Page 94 of Just One Kiss

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The following morning, Carly awoke to the sound of Dr. Roby’s voice.

The light filtered in through the blinds. What time was it?

Josh stood next to Jaden’s bed, showered and in clean clothes. Had he even had an hour of sleep?

After his apology—too heartfelt for her heart to bear—she’d lain awake for at least another hour, reminding herself of how it felt when he broke his promises.

At some point, she’d drifted back to sleep, and now she was late waking up and Josh was here looking like Super-Dad.

He glanced at her. “You’re awake.”

I’m still mad at you.The Sandlotchanges nothing.

Jaden lifted a hand to wave at her.

She stood, wishing she’d showered and changed already.

Dr. Roby was examining Jaden’s incision, something Josh, she noticed, wouldn’t look at. He’d always been squeamish around blood. Seeing the stitches holding their son’s skin together was probably a step above what he could handle.

Carly, on the other hand, had seen these kinds of wounds hundreds of times. She just didn’t like seeing one on her own son.

“How are you feeling?” she asked.

He gave her a thumbs-up, but his eyes were still sagged with grogginess.

“Everything looks good.” Dr. Roby reaffixed the bandage to Jaden’s chest. “I think you’re going to get to go home today.”

Jaden gave another thumbs-up.

“What does his recovery look like?” Josh asked.

Carly decided not to point out that if Josh had been there yesterday, he would have at least a small idea of the recovery process, and instead chose to let the doctor talk. Truth was, she’d researched every detail of this procedure and in that moment, she’d forgotten everything she’d learned.

“You might have some soreness and bruising today,” Dr. Roby said. “We’ll give you something for that.”

Jaden nodded.

“I know we already discussed this, but it bears repeating,” the doctor continued. “No strenuous exercise for four weeks. You’re going to want to avoid even lifting your hands over your head for a couple of weeks. You’ve got to give yourself time to heal.”

Jaden blew out a frustrated breath, undoubtedly thinking about the ski team, the coach and a newspaper article he hadn’t even read yet.

“I don’t want you lifting anything heavy for a few weeks either, so that’ll get you out of helping around the house.” The doctor’s joke fell flat. “Will he have someone to help while he recovers?”

She looked at Josh, trying to ignore the overwhelming feeling of gratitude that he was supporting them for the month so she could be there for Jaden. She didn’t like feeling indebted to him, and she easily could’ve argued that he owed them at least that much, but she knew he didn’t have to do that, and shewasgrateful.

She couldn’t imagine going off to work while her son was at home recovering.

“Yes,” Carly said. “I’m going to take some time off of work.”

“And I’m sticking around,” Josh said. “I’ll get back to Chicago once Jaden’s recovered.”

“Great. Get him outside. Go on short walks this week. Wait a day or two before showering, and cover the wound completely. He’ll be back to normal in no time.”

“And then we’ll hit the slopes,” Jaden said.

Dr. Roby raised a brow. “Son, we’ve been over this. I’m afraid skiing is not in your future.”

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