Graham: I can handle my meds myself, you know. I’ll remind you that I’m an adult and, again, that I’m an EMT.
She waited to respond until she was back in his room. She handed him the water and propped one hand on her hip. “Several of these cause drowsiness. You were out cold after the dose of hydrocodone last night, and the antibiotics and muscle relaxers need to stay on schedule. You’ll be on your own soon when I have to go back to work, and I figured it would be best if I did as much as I could while I was here.”
He tossed back the pills, keeping his gaze on her as he took a long drink. He picked up his phone again.
Graham: Fine. Can I make a request, though?
“Sure.”
Could you always wear that?
She looked down, not even sure what she was wearing. It was a simple spaghetti strap tank top and shorts pajama combo she’d picked up on clearance at Nordstrom Rack. She hadn’t thought anything of it when she popped in last night. But here in the daylight, she realized just how revealing it was. The shorts were almost to her ass, and the top left little to the imagination.
She turned on her heel. “You’re an asshole.”
Her phone buzzed in her hand, and she looked at it as she stepped into her own room to change.
And you’re fine as hell.
Two hours later, Claire had made a grocery store run and, after checking on Graham, settled into the living room to watch Schitt’s Creek.
Fifteen minutes in she realized how weird it was, sitting out here while he was alone in his room, probably doing the same thing.
Should she leave him be? She didn’t want to come off as overbearing.
But this wasn’t to lecture him on staying off his feet, or to measure out his meds. He was extremely social and didn’t like being alone.
She knew because she was the same.
Huffing out a strangely irritated breath, she stood and went to his room. She peeked her head around first.
He was watching Schitt’s Creek, too. Gertrude’s growl alerted Graham to Claire’s presence, so she took a few steps in.
She reached across her body and rubbed her upper arm with the opposite hand. “I was watching that, too. Want some company?”
He patted the mattress beside him.
She smiled and settled in, propping a few pillows up to lean against the headboard. “Your bed is ridiculously comfortable, you know that?”
He just winked, and she groaned.
Gertrude shifted closer to Graham, probably to get as far away from Claire as possible.
They watched two episodes before Graham texted her that he was bored out of his mind.
She looked around his room. “Did you do your exercises today?”
He nodded. He must have done it while she was at the store, which irritated her. He didn’t need to be trying to lift weights or do any of the non-weight-bearing leg exercises the doctor had recommended while he was at the condo alone.
“Want to play a video game?”
He scrunched his nose.
“Card game?”
He perked up at that, and sent her a text.
Strip poker?
Her stomach flipped at the mental image of Graham in his underwear this morning, but she’d never let it show. She cocked a brow and replied, “I already saw you almost naked this morning and it got you nowhere. I don’t see the point.”
If you were naked I definitely wouldn’t be bored.
“Not happening.”
He crossed his thick arms over his chest and she had to look away lest she change her mind. Nice arms were a particular weakness of hers, and the muscles of his forearms and biceps were so toned and perfect they could be sculpted and put on display next to a Michelangelo sculpture in Italy.
She cleared her throat. “You could borrow my Kindle if you want to read a book.”
Graham’s sigh was so despondent she had to laugh.
“You know, lot of people would be thrilled to have the opportunity to relax in bed for a few weeks.”
Not me. I can’t do this. It’ll be even worse when you go back to work.
Claire racked her brain for anything else to suggest. “Have you ever tried writing? Like in a journal?”
He shook his head and his expression said he didn’t intend to consider it now.
“I know it’s not a common thing for guys to do, but my therapist recommended it after my dad died. I was only eleven, but I was in a bad place, and to be honest, judging by the look on your face today, there’s a good chance you could get depressed as time goes on.”
Smart-ass, nurse, therapist...is there anything you don’t do?
“I mean it, Graham. Ignore me if you want, but I took her advice and it helped me a ton. I’d write about good things that happened to me and things I was thankful for. Not only did it pass time, but it gave me other things to think about and focus on. I still missed my dad, but my perspective improved.”
Seems weird to me. Like writing to myself. What’s the point if the thoughts are already in my head?
“You’d be surprised how different it comes out when you put it on paper. And you could write to someone else if that makes it less weird. Hell, you could write to me.” She paused as soon as the words left her mouth, frowning a little. A journal was extremely personal. Not only that, but Graham was the last person who would ever write his feelings and share them with her. She wasn’t even sure he acknowledged them to himself.
She thought quickly, hoping to spin it in a different way. Because the man really did need something to do when he was here alone. Without a way to pass the time, she could see him doing something foolish like home improvement projects or taking a drive. “When I’m at work and you’re bored out of your mind, just write me a note and tell me what you’d rather be doing in that moment. Tell me places you want to go and things on your bucket list. If you don’t have one, make one. You’ve got nothing but time.”
He cocked an eyebrow and started typing.
You want me to sit here and write to you about all the things I want to do but can’t? THAT’S depressing.
“It is if you want to think about it like that,” she said, unable to hide the irritation seeping through her tone.
Graham just looked at her, and it was hard to tell what he was thinking. She was so patient with her patients at work, but evidently that didn’t transfer to the home health sector.
“Look, all I’m saying is it might help to spend some time every day focusing on what’s good. What’s the first thing you’ll do when the cast comes off? The first place you’ll go for a beer? Where do you want to climb first when you’re able to again?”
His gaze locked on hers for a second and he held up a single finger, asking her to wait as he went back to his phone screen.
Easy. I’ll want to climb Eldo and have a beer at the Blue Lion. And because I’ll never forgive myself for getting hurt when things were just getting good between us, the first thing I’ll want to do when the cast comes off is you.
Claire sucked in a breath when she read that last line. Heat flared beneath her skin and she looked up to find his eyes on her. She took in his intense brown eyes and the lock of thick hair falling across his forehead. Holy hell, he was hotter than Clark Kent. Heart pounding, she swallowed.
“I look forward to it.”
10
Claire slept in Graham’s bed again.
He enjoyed having her beside him more than he should have.
Don’t get used to it.
While she was in the shower, Gertrude tugged her pillow off the bed. Which, for a six-pound dog, was quite a feat. Graham let it happen because at first, he couldn’t figure out what Gertie was doing, and by the time he did he found it incredibly amusing.
He’d prefer two human women fighting over him but he’d take what he could get.
After breakfast, coffee, and meds, Claire scowled at Gertie as she tossed the pillow back on the bed, then settled beside him with the remote.
“What are we watching?”
He shrugged. He’d watched more TV yesterday than he had the last three months, and he was already over it.
She picked some Netflix Original he’d never heard of, and just when he started to get into it his phone rang.
It was his dad.