Page 35 of Fighting for You

“Ryder is out of surgery and requesting to see you. He is very grumpy,” she stifled a laugh.

“If he’s grumpy, then that’s normal,” I say with a smile.

I follow her back as Kirsten and Ashley wait behind in the waiting room.

When I reach Ryder’s room, I stand in the doorway for a moment, taking him in. He is laying on a cot, white sheets draped over his massive body. His arm where the wound was, is now bandaged and in a sling. His face has been cleaned up a bit, the heavy smoke long gone, but in its place, are cuts and bruises.

Tears fell down my cheeks as I saw how this brave man was so badly injured. I wish I could snap my fingers and make him better.

“Are you just going to stand there, or are you going to come in?” Ryder asks, opening one eye to see me.

I walk in, shaking my head with a smile. I grab his hand and he squeezes. “How did you know it was me?” I ask.

“I’m trained to know everything,” he chuckles, but I see him wince, too.

“Let’s not be so cocky right now,” I say.

I pull up a chair and sit beside him. Ryder turns to me and smiles and I see the relief flooded in his eyes.

“I’m sorry this all happened. I’m sorry I made you worry,” Ryder apologies.

“Please don’t apologize,” I say. “I knew when I started this relationship that you would face dangers and risks. Yes, it scared the hell out of me, but my heart wanted you. Ryder, almost losing you tonight has made me realize that I am madly in love with you. I never thought I would love anyone again after losing Wade, but with you, I just know that you were meant for me.”

The words flew out of my mouth in a rush. A wave of excitement and worry come over me. I hope I hadn’t just scared him by telling him I loved him.

Ryder sits there looking at me for a minute. His silence almost kills me before he finally speaks up. “Meghan, I have loved you since the first moment I saw you. I always knew you would be mine, I just knew it would take time. I didn’t realize it would take a near-death experience to show you, but I’ll take it,” he says.

I gasp and throw myself onto him. I hear Ryder yelp from pain and I go to let go him, but he refuses to release me.

“I am never letting you go,” he breathes against my ear, his warm breath tickling my skin.

“Am I hurting you?” I ask.

“It doesn’t matter. I literally walked through fire tonight to be with you. There is no amount of pain that will keep me from holding you in my arms,” he says, caressing my face.

I crush my lips to his and at this moment, everything is right. I have a man I love in my arms and the fear of the future is long gone. I am ready to live again and walk down life's path with this brave and stubborn man by my side.

“I wasn’t going to leave the port tonight unless you were with me,” I say, as our lips part.

Ryder looks deep into my eyes and I love the way he longingly looks at me. I can feel his love for me radiating from his face. “Marry me,” he says.

Taken aback, my eyes go wide as I struggle to see if what I just heard was correct.

“What?” I ask, making him say it again.

“Meghan, I can’t imagine spending another day without you as my wife. Meghan, will you marry me?” he asks again. “I found you and now I am blinded by your love. I can’t let you go.

For the first time in my life, I don’t hesitate. “Yes,” I shout, before falling back into his arms. “You will never have to let me go,” I cry.

As Ryder holds me close to his chest, I can hear his heartbeat and it is in tune with mine. When you find true love, it can be brutally honest and take you by surprise. Knowing that I can have love again after a loss makes me want to live for not just me, but for Wade, too.

With Ryder as mine, my life is now complete.

Epilogue

Meghan

Three months later, Ryder was almost completely healed. A few cuts were still showing and would more than likely be scars, but Ryder seemed to like that.

Typical guy; loved to show off his injuries.

Ryder and I were married two weeks after he was released from the hospital. Neither of us wanted to waste any time. We had a small ceremony on the beach with only our closest friends and family in attendance. I wore a short, white dress and he had on khakis and a white polo. It was perfect for us.

When my article with Melanie finally came out in the magazine, it gained both local and national attention. I even had major publishers offering me contracts to publish the article into a book. However, there was only one publishing company I would ever publish with and that was MLA.

So, I did. Or, should I say, we did. Together, Melanie and I wrote a heroic story about a retired SEAL and his scorching trials as he took down a huge drug bust. Turned out, Nathan’s dealings were much larger than any of them had expected. Nathan was working with the Mexican Drug Cartel, bringing in their drugs, and then stealing a portion of their products to sell on his own. The cartel discovered this, and sent their own team to stop Nathan. Sadly for us, it was in the form of a bomb. The crate that Nathan had stolen was filled with a bomb. Apparently, he stole the same crate each time the shipment was delivered.

Ryder and Matt earned awards by the city for helping to bring down such a dangerous criminal enterprise and Lance promoted Ryder to head of the security detail here in Sunnyvale.

Now, sitting on the back porch of our new house, Ryder and I were beyond happy. We had one another, perfect careers, and the love and support from those around us. Nothing would ever destroy us, that was something we both knew as fact. We had survived the flames of destruction and came out stronger than ever. You can rise from the ashes of your past. Be the rising Phoenix of your own life.

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