I Choose Us: Book 2 in the Crossing Midian Series - A Christian Romance

Chapter 5

-Lottie-

Late that night, the wind howled, whipping a small branch from a tree outside their bedroom and causing it to tap against the window.

Lottie pulled the blankets up tighter around herself as she sat up in their bed, staring listlessly at the opposite wall, unable to fall asleep.

Coop didn't seem to have the same problem. He lay sleeping beside her on his back, one hand tucked up behind his head and the other draped across his stomach. His hair, which was normally perfectly styled, had been damp when he'd gone to sleep, leaving it mussed and falling across his forehead.

Lottie leaned her head back against the headboard and willed her mind to settle so she, too, could get some sleep, but all she did was picture Coop standing in the middle of the diner, with Cassie already asleep in his arms, shaking hands and talking with everyone who had shown up. He seemed so at ease with them all as he thanked everyone for their support, yet never failing to talk to them about what was going on in their own lives.

They had all made their intentions to help clear, even Will Gardner, who Lottie had been sure would slip away so he wouldn't have to commit to the festival. He hadn't, though. He had walked up to Coop with his hand extended, and promised to be there and to donate food or volunteer however he could.

It seemed like this might be exactly what they needed to save the store.

Too bad we couldn't save everything so easily.

Lottie felt the bed shift, and she looked down to see Coop stirring. He moaned softly as his forehead creased with what she knew was pain. A quick glance down confirmed her suspicions as she watched his leg twitch uncontrollably as it spasmed beneath the heavy comforter.

A hiss through his teeth was enough to spur Lottie into action, moving around to his side of the bed where he kept the heating pad plugged into the outlet. It wasn't there, however, and it was then she remembered he had taken it into the living room the night before, and must have forgotten to bring it back. Quietly, Lottie slipped out of their room and walked down the hallway to the living room.

Lottie picked it up from where it lay on the coffee table, but before she went back to their room, she stopped by the thermostat in the hallway and adjusted it so the heat would kick back on.

Coop's leg always hurt more when the weather turned colder. It would stiffen up, aching and spasming uncontrollably. When it got that bad, there was almost nothing to be done except to take painkillers and use the heating pad to ease the pain.

Lottie plugged the pad back into the wall beside the bed, then lifted the covers to maneuver it beneath his leg. This heating pad had a cover that it slid into, with velcro strips around the edges, so it fit around Coop's stump like a glove. This way, it wouldn't need to be held in place.

Lottie pulled the blankets back up over him and then turned the setting on low. She didn't want to put it any higher in case it became too hot and uncomfortable.

She moved back around to her side of the bed and slipped beneath the covers before she lay on her side, facing him, studying him.

Lottie noted the sharpness of his jaw, and the scruff that he had only recently started growing. She took in the smattering of freckles across the bridge of his straight nose. His tightly shut eyes caused his thick eyebrows to draw together as he subconsciously battled the pain, even in his sleep. His cheekbones were high and there were lines at the corners of his eyes from a life full of laughter. Coop's lips were a little paler than usual and turned down in a frown.

Suddenly, Lottie became overcome with the urge to lean over and kiss him. She tried to remember the last time she had given him a real kiss. The last time she had felt his lips move against hers for more than a quick goodbye peck as he was leaving in the morning. And even that had been at least two days ago. When was the last time they had made love? Two months ago? Three?