“Promise.”
“Yes. I promise.” Because there was no way after all they’d been through that Chase was going to leave her now.
Chase felt Remmy’s fur against his right arm and wondered what he was doing sleeping between him and Shelby. His heart raced as a wash of adrenaline went through him when he thought about her. He tried to roll to reach for her, but stopped at the shot of pain in his shoulder and side. Someone was holding his left hand, keeping him from moving. He opened his eyes.
Shelby stood over him. “Don’t move. You’ll tear your stitches.”
He stared at her, trying to figure out what was off about her. “What’s wrong?”
Her eyes filled with tears. “You could have died?”
“What? I’m fine.” At least he thought he was, until he saw her. On second thought, his shoulder and side ached, the pain intensifying the more he moved.
It took a second for the memories to come back. The old mansion. The window. The feeling of immediacy to pull the trigger. The way time seemed to slow as the drapes drew back and Shelby shifted away just enough for him to see Kyle coming at her with a knife. The slam of the rifle stock hitting his shoulder as he fired.
He squeezed her hand. “Are you okay? He didn’t stab you. I got him in time.”
“Yes.” She nodded, wiping away a tear. “But you shouldn’t have been there. You lost too much blood. They had to rush you into surgery.”
He had a vague memory of her holding his hand just like this but in an ambulance, a paramedic’s face over his asking him questions as he jabbed a needle into his arm and started giving him fluids.
“I’m sorry I scared you, sweetheart.” He wished he could hold her and make the fear and sorrow disappear.
“I’m the one who’s sorry. I brought this on myself. If I’d just talked to him, maybe—”
“No.” He shook his head, but stopped the second his shoulder protested the movement. “He was coming for you no matter what. He lost his damn mind a long time ago. You didn’t do anything wrong. No one expected you to accept your mother’s rapist in your life.”
A light dawned in her eyes. She hadn’t thought about it in that way. She’d simply been worried about him and upset he got hurt and took the blame on herself.
He squeezed her hand again. “Seriously, how are you? You must have been so scared.”
“There was blood all over your back, and they took you directly into surgery because you were bleeding internally. They gave you a blood transfusion, and the surgery took a couple of hours, but you should have fullrange of motion in your shoulder after some physical therapy. Your side is going to be tender for a while. I don’t know how he didn’t hit anything major, but you are mostly muscle.” She shrugged and held his hand tighter.
A smile tugged at his lips. “I meant, you must have been scared when he took you and Eliza.” But of course, she’d been more worried about him than what happened to her.
“Oh.” She raked a shaking hand through her already disheveled hair. “I really haven’t had time to think about it. I’ve been here with you all night.”
“Where’s Eliza? Is she okay?”
Shelby nodded, her eyes filling with tears again. “She shouldn’t have seen those things.” Her earnest gaze met his. “Do you think she’ll remember any of it?”
“No,” he assured her. “She’s too young to remember. It will fade away soon,” he promised. He believed it, but also feared that she’d somehow been affected by what happened and it would stay with her in some way.
He’d talk to Dr. Porter and ask him how he could help Shelby and Eliza survive this trauma and put it behind them.
He knew from experience the thing that helped him most was spending time with them as a family. They needed each other.
“Sweetheart, it kills me when you cry.”
She gave him a weak smile. “I really am happy you’re awake.”
“Me, too. But I’d be even happier if you kissed me.”
She leaned down and brushed her lips against his in a soft, sweet kiss. He loved it, but wanted more. He needed to feel their connection surround him again.He brushed his right hand over Remmy’s head, then reached for Shelby, sliding his fingers under her hair and behind her neck as he drew her down and kissed her like he hadn’t seen her in forever, because it felt that way.
She broke the kiss, pressed her forehead to his, and stared into his eyes. “I can’t lose you.”
“Never.” They’d been through so much, mostly because of him. “We’re forever.”