Saddle up

Chapter Thirty-Four

Brant's POV

I heard Jess come back in after lunch. She was in the kitchen for some time before she came back to the bedroom again.

"How was breakfast?"

"It was delicious. Best French toast I've ever had.", I said honestly.

"And how's your pain?"

"I don't have any right now. I'm really good, Jess."

"Perfect. I'm making a casserole so that you have something to snack on for the next few nights. Before I leave this evening I'll make sure you have a water pitcher full back here and your meds set out. If you need anything at all you'll call me, right?"

The thought of her leaving again depressed me.

"I'm sure I'll be fine, but yes. You got to talk to the guys then, huh?"

"Yeah! AJ is really sweet. And you're right about him being a hard worker!"

"Yeah, he's a great kid."

"I'm gonna head out to the kitchen to get started on that casserole and start another load of laundry. Do you need anything at all?"

"Actually yeah, mind if I come out there with you to keep you company?"

"Of course not. This is your house, Brant."

"No, I know, it's just that I don't want to be in your face if you're trying to hurry up and get out of here."

"Brant. I'm in no hurry to leave. I told you I was going to help you and that's what I'm here to do."

"Okay. I'm gonna get back into the chair, now."

Jess pushed the wheelchair close and locked it in place until I plopped down into it. I unlocked it and followed her out to the kitchen where she was already getting started on collecting all of her ingredients. It never failed to amaze me how she was always able to come up with a delicious meal with such random assortments of ingredients on hand.

I turned the little kitchen TV on and pretended to watch while she got to work combining all the ingredients. After the casserole was in the oven for a few minutes, an amazing aroma started to fill the house.

"Mmm, smells so good in here." I said from my spot at the table.

Jess chuckled and peaked over at me as she was cleaning up the kitchen and wiping the counters down.

"Just another recipe from my grandma. You'll love it."

"I don't doubt that. I'd love to meet her someday. Does she live close?"

"No, she actually moved to Florida a few years ago, but she does come back to visit every August for our family reunion."

The timer on the dryer buzzed, signaling the end of the cycle. Jess immediately went over into the laundry room and started to collect the clothes into a basket.

I tried not to gawk when she had bent over to load the clothes into a laundry basket, but those scrubs were doing it for me. They hugged her curves perfectly. She probably got hit on in the hospital all the time. The thought irritated me.

Jess brought the clothes over to the kitchen table and we both got to work folding them. We talked about a bunch of stuff as we worked, and by the time we had finished with all the laundry, it was time for the casserole to come out of the oven.

Jess donned some oven mits and pulled the dish out carefully placing it on top the stove to cool a bit.

"Hey Jess, can you sit down so we can talk for a bit?"