Page 77 of Since Day One

“What you’ve always done. Protected someone you care about,” I answered.

He took a deep breath. “It’s been a long time since I’ve lost control like that.”

“It’s okay,” I answered and dropped my hand from his face to once again hold his fists. Keeping hold of his fists in one palm, I dipped my hand into my pocket and fished out a band-aid—grateful that my jeans always seemed to house bandages and horse treats.

“Did I scare you? Or hurt you?” he asked, and I shook my head, slowly peeling back the white paper from the sticky plastic.

“You gave quite the heart attack to Alex, though,” I replied, and he managed to crack a small smile as his eyes tracked my movements.

“Good. That son of a bitch can rot in hell,” he muttered with a little bit of rage, and I giggled, the light finally returning to his eyes as I finished dressing his wound with the only thing I had available. His clenched fists relaxed in my palms, and he reached forward, pushing some hair behind my ear. He left his hand there, brushing back and forth for a moment. I crawled forward, squeezing myself between his knees and placed his one hand around my waist as I rested against his chest.

“You are a good man, Gunnar Johnson,” I whispered, and he smiled, then looked away, fighting some tears. Leaning forward and rising as high as I could go, I pressed a kiss against his forehead.

I slowly drifted down to hover above his lips. “You are a very good man,” I reiterated, and he closed his eyes, wrapping both arms around my waist and pulling me in as closely as he could before I gently placed my mouth against his. There was a desperation in his kiss as he held tightly to me, an innocent desire passing between our lips. Grounding, tying him to my soul once more.

It eventually slowed and we slid apart. The twinkle was back in his eyes, and he grinned at me. “I’m pretty hungry, Princess,” he said, and I chuckled before slapping his thighs.

“Good, because I am too. Let’s go,” I said, standing up and waiting for him to rise from the cement curb. He placed his hand in mine, squeezing tightly, and I followed him into the restaurant.

Chapter 28

Dinner was delicious, and no one mentioned what had happened. Sandra only once gave me a nod and mouthed “thank you,” but that was the only reference to Alex. I met the cousin who was in the play tomorrow, Noah—a cute kid with the blondest of blond hair. He was fourteen and had the lead in their rendition of “Elf”.

Noah seemed quite attached to Gunnar and Ruger. Jesse let me briefly know that he usually came and worked summers on the ranch, which is why neither of the boys had protested coming to see him in his musical. I watched as Gunnar interacted with the young man and felt a twinge of pain knowing that he’d never have a kid of his own to act like that with.

But Gunnar didn’t seem bothered, so I wasn’t either. Dawdling back out to the parking lot to head to Noah’s home, where we’d been invited to stay, Gunnar kept a tight hold to my hand as I listened to him and Ruger tease Noah mercilessly.

My phone began to violently vibrate in my pocket but I chose to ignore it. Until it happened again.

And again.

Every time it stopped ringing, it started again. Finally, after the sixth time, I pulled out the phone and glared at it. Abi was now calling me for the seventh time. Frustrated, I swiped the answer button and placed it against my ear.

“What?” I snarled, annoyed that my time with Gunnar was being interrupted.

“Willow…” Her voice broke, and I stopped walking, pulling my hand from Gunnar’s.

Something was wrong, horribly and absolutely wrong. Gunnar took two more steps before pausing and facing me, his brows knitted in confusion.

“Abi, what’s wrong?” I asked in hesitation. I almost didn’t want to know.

“You need to come home now.” She paused, her voice trembling. “Sally’s had a heart attack, and they don’t know if she will make it.” My world stopped. Ended at that moment, as the phone slipped from my hand. It looked like the woman who’d been a mom to me for the past ten years might die, and I was off galivanting around like everything in life was perfect.

“Are you okay?” Gunnar asked with concern, bending down and picking up the phone as I stood there, unable to move. Torn. I just wanted a day with him. One more day, especially now that Alex was completely and entirely out of my life and my parents were no longer an issue. I was in control; I was, for the first time, feeling like life was on my side. But fate had other plans.

And here I was, knowing that it was no longer possible…

Barely able to distinguish his features or decipher his expression, he waited for me to answer, but I couldn’t move or speak. Tears saturated my cheeks as I accepted that fate had cursed me long ago. I watched Gunnar place the phone to his ear and speak for a moment but was unable to register what he was saying. Or what was happening.

Sally was dying. She might be dead by the time I got back to Texas. Every second that I stood here, I was wasting precious seconds to be with her.

“I have to go,” I muttered, still unable to look at Gunnar or process what was happening.

“She might die,” I began repeating over and over, staring forward in shock.

Somehow my phone returned to my pocket and I found my way to the van. Despite the pain that was ripping through my soul, I managed to buckle myself in. As my heart began to shatter knowing that this was the last time I would be with Gunnar, it ripped into two knowing that I also might not make it back before Sally died.

So much death.

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