I watched as Cole zipped his jeans and laced his boots. “Thank you.” He leaned down to kiss me on the neck.

“Thank you?” I let the sheet fall from my chest. I wasn’t ready for him to go. I wanted to climb in his lap and spend the rest of the afternoon showing him how much I loved him, in case he still had any doubts.

“Yeah, I needed that.” He smiled. “And I don’t mean just the sex part. I needed you too.”

“Can’t you stay?” I nipped at his ear, distracting him with whatever tactics would keep him from putting his shirt back on.

“Darlin’, I have to get on that roof and finish the shingles. But this was a much better ending to my morning than how it started.” He reached for the second boot. “I was an ass earlier.”

I wasn’t going to argue with him.

“How about we go out tonight? I don’t think I’ve taken you anywhere since you moved here.” He flashed a white smile.

We had become regular homebodies in a short amount of time. I wasn’t complaining. I liked sunsets on the deck and dinner on the floor watching TV. Grayson had a regular bath and bedtime schedule. He came first. I knew that. This was our life.

“Sounds good. Peabody’s?” I was excited to wear a dress. Cole hadn’t seen nearly enough of my cute clothes.

“Nah, some place else. I’ll think of something and text you later.”

“Ok.” I wrapped my arms around him a little tighter. I couldn’t let him go. “Do you think Lisa is going to get tired of babysitting?” I asked.

“Actually, she gave me the number for her niece. She’s a senior in high school and can come over here instead of us having to drive him back and forth.”

“That’s even better.” I smiled. I ran my hands along his firm ass.

“Baby, I have to get to work. After the roof, I have rooms at the Dunes to get ready.” He peeled me away limb by limb.

“What if I just stay here like this all day? Naked and waiting for you.” I threw the sheet on the floor.

His laughter filled the room. “You might get cold.”

I pouted. There was nothing cold in my body.

“See you tonight.” He rushed out of the room before I could throw myself on him again.

I rolled on my back and watched the fan blades spin. This is the part of life when responsibility was supposed to kick in. I got that. Cole was trying to make sure we could afford our rent. He had to keep the Dunes from falling to pieces, and all I wanted to do was spend the day in bed. I had to learn to savor the moments we did have. Like our bodies moving together in perfect unison. I sighed. He was incredible. I shook out my clothes from the pile we had made on the side of the bed.

I sat down quickly. I was dizzy. I hadn’t gotten nearly enough sleep in the past few weeks. I reached for the glass of water next to the bed.

I had work to do at the office. There was a lot hinging on the snowbird campaign. Tonight, we could have some more alone time.

I checked my phone every ten minutes for a text from Cole. He said he would let me know about our dinner plans. It was almost five, and I still hadn’t heard from him since he ran out of the bedroom.

I worried he had started thinking about the envelope Aiden had dropped off. No amount of sex could cure that problem. I folded my laptop and placed it in the storage closet. I didn’t like leaving it out on the desk. I switched the AC off and locked the door behind me.

Cole’s truck wasn’t at the house. I jogged up the stairs, and let myself in. I decided to go ahead and take a shower. It always took me three times as long to get ready. I might as well get started before Grayson and the babysitter arrived.

I checked my phone again after the shower, after my makeup routine, and after I finished drying my hair. It was six o’clock now, and the alarm bells were starting to ring in my head.

Normally, I wasn’t a worrier, but I hadn’t been able to shake this odd feeling all day. I tapped his number and waited for him to answer. The call went straight to voicemail. I was ready to hit redial repeatedly, but my phone started ringing.

It was Sasha.

“Sasha?”

“Hey, listen. Don’t panic, but Cole’s hurt.”

“What?” I sat at the kitchen table. My hands started to shake.

“He’s at the Regency Medical Center. There was an accident when he was on the roof. Do you need me to come get you, or do you know where it is?”

I grabbed my purse. “I-I know where it is.” My voice cracked. “How bad is it, Sasha?”

“He’s going to be ok. I think it’s just his leg. One of my mom’s friends is a nurse there, and she called her. When they first brought him in, he was knocked out.”

“Oh my God.” I dared the tears to form in my eyes. I had to see to be able to drive. Crying was not an option.

“Are you sure you can drive? I can come pick you up.”

“No, no.” I shook my head.

“What can I do to help?” she asked.

“Oh God. Grayson is coming home from school with a new babysitter.” My stomach flipped and the dizziness from the afternoon struck again.

“When are they supposed to be there?”

I looked at the clock. “Maybe fifteen minutes?”

“Ok. I’m headed to your house. I’ll meet them, tell her what happened, and I can stay with the little guy tonight.”

“Oh my God, Sasha. Are you sure?”

“Of course. Go be with Cole. Don’t worry about Grayson. I can make some mean chicken nuggets.”

I ran down the stairs, pressing the phone to my ear. I cranked the ignition on my car. “I’m headed there right now. Thank you for all of this.”

“I’ll check on you two later. Call me if you need anything.”

“I will.” I pulled onto the highway and pressed the accelerator fiercely. Cole was hurt and I had to get there.