A predicament Marshall and I were going to have to undertake ourselves before too long. Jackson had sworn that we were welcome for as long as we needed, but neither Marshall nor I had any intention of lingering if we had any other choice.
My two younger brothers hadn’t been able to make it. James and his wife had their two children to worry about, and they reasoned it was safer for everyone if they didn’t subject anyone to their unruly kids’ antics, which was more than fair considering what little hellcats the kids were. Michael, on the other hand, had been in Toronto attending an international waste management conference for work and hadn’t been able to get away. He promised that he’d head our way as soon as he could.
Marshall’s parents had arrived at the hospital just as he was being wheeled out. They’d fussed and fawned over him until he told them firmly to quit their worrying. His mom rolled her eyes and let him go before turning her attention on Rose, greeting her like the long-lost granddaughter she’d claimed Rose as only days prior over the phone.
Marshall hadn’t been able to hide the small, secret smile on his face that had appeared when his parents had both hugged him together, and it grew when he watched them with Rose. As much as he griped about their overbearing care, he was thrilled that they showed their love so easily.
We hadn’t heard a word from his brother, Anderson, at all.
Marshall had tried to wave it off, but I could see that his brother’s obvious disinterest hurt him deeply. I could see that their parents were disappointed with Anderson’s decision to stay away, but they sadly hadn’t looked surprised.
It was something I was going to need to monitor closely. Anderson had the ability to crush Marshall, whether he knew it or not. He was going to need to pull his head all the way out of his ass before I’d forgive him for how he’d treated Marshall just this past week alone.
I looked in the rearview mirror at Rose, who looked like she was going to vomit at the sight of all the debris on the roads. It was obvious she didn’t want to be anywhere near our house.
I was going to need to book some therapy appointments for her. We’d barely talked about what had happened, and she’d changed the subject entirely when I’d asked her about the few minutes when both Marshall and I had been unconscious at the same time.
In the interim, I needed to get her back to Bucky and Lucy as quickly as I could. Jackson had offered to take her back to his place when he left last night, but she hadn’t wanted to leave either me or Marshall until Marshall had woken up.
Now, though? Now, she needed her emotional support animals more than anything else.
“Won’t be long, Rosey,” I said, watching her until she met my eyes in the mirror.
She swallowed hard and nodded before looking down at her fidgeting fingers in her lap, purposefully ignoring anything outside the safety of our vehicle.
It took longer than I’d wanted to get to Jackson’s house given how many roads had been closed. Our house hadn’t been the only one flattened, although the destruction seemed to vary from place to place. At one point, we passed three houses, with the first and third scarcely remaining standing. The second, the one in the middle, barely looked touched at all.
Mother Nature was, apparently, a vindictive and cruel mistress.
I’d barely pulled into the driveway when Rose was jumping out and making a beeline for Jackson’s front door, the new key Jackson had given her yesterday already in her hand and ready to be used.
“Looks like Jackson’s still out,” I said, noting the empty carport as I turned the engine off.
“Mm,” Marshall hummed, unclipping his seat belt. “It hasn’t been that long since you called him. Did he say what he was getting?”
I shrugged, not too worried. “Just groceries.” I climbed out, then rummaged in the back to get our bags. “He’s probably on his way back.”
“Probably.”
We wandered inside to find Rose curled up on the sofa with both Bucky and Lucy either in her lap or snuggled up next to her. The TV remote was in her hand, and she was flicking through the channels so fast, I wondered how she had enough time to determine if there was anything worth watching.
“Pappy Jacky’s been busy,” she sang, even though she kept her attention on the TV. “Check out the study.”
With my curiosity piqued, I dumped our bags behind the sofa and led Marshall to the right where Rose’s room and the study were along with the bathroom and laundry. The master bedroom was to the left of the house, behind the carport, with all the communal areas in the middle.
It was cozy, but I couldn’t say it wasn’t well laid out.
“Oh…,” I breathed when I noticed the large bed in what had been the study. His desk had been dismantled to make space and was now leaning up against the wall. “I didn’t expect this….”
I trailed off as I felt Marshall’s hand press warmly against my lower back.
“He still cares about you,” he said quietly. “You didn’t know that, did you?”
Blinking in shock, I shook my head slowly before I turned to look at him and saw a soft smile on his face. “I was expecting an air mattress shoved in the corner. Not this.” I let my eyes roam around the room. It was sparse, but it was obvious that Jackson had put a lot of time and effort into transforming it from a dedicated study to a bedroom. “Never this….”
Marshall hugged me from behind and leaned his forehead against my back. “Just as long as he doesn’t expect me to give you up. I’m not willing to share.”
Smiling, I squeezed his hands. “I know, and I love that about you.”
