Page 35 of I Still Do

Abby and the kids came downstairs. Abby went to wait with Maria and Emma while Zac, on the other hand, happily sat on his daddy’s lap to watch. “Cool!” He held his thumb out. “Just like me.”

Grey chuckled. “Yep, we’ll match.” Then he gave Cora a nod to let her know he was ready.

“I’ll need you to sit on the floor. Can someone grab a pillow for him to lean against, please?” There was a time in the past when Cora would’ve been all nerves working like this in front of the entire family. Now, however, she was able to push all that to the back of her mind and focus on the task in front of her.

While someone retrieved the pillow, Cora put a towel on the floor beneath Grey’s leg. Then she opened one of the large, sterile pads and laid that on top of the towel. She opened a sealed package that contained some gloves and put them on. His wound was oozing a steady trickle of blood. She cleaned it again then used gauze to wipe the area clear. Before blood could cover the skin again, she applied iodine all around the cut including a good six inches in any direction. “Okay, that’s going to make this as sterile as I can. Now, this lidocaine will numb the skin some.”

Cora met his eyes to let him know it was still going to hurt as she stitched. He nodded his understanding. She applied the lidocaine, waited for it to take effect, and began.

With each stitch, the blood flow lessened until the wound was finally closed. She used some more iodine to rinse the area and alcohol wipes to clean the rest of his leg, including the trails the blood had left behind. When she was done, she dried the wound with gauze before applying more and wrapping it with a stretchy bandage to keep it in place.

“All right, there we go.” She pulled her gloves off, turning them inside out in the process. “I’ve got acetaminophen in here. Would you like some?”

Grey flexed his leg, accepted help from Dare and Flynn, and got to his feet. “I think that may not be a bad idea.”

Maria appeared moments later with a glass of water. Grey swallowed the medication while Cora cleaned up the towel and trash.

Dare put an arm around her shoulders. “That was impressive, Cora. Remind me to bring you along on all of our excursions.” He was teasing her, but his expression was serious.

“It’s not a big deal.” Now that she was done, and everyone was either thanking her or watching her with awe, she felt her cheeks warm. “I’m just glad I could help, and that it wasn’t any worse.” She turned to Grey. “You should probably see a doctor when you get home, though. Have it looked at and maybe even get some antibiotics to make sure you don’t get an infection.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” He leaned forward then, and Cora thought he was going to kiss her cheek, but he stopped and smiled instead. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” If her cheeks hadn’t been warm before, they were practically on fire now. “Just watch those snow shovels in the future, huh?”

He grinned. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Come on, Grey.” Maria patted him on the arm and started leading him toward the living room. “Let’s go get you set up on the couch until it’s time to go.” She turned as they left and gave Cora a proud smile.

Relief flooded her system as the adrenaline ebbed. Cora let out a deep breath. Only then did she realize Dare was standing beside her.

“For the record?” He paused until he had her full attention. “Who knew having a nurse in the family would come in so handy. It’s been great seeing you this weekend, Cora. I sincerely hope it won’t be another five years.” With that, he winked and went to help Flynn with the rest of the shoveling.

Cora stared after him as his words repeated themselves in her head. Dare still considered her family? She knew Maria often said the same thing. Working this whole friendship thing out with Grey wasn’t going to be easy, but for the first time in a long time, Cora didn’t feel so alone.

Chapter Fourteen

As it turned out, their timing that morning was pretty much spot on. By noon, the roads leading from the cabin into town and the airport were plowed clear. Grey sobered as they left the cabin, but he didn’t have time to dwell on it for long. Dare drove them to the first cabin where Grey and Cora retrieved the truck they’d had to leave there Friday night. Once they got to the airport, it was so crowded and hectic that all thoughts of what waited back in Texas flew from Grey’s mind.

They checked in at the airport and were told they’d have to wait until their flight information was figured out.

Cora brought Pogo with her. Dare had found some rope to use as a leash, although the dog didn’t stray far from Cora. Now that they had internet again, she’d posted on a local online bulletin board and included a picture of Pogo. His happy owners quickly responded and said they’d make it to the airport to pick him up. It turned out that the poor dog had gotten lost shortly after the blizzard began, and the family had feared never seeing him again.

He saw the sadness in Cora’s eyes when she patted Pogo before handing him over to an airport employee. On the other side of security, a family with two young children surrounded Pogo with cheers and hugs as the dog’s tail wagged happily.

“You did a good thing there,” Grey told her.

“I know. I just got attached to the guy. He was the dog I always wanted and never had.” She sniffed and then chuckled wryly. “Silly, right?”

“No, it’s not silly.”

“Well, he’s definitely better off with them, though. He’d have to fly in the cargo hold and be locked away in my apartment all the time if he came with me. Assuming I could sneak him past my apartment managers.” She laughed, but there was little humor in her eyes. Just sadness and exhaustion. She pointed to his leg. “We’d better find some place for you to sit down.”

He wasn’t going to argue with her. By the time they returned to where the rest of the family waited, his leg was throbbing.

Flynn and his family were the first to get a flight on a plane to Denver where they’d board a connecting flight to San Antonio. Thankfully, before they left, Flynn had been able to reschedule his interview for the following morning.

The airline was able to fit the rest of them on a separate flight to Dallas/Fort Worth. Mom and Dare would catch a connecting flight to San Antonio from there. Even though they were on the same flight, their seats were so spread out that Grey, sitting on the aisle, could only see Mom a few rows behind him. He knew where Cora was up ahead even though he had no view of her at all. Dare was somewhere on the flight, but Grey hadn’t seen which seat he’d been assigned.

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