Lenore nodded. “Whatever you need…”
Bemused, Josh reached down with his free hand to pull his son closer still.
Shane leaned on him briefly and then looked up. “I thinkI should come with you, just for a little while because I need to make sure everything is all right.”
When Josh glanced at Lenore, she nodded—just like that. No whining. No trying to make it all about her.
Awesome. Even worried about Riley as he was right now, he could almost get misty-eyed at the change in his ex-wife. The miracle had happened. Lenore was finally moving on.
“Looks like I’ll need two car seats,” he said. “Can I get the other seat from your car?”
“Absolutely,” she replied.
* * *
While Josh was gone, Riley had to use the walker to get to the downstairs bathroom. It took forever—to get there, to get her pants down and then get them back up again once she was done.
Everything was awkward, and her ankle, which hardly hurt at all while propped on a pillow, throbbed like a son of a gun the whole time she was upright. The stress and renewed pain made her head throb harder than ever.
But hey. She did it.
By the time the front door opened and Josh, Dillon, Shane and Roger burst in, she was back on the sofa with her foot propped up and a smile on her face.
“Mom!” Dillon came running. He slid in between the sofa and coffee table and bent close. “Josh said you got hurted!”
“Yes, but I’m okay, sweetheart. I just have to take it easy for a while.”
Dillon patted her shoulder. “You need to rest.”
“That’s right. And I am resting, see?”
He nodded, his face solemn. “And you don’t have to worry. We are here now, and we will take very good care of you.”
This kid. He made her day—every day. “I feel better already.” She glanced at Josh and Shane, who smiled at her from the far side of the coffee table. “Hey, Shane. Good to see you.”
“Riley, I came to make sure that you are okay.”
“And I’m so glad you did! Thank you for coming to check on me.”
Shane gave a shy little nod. “You’re welcome. I wanted to come.”
“I hope you’ll stay for dinner…”
Shane considered that idea. “Sure, I’ll stay.”
“Great.” She gave Josh a sly smile. “What are we having?”
He stuck his hands in his pockets and shrugged. “Guess me and the boys better go figure that out…”
* * *
They feasted on chicken nuggets, fish sticks and carrot sticks, too. Riley had enough greens and veggies in the fridge that Josh was able to toss them a salad. They ate at the coffee table, Josh and the boys sitting on the floor so that Riley could be with them and also keep her foot elevated. Roger ate, too. Josh had brought along the dog food and treats he kept in the office at Bravo Construction.
After the meal, Josh took Shane to Lenore’s. He didn’t get back for a while and when he did, he brought a bunch of stuff—a big duffel bag and a lot of doggy supplies.
Josh supervised Dillon’s bedtime preparations. That took a while. But when Dillon came back down to kiss her good-night, he explained that Josh had already read him a story. “Because you’re not supposed to put a sprain on your eyes.”
“I think you might meanstrain,” Josh suggested diplomatically.
