by Jolie, Meg
“You’re here?”
He frowned as he neared her bed. Did she really need to sound so surprised? For the first time in his life, he rolled his eyes. “Of course I’m here. I love you. And unless I imagined it, you love me to.”
“You didn’t imagine it,” Carly said. Her voice, usually so confident, sounded worn and strained.
“Well then,” Quinn interjected, “maybe I should come back later. I feel like I’m interrupting a moment.”
Jesse chose not to acknowledge that. He moved closer, wanting to pull her into a hug but she looked far too fragile. Instead, he settled for taking her hand in his. When he leaned over to kiss her forehead, her skin felt cool and clammy. Her pallor was terribly pale and plum-colored crescents hung under her eyes. Her long hair was a tangle on her pillow. Her exhaustion was evident. Even still, she looked beautiful.
“How are you? How do you feel?” He scanned her face, noting some bruising and a line of stitches running parallel to her jaw line.
“Like I got hit by a truck.”
“Carly,” Quinn admonished. “Seriously, we’ve been so worried about you. You can imagine what it’s been like, trying to get information out of mom. We’ve all been going crazy, wondering if you’re okay. So really, how are you doing?”
“Well that,” she said as she vaguely pointed to the morphine drip, “seems to be a wonderful thing. My head hurts like you wouldn’t believe. But it feels better now that Mom’s not in the room. I have a skull fracture,” she said, almost sounding surprised. “But it should heal on its own. You probably heard I had to have surgery but there isn’t much they can do for my cracked ribs.” She took a small, pained breath. “I won’t be able to go back to school for a while. I’m going to have to lie around like an invalid.”
“You mean you need to rest and recover,” Quinn pointed out.
“You won’t be going back to Rosewood?” Jesse asked. He was trying to keep his voice even. He hated the thought of Carly going back to that town, alone. Just the thought of her living alone after her ordeal was enough to make him feel a little bit crazy.
Carly gave a subtle shake of her head and then grimaced. “Mom was having fits about me living alone.”
Quinn frowned in apology. “Sorry, Carly. I didn’t know what else to say.”
“No. It’s fine. I should’ve told her myself. She refuses to let me go back there. Not that it matters. According to the doctor, it’s probably going to be weeks before I can go back to my classes. I don’t know how I’d ever make the coursework up. It’s not like it’s high school. Some of the professors think that as long as you’re not dead, you should be there. No matter what.” She looked forlorn at the thought. “Mom was already badgering me. She thinks I just need to forget about school this semester so I can move back in with them.” The last of that sentence came out in a wail.
Jesse could see how upset this made Carly. He knew how badly she just wanted to be finished. Yet, it would be a lie if he let himself believe he wasn’t happy about this. For once, he and Margo might actually agree on something.
“Quinn, you have to help me,” Carly whimpered. Tears were brimming at the edges of her eyes.
“Of course,” Quinn said. “What’s wrong? What do you need?”
“The doctor said I shouldn’t be left alone when I get out of here. At least, not for a while. Mom’s already going on and on about taking me home with her. Quinn,” Carly squeaked out, “I can’t go home with her. I’ll lose my mind! Can I go home with you? I won’t be a bother. I know your house is already crazy but I’ll stay out of the way. You won’t even know I’m there. I promise.”
“Come home with me,” Jesse said before Quinn could say anything.
Both of the sisters turned to look at him. He gave them a sheepish shrug.
“What? I can take some time off work. I hardly ever take time off. I have almost a month of vacation time built up. We’re not too busy this time of year,” he explained. He was a loan officer and with the housing market quiet in the winter, it was a good time to take off. He frowned, “Unless you don’t want to.”
Carly squeezed his hand and some of the worry in her expression faded away. “You would really be okay with that?”
“Carly,” he said in exasperation.
She gave him a little nod. “Okay.”
20
“It’s not as good as I hoped. But it’s better than I expected.”
Quinn raised her eyebrows at Carly’s response. After some deliberating, she had decided to withdraw for the semester. Margo was relieved that she had made the decision just in time for the refund deadline.
“How is it better than you expected?” Quinn asked.
Carly shifted uncomfortably on the couch. She had been out of the hospital for a few days now. Jesse had taken most of the week off but today, he had a meeting he couldn’t miss. Quinn had offered to stay with Carly. Nora and Tom were taking care of the kids while Luke was at work.
Carly glanced down at the papers in her lap. She had decided to do something she swore she would never do. She was going to transfer back to Lanford to finish her degree. The forms she had just glanced through were from both the Records Office and the Admissions Office at Lanford’s university.
“More classes transferred than I had thought would. Of course, I hoped they would all transfer. But I knew they wouldn’t.” She flipped through her notes again. She would have to take three extra classes to finish her degree in Lanford. If she took two classes in the summer and added one extra class to her fall course load, she would graduate at the end of the following fall semester.
That was nearly a year from now.
She wasn’t happy about delaying her graduation even more. She was already a year behind because she’d taken a year off between high school and college. At the same time, she really didn’t have a choice. There was simply no way she could return to Roseville this semester after missing so much school. Not that she wanted to. And even though she was out of the hospital, she was nowhere near ready for classes. Just going to her check-up yesterday had worn her out.
The thought of going back to the house in Roseville made her skin crawl with dread. Not to mention, she wanted to be closer to her family.
And Jesse.
So adding three more classes to her education, in place of three that wouldn’t transfer, was the trade-off she would have to make. She was willing to make it and it hadn’t been a hard decision to come to.
Quinn smiled at her. “I’m sorry about your graduation being delayed. I know how badly you want to be done with school. I am happy you’ll be back in town though.”
Carly smiled back. “Yeah, me too. Jesse wants me to stay here. Permanently.” She meant both in Lanford and in his house.
“I figured.”
He had already gone back to Roseville to clear Carly out of her rental house. Shane had gone with to help with the move. They had met Melissa there and she had packed up Carly’s things while the guys had worked on moving the bigger items.
Now, everything was stacked in the corner of his guest bedroom, out of the way, until Carly could unpack and decide what to do with it.
“How is Mom taking that?” Quinn wondered. Margo had not taken the news that Carly would be going to Jesse’s once she was released from the hospital well at all. Yet, Carly was well past the age of being a legal adult. So really, Margo should have no say.
She shouldn’t have, barring one rather large issue.
“I’ve already told her I was going to move in with Jesse permanently. She had a complete meltdown,” Carly admitted with a sigh. “She started threatening me with my tuition, of course.”
Quinn wasn’t surprised by this. Margo had done the same to her. It had been a veiled threat, always in the background. Do what I say, or you’re on your own for school.
“I get what she’s saying,” Carly continued. “I really do. It’s her prerogative not to give me the money. At the same time, I’m almost twenty-four! Jesse is al
most twenty-eight. We’re old enough to decide how we live our lives. So I told her if she didn’t want to pay for my last two semesters that was fine. I haven’t had to take out a student loan yet, but there’s no reason I couldn’t. I mean, some people have to pay for their entire education that way.”
Quinn raised her eyebrows. “How did that go?”
A small smile appeared on Carly’s lips. “Mom was fuming. She didn’t like that I’d found a way to get past her rules. But Dad, he said absolutely not. He turned to Mom and told her that my tuition was their responsibility and that they would be paying it. Just like they had done for you. And that was that.”
“Good for Dad,” Quinn said decisively. She hesitated before going on. Finally, she said, “Did Mom tell you she contacted the Abbots?”
Carly groaned. Margo hadn’t mentioned it. Not that she was surprised. Leave it to her mother to meddle. Then again, Carly had gotten nowhere. Overall, she was too exhausted, both physically and emotionally, to really even care.
“She did,” Quinn said with a small nod. “To be honest, I’m glad. They mailed her a check the other day and they told her they would deal with Nolan. I have no idea what they meant by that. I guess really, he’s not our concern.”
Carly made a wry face at that. “No. He’s not. I’m glad Mom and Dad got their money, though.”
Quinn glanced at the clock on the fireplace mantel. “I think it’s time for your nap.”
Carly rolled her eyes. “You can’t be serious.” She was tired. Even though she was out of the hospital, she was nowhere near feeling like her old self. Whether she would admit it or not, Jesse knew it. He had been hovering over her all week. Rather than be annoyed—like she would’ve been if she’d had to go home with Margo—she found it endearing. He took his care of her very seriously.
Quinn stood and reached over to carefully help Carly to her feet. “I am completely serious. Jesse told me that you get tired around this time every day. He said that I shouldn’t wear you out. He was pretty adamant that I be sure you get your nap. In fact, if I don’t follow his orders, I don’t think he’ll let me stay with you again.”
“He’s a worrier,” Carly pretended to grumble. Though her sister was smiling, she thought there was a good chance that she meant what she said. Jesse may have truly threatened her with just that.
“I think it’s sweet,” Quinn sighed. “Now, let me help you to the bedroom. He should be back by the time you wake up.”
~*~*~
Carly’s eyes fluttered opened and she smiled. Jesse was obviously home because she could smell the aroma of something scrumptious being made for dinner. She rolled over and very carefully hoisted herself out of bed. Her ribs were still sore but they weren’t causing her nearly as much pain as they had at first. Still, a small task like lifting herself out of bed wasn’t easy.
Once up, she shuffled across the room. The bedroom door was cracked open and she could hear clattering coming from the kitchen. She slowly made her way down the hall, stopping when she reached the kitchen door.
“Hey!” Jesse said, looking truly surprised to see her. “I didn’t think you’d be up quite yet.” He set aside the knife he was holding as Carly slowly moved into the kitchen. He crossed it to greet her. Carefully, he pulled her into a gentle hug, still mindful of her sore ribs.
She hugged him back, enjoying the way he rubbed his cheek against hers. She peeked over his shoulder even as he tried to subtly steer her back out of the kitchen.
“What’s going on?” she demanded.
He frowned, realizing she’d caught a glimpse of the dining area in the background. “I just wanted to make you dinner. Chicken Parmigiana. It’s still your favorite, right?”
She nodded and stopped moving her feet, causing them both to come to an abrupt stop. “It is. But what is all of this?”
She squirmed out of his grasp. He let her go easily, worried he’d hurt her damaged body if he held on too tightly. With a few slow strides, she crossed the room. The table was set, complete with a tablecloth. A vase of her favorite flowers adorned the center. A bottle of champagne rested in a silver bucket at the end of the table. Candles were lit throughout the room, casting a romantic amber glow.
“This is so beautiful! But why are you doing this? I don’t need this,” she said stubbornly. She was afraid she was going to overstay her welcome if he thought he needed to constantly pamper her like this. He’d been doing so since the day he brought her home. Although, tonight, with the candles and champagne, he’d really gone overboard.
“I’m allowed to do nice things for you,” he said as he gave her a playful nudge.
She blinked as she looked around the room. “But…” she said, feeling embarrassed, “I feel like I never do anything for you. I haven’t done anything for you.”
“Sure you have,” he said as he came up behind her, looping his hands around her waist. “You gave me a chance. That’s what I wanted from you. For you to give me a chance to show you we could work. And we do, don’t we?”
She nodded as she leaned back into him.
“You’re too good to me,” she murmured. “I feel like I haven’t done anything to deserve you.”
“Hey,” he said sternly, “don’t do that.”
A feeling of unworthiness overwhelmed her. It wasn’t that she felt she’d been a bad girlfriend. It was just that Jesse had been so good to her. He’d stayed by her side as much as he could while she was still in the hospital. Now, he’d barely left her side since she had gotten out. Her heart swelled as she realized just how much she loved him. She wasn’t sure there were even words to express her feelings for him. Her eyes began to prickle. Ever since her accident, she’d found that she was far more emotional than she used to be.
Perhaps because she was reminded again of how fragile life was. The driver of the other vehicle hadn’t fared as well as she had. He was still in the hospital and his road to recovery was going to be long and bumpy.
“It’s just…” she started to argue but he cut her off.
“Come here,” he said quietly. “You look like you need to sit down.” He carefully led her into the living room.
She gasped in surprise. A fire was blazing and more candles were lit. A quilt was placed on the floor in front of the fire again. Flowers were artfully strewn around the edges of the quilt.
“What is going on?” she demanded.
“You’ve always made everything difficult,” he said with a chuckle. “I don’t know why I thought tonight would go smoothly. I expected you to sleep for another half an hour. I wasn’t quite ready yet.”
“Am I being a bother?” she wondered. He was right in the middle of finishing dinner. Now she was taking him away from that.
He laughed at her question. “No. You’re not a bother. Dinner can wait.”
She frowned as she let him lead her to the quilt. When they were seated, she felt that overwhelming feeling again.
“I love you. I love you so much,” she blurted out. “You came back into my life at a time when I thought it had completely unraveled. But you were there for me. I think I would’ve become completely undone if you hadn’t. If you hadn’t been there to keep me together when I needed you the most. And I know I’m not very good at telling you how I feel. So, I’m doing it now.” She let out a shaky breath. “I think I’ve always loved you. And I’ve always fought it. But I don’t ever want to be that person again. I don’t want to fight what I feel for you. I love you and I want you to know that.”
She reached out to him, cupping his face in her hands as she leaned in to kiss him. She could feel him smiling as his lips pressed against hers.
When she pulled away, he chuckled. “I take it back. Maybe you’re not making this hard after all.”
She looked at him, confused.
“Carly, I have not been able to get you out of my head. Not since the first time that I saw you. I know that our relationship has been all over the place. But one thing that’s really never wavered is how I f
eel about you. You have no idea how it feels to hear you say you feel the same way. I—”
She put a finger to his lips. “I didn’t throw all of that at you so you’d feel like you had to say it back.”
He shook his head and gently brushed her hand away. “Carly?” She raised her eyebrows at him. “Would you please just let me do this?”
“Do what?”
He sighed as he shifted slightly. It took her a moment to realize what he was doing. It took her even longer to realize what the gorgeous emerald cut ring, resting in a box, being held out to her meant. She leaned away from it, too surprised to do anything else. For a moment she thought maybe her pain medication was making her hallucinate.
It made more sense than thinking this was actually happening.
“What is that?” she asked in a shaky voice.
“Cricket,” Jesse said with a laugh. “I’m trying to ask you to marry me! But you’re not letting me do a very good job of it.”
“Marry you? You mean like…become your wife?”
He nodded. “That’s typically how it goes. Proposal, marriage, kids…You get the idea.”
She frowned. “I don’t think I would make a very good wife. I can’t even cook. I’d probably make a horrible mother.”
“I don’t care if you can cook or not. I think you would make the best wife. And an even better mother,” he patiently said.
“You really want to marry me?” she asked. She glanced at the ring again. It was such a gorgeous ring. And it was resting in the hands of a man she knew she would love forever.
“The honest truth? I’d marry you, today. Right here, right now. I’ve loved you for as long as I can remember. If I haven’t gotten over you by now, if I haven’t gotten you out of my system by now…I don’t think I ever will.” He took the ring out of the box. Carly’s eyes followed the motion. “Just a few minutes ago, you said you felt like you’ve never done anything for me. I don’t agree. But if you really want to do something for me, do this: Agree to be my wife.”
