I would be fine. When Crawford woke up.

CHAPTER FIVE

“AUNTIE VALE!” MADDY’S and Malyn’s little voices rang down the halls of the hospital, drawing more than just my attention. Identical brown eyes like their mother’s and long brown hair in pigtails swinging back and forth, they came running toward me with their arms open wide.

More than anything, I missed these two by being here all day long. I put my book down and stood up just in time to catch both of them. Little arms wrapped around me. Tears stung my eyes and I held them tightly.

“My favorite girls are here,” I said, kissing them both on the forehead, then on their tiny noses.

“I figure if I can’t get Maddy to potty at home I’d bring her to you,” Dylan said, looking like the exasperated father of twin toddlers should look.

I felt real joy as I laughed with him. It was a fleeting feeling, but my big brother had brought it to me.

Pulling back enough so I could see their faces, I looked at Maddy. “You have to use the potty like a big girl even when I’m not there. Do you want Malyn to get to start big-girl school without you?” “Big-girl school” was preschool and they didn’t start until the fall, but it was something both girls were excited about. I was supposed to go to college in the fall. Me and Crawford. Now that wasn’t a sure thing anymore.

Maddy shrugged. “I want to stay with you.”

What could I do with that? Worried, I glanced up at Dylan.

“She loves you and misses you,” he said. “We all do.”

Guilt. But I had to be here with Crawford when he opened his eyes. He’d want me here. I needed them all to understand that.

“I love and miss her, too. All of you. But you need to understand why I have to be here. What if it was Catherine?”

Dylan looked somber. “I get it. Doesn’t mean I don’t miss you and worry about you.”

“I can do the spwits,” Malyn said, pulling on my arm to get my attention back to her.

“You can?” I asked, sounding surprised even though I’d seen this trick about a thousand times already. Malyn loved to show it off. So I watched and then clapped like it was the best thing in the world.

“I can do this!” Maddy said, standing on her tiptoes and spinning in circles.

“Wow, that’s amazing!” I told her, reaching out to steady her before she got dizzy and fell.

“Why don’t we go show Aunt Vale how you use the big-girl potty,” Dylan suggested. It must be time for a toilet break. “Malyn is in big-girl panties, but Maddy has Pull-Ups on,” he informed me. Then he held out a diaper bag and sank down in the seat next to me. Daddy looked like he needed a break.

“Come on, you two.” I led them down the hallway toward the restrooms.

We had just turned the corner when Maddy said, “Look, Aunt Vale. That boy’s kissing that nurse.”

I glanced over to see the nurse from this morning in a corner with Slate. His hand was on her bottom and she was pressed up against him like she needed him to breathe. A public display of “affection” in a hospital where people are ill and dying—seriously? Slate Allen was disgusting.

“Did she fix his boo-boo?” Malyn asked curiously.

I was sure he’d fixed a few boo-boos for her.

I turned their attention to the restroom door and got them focused on potty time. I even sang the song. Success with both of them. Maddy had kept her Pull-Ups dry, and after washing hands we headed back out to find an empty corner, thank God. No more make-out fest for the twins’ curiosity.

My luck, however, quickly came to a halt when we turned the corner and saw Dylan talking with none other than the Nurse Romeo.

“Daddy, we went potty!” Maddy announced as she ran back toward the waiting room.

Malyn realized the guy with her dad was the same one she’d seen kissing the nurse. She slowed her step and slipped her little hand around my leg. She was the shyer of the two.

“You kissed that nurse! Did she fix your boo-boo?” Maddy got right to business.

The confusion on Dylan’s face as he looked from Maddy to me almost made me laugh. Almost.

“Here’s the bag. They’re all good,” I told him.

I felt Slate’s gaze on me, and I just couldn’t make myself be rude to him. So what if he’d been kissing a nurse. Why did I care? I didn’t.

“Thanks,” Dylan said, still looking confused.

“He kissed a nurse,” Maddy announced again, pointing at Slate.

Slate glanced at Maddy, then at me like he wasn’t sure if he’d done something wrong.

“So you know Slate, too?” I asked Dylan.

He shook his head. “Not until just now. He was looking for you. I introduced myself and he said he was a Kappa Sigma with Knox.”

“And he kissed a nurse,” Malyn added finally because no one was acknowledging Maddy’s announcement.

“Yes, he did. We weren’t supposed to see that, though, and it’s rude to talk about it. So let’s talk about something else,” I finally said.

Maddy’s shoulders dropped with disappointment.

“Can Aunt Vale come home with us?” Malyn asked, quickly moving along to a subject more interesting to her.

“Aunt Vale wants to stay with Crawford. Remember? She’ll be at Nonna and Poppa’s tonight for dessert. We will see her then,” Dylan told his daughters.

I bent down to their eye level. “And you both can tell me about how big you both were and used the potty all day. No accidents.”

“Can I stay the night with you if I do?” Maddy asked.

I was always exhausted in the evenings and Maddy kicked terribly all night. But I wasn’t going to tell her no. “Yes, if your momma is okay with it.”

“Oh, she will be,” Dylan said with a pleased tone. He didn’t get his wife alone much anymore.

“YAY!” they both cheered, and clapped their hands. I hugged them both and kissed their heads before standing up.

“I’ll get these two home for their naps and we’ll see you tonight,” Dylan said. Then he looked at Slate. “Nice to meet you. Hope your uncle gets better.”

Slate nodded, and I hugged my brother good-bye before the three of them left, him holding one little hand in each of his.

“Sorry about the kissing thing,” Slate said, sounding sincere. “Didn’t think about kids seeing it.”

I bet he didn’t think about much more than the bottom he was groping. I smiled, though, and shrugged. “Isn’t like they haven’t seen it before. Just never with a nurse. I hope she fixed you up,” I teased, thinking about the boo-boo comment from Maddy.

He smirked. “Funny.”

“That was the girls’ main concern.”

He laughed this time. “She came on to me.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, it looked like you were fighting her off.”

“Never claimed to fight it off. Just that she started it.”

I walked over to my seat and picked up my book. “Not my business, Slate Allen,” I said, smiling to myself that I knew his last name.

“Sounds like someone is doing some research,” he said, sounding pleased.

I laughed. “Not hardly. The nurse who attacked you came looking for you this morning and asked if Slate Allen had been in here. I found out completely by accident.” I opened the book and then glanced up at him. “Looks like I gave good directions. You’re welcome.”