Once they’d taken care of the necessities, they crawled back into bed together, his front to her back, and he curled around her. She didn’t bother with the t-shirt, since he was a living furnace. It was pretty damned cozy and perfect. He fell into silence, and she wondered if he’d fallen asleep. She’d get there herself, in a little while. For just a few more minutes, she wanted to bask.
“Can I ask you something?”
She jerked herself back from the edge of dreams. “Sure.”
His hand stroked idly over her hip. “I don’t have any right to even bring this up because I know what I’m asking. But I’m going to ask anyway.”
Rousing herself, she flipped over to face him. This sounded like a Serious Thing. “What?”
He exhaled slowly, resuming the stroking along her hip, a petting she’d come to recognize as a form of self-comfort. “How do you feel about long distance relationships?”
Her smile spread so wide, she wondered if he could see it in the dark. Just in case he couldn’t, she leaned in to kiss him. “Extremely amenable.”
“Really? Because my schedule is insane, and I won’t always be able to say where I am or when I’ll make it home again. I can’t always talk on a regular schedule. I don’t even know when I’ll be able to next get leave and—”
She pressed a finger to his lips. “Stop trying to talk me out of it. The answer’s still yes.”
Curling a hand around hers, he pressed a kiss to her open palm. “Okay.”
She snuggled in against him, safe and warm and so full of joy and hope for the future she all but glowed with it. “Ryan? There’s just one more thing.”
“What?”
“Merry Christmas Eve.”
Ryan tucked a firm hand under Percy’s elbow as they got out of the SUV.
“For the love of God, I’m not an invalid,” Percy groused.
“You literally just spent two days in the hospital. No arguing about taking a little help.”
With a huff, he shuffled his slow way toward the front porch, muttering about being forced to use a wheelchair at the hospital and how long discharge had taken.
“Yeah, well, that would’ve gone quicker without your entourage, but there is no turning away the Casserole Patrol,” Hannah told him.
“Truer words,” Percy intoned.
“I think Miss Betty’s got a crush on you,” Ryan teased.
Color leapt in the old man’s cheeks, a welcome reprieve from how he’d looked in the hospital lying against the harsh white sheets in the sterile room.
“It’s true,” Hannah put in, shouldering the bag with all the new diabetic testing supplies. “She helped stock your kitchen while you were laid up. Everything’s set for you to transition to your new lifestyle. Her daughter’s diabetic, so she knows all about it.”
Percy cut a glance at Ryan. “Aren’t you gonna be riding my ass about this new diagnosis? Telling me all the stuff I can’t eat anymore, all the new crap I’ve got to do?”
“Nope. I figure you got enough of that at the hospital, and you’ll get more in the future as you sort out how to manage it. But today is Christmas, and I’m just happy you’re still around to celebrate it with us.”
He ducked his head, but not before Ryan caught the gleam of tears. “Wouldn’t be if not for you two. Thank you.”
Hannah scooted up to his other side, slipping her arm through his in a gesture that was as much affection as assistance. “We’re just glad you’re okay.”
They reached the top of the steps without incident, and Ryan loosened his grip, satisfied that Percy was moving well enough on his own.
“You should both be with your own families, not fussing over an old cuss like me.”
“I had Christmas with my sister this morning, and we did lunch before Ryan and I left to pick you up.”
He grunted. “I still don’t feel right about keeping you away from your mama, with you being stateside for the holiday. She gets to see you little enough.”