Page 92 of Worth the Vow

The ambulance stops as Dominic waves them down. “She was attacked and choked, and she’s having trouble breathing.”

“Okay, Dom. We got it from here. Where’s Travis?” the paramedic replies as the gurney is pulled out of the back of the ambulance. Dominic’s brother-in-law, Travis, is a paramedic for Eternity Springs.

“I didn’t even think about him, I just started running,” Dominic says quietly as he gingerly places me on the gurney. As he pulls his hands from my body, I see him begin to shake, and I grab the hand I can reach. I can tell he’s going to break down. He’s going to let his anxiety play the ‘what if’ game, and he’ll spiral without me.

“Stay,” I whisper painfully. I pull his hand up to my face, forcing him to come closer. “Need you.”

I hear someone running toward us, and look to see Travis, Gianna’s husband. “We’ve got the kids, Dom. We’ll handle everything here. Go with Kate.”

Dominic nods as Travis reaches up to squeeze his shoulder. He leans over to whisper something in Dominic’s ear, gives me a smile, and runs back toward the hotel entrance.

“Let’s get you to the hospital, Mrs. Santo. Gorgeous dress, by the way. We’ll help you out of it so no one cuts it,” the second paramedic tells me. I hadn’t even thought about that. I’d love to keep it, and see if Sienna or Aspen would like to wear it if they get married. At that thought, I find myself smiling.

“How can you smile right now?” Dominic says with a very small chuckle. His hand is gripping mine tightly, as if he’s scared to let go and lose the connection.

I try to explain, but it hurts too much. The paramedic grabs a notepad and pen, handing them to me as she continues to get things set up in the ambulance. As the gurney is wheeled in, I write Dominic a note.

I’m smiling because I’m happy my dress can be saved. I’d like to have it in case Sienna or Aspen want to wear it. They’ve become my daughters, and I’d love to pass down my dress to them. I can’t help but smile at that thought.

I hear Dominic’s quick intake of breath as he reads my words, then he motions for me to hand him the pen. Scribbling away, I wait patiently to see what he says. He gives me a lopsided smile as he hands the notepad back to me.

They’ll be thrilled to have your dress, Katharine, because you’re the most important woman in their lives. I love you more than anything, and I’m so thankful my children have you as a mother.

Eyes welling with tears, I look at Dominic and whisper, “Step-mother.”

He shakes his head, leaning down to rest his forehead against my temple. Whispering in my ear, he says, “No. Mother. You were brought into our lives to be their mother, baby. They needed your love, just like I did.”

“I love you,” I mumble, grimacing as I swallow harshly. Dominic moves his head to kiss my lips and whispers how much he loves me.

This may not be the renewal ceremony we hoped for, but we survived, and no one I love is physically hurt. I’m hopeful Savannah will be a thing of the past as we move forward. I send up a quick prayer of relief, thankful the kids weren’t harmed, and pray we’ll find a family therapist who can take on all of us. We’re all going to need one.

Dominic

Kate made a quick recovery, only spending one night in the hospital for observation. I hated seeing the finger-shaped bruises on her neck, and each time I caught myself staring at them and seething with anger, Kate would gently touch my face and bring my gaze to hers. I’ll never forget how much love I saw shining in her eyes.

Not surprisingly, Savannah was immediately arrested. When she was taken in for questioning after her theatrics in my office, she was only informally spoken to. This time, due to an obvious crime, she was fully arrested and booked. That allowed our officers to find out she had warrants out in multiple counties, as she and Tony had conspired to commit a host of crimes throughout Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana. They were both extradited to Montana, where they’re awaiting trial for two counts of attempted murder.

I was initially angry that she wouldn’t be here, because I wanted to watch her get the book thrown at her. Kate, however, said she was relieved.

“How can you be relieved? Don’t you want to see her get her comeuppance for her actions?” I asked.

Kate shook her head. “No. I want her out of our lives, and I don’t want to subject the kids to that kind of trauma. It would undoubtedly be fodder for that stupid gossip website, and if any news channels in Denver caught wind of it, they might come here to harass us. I don’t want our kids to deal with that.”

I love when she calls them ours.

Interestingly, the stupid gossip website, The Eagle Has Landed, only issued a brief snippet about the renewal ceremony and subsequent drama.

Dominic and Kate Santo held a small vow renewal ceremony at Everlasting Hotel and Spa last week. What began as a beautiful event turned dangerous when Dom’s ex-wife crashed it with an unknown accomplice. When the unknown assailant threatened Dom and Kate with a large rifle, Dom’s eldest brother, retired National Guard First Sergeant Alex Santo, the newest member of the Eternity Springs Police Department, used his training in taekwondo to detain the man, providing a tornado kick to dislodge the rifle. We’re told Dominic and Kate enjoyed a quiet weekend honeymoon at a mountain cabin, and are now back home with the littlest Santos’.

Absolutely no mention of Savannah trying to kill Kate, Savannah getting arrested, or the long list of warrants out for her arrest. Who the hell is writing this shit? It’s been a couple decades since Alex earned his black belt, and he certainly doesn’t still practice taekwondo actively. To know the spinning kick is called a tornado kick means the writer has knowledge of taekwondo or karate, but I still can’t figure out who it is.

Explaining to my children why their biological mother wouldn’t be showing up randomly anymore involved very different reactions from all three of them. Aspen shrugged, sat in Kate’s lap, and asked if Kate would braid her hair. Carter let out a relieved sigh, then confided he never felt like he could be himself around Savannah, because she would comment about his preferred toys, his disinterest in sports, and sensory issues that really impact his day-to-day life. She refused to cut tags out of clothing, allow him to wear preferred fabrics, or turn down volume when he was overstimulated. Suffice it to say, Savannah refused to acknowledge Carter’s specific needs.

Sienna, however, was crushed when we explained Savannah’s extradition to Montana. While Carter seemed to only associate his mother with negative memories, Sienna was the opposite. She’d somehow blocked out all the bad memories. She cried that she felt Savannah was abandoning her, and worried she would miss out on milestones a daughter should share with her mother. As I was about to tell Sienna to focus on other things, Kate subtly shook her head.

“Sienna, it’s okay to be sad,” Kate said. “You’re allowed to grieve the things you thought you’d experience with your mom.”

“I don’t know why I’m sad though. She makes me so angry. She was ready to get rid of me, but I still want to have her in my life. It doesn’t make sense. She might come back, right?” Sienna asked tearfully. My poor girl. I hate that I can’t solve this for her. I hate watching her grieve.

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