Page 42 of Save Me

He buckled her in, then kissed the side of her cheek. “Love you,” he whispered, then stepped back and closed the door as the orderly took the wheelchair back inside.

Moments later, he was behind the wheel. He reached across the console and gave her hand a quick squeeze, then reached for his phone.

“I need an address now, darlin’, because I don’t know where you live.”

Lainie blinked. “Oh, right! I guess you do.”

He entered it into his GPS and then drove away, following the route, while the clouds continued to gather and the sky began to darken. Twenty minutes later, he pulled into her driveway.

“I’m going to guess the remote control to your garage is in your car,” he said.

“Yes, but there’s a keyless entry pad on the outside. The four number code is your birthday—1010. Just key it in.”

He smiled, gave her a thumbs-up and got out running. The wind was rising, and the first drops of rain were already falling as he keyed in the numbers. When the door began to go up, he ran back to the Jeep and drove into the garage.

“Just in time,” Hunt said.

She sighed. “Home. There was a time when I didn’t think I would make it back here.”

“Will the door into the house be locked from here?”

She shook her head.

“Then sit tight. I’ve always dreamed of carrying you across the threshold, just not exactly like this.”

Lainie was still smiling when he lifted her from the front seat and headed for the door. She hit the Down button on the keypad to lower the garage door as they went by, and then they were going through a utility room and into the kitchen/dining area.

Hunt paused, admiring the open concept of the house.

“This is incredible. It feels like you. Where do you want to be, darlin’? Your bedroom, or on the living room sofa for a bit?”

“The sofa.”

Outside, the sprinkles were turning into a torrential downpour as Hunt carried her toward a blue upholstered sectional.

She looked toward the window and shivered. “Thank God I am not still lost on that mountain.”

“I don’t want to think about it,” he muttered as he put her down. “I’m going to get my gear. I’ll be right back,” he said, and bolted back toward the garage.

When he came back carrying it, she waved him down the hall. “My bedroom is the big one at the end of the hall. You’ll have to give yourself the grand tour.”

He made quick work of the trip, eyed the king-size, four-poster bed, then dumped his stuff just inside the door and returned to where she was sitting.

“Do you need anything, honey? Bathroom? Something to eat or drink?”

She glanced at her little brown teddy with the wobbly head. “Not now, love. Come sit with me for a bit.”

Hunt was wondering how he would fit into this place of calm and peace. This was her space. He’d played no part in her life here, but he had no words for how grateful he was to be here.

He was moving toward the sofa when a little wooden rocker at the corner of the hearth caught his eye, and then he recognized the teddy bear sitting in it.

“Lainie...is that the one I gave you? Your Valentine bear?”

Her heart was beginning to race. She’d dreamed of this moment for so many years, and now that it was here, she was scared of how he would react.

“Yes, it is. Would you bring it to me, please, and then sit down with me for a bit?”

“Sure thing,” he said as he picked it up and then sat down and put it in her lap. “Here you go, darlin’. Kinda cool to know you still have it.”

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