Page 72 of Silver Hills' Christmas Miracle

“Fucking my daughter breaks the contract,” Dad replied. “I can sue him.”

“Oh, Samuel!” Mom spun around. “Don’t be so ridiculous. Are you trying to alienate this entire family? Did tonight do nothing to knock some sense into you? Your stubbornness knows no bounds, I swear. We almost lost our daughter tonight,our very lives over this stupid highway deal, and I’m telling you right now, it stops here. Are you listening to me?”

Dad, in his infinite wisdom, chose to leave the room with a glass in hand, but Mom followed hot on his heels, and we could hear her scolding him all the way down the hall.

“I don’t understand,” I murmured, wiping my tears. “Why is he so fucking stubborn?”

“He’s a man,” Rook replied gently, and he leaned in close. His lips brushed my damp cheek as he placed an arm around my shoulders. “We’re all stubborn.”

“He’s just pig-headed and mean and… and I don’t know what else, but it’s stupid and I hate it. He has no right to judge you now, not after you saved us.”

Rook kissed my cheek again, then nuzzled against me with the tip of his nose. “Not that I hope this happens again, but I’ll always come and save you, Kitty. You saved me and I didn’t even know it.”

I swiveled to face him and stared into his gorgeous eyes, drowning myself in the sparkle. “I did?”

“Of course you did.”

I melted as the back of his fingers caressed my cheek.

“I was stuck in a rut I was comfortable in, and then you came along, and suddenly, all I wanted to do was see you smile, hear you laugh, listen to you talk for hours about the town you loved. When I was coming here tonight and I found Paul in the kitchen, I—” His voice closed off suddenly and he swallowed thickly. “The fear I felt when I thought about finding you in the same way was unimaginable. It was so deep, I was sure if it became true, I would never recover.”

“You don’t have to worry,” I said softly, placing my hand over his and nuzzling into his palm. “Because I’m okay. I’m right here. And you’re right here. And we’re both okay. And this little nugget inside me is also okay.”

Rook slowly dropped his hand down my abdomen and smiled softly. “Indeed.”

“Come on.” I took his hand and threaded our fingers together. “Take me to bed.”

30

ROOK

My first step in taking care of Kitty is to help her shower. Her blood-stained clothes peeled from her body, leaving her standing in her underwear with blood painting her skin.

Paul’s blood.

It was still unclear whether he would pull through or not, but knowing he was in the hospital was all the relief we needed. I tossed her clothes aside, turned the shower on hot, and then held her hand as she stepped under the spray. I planned on giving her some privacy to wash herself, but as I moved to step away, Kitty’s hand tightened on mine.

“Don’t leave me,” she said softly as the water plastered her hair to her head and sent pink droplets running down her body.

“I won’t,” I assured her quietly. “I’m right here.” I stripped off my own clothes, and once I was naked, I stepped into the shower with her. Kitty was trembling faintly under my touch. I couldn’t tell if it was because of the temperature change or the adrenaline from everything that had happened to her over the past twenty-four hours, but I was here to make sure she didn’t feel unsafe.

Kitty leaned against my bare chest, and I took the time to lather up my hands. Only once she looked up at me with thosegorgeous eyes did I begin to wash her. I kept my touch gentle and caressed her carefully and only applied pressure when I needed it to wash Paul’s blood from her body. Wash after wash, I repeated until finally, the water ran clear and there wasn’t a drop of blood left on her.

Her hair was next, and it was the first time I had ever seen her with her hair down. It was always braided in some form because she didn’t like her hair getting in the way, but now in the shower, all these gorgeous blonde curls turned gold with the water. I soaped up my hands and ran my fingers through her hair, sending a shiver through her body as she rested against me. We didn’t speak. I followed the cues of her body and massaged her scalp while stroking through those golden blonde strands.

Kitty closed her eyes and tipped her head back against my arm when it came to rinsing the shampoo free, and soon, she was all clean with her skin flushed from the heat.

“I want to stay here,” Kitty murmured, her lips pressed to my bare shoulder. “Right here, with you.”

I slowly wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close to my chest so that we were both standing under the hot spray.

“We can stay here,” I said quietly, “for as long as you need.”

What Kitty suffered was unimaginable, but I would be here to help her through it and secure her each time she felt unsafe. Being attacked in your own home is traumatizing enough, but knowing she had fallen next to Paul without knowing he was still alive was even worse.

He might be fine, but that memory will stay with her for a long time.

I didn’t keep track of how long we stayed under the water, rocking back and forth. I held her because she needed to be held, and I wasn’t going to let her go until she wanted me to. Even when my fingertips began to prune and my toes curled, I remained right there for her.

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