Page 105 of This Feeling

I laughed, but quickly stopped. “Man, my head is killing me.”

“You look tired. Let me have your mother come back before you crash from exhaustion.”

Holding her hand, I asked, “Will you come back and stay with me after my family’s seen me? I don’t want to be alone.”

She nodded. “I’ll ask the nurse.”

I watched as Harper slowly backed away from my bed, never taking her eyes off me, even as she walked out the door.

Closing my eyes, I took a long breath and drifted to sleep.

Harper pulled up and put her car in Park. “We’re here.”

I lifted my head and turned to see we were parked in the alley behind Crazy Daisies. When my mother suggested I go to my parents’ house to recoup because there were no stairs, I’d insisted I would be fine staying with Harper. It was only a couple of small flights of steps. There was no way I was staying with my mother.

“Ready?”

Nodding, I said, “Let’s do this.”

After a week in the hospital, receiving oxygen therapy and learning about heart health, being out and moving around felt great. I opened my door, but before I could even think of getting out, Harper was there.

“Let me help you.”

“Harp, I’m okay. I’m not going to break.”

She smiled. “I know. You’re still weak, though, and the doctor said to take it easy. Baby steps, remember?”

“He also said, since I was in top shape before this, I’d recover at a much faster rate than if I’d any heart issues before.”

She wrapped her arm around my waist. “All I heard was ‘take it easy.’ Slowly start with walking, and you have a checkup with the heart doctor and pulmonary doctor next week.”

I laughed and allowed her to help me.

I didn’t want to admit how out of breath I was when we finally got to the apartment, so I tried my best to take slow, deep breaths. Harper let go of me on the landing and unlocked the door. Once we walked inside, she turned to face me.

“Just breathe like you need to, Declan. You don’t have anything to prove to me.” She grinned when I rolled my eyes. “Now go sit down, and I’m going to run down and get the bags.”

“I’d offer to help…” I said, letting my words trail off as Harper quirked a brow in my direction. I held up my hands. “I’m walking over to the sofa and sitting down now.”

“Do you want something to drink before I head back downstairs?”

I shook my head and sat. “I’m good.”

“Great. I’m going to pop into the shop and make sure everything’s okay before heading back up.”

The guilt came rushing in when Harper mentioned the floral shop. She’d been gone for a week, since she hardly ever left my side at the hospital. Her mother had been running the shop for Harper while she was taking the time off to care for me.

“Tell your mom I said hi,” I called out.

“I will. I won’t be gone long. Don’t move!”

Shaking my head, I reached for the remote and put my feet up as I turned on the TV. I adjusted the back cushion as Daisy jumped up and curled herself on my lap. Before I knew it, I was fighting to keep my eyes open. Giving up the fight to stay awake, I lay down on the sofa and closed my eyes for just a few minutes. Figuring I’d rest until Harper came back up.

The smell of something delicious baking caused me to open my eyes. For a moment, I wasn’t sure where I was. Once I sat up and looked into the kitchen, I smiled. Harper was cutting up carrots.

“How long was I asleep?” I asked, scrubbing a hand down my face.

“Three hours.”

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