Page 167 of Iced Up Love: Part Two
Healing.
Recovery.
Support.
My mind moves through it automatically, slotting things into place with a clarity I haven’t had in a long time.
She needs consistency. She needs warmth. Food that actually rebuilds what she lost, not just fills the space.
Iron.
Protein.
Gentle on her stomach. Frequent, smaller portions so her body doesn’t have to work harder than it needs to. Hydration steady, not forced.
No spikes.
No crashes.
And underneath all of that, the baby.
That thought doesn’t overwhelm me the way it probably should.
It settles.
It roots.
She isn’t just recovering.
She’s building something.
And I know exactly what to do with that.
By the time we reach the elevator, I’m already running through everything I changed this morning, the way I cleared out the kitchen, replaced everything that didn’t serve a purpose, stocked it properly, set it up so she doesn’t have to think, doesn’t have to reach, doesn’t have to do anything except exist and let her body do what it needs to do.
Because if it’s easy, if it feels good, if it feels like care instead of obligation, she’ll accept it.
She’ll lean into it.
And I need her to lean into it.
“You’re all being a little over the top,” she murmurs as the elevator doors close, her gaze moving between us, a hint of something lighter threading through her voice now, something almost teasing despite everything.
I glance at her.
“No, we’re not.”
She huffs softly, her eyes shifting to Jackson like she’s expecting him to soften it, to balance it out the way he usually does.
He smiles instead, warm and easy, his hand brushing gently over her shoulder.
“It’s not over the top, sweetheart,” he says, his voice low, steady, reassuring. “We’re just looking after you.”
Her lips press together slightly, her gaze flicking back to me, to Elijah, back to Jackson again.
“I feel like you’re ganging up on me.”
There’s something almost normal about the complaint, something that doesn’t belong to hospitals or blood or fear, and I hold onto that more than anything else in this moment.
