a lot of uncomfortable feelings. The doctor’s words helped make clear this was different.
“So go, shoo.” She waved her hand at us like we were a pack of blowflies hanging around a sheep’s arse. “Go outside and see the world. Troy travelled all the way from Australia to come to the States, and all he’s really seen is the hospital, the mall, and this house.”
Honestly, if I could’ve kissed the woman, I would’ve, and the shine in Kimberley’s eyes made clear she was well aware of that fact. Turning to Mackenzie, I shrugged.
“So what do you think, love? We never really got to go on a date. Want to rectify that now?”
“Date…?” It was as if my girl was swimming up, up and only now she breached the surface of everything she’d been drowning in. “But… We…”
“Go.” Kimberley was the deciding factor. “Me and Sandra are overdue some girl time.” She winked at me. “I think Troy wants some of that too, so…”
So that’s how several hours later, we ended up hiking up the side of a hill.
“A movie,” I said, pausing to catch my breath. “Then lunch or an early dinner at someplace nice. Maybe a walk along the beach.” The weather was much cooler in the States, as it was just moving into spring. “Something romantic, not…” Sitting down on a nearby rock, I waved my arm around. “Whatever this is.”
“Turn around, cowboy.”
Mackenzie nodded to something behind me. With a grumble under my breath, I did as I was told.
“Oh.” The vista before us was fucking beautiful, even I could appreciate that. Australia was a far flatter country, it appeared, because the mountains beyond, the pine trees covering their sides, were something I’d never seen before. “OK, I get it now. That’s beautiful.” My arm went around her waist and I pulled her onto my lap. “You’re beautiful.”
“I’m all sweaty and gross.”
She went to wipe her forehead with her sleeve, but I stopped her.
“Mum always said that horses sweat, men perspire, and women glow.” Smiling down at her, I saw the exact same thing I did when we first met. “You glow, Mackenzie.”
