Page 129 of My Vows Are Sealed

“Okay. Come on. Let’s get you in bed, and then I’m going to figure out something to keep this door shut for the night. Okay?”

She nodded, so I led her inside, shutting the door behind us, and made a beeline for the bedroom. When we got there, she sank down onto the bed, and I put the bag containing our oh-so-nutritious dinner from McDonald’s on the nightstand before heading to her drawer in my dresser and grabbing a tank top and pair of sleep shorts for her. I went to kneel in front of her and carefully slid her shirt up, slipping it over her head and gently pulling it down her arms, making sure not to disturb the elaborate splint they’d put her broken arm in until she could see an orthopedic doctor in a couple of days.

When I saw the bruising around her stomach and above her wrapped ribs, that was the last straw. I just broke down in tears as the reality of close I’d come to losing her hit me for the first time. My entire body heaved with my sobs as I buried my head in her lap and bawled my eyes out, contemplating a world where she didn’t exist anymore.

“Brendan,” she murmured, combing her fingers through my hair. “Shh. Brendan, it’s okay.”

“It’s not okay,” I sobbed. “None of this is okay. I’m supposed to protect you. I’m supposed to protect both of you. And I…he almost…I wasn’t here. You needed me and I wasn’t here.”

“Yes, you were. You stopped him,” she said softly. “You saved my life.Ourlives. I’m alive and this baby is alive because of you. You’re my hero, Brendan. My knight in shining armor. And I love you so much. Don’t ever doubt that.”

I lifted my head, looking at the blue and purple splotched skin on her stomach and remembering the abject terror I’d felt watching her use every last bit of strength she had left to shield our child from harm. Struggling to catch a breath, I planted a watery kiss there, then looked up at her.

“Kiss me, Brendan,” she whispered. “I’d meet you halfway, but—”

I didn’t let her finish that sentence. I shot up to my feet and captured her mouth in a searing kiss, immediately seeking her tongue out and tangling mine around it. She let out a soft moan and wrapped her good arm around my neck as she stood up and deepened the kiss even more. And in that moment, it was just me and her and our love for each other. The love that had defied the odds and persevered through every obstacle that life had thrown in our path. All of the pain, heartache, fear, and confusion just melted away, leaving only the strength to keep fighting and the hope for a better future.

Chapter 34

Darla

Don’t Ask Me No Questions

It was almost three in the afternoon by the time Brendan and I got back from my appointment with the orthopedic doctor. Just as we were walking in the door, my cell phone rang, so I slowly made my way to the couch, then dug through my purse until I found the phone and checked the screen for the now-missed call.

It had come from the church office. It wasn’t in my phone’s address book, but I knew that phone number almost as well as I knew my house number.

I tried to fill my lungs with air, but I couldn’t manage to take a single breath as I considered the very real possibility that my father might have made bail and somehow found my cell phone number. Pain sliced through every nerve ending in my entire body as I started to tremble violently, but no matter how much I tried, and despite the fact that my broken ribs and freshly-set arm felt like they were on fire, I couldn’t stop it.

My father’s bail had been set at half a million dollars, pending the trial he was insisting on because he’d refused to take a deal with the district attorney. Because my mom wasn’t about to lift even a finger to help him, we’d all assumed that would be enough to keep him in jail. But he had a whole congregation full of loyal parishioners who would have been only too happy to donate money to the cause. He’d pulled the wool over their eyes for so long that it wouldn’t have been a stretch for them to believe his version of events instead of mine.

“Dar? Baby, look at me. Talk to me,” I heard Brendan’s voice saying, but it sounded like he was far away.

A comforting hand landed on my cheek, and suddenly I found myself looking into my favorite pair of blue eyes. Eyes that were now wide with fear and concern.

“What just happened, baby?” he said softly as he stroked my cheek with his thumb.

“That was the church office,” I whispered. “My dad…he must have made bail.”

He gave me a sad smile. “I don’t think so, baby. We would have been notified. You gave Peter and Marie your cell number at the hospital so they could call and check up on you, remember?”

Right. I’d completely forgotten about that. But I still couldn’t shake the feeling that something was very wrong.

“But what…what if it was him?” I countered. “Something’s not right, Brendan. I can feel it.”

“Do you want me to call back?”

I nodded meekly. I hated that I was still so on edge that a simple phone call could send me into a tailspin. I hated that I still jumped at every sudden noise and that I could justtellif Brendan got up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night, even if I was dead asleep before, because I could tell that my protector wasn’t there anymore.

“Okay,” he murmured, kissing my forehead. “Take some deep breaths, Dar. I’m not going to let anything else happen to you.”

He sat down next to me, and I leaned back into his arms. He carefully adjusted me so he could hold me with just one arm, then pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and pushed a few buttons before holding it to his ear.

“Hey, Peter,” he said a few seconds later. “It’s Brendan. Did you just try to call Darla’s phone?”

There was a slight pause as Peter spoke, and my entire body sagged in relief as I realized that my fears were completely unfounded.

“No, she’s awake,” Brendan told him. “We just got back from getting a cast put on her arm. She saw the church office number on her caller ID and was scared that her dad had made bail and was trying to call her.”

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