Page 9 of Salvaging My Heart
“Didn’t know this was where your sister lived. Shouldn’t you be getting Nick ready for school?” Aaron asked as he reached for the trash can.
“Mom and Kim own the building. This way they’re close but not completely on top of each other. The zombie known as Nick should be stumbling down the stairs any minute now. He’s definitely Kim’s child when it comes to mornings.” Aaron watched as Leif crossed his arms over his chest, biceps flexing just a bit.
“Good to know.” Aaron wasn’t sure what else to say at the moment. All the blood in his brain had fled south. He was happy that he remembered how to talk and stand. Pretty sure he wasn’t drooling but he could be wrong.
“I’ll text you later. It’s a bit cold out here. I didn’t think to grab a sweatshirt.” Leif shuddered but stood there waiting for Aaron to answer him.
Waking himself up because, damn this was a good daydream, Aaron nodded. “I’ll look forward to it. Have a good day?”
“It’s definitely started out a good one since I got to see you. Chat later,” Leif said, winking at Aaron before walking back down the driveway with the empty can in tow.
Aaron watched him go, chewing on his bottom lip. Oh yeah, I want some of that. A horn tooted a happy sound as it pulled around the truck, bringing Aaron back to the street.
“Ready to go?” Ben yelled. Guess he’d been standing there longer than he thought.
“Yeah, yeah,” Aaron grumbled. Back to reality for now.
CHAPTER NINE
“If you don’t get me the hell out of here,” Kim growled at Leif. “I will NOT miss my son’s playoff game. Now work some magic and get me out.” She’d started the minute he’d stepped through the door. He should’ve waited for Mom when she stopped to chat with one of her friends in the lobby.
Leif had been dressed down by the best of them but they could learn a thing from his little sister. You could definitely tell that she’d grown up fast after getting pregnant with Nick at seventeen. He stood there letting Kim vent. There wasn’t much he could do until her doctor said she could be released. Leif wasn’t touching the traction, no way, no how.
“Kimberly Jane Hansen, you stop right now,” his mom said as she walked into the room. Leif had brought her home after his call on Thursday. Good thing she’d come with him today. She couldn’t drive for another week because of the medications she was still taking but she was home in her own space and bed. “We can talk to your doctor but your brother isn’t going to do anything against the doctor’s orders. Are we clear?”
Oh Leif knew that tone from his mother. It was the ‘don’t even think about arguing’ one. He’d learned early on not to push her on that one. Looking between the two important women in his life, Leif thought intervention might be in order.
“Kim, what if we could live stream it for you?” he suggested and quickly continued when she glared daggers at him. “If the doctor won’t let you out.”
“Did you hear about your brother bringing out the trash in his shorts?” Cindy asked as she barreled into the room, stopping short when she noticed him standing right there. “Um, I’ll just come—”
“Don’t you take a step!” Kim commanded, pointing her finger at Cindy. “You wait there. You,” she said to Leif. “You’re flashing our neighbors?”
Leif could feel the blush heat his. This so wasn’t a discussion he wanted to have in front of his mother. Yes, she had no issue with him being gay but having it pushed in her face wasn’t something he ever wanted to do. “I did not flash your neighbors. I was completely dressed.”
“Bullshit,” Cindy mumbled, covering her mouth with her hand. He turned and glared at her to which she opened her eyes wide, obviously trying for innocent. Talk about bullshit.
“I was in my shorts and boots. Perfectly acceptable attire.” That was his story and he was sticking to it. “What?”
“Aaannndd… I hear a certain garbage man was dumbstruck when said brother went back in the house,” Cindy continued. “I wonder what’s going on there?”
Leif threw himself into the chair next to Kim’s bed. He didn’t see any way he was getting out of this discussion.
“Seriously? You broke Aaron? We need him in one piece,” Kim admonished.
“I do too,” he murmured. There were a lot of things he’d like to do to Aaron and he would need to be whole. Leif watched as Kim shifted in her bed as much as she could. Seemed she was trying to get into a position where she could protect Aaron. Stand in line, sis, stand in line. “I’m not planning on hurting him.”
His sister frowned at him. “And when you go back? What happens then?”
He leaned back against the chair and opened his mouth to speak then closed it. What would happen? He still didn’t know what Commander Palway was trying to do. Time to evade. “Let’s look for your doctor. Cindy, any chance you know when he’ll be by? Maybe we can bribe him to let Kim out today?” Not that he had her duplex ready but he could figure something out on the fly for one night then get her settled after the game tomorrow. Ooh, if she was home maybe he could go on an actual-not-time-pressed date with Aaron.
Fingers snapping in front of his face made him jerk back. “What the hell?” he almost shouted.
“No time for dreaming, pretty boy. Time for planning so you’ve got something to proposed to Doctor Cunningham. He’ll be doing rounds in about an hour,” Cindy informed them.
Planning. This he knew. He stood up and gestured to his mom to take his seat. She might not still be a patient but she was still healing. “You and Kim make a list of what needs to be picked up and text it to me. There has to be a med supply company I can rent a wheelchair from. Then I’ll grab Nick and we’ll get the necessities. Drop them at the house and come back to pick you up. Hopefully with that all in place, Cunningham will let Kim go. We can have take out tonight.”
His mom paused in front of him, placing her hand on his cheek, stopping Leif in his tracks. “Leif Olson Hansen, you were a good boy and you’re a good man. You’ll treat Aaron with respect, no matter what happens. Now you shoo. Kim’ll text you in a few.”
