The burning behind my eyes was back. “I can’t imagine a better caregiver.” I looked up at Aidan, who stood at the foot of my bed. “Think you’d be up for helping?”
He nodded. “Of course. Whatever you need.”
I motioned Aidan closer. When he was just a step away, his hand found mine, and he squeezed. “I’m so glad you’re okay. I...” He swallowed thickly. “I was so scared.”
I squeezed his hand back and then pulled him down for a hug, not giving a damn that my stomach felt like it was on fire. “I’m right here, and I’m not going anywhere.”
Elliott lay down next to me, burrowing into my side. “Love you, Shiloh.”
Aidan released me, wiping under his eyes. “Me, too,” he whispered.
Everything burned now, but it was the good kind—a fire that blazed because so much love surrounded me that I was drowning in it. My gaze lifted to Ramsey’s over Elliott’s head. “Never thought I’d get this lucky. I couldn’t love you all more.”
50
RAMSEY
TWO WEEKS LATER
I leanedback against the steps as I took in the show in the round pen. I might have moved Shiloh into the main house, but the cabin steps were still the perfect vantage point to watch her do what she did best: make miracles.
The sun dipped lower in the sky, casting the landscape in a rosy glow. It made Onyx’s coat take on a gleam, or maybe it was just the pride the horse had in herself shining through.
I’d never seen anything like the moment those two had been reunited. Shiloh had made me pull over right next to the round pen, refusing to get into bed until she’d seen Onyx and Sky. Onyx had let out a whinny that cracked my damn heart. The two of them had stood forehead to forehead for…I didn’t know how long. I hadn’t had the heart to pull them apart.
Something about being without Shiloh for a week had broken through Onyx’s walls. In the past few days, she and Shiloh had made massive strides.
Movement flickered out of the corner of my eye as Lor approached, lowering herself to the step next to me. She wasquiet for a moment, watching Shiloh guide Onyx around the pen on a lead rope. “Should she be up and around this much?”
“Probably not, but you try telling her that.”
The doctors had said that walking and movement were good, all part of the healing process. But I wasn’t sure they’d say the same if they saw just how much Shiloh was trying to take on.
Lor let out a snorted laugh. “She’s got steel in her veins.”
I sent a sidelong glance my friend’s way.
She leaned back, letting out a sigh. “I was wrong.”
My brow lifted at that. “Did thew-word just pass your lips?”
“Oh, shut up.”
I chuckled.
A shadow passed over Lor’s eyes, making her seem older than her years. “Didn’t want any trouble finding you. I worry about my boy, even though you’re a man now. Always will. But I tried to talk you out of a life that’s made you happier than I’ve ever seen.”
My ribs constricted around my lungs. “Lor—”
“No, let me say my piece. I’ve never seen you like this. There’s a peace in you that’s more than I could’ve hoped for. She healed you.”
I laid my hand over Lor’s, squeezing her fingers. “We healed each other.”
She stared down at the contact. “I’ll love her forever for that.”
“Good. Because I’m gonna make a family with her.”
Lor’s eyes flew to mine. “She know that?”