A Humble Heart
Page 29

She looked back in time to see Deana throw her arms around her. “How’s our baby?”
“I don’t know,” Dana mumbled.
“Do we know what happened?” Deana asked.
“Cole was hungry. The mean woman didn’t feed us. I was trying to stop him when I heard Mommy come in,” Elizabeth said. All eyes focused on her.
“She didn’t feed you?” Dana asked as softly as she could, but she could see the fear in her daughter’s eyes. She shook her head no.
“Oh my god,” Deana said, sounding on the verge of tears.
“I had a background check done on the woman. I don’t understand this,” Dana said more to herself than anyone else.
“Sometimes people slip through the cracks that shouldn’t,” James said reassuringly.
“This wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t taken the day off. This is my fault,” Deana said, wiping frantically at the tears that poured down her cheeks.
“No, it’s not,” Dana said weakly. She was starting to become light headed.
A doctor stepped out of the ER. He looked very upset. Dana's stomach twisted painfully.
“Ms. Mathews?” he asked. “I’m Dr. Newton. I’m treating your son Cole.”
“Please tell me he’s alright,” Dana whispered, fighting not to pass out.
He smiled. “Thanks to the fast thinking of your husband he’s going to be more than fine.”
She didn’t bother correcting him about Edward. “Can I see him? Please.”
“Yes, I’m afraid one at a time. Your husband can stay. Cole is clinging to him and refusing to let him leave,” he explained.
Dana left Elizabeth in very capable hands and made her way into the ER. She wiped her tears away and took a deep calming breath before walking into her son’s room.
She found Edward sitting in a chair, cradling Cole in his arms. Cole was wrapped up in gauze and wore a large diaper. An IV was pumping fluids into his small body. He looked a little out of it and she figured they gave him something for the pain.
“Hey sweetie, how are you?” she asked Cole, dropping to her knees in front of him.
“Mommy?” he said thickly.
“I’m right here, baby. You gave us a heck of a scare.” She kissed his face.
“I’m hungry,” he complained.
She wiped away a fresh tear. “I know, baby. I’m so sorry you know I would never leave you with someone like that on purpose. She’s in big trouble, honey. Don’t worry about it, you’ll never see her again.”
“Good. She was mean,” Cole said, burying his face against Edward’s bare chest.
“How are you holding up, sweetheart?” Edward asked.
“Okay. Thank you for taking care of him.”
He reached over with his free hand and wiped away her tears. “Always.” He pulled her forward and kissed her gently on the lips. She kissed his cheek and then Cole’s.
“We’re going to keep Cole overnight and monitor his burns and watch for infection,” the Doctor said an hour later. Dana nodded and thanked him. She waited with Cole. Edward left a half hour ago to change into clean clothes and talk to his family.
Thankfully Cole was now asleep. His little tummy was now happily full and he dreamed in his mother’s arms. “We need to move him upstairs now,” a nurse said quietly.
Dana stood up. “I’ll carry him if you can manage the IV,” she said, not giving the nurse a chance to argue. There was no way she was putting him down. He needed to be held now more than ever.
“I’ll take him,” Edward said, walking around the nurse to take Cole. He took Cole from her as if he was the most precious thing on earth.
“Mom and Dad are taking Elizabeth for the night. They’re getting some food into her stomach as we speak. The police came by and we talked to them. You’re all set for now,” he told her.
“Thank you for everything,” she said, wiping away a stray tear.
He smiled at her and kissed Cole’s sleepy cheek as he carried him towards the patient elevators.
********
Dana knelt over her sleeping son. It had been two weeks since the accident and he was already looking better. He came home a week and a half ago and she’d been babying him ever since. He was still in pain and needed constant care.
Edward’s family immediately fell in love with the kids and was around every day to help. Edward stayed over every night snuggling up with Cole on the couch. Tonight for the first time since he came home Cole was asleep in his own bed.
For the past two weeks they passed the time by studying their scripts. When she wasn’t doing that she was running, cooking, or cleaning. She had to keep busy or she would go crazy. The studio pushed shooting the movie off for another week for Cole. They were amazingly sympathetic.
She was due to start shooting tomorrow. Edward was going to start shooting his own movie tomorrow as well. He would be away most nights for a few weeks then he was off to England for ten weeks.
He needed a break and she felt horrible for all the stress and sleepless nights he'd suffered recently for them. She was also afraid there was no question about it any longer. She was madly in love with him.
There was no doubt in her mind that she had never really been in love before. That had been infatuation. Edward made her feel beautiful, loved, and adored and he was great with the kids. He showed them nothing but love and patience. More than their father ever had.
She tiptoed out of Cole’s room and into the living room to find Edward passed out on the couch. He wore his usual outfit when he was at her house, pants and nothing else. His perfect chest rose gently with his relaxed breathing. She took a moment to admire him before she made her way to her bedroom.
For the last week she had to rush her showers for one reason or another. Tonight she planned on taking a very long shower. She turned the shower on and started shaving. After that was done she washed up and stood under the showerhead enjoying the hot water.
“Are you planning on saving me some water?” a soft voice whispered in her ear.
She drew in a deep breath as Edward’s arms snaked around her waist. “You’re awake,” she noted.
He chuckled. “Yes.”
Since Cole’s injury they hadn’t had time to do anything more than kiss quickly between taking care of children, working on the book, and memorizing their lines.
“Shall I wash your back?” he asked, picking up the bar of soap.
She turned around slowly and faced him. “I would rather wash you,” she whispered softly. Their eyes moved down each other’s bodies.
“Beautiful,” he mumbled as his gaze ran down large br**sts tipped with beautiful rose ni**les. His eyes went further down to a flat sculpted stomach with a tiny thin scar running across her lower belly. He reached out and ran a finger across the scar from her c-sections. He bit back a groan as his eyes dropped to the trimmed golden hairs between her legs, heaven.
*******
Standing in front of a large group of strangers in nothing but floss was surprisingly less frightening than standing na**d in front the man she'd fallen in love with. Although she knew he was nothing like Jeff she couldn't help but wait for the look of disgust or the cutting remark that always followed. When he lovingly caressed her scar and called her beautiful she couldn't help but love him more. He didn't care that she wasn't perfect or that her body was flawed. This man who could have his pick of millions of women thought she was beautiful. In that moment for the first time she truly felt beautiful.
While he continued to caress her scar she ran her eyes over his body and good lord what a body. She couldn't help but devour him with her eyes. The man truly was a work of art from his chest to his sculptured abs to.....
She swallowed hard as her eyes ran down the trail of dark hair running from his navel down and she felt an overwhelming desire to follow it with her tongue. Her eyes dipped even lower and she may have whimpered, a little. At that moment she wasn't sure it would fit, but she was damn sure willing to try. As if it felt her gaze it jerked hard against Edward's stomach.
"Come here, Dana," Edward said as he cupped her h*ps with his hands and pulled her to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and raised herself up to kiss him. One touch of his lips and she was on fire.