Page 44 of Leo and His Love Bunny

I slide the leg of her jeans up and touch the top of her sock as the door opens and my stepmom walks in.

Chapter 19

Nora

I’ve never met a man who is so tough and strong, yet so gentle and considerate. My ankle is on fire, a pain that shoots the whole way up my leg and out both arms, concentrating in my elbow, but feeling how carefully he carried me, how gentle his touch is, how concerned and caring he is to me, almost makes my pain an afterthought.

It definitely makes it worthwhile. Even if this never happens again, if we part ways and I never see him again, I will never forget this tender, sweet compassion he’s shown me. A mother couldn’t have been more caring. I don’t want to fall in love with him, but a part of me wonders how I could keep from it, when he treats me with such care and tenderness.

He pushes my jeans up, and his hands are on my sock when the door opens and Addison walks in.

“Mom! Nora fell and got hurt.” Carson runs over to his mom, shouting the exciting news. I can’t blame him. At that age, you want the attention of being the first to tell the people you love all the exciting things. And this, apparently, is worth sharing.

“I see,” she says as she comes over. “Do you need me to call an ambulance?”

An ambulance never even occurred to me, and I say “No!” right away. Leo looks up, his hands on my leg, but he doesn’t argue with me. Not in front of his stepmom, anyway.

“I think we can handle it,” he says, instead.

“How were the boys?” she asks.

“They were great. They can tell you about it.” Leo’s eyes have dropped back to my leg, but he hasn’t moved my sock anymore. Maybe he’s waiting for her to leave so he can concentrate on not hurting me.

“I’ll make sure they do,” Addison says.

The boys are already chattering in her ear, but she ignores them.

“How was Dad’s appointment?” Leo asks.

I hadn’t even thought to ask why he needed to watch the boys. I listen closely as she says, “We won’t get the results of the test until next week. I told Wade to let you know.”

“Thanks.”

Stress pinches Leo’s face, and I wish I could ease this worry for him the way he’s eased the pain for me. I have no idea how I would have gotten off the ice if it hadn’t been for him coming and carrying me. The idea of putting weight on my ankle makes me cringe.

Briggs and Carson thank Leo for his time, and he gives them both a fist bump. It’s so sweet and cute and heartwarming that it’s all I can do not to sigh.

The door closes behind them, although we’re not alone. There are various workers throughout the building, and anyone is liable to come in at any time. Plus, there should be someone behind the counter, although I don’t see the teen that handed us our skates and Carson’s and Brigg’s skates are sitting at the return where they left them.

Leo has pulled down my sock to show the deep purple and blue on the outside of my ankle. I’m kind of pleased that it has such a great bruise. At least I don’t feel like such a baby for thinking that it hurt so much.

“The pain has faded, but it still throbs.” I feel like I have to say something as his fingers gently probe my ankle, so tenderly and carefully that it doesn’t hurt at all. In fact, it feels good.

“I know you didn’t want Addison to call 911, but I do think you should have it seen at the ER.”

“If I were a professional athlete and my job depended on high performance, maybe I would, but it’s not that big of a deal.They’re gonna tell me to ice it, maybe give me crutches and wrap it. I can wrap it and do the ice, and I wouldn’t use the crutches anyway. So there’s no point.” I do not, do NOT want to go to the ER. It’s a lot of waiting for them to tell me I’m going to be fine.

He doesn’t look like he agrees or approves, but he also doesn’t argue, which I appreciate.

“All right. I’ll agree to that, if you promise me you won’t walk on it the rest of the day.”

“How can I do that? I have to go home, shower, and go to the shop.” I’m most definitely going to have to be on my ankle.

“I’ll carry you everywhere you need to go. You’ll skip the shower, and we’ll get a stool for you to sit on at your shop.”

I stare at him, feeling like he’s driving a hard bargain but also feeling very...cherished. This is how I imagine it would feel to be married to a man who really takes the vow to love and cherish his wife seriously. It’s going to be a huge inconvenience to me, but I can’t tell him no and risk discouraging him from caring. His wife will appreciate this part of his personality, and I don’t want to ruin that for her. Even if I am jealous. She’s a blessed woman.

I shake my head. He’s not married, and he might never be.

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