Page 68 of No Love Lost

Her one-word answer of Bossy had them both grinning.

In her bedroom, Heath set her on the edge of the bed and slipped off her jacket, hat, and scarf. Then he wrapped her in his arms again, and for a long minute, they just held on.

Then Heath grabbed her some flannel pants, fuzzy socks, an oversized t-shirt, and one of her sweaters. He knew her so well. It didn’t take long to change, but the air chilled her and she was shaking again when Heath tucked her into the bed. “I’m going to grab Lia and another couple of blankets.”

Addy didn’t have a moment to feel afraid and alone because Lia walked right in. “Joe’s making tea and we’ll get Heath back in here soon. Okay, let’s make sure you’re okay.”

It didn’t take long to figure out she was fine. Well, she would be. She knew the drill with recovering from too much cold and sore lungs. Warmth and love. Not much talking. Lots of rest. The bump on the head was new, but she didn’t have any signs of a concussion.

When Lia opened the door, Heath came in with a mug of tea and concern written all over his face. His gaze moved between her and the doctor. “She’s okay?”

His voice shook, and Addy moved to go to him. Lia turned and pointed a finger for her to stay there. Then the doctor turned back and patted Heath’s arm. “You got to her in time. She’s going to need to rest and stay warm, but she’s good.”

Heath leaned down to hug the doctor with one arm. “Thank you.”

Then he crossed to the bed and kissed Addy on the forehead. He handed her the mug and sat on the bed beside her. His strong arm reached around her and tucked her into his strength. Animosh jumped up and curled up at her feet.

Lia smiled at them. “Nina and Kimi are on the way. Troy went to Kimi’s to tell them what happened. He figured it would be easier with Kimi there for Nina.”

Less than a minute later, Nina flew into the room, the fear on her face disappearing as they made eye contact. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she flew to the bed and wrapped her arms around Addy. Heath rescued the tea in time to keep them dry and she wrapped her daughter in her arms. Then Heath pulled them both in and the tears she’d been holding back loosened.

Family. She had her family. And they were all safe.

CHAPTER 22

Found

Heath didn’t want to let his girls out of his sight for an instant. He’d already lost a dozen years with them, and he’d come perilously close to losing Addy forever.

Now, the three of them were snuggled on the couch, with Addy in the middle and Animosh snoozing on her feet.

It was his first introduction to Phail’s Christmas movie tradition. Piper had started it the previous year, but because of someone targeting her, they’d only had one movie. This year, they were doing several, with the first one tonight.

Lia had suggested Addy stay home and not endanger her lungs by going outside. He and Nina had supported the doctor.

Of course, Phail being Phail, the town was now streaming the movie so the three of them could participate from the house.

Sean and Branna had brought a television from the farmhouse so they would have a large screen to view the event. Troy had set up an audio system at the Saloon so they could take part in the games as well.

Branna had left them an envelope from Piper and told them to leave it closed until it was time.

On-screen, Troy and Piper came to the front of the room at the Saloon and the crowd quieted. Troy grinned. “Welcome to the second annual Phail Christmas movie night. We’re so glad to see everyone. And a special welcome to Addison, Nina, and Heath, who are watching online.”

The entire crowd turned to wave at the camera. Everyone called out how glad they were she was okay, making Addy gasp softly.

Nina laughed. “That’s so nice.”

Piper explained the rules. “You’ve all got a Phail card. Nina, go ahead and take those out of the envelope for your group.”

Nina passed them each one of the cards. It was a Bingo card, except with Phail written across the top. Each box held a phrase.

Piper continued. “All the cards are filled with moments that might be from the movie. Some of them are false and aren’t in the movie at all. Every card has at least one winning line. When you see something from your card in the movie, call it out. When you have a complete line, yell out Christmas Phail!”

When the laughter stopped, Troy continued. “We’ve got hot chocolate and popcorn for everyone. When you get a complete line, you get a candy cane. Are you ready?”

After a chorus of agreement, the movie started. Their friends had come prepared and left them hot chocolate and popcorn for them, as well as the cards.

As the opening scenes came on, Nina laughed. “It’s black and white? That’s awesome. I wonder how old it is.”

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