Page 71 of Captivated

Oh my God. My desire to have a family of my own has been ripped away from me. I know there’s still a chance, but I’ve had issues with regular periods my entire life. As a nurse, I know that the absence of an ovary doesn’t mean you can’t conceive. In fact, the body should take over and the remaining ovary should do all of the ovulation. But seeing as how I’ve never had a predictable cycle to begin with, all I hear is yet another obstacle I face in having a family someday. In this moment, all I feel is the loss of a child I never even had, but knew eventually was a possibility. Now that possibility is so slim, it feels daunting—like life needed to take one more thing to punish me for whatever karmic debt I owed.

“No… no!” I shout, shaking my head like the movement will rewind the last two minutes and make everything that just happened disappear.

“I’m sorry, Pfeiffer. I’m so sorry,” my mother cries as we hold each other for a while, my father taking a seat on the other side of me on the bed, wrapping his arms around us both.

The sound of a throat clearing pulls our attention to the door, where Cash stands with flowers in his hands, the same ones he brought me on our first date, taking my breath away with his handsomeness, even though the stress he’s been under is clear on his face and the weight of sorrow in his eyes. My parents move from the bed as he stands there and we study each other.

“Cash,” I croak out as he rushes over to me, pressing his lips to mine in a soft kiss, respectful of my parents being in the room, but cradling my head in his hands while he pours himself into the touch of us together again.

“Fuck, Piper. God, woman, you scared the shit out of me.” My father clears his throat now, alerting us to his presence in case we forgot.

“Thank you for calling them,” I say, cradling his jaw in my palm as he crouches above me still.

“Of course. I’m sorry I had to go through your things to find the phone, but…”

“I don’t care.”

“I’m so glad you’re okay, that you’re going to be okay,” he says, and instantly my thoughts veer to the information my mother just told me. I might be okay physically, but mentally I’m still shattered.

“I’m here.” I press my lips to him again and then my mother speaks.

“We will give you two a minute,” she declares, reaching for my father’s hand and pulling him out of my room reluctantly. The guilt on his face is insurmountable. I know it will take time for me to convince him that this is not his fault. He did what he thought was best at the time, and I agreed to leave. We always knew this was a risk.

“Kiss me for real this time,” I say as Cash’s lips tip up in that smirk I love while he sits beside me before he dives into my mouth with his tongue, stroking and claiming me as his—because I am. And yet, in the back of my mind, I’m reminded that I may never be able to give him everything he deserves. As the tears threaten to fall again, I focus back on his kiss, realizing the last time I kissed him could have been thelasttime, and the memory of his lips on mine will never be enough.

“Sweetheart, I’ve been a mess,” he breathes when we part, resting his forehead on mine.

“I can imagine.”

“How much longer do you have to stay here?”

“I’m not sure yet, but usually a GSW will mean seven to ten days in the hospital. How is Birdie doing?”

Cash chuckles. “You get shot and you’re worried about Birdie. I swear, I don’t deserve you.”

“She’s important to you, and to me. I care about her well being too.”

“She’s doing great. Still snarky and smacking me upside the head. I think you’re rubbing off on her.”

“I was snarky all on my own before I even met her and vice versa,” I tease him.

“I don’t want to leave you so soon, but I have to work tonight. They’ve given me the last few days off, so I have to go in. Can I come back tomorrow?”

I nod, knowing I want to see him more than anything—be with him, hold him, pick up where we left off. But so much has changed now. Not just the fact that he knows about my real identity, but I have no idea where to go from here. Do I go back home with my parents? Do I stay here with him? Does he even want me still? Or better yet, will he want me when he finds out I may never be able to give him children?

“Okay. We still need to talk though, Cash.”

“I know, sweetheart. Your parents have filled me in a bit, but I want to hear it from you, so we can move forward. Just know that the man who shot you is behind bars.”

I swallow hard, still unsure of what our future looks like, but grateful that this arrest will help lead to taking down the Montevallo family. “Okay.”

“God, I don’t want to leave you.” He kisses me goodbye once more, melting us together in a heated mess of lips and tongue, reawakening my desire for him that was dormant for days.

“I’ll be back tomorrow. I promise.” He smiles as he walks away, leaving me in my bed, all alone for the first time since I’ve woken up. I’m a mess, a flurry of emotions hitting me hard—grateful I’m still alive, thankful that Cash is still here, beyond relieved to see my parents after months apart, and yet angry and grief-stricken by how one instance has altered my life completely yet again.

It only takes a few minutes before the morphine fully kicks in again, and I surrender to the sleep that my body needs, healing itself at its own pace, but knowing my heart may never completely heal from this surprising consequence of my choices.

Chapter 28

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