Page 48 of Love Wells Kept

“Please.” The word sounds wet, and she sniffles loudly. “I made an early birthday wish that you wouldn’t have to miss my birthday ’cause of the hospital….”

The tears welling along my lash line burn. Clenching my jaw in preparation for excruciating pain, I slowly wiggle my hands along the mattress and push myself up to sit.

In a poofy purple princess dress, Odessa sits on the bed, fighting with a loose sequin. Her tiara’s a little lopsided, the French braid in her hair coming undone in a few spots, and the tears seem to have streaked the bright purple makeup around her eyes.

“Please don’t cry.” Not sure who that’s for—her or me.

“I promise the party is gonna be fun. We have a purple cake…and Mommy got me this dress.” She smooths her hands down the front of it.

“It’s a pretty dress.”

“I know you don’t remember me. And I know your head hurts all the time. Mommy told me not to come in here and bother you, but I miss you.” Doe eyes rimmed with long, dark lashes stare up at me. “Please. All I wanted for my birthday was for you to be okay.”

I fidget with the pink beads around my wrist for a moment, trying not to let the pain in my head influence any more of my words.

“Okay, birthday girl. You’re a tiny bully—like a miniature version of Kate. Let’s go,” I say, because how can I possibly say anything else?

Looking incredibly similar to her mother, Odessa sits on the edge of the bed with an expression of mingled worry and care, waiting as I run a comb through my hair and brush my teeth. For the first time, I put on a pair of jeans that require a lot of trust in a belt to hold them up. Evidently I don’t only seem sickly because I’m pale, I’ve also lost a shocking amount of weight…assuming these pants fit Old Jackson.

“Ready?” She starts toward the door. “I saved you a pretty tiara to wear. It’s outside next to the chair Mommy set up in the shade for you.”

With a deep breath, I nod. Grabbing my darkest sunglasses from the top of my dresser, I follow closely behind her, and seconds later we’re stepping outside. Fuzzy white spots flicker across my vision, and I blink rapidly to clear them and refocus.

The massive lawn space in front of the house is littered with people—children running amok and parents circled up in collapsible lawn chairs. Two white tent-like structures sit amid the chaos with an intense roof glare from the late April sun. The air’s a lot less brisk than it was the last time I was outside…. When was that? A week ago? Two?

Odessa’s small hand slips into mine and she leads the way. Careful not to walk too fast. Periodically looking over her shoulder at me with a wide grin.

A few strangers say hi, pat me on the back, tell me how great I look, ask how I’m doing. Not a single introduction, and I can’t be bothered to double back and ask for names, because there’s a princess yammering away next to me. She’s talking about princess cowboys and Denny having fairy wings and other nonsense.

Except it’s either not nonsense or my migraine is making me hallucinate, because my younger brother is donning a blue knee-length dress and a pair of wings are slung over his shoulders. It’s hard to tell from this distance, but the sun reflecting off his skin makes it seem like he has glitter on his face.

Confusion twists my entire face, and when I see Austin dressed somewhat similarly, I cut Odessa off mid-conversation. “Are they dressed like princesses?”

Her eyes grow twice their normal size, and she nods her head eagerly. “Yes. All the boys dressed up like princesses and fairies because they said they wanted to make my birthday extra special. Uncle Denny, Uncle Austin, Uncle Red…a bunch of the ranch hands, too.”

I look around at the sea of people and discover she’s right. There are a lot of men in ill-fitting dresses and bedazzled crowns.

Kate’s honeyed tone floods my senses, and seconds later her arm is looping around mine. Her brown hair falls around her shoulders, and she’s wearing a dainty gold crown that emphasizes the caramel highlights woven between darker strands. She’s so beautiful, her complexion infused with a golden hue from the sun. Her smile makes my heart beat a little faster. Damn. I have a crush on my wife.

“You made it. And in jeans, too.” She gives me an impressed look. “How are you feeling?”

“Okay. I might’ve been coerced by a princess.”

“You and everyone else here,” Kate says out of the corner of her mouth.

Odessa chimes in, “I told him we had a special chair for him.”

“We do.” Kate’s hand slides down the length of my forearm, and her fingers hook around mine in a way that feels so comfortable and natural, I have to assume this is the way we’ve held hands for the last sixteen years.

Her own burnt-orange dress swishes around her thighs with every step, rustling up the scent of her coconut body wash. I’ve never seen her in anything but my jeans, and it’s hard to catch my breath when she looks this good.

“Can’t wait to see this chair,” I say, entirely genuinely. Then to Kate, “You look…wow.”

Actually, wow doesn’t cut it. Words escape me, and I chalk it up to my brain not running on all cylinders.

The simple compliment seems to do the trick, though, because a light pink hue brushes across her cheeks. I should compliment her more. Maybe one day I’ll be able to form the words to hit her with something better than wow.

“Better in a dress than your brothers?” She swishes the material around her knees.