She shivered. “That’s entirely possible.”
Shifting his weight, he rose on one elbow to lean over her. He rested the fingertips of his free hand against her jaw. “Just because we’re different doesn’t mean we can’t still be good together. Maybe we’ve let those differences push us apart in the past, instead of using them to make us stronger together.”
The words sounded good, Laurel mused, but she wasn’t entirely sure anything had really changed between them. They had come closer together during their son’s medical crisis, but would it really last when their lives returned to normal? Despite what he had said about celebrating their differences, almost since their honeymoon had ended she had felt as though Jackson was subtly trying to mold her into someone more like his mother.
Perhaps it was an unconscious effort on his part, but she had always sensed that he wanted her to be different in some way. More dependent on him. More content to stay home while he went out and did his providing-for-the-family routine.
“And now you’ve drifted away from me.”
She focused on his face again. “I was just thinking that we should get back to the hospital soon.”
Visibly unsatisfied with her response, he gazed down at her. “We have a little while yet. I told Dad we’d be back by six and it’s only four-twenty now.”
She started to roll to the edge of the bed. “I’ll put the clothes in the dryer while we shower and have a bite to eat. They should be dry by the time we’re ready to leave.”
“Wait.” Cupping her cheek in his hand, he lowered his mouth to kiss her. His lips moved firmly against hers, and the tip of his tongue slipped between her lips.
Considering everything, her immediate response was rather surprising. She would have thought she’d have been too worried and impatient to get back to the hospital to be sidetracked by a kiss. Apparently, she’d have been wrong.
Maybe it was because she so desperately needed a distraction that she found herself wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him back. Heat radiated from his bare chest through her thin shirt, a warmth that seemed to soak through her skin and swirl inside her abdomen. She shifted restlessly beneath him, her hands sliding hungrily down his back.
Jackson made a guttural sound and gathered her more tightly against him. It was instantly obvious that she wasn’t the only one who had become so quickly and intensely aroused. Apparently, they both needed a temporary escape from reality.
They made love silently, fluidly, quickly. They didn’t bother with foreplay, since they were both so ready. They didn’t waste time fumbling around, since they knew each other so well in this respect. They achieved their satisfaction almost simultaneously.
Just for a moment, they clung to each other, reluctant to end the closeness. Laurel wanted very badly to believe Jackson’s assurances that things were getting better between them. But she knew their problems were still there, not resolved, perhaps not even fully identified yet.
Even as the warmth faded, she felt anxiety creeping back in, an urgency to return to the hospital and to Tyler. Either Jackson felt her start to stiffen or he was having similar feelings, because he didn’t try to detain her when she rolled away from him.
“Go on and shower,” he told her. “I’ll put the clothes in the dryer.”
“Thank you.” She hesitated briefly, feeling as if there were something she should say, but nothing came to her. Gathering fresh clothing into her arms, she turned and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.
To everyone’s relief, Tyler was moved into a regular room Monday afternoon. He was already more alert, only lightly medicated for discomfort, feeling just well enough to be fussy. Laurel stayed busy reading to him, watching videos with him, anything she could think of to keep him entertained.
The other parents still in the ICU waiting room seemed almost as pleased as Laurel that Tyler was recovering so well. Laurel made sure to convey her hopes that their children would soon be healthy again. She hugged Carol before she left, promising to come back and check on Patty, who was still showing gradual signs of improvement.
Only a short while after Tyler was moved to the new room, Jackson left for his job site. He approached the subject very delicately, as if expecting Laurel to be angry with him for leaving, but she waved him off. He really did have to work, she acknowledged, and it wasn’t as if there was anything he could do at the hospital.
She tried not to think of her own work being dumped on the other caseworkers because of her absence. Right now it was more important for her to be with Tyler—and as Jackson had pointed out, his job provided Tyler’s heal
th insurance.
Now that they were out of ICU, more visitors were allowed. A few of Laurel’s friends and co-workers stopped in during the course of the afternoon to ask if she needed anything. Though she assured them all there was nothing she needed, she was genuinely pleased by the sincerity of the offers.
She was even able to greet Beverly Schrader with a warm smile late that afternoon. Tyler, who had been growing tired of the game Laurel was playing with him, welcomed his nanny into the room with a crow of delight.
“Hi, Beb,” he said, using the nickname he had given her early in her employment.
“How’s my angel?” Beverly approached his bed with a gaily wrapped gift in her hands.
“I had a operation,” he told her, pointing toward his chest. “And I got a needle in my arm,” he added, glaring at the securely taped IV that he’d been complaining about all day.
“So I see. Your gammy told me you’ve been very brave. And I heard a nurse say you’ve been a very good boy.”
“Well…pretty good,” Tyler muttered with a furtive glance at his mother. He was obviously thinking of a near-tantrum a little while earlier, before they’d begun the game.
“Considering everything, he’s been admirably well-behaved.” Laurel gave him a smile to show him the earlier lapse was forgiven. After all, there had been a few times during the past couple of days when she’d been perilously close to a tantrum herself.