I kiss her cheek and say in her ear, “There’s nothing that could keep me away.”
The hounds of hell could be on my ass and I’d still come back. How in the fuck am I going to be able to leave Kentucky in a few days?
I pull back and get to my feet. “Give me your hand.” Shoving my hand in my pocket, I pull something out and place it in her palm.
“What is it?”
“It’s an Indian head gold eagle coin. Very rare. There’re only about thirty or forty left in the whole world.” I ignore Ellie’s sharp inhale of breath. That coin is worth a lot of money, easily one million to the right buyer, but it’s not the monetary value of the coin that makes it priceless to me. “I found this coin when I was seven years old. I was out walking in the woods one day and got lost. I was out there for two days with no food and water. Texas has some pretty dangerous predators, so I was lucky I didn’t get bit by a snake, attacked by coyotes or some other wild animal. On the third day, I was tired and getting weak when I saw something shining. The woods I was in were very dense and thick, but I came across a section where there was a break in the trees that let the sun shine through. The shiny thing was that coin. I picked it up and just kept walking in that direction. Two hours later, I was found.”
“Wow,” she breathes and looks down at the coin in her palm.
“That coin saved my life. Had I not seen it shining, I would have kept going in the wrong direction, which was miles and miles of woods. I want you to have it. Hopefully it’ll bring you the same luck it brought me.”
“Thanks, Judge. I’ll keep it with me all the time.”
I smile and lean down to kiss her forehead. Her eyes stay mesmerized on the coin when I pull back.
“You ready?” Declan asks from the other side of the bed.
I grunt a yes, even though I’m not ready. I’ll never be ready to leave Maisy.
I grab my bag off the bed and go to the dreaded wheelchair. Ellie releases a strained laugh when she sees my expression as I sit down.
“I’m going to walk them outside. I’ll be right back,” she tells Maisy, who’s holding up the coin to inspect it closer.
“I’ll make sure you get the coin back,” she states once we’re out of earshot.
“No. I want her to have it.”
“Judge, that coin must be worth—”
I cut her off. “I don’t care how much it’s worth. I’ve had it long enough. It’s hers now.”
It’s quiet after that, and a few minutes later, the nurse is wheeling me out the doors of the hospital. Declan’s car is already at the curb. When the nurse tries to help me from my seat, I release a low growl, warning her away. We’re no longer with Maisy, so I don’t need to watch my tongue around her. Sensing she’s poking a bear, she wisely backs away after handing me my discharge papers and prescription bag.
I turn to Ellie. “Call me if anything comes up. I can always take a cab here if Declan can’t bring me.”
“I will.”
“I’ll call you tonight and check up on her.”
“Okay. Promise you’ll take it easy when you get home?”
I have the sudden urge to lean down and kiss her. To reacquaint my lips with hers. It’s the same urge I had the day I woke up after surgery, when my fingers grazed the scars on her collarbone. At first, I was filled with a crazy amount of rage at seeing the proof of her attack. I had already noticed the light scars on the underside of her jaw, but knowing where they came from made my anger triple. Then I saw the pulse in her neck jump, and my anger turned to something else. Desire. And it slammed into me hard and fast.
I shake my head and take a step back. Giving her a short nod, I turn to Declan’s car, throw my bag into the back seat, and get inside before I give in to my reckless impulse to kiss her. From the corner of my eye, I watch as Declan hugs Ellie before walking to his side and climbing behind the wheel. Ellie’s form stays in my side mirror until we turn out of the parking lot.
After the first few minutes of silence, I decide to break it with something I’ve been wondering about.
“Do Ellie’s parents know about Maisy’s illness?”
Declan’s hands tighten around the steering wheel. “Yes. She refused to tell them, but I did a couple of months ago.”
My jaw bunches. “So why in the fuck aren’t they at the hospital?”
“Because my asshole brother married a bitch. They’re both so stuck up in their Catholic beliefs that they refuse to acknowledge Maisy a
s their grandchild because Ellie had her out of wedlock. To them, what Ellie did was worse than murder.”