Mike blew out a breath. “Thank you. Tomorrow, we can talk a little more.”
Eleanor nodded. “Tuck, who eats what and when?”
Everyone but Tuck left. He went over formula and food. “Darlin’, this is a big task. I’m gonna spend the night in a guest room. But before I go, let me check on sleeping beauty. He’s not able to hold either one. And no ‘adult activity.’”
Tuck grabbed Wes’s bag and removed the stethoscope, BP cuff and penlight. When Tuck checked his pupils, Wes sat up abruptly. “How long have I been out?”
Eleanor crawled up the bed. “You did too much and fell out. They’re here.”
“Am I allowed up?” he asked Tuck.
“Yes, no picking them up, and only hold them for a short time. You need rest. Ellie, you know how to get me.” Tuck waved.
Wes sat up and swung his feet over the edge. Eleanor took his hand. “They wouldn’t be here without you.” She wrapped her arms around him. “Tuck told me how sick they were. And look at all this stuff. You did mean it when you said they could stay up here?”
“As long as you’re here with me.” Wes’s eyes grew heavy again.
A few hours later, Eleanor rested Birdie in her crib after a feeding and returned to the bed. Wes slept soundly as she ran a finger across his forehead, just beneath the bandage. Her eyes teared up, her sister and, she assumed, her brothers almost killed him.
She placed a hand on her heart and prayed, “Please keep Wes safe.” Snuggling down beneath the comforter, she curled her body around his like a protective shield. “I love you.”
