Page 90 of My Vows Are Sealed

She pulled her shirt up and unclipped her insulin pump from a belt loop on her jeans, then pushed a couple of buttons on it.

“What’s that?” Nathan asked as he eyed the device.

“It’s my insulin pump,” she explained. “Remember how I told you I’m diabetic?”

He nodded.

“Well, this is what gives me my medicine. Most of the time, it does its job without any help from me, but I’m supposed to tell it to give me a little extra if I eat something super sugary, and I forgot this morning.”

“So you have a machine attached to you all the time?” he asked, cocking his head a little.

She chuckled. “Yep. I’m like the Bionic Woman.”

That made him giggle. “That’s kind of cool. Not that you need the medicine, but that you have a machine that gives it to you.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty nifty.” She smiled at him.

“Well, the Bionic Woman needs to move and let me hug Darla’s neck,” Naomi said, playfully nudging her.

Kate giggled and stood up, and Naomi took her spot and wrapped her arms around me.

“You okay?” she asked quietly.

I shrugged. “Better now. I needed this. How much did he tell you?”

“Nothing. He said he’d let you tell me.”

“I will,” I promised. “Just…not now.”

“Whenever you’re ready.” She rubbed my arm. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“Hey, Nate, let’s go wash our hands so we can have some pizza,” Ashton said, standing up. “Come on.”

I let go of Nathan, and he hopped down from my lap and followed Ashton into the kitchen, and Brendan stole Ashton’s spot on the couch, wrapping an arm around me and pulling me into his side.

“Your dad said something at church this morning,” he whispered. “Basically told the entire congregation to be on the lookout for you.”

My eyes stung a little, even though I couldn’t really say I was surprised. I knew my dad wasn’t about to just accept me being gone so easily. I honestly wasn’t even sure if staying with Kate would be enough to keep him off my trail.

“Kate wants me to stay with her,” I told him.

“She told me. That’s why Ash took Nate into the kitchen for a few minutes.” He planted a kiss on my temple. “As much as I want to keep you here with me, I think it’s a good idea.”

“I know it’s stupid, but I’m scared of what I’ll see when I close my eyes if you’re not there,” I admitted quietly. “I always knew I couldn’t stay here, but being here with you was the only thing that kept me sane last night.”

I heard the TV turning on, and I looked to find Ashton and Nathan sitting on the floor with plates of pizza, flipping through channels. As happy as I was to see Nathan, I was grateful to have a few minutes to talk to Brendan right now and try to figure out what my next move was.

Brendan’s one-armed embrace tightened, and he put a hand under my chin and turned my head back so I’d look at him. “It’s not stupid. No more stupid than me saying that even after one night of having you in bed next to me when I fell asleep, I don’t know how I’m going to be able to sleep without you. But it’s only for a little while. And I promise you, I’m going to make sure we still see each other.”

“I mean, I’m just saying, there’s a window in our spare bedroom that’s easily accessible,” Kate chuckled. “Or you can just walk in the front door. The regular nighttime visits can still be a thing if you want them to be. My mom won’t mind. Especially knowing what you’ve been through. Just maybe keep the noise down so you don’t wake us up.”

I snorted and felt myself turning bright red as I buried my face in Brendan’s chest. He chuckled and kissed the top of my head.

“We’ve perfected the keeping the noise down thing over the past couple of years,” he said. “Baby, why don’t you stay here tonight, go to school tomorrow, and then follow Kate home from there?”

“I was thinking the same thing,” she agreed. “Then Mom and I can get your room ready for you.”

“You realize this plan hinges on her being willing to let me stay there at all, right?” I pointed out.

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