Carnal Christmas-epub by Robin L. Rotham Page B

on their way with the box.”
    Joe relaxed. “That’s good. Thank you.”
    He must have dozed off again because he jerked awake when the curtain was ripped aside and a cute little nurse with a short ponytail and piercing in her eyebrow bounced in.
    “Joe, you’re awake! Excellent. I’ll let Dr. Sands know. My name is Heidi and I’ll be your nurse today.” She scrawled her name on a white board on the wall and then turned to check his IV and take readings from the blood pressure machine. “Do you need anything? How’s your pain on a scale of one to ten?”
    He looked at Ariel, eyes wide.
    “His throat hurts pretty bad,” she told the nurse. “I’d say a seven or eight. But the incision isn’t bothering him much.”
    “Excellent! The doctor’s got something ordered for you, so let me go get that.”
    After she left, Joe slumped. “Jesus, do they have anyone but kids working in this hospital?”
    Ariel laughed. “You really are getting old.”
    “That girl couldn’t have been more than sixteen!”
    “Actually, I’m twenty-five, but thank you, Joe!” Heidi said as she bounced back in and handed him a plastic cup with a pill in it, along with a fresh cup of water to take it with. After he’d swallowed it, she fluffed his pillow and straightened his tray before she left, sliding the curtain closed behind her.
    Ariel sighed. “She makes me tired.”
    “No, sleep deprivation is making you tired,” Mandy said, pulling back the curtain. She carried a small Christmas tree in a pot, which she promptly set on his tray. “You need to sleep, honey. And look who’s awake! Merry Christmas, Joe.”
    She took off her coat and threw it on the chair as Brent and Hake walked in behind her, then hurried over to take Joe’s face in her hands and give him a hard kiss. “I almost missed my chance to say this to you, Joe, so I’m not waiting one more minute. I love you, you big asshole, so get used to it because I’m not going anywhere and neither are you. So there,” she added with another noisy kiss.
    Joe chuckled, and then groaned at the pain it caused in his belly. But that only made him laugh harder. “Ow! Fuck, it’s true—it only hurts when you laugh!”
    Ariel handed him a pillow. “You’d better hold this on your stomach because we’re all punchy today. And don’t hold your laugh in because that hurts more.”
    He obeyed without question, loving her worrying over him. Even loving the pain, because it meant he was alive. What had happened to his father had happened to him, but Joe had survived.
    Everything happens for a reason.
    Mandy moved over so Hake could take her place. He didn’t even say anything, just took Joe’s face the way Mandy had and pressed a long, tender kiss to his lips. Then he lifted his head and gave Joe a grave look. “What she said. You big asshole.”
    Joe laughed before he had a chance to press the pillow to his stomach and then groaned again. “Ohhh, that hurts,” he laughed.
    “Let it out, Joe,” Ariel reminded him, her blue eyes twinkling.
    He thought about what Hake had said and laughed out loud this time. “You’re right—it doesn’t hurt as much. How’d you get so smart?”
    She grimaced. “Between my parents and me, I’ve spent a lot of time in hospitals. Not the best way to learn these nifty tricks, but I’m glad they help.”
    Joe picked up her hand and squeezed it. “I’m sorry to make you spend more time here. Let’s try and make this the last time for a good long while, okay?”
    Hake stepped away and then it was Brent’s turn to move in and lay a big, hard kiss on him. Then he pressed his forehead to Joe’s and stared into his eyes. “I’m never letting you go, old man.”
    Taking a long, shaky breath, Joe said, “That’s good, because you’re never getting rid of me, boy.”
    “I love you,” Brent whispered.
    Joe was too choked up to say it back. He just nodded and knew Brent understood.
    Brent cleared his throat and straightened. “I