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After a time, he fell asleep too.

Amanda was first to wake up, slowly at first.  A
part of her resisted waking up.  She felt so warm and safe.  Even her pain
seemed to have diminished.

It took several seconds for her to register that
Brady was currently lying beside her and holding her in his arms.  She lifted
her head to see his face.  She gave a confused shake of her head.  Why was he
lying beside her? 

Gently she extracted his arms from around her
and she climbed to the edge of the bed, careful not to jostle him.  She
remembered going outside to lie in the sun for awhile, and him discovering her
there.  She hadn’t meant to be outside for long, but must have fallen asleep.

She rose to a standing position now.  

Hey!  She felt better.  Her ears didn’t feel
nearly as painful, and even her balance seemed better.  Maybe that Florida
sunshine had done her some good.

***   

“Ike, I hate to see this cruise come to an end,”
Liz said.

The couple was standing on the main desk,
watching the cruise ship return to the terminals in order to dock.

“It was a great trip,” Ike said.  “I can’t think
of anyone I would have rather shared it with,” he added, taking her hand and
bringing it to his lips.

“I feel the same way,” she told him.

He gave a sigh.  “I guess we’re about to meet
real life head on,” he said.

She gave him a questioning look, but then nodded
as understanding dawned.  “The kids,” she said succinctly.

He nodded.  “I imagine we should call them when
we dock.”

“I’ve been thinking…”

He watched her, smiling.  He’d come to know when
she had an idea brewing.  “What, honey?”

“Well, we’re here.  The kids are here…”

“Go on,” he prompted.

“And we’ve been complaining because we haven’t
been spending time with them…”

He nodded, smiling widely.  “What better time
than now?” he said, finishing her thought.

“Yes,” she agreed.  “Of course, Amanda’s ears
will need time to heal, but why can’t we invite them to join us for some fun?”

Ike grinned.  “I think that’s a great idea.  I
know you said Amanda will need time to feel better, but we can stick around
Cocoa Beach, and enjoy the town and its attractions.  We can slow the pace for
her.”

“That’s so sweet of you, Ike,” she said.

“Maybe we can have Cocoa Beach as our base. 
When Amanda’s better, we can visit the Kennedy Space Center.”

She gave a sheepish—almost coy smile.  “I’d kind
of like to go there with just you,” she admitted.  “I’m really interested in
NASA, but Amanda…  Not so much.  Ike, I understand they have a space shuttle
simulator, where you can board and experience what it felt like to take a
shuttle ride.”  She made a sad face.  “I just don’t think Amanda would enjoy
it.”

“That’s fine,” he said.  “I don’t want to share
you every day, if I don’t have to.”

“Oh, Ike,” she giggled. 

He checked his watch, and then glanced out at
the horizon.  “Looks like we’ll be docking any minute.”

“Should I call the kids?” Liz asked.

He nodded.  “Sure.”

She dialed Amanda’s phone. 

***
 

Amanda heard her phone ringing, but couldn’t
discern where it was coming from?  Where had she left it?

Suddenly, she remembered it had been in bed with
her. 

Shoot.

Brady was lying on it.  He was still asleep in
her bed.

She hurried to the side of the mattress and
tried to determine exactly where the ring tone was coming from.  She leaned in
closer, hoping it would continue ringing long enough for her to find it.  No
luck.

She leaned in even closer.  There.  It was under
Brady’s shoulder.  Oooh.  That couldn’t be comfortable.

Taking hold of his shoulder, she attempted to
urge him to move.  She tried not to wake him, since obviously he needed sleep. 
He’d been up the past couple nights, nursing her.

Struggling to hoist his muscular upper body was
easier said than done.  She groaned from the effort, leaning even closer in an
attempt to put her muscle into it.

Her eyes were closed as she lifted…

“What are you doing?”

She felt his warm breath on her cheek and her
eyes popped open.  She gave a sheepish smile.  “You fell asleep.  On my
phone.”  She shrugged.  “It’s ringing, or—was …”

“Oh, sorry,” he said sleepily, as he sat up and
reached for the phone.  He passed it to her, and then glanced around, seeming
to register he was in her bed.  She recognized on his face when he apparently
remembered when and why he’d climbed into the bed with her.

He read the question in her eyes since he said,
“You were in pain.  Moaning in your sleep, so I…”

She nodded, forcing back the lump in her
throat.  Waking to find his arms around her had felt comfortable—right. 

 
Whoa.

“Thank you.  I feel … better.”

“You do?”

“Yes, I think the sunshine did me some good.”

He abruptly frowned.  “Yeah, well, it didn’t do
me any good.  Imagine my horror when I came into the room and found you gone. 
And then imagine how I felt when I found you beside the pool, surrounded by a
bunch of leering men.”

“Oh, Brady, you care,” she teased.

He met her gaze, his eyes deadly serious. 
“Yeah, Amanda, I do.”

Her cell phone began ringing again.  She
answered, averting her eyes from Brady’s face.  Something about the intensity
of his gaze, the sound of his voice, caused her heart to begin thumping faster
in her chest. 

She swallowed over a lump in her throat and
turned her attention to her phone call.  “Sorry I missed your call, Grandma. 
Are you and Ike back on dry land?”

“We are,” she said.  “We’re catching a shuttle
back to our hotel.”

“Where are you staying?”

“The Beachfront Oasis Resort,” she said.

“Hey, that’s where we’re at.  Do you want us to
pick you up?”

Brady grabbed the phone from her.  “Hello, Liz. 
I
can pick you up.  Amanda isn’t supposed to go anywhere until
tomorrow.  Doctor’s orders.”

“Oh, hello, Brady.  No, it’s not necessary to
pick us up.  We’re about to catch the shuttle.  It’ll take us right back to the
hotel,” she said.

“How was the cruise?” he asked.

“Great!  We had a terrific time.”

“I’m glad to hear it.  Hey, I’ll pass you back
to Amanda.”

“Hi, again, Grandma.”

“He has a nice, deep voice, doesn’t he?” Liz
commented.

“Uh, yeah.”

“Hey, Amanda, Ike and I were wondering if you
kids would like to spend some time with us?  We figured we’d stay in Cocoa
Beach, see the sites, and generally take it easy, to give you time to recover
from your ear infections.”

“That sounds great,” she said, catching Brady’s
eye.  He was listening to the exchange with a curious expression on his face. 
“Hey, I have an idea.  You and I can room together, and Brady and Ike can share
a room.”

“Perfect!” Liz said.  “We’ll see you in just a
bit.” 

Amanda hung up the phone and then glanced around
the room, feeling a slight panic.  Her grandmother couldn’t know she and Brady
had shared a room.  Certainly they hadn’t done anything her grandmother might
deem improper, but she and Ike were from a different generation and probably
wouldn’t approve of them cohabitating, regardless of the circumstances.

“Brady, hurry up.  Gather your things.  They’ll
be here any minute.”

“You’re evicting me?” he said, crossing his arms
over his chest.  “What if I don’t want to move out?” he asked, biting back a
smile.

She gave a horrified gasp.  “We don’t have time
for jokes,” she advised.  “Quick, pack!”

He shook his head as he began gathering his
clothes and toiletries and stuffing them into his carry on.

“Thanks, Brady,” she said with relief.  “Now,
get out.”

“Wow.”

“You know why you have to go,” she said,
glancing around for evidence of them having shared the room.  “Oh, Brady, your
comb.  It’s on the nightstand beside your bed.”

He retrieved it and stuffed it into his short’s
pocket.

“Go wait outside.  Wait!  Help me fix your bed
first.”

He gave a weary sigh and met her gaze.  He
seemed…  Upset?

“Brady, what’s wrong?”

He gave a shrug.  “I don’t know,” he mumbled. 
“I guess I got used to having you around.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” she reminded him. 

“Yeah, well, for some unfathomable reason, I
feel responsible for you.”

“I’m twenty-eight. I can take care of myself.”

“Yeah, well,
that
remains to be seen.”

“Just … help me fix the bed!”

***

“Oh, Amanda, it’s so good to see you!”  Liz
crossed the distance between them and threw her arms around her neck.  She
pulled back.  “Let me look at you.”  She frowned and checked her forehead for
fever.  “Hmmm.  Still a little warm.  You need to get back to bed.”

“I will soon, but first, tell me all about the
cruise.”

Amanda sat down on her bed, and Liz moved to a
nearby chair.

“Grandma, you have a suntan!” Amanda cried.

“I do?”  She raised a hand to her face, as if
remembering she had one.  “Oh, my, really?”  She giggled.  “I did spend quite a
lot of time in the sun.”

“Well, you look great.  Refreshed.”

“You know what?  I feel refreshed.  I haven’t
felt this happy in a long, long time.”

“It’s nice to get away, isn’t it?”  Amanda
watched her, as if sleuthing a hidden truth.  “Or, is it the company you’re
keeping that’s putting that smile on your face?”

“Amanda!”

“Oh, Grandma, I’m teasing you.  Now, tell me all
about the cruise.”

***

“Granddad, how was the cruise?” Brady asked.  He
and his grandfather were getting situated in the room they were now sharing. 
It was directly across a courtyard from the room he’d previously occupied with
Amanda.  He felt some measure of relief that he could look out the window and
see her door across the way.  Why he felt that relief was beyond him.

“The cruise was great,” Ike enthused, and then
burst out in laughter.  “Liz is a hoot. A regular daredevil,” he said, smiling
approvingly.  “Do you know she actually went down the waterslide in the pool on
the main deck of that cruise ship?  You should have seen her, Brady, just
flying down that slide.”

“Are you serious?”

“Absolutely, and she enjoyed it so much, she did
it several times.”  He gave a burst of laughter.  “I tried it too!”

Brady’s jaw dropped.  “Are you joking with me,
Granddad?”

“Why would I joke about Liz and me going down a
waterslide?  It was so much fun.”

Brady dropped into a chair.  “Wow.  I’m just
glad neither of you got hurt.”

Ike gave him a bewildered glance.  “Why would
you say that?”  His questioning glance turned to an irritated one.  “You think
we’re old and fragile, is that it?”

Brady hesitated a tad too long in replying.

Ike sent him a frustrated look.  “We may be
older, Brady, but we’re not dead.  And Liz and I are having the time of our
lives.  She’s a wonderful woman, by the way.”

“I’m sorry, Granddad,” Brady said with a sigh. 
“I didn’t mean anything.  I was just thinking about you both on that slide and
got a little worried, that’s all.  Those slides are typically scary for
first-timers.” 

“Well, son, most things are scary for
first-timers.”  He gave a shrug.  “Liz wasn’t scared though.”  He cocked his
head in thought.  “I don’t think she’s afraid of anything.”

“What’d you do after the slide?”

“After we got out of the pool, and Liz won the
deep pool diving contest…”

“Wait … a … minute,” Brady said, running a hand
through his hair.  “Are you telling me Liz dove off a high dive?” he asked,
incredulous.

“No, no,” Ike assured him.  “You see, two
participants lined up on the side of the pool at a given time.  A steward
tossed a rubber diving stick into the pool, and whoever dove down and retrieved
it first and brought it back to the surface was the winner of the heat.  The
competition continued until divers reached the deepest part of the pool, and whoever
was able to dive down, retrieve the stick, and get back to his or her side of
the pool first, was the winner.”

“And … Liz won?”