Page 101 of The Spark Between Us

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Sarah

One WeekLater

With a little bitof pulmonary therapy and a few days on a liquid diet, Braden made a full recovery and was discharged from the hospital. He had to be wheeled out in a chair—hospital rules—but the second he’d crossed the threshold, he stood up and squinted into the sun.

The guy hadn’t been outside in a week, and his eyes were probably having trouble adjusting.

That was okay. I’d just wait—leaning against the side of his truck wearing a pair of sunglasses in the roundabout in front of the hospital. I folded my arms across my chest even though my biceps were unimpressive.

Bella, wearing a red handkerchief around her neck, sat at my feet, her tail wagging so hard she was sweeping up a mini-tornado.

The sun was out and the sky was that medium blue, cloudless color that seemed to hang over Carolwood and the surrounding towns. Perfect grape growing weather.

When Braden finally saw me, his face broke open—literally stretched beyond what I’d ever seen his cheeks do before—into the biggest smile his features could hold. We were only a hundred feet apart, but he ran the distance between us and pulled me into his arms.

“Sarah...”

I buried my face in his long-sleeved shirt, which was, of course, so tight that I could feel every muscle in his chest. I didn’t want to let go.

But I also wanted to see his face. I’d seen him every day since the fire, but I’d never gotten tired of looking at him. Never would. So I leaned back. His eyes fixed on mine, and we had one of those crazy moments of connection we always seemed to have.

“You look good, fireman. Glad to see they let you out.”

“I’d have clawed my way out to get to you, Damsel.”

I knew he’d want to drive, so I tossed him his keys and went around to the passenger side. Then I waited until Braden came around and opened the door and held out his hand because I knew he’d want to do that too. When I’d stepped up and settled on the passenger seat, Braden leaned in and ran his fingers along the side of my face.

“If I didn’t say it when I was doped up on pain meds, I want to make sure I say it now. Thank you for being here.”

I nodded.

We still hadn’t discussed anything about us.

With the pain Braden was in from burns to the back of his neck and his inability to speak for several days, we agreed to table all serious discussions. So I read him more books I’d gotten from the kids’ section of the library, and he mostly closed his eyes and listened with one hand resting on some part of me at all times.

But we needed to talk.

I assumed Braden would drive straight to his house, so it surprised me when he got on the highway instead. “Where’re we headed?” I turned to look and saw that he was smiling.

“Field trip.”

Quirking an eyebrow, I thought about our last field trip when I ended up pole dancing in the station. “Okay, I trust you. Your field trip ideas in the past have proven to be to my liking.”

He smirked. “Mine too.”

Since it seemed like he wasn’t going to share our destination, I tipped my head back against the headrest and closed my eyes. I hadn’t slept well for the past week, between worry about Braden’s condition to trying to sleep curled up in the uncomfortable hospital chair.

The next thing I knew, Bella was licking the back of my hand, and Braden was smiling at me through the open door of the truck. He extended his hand to me, but I was so groggy it took me a minute to unlatch the seatbelt and get my bearings.

“How long did I sleep?”

“About forty minutes, give or take.”

“Wow. Sorry. You’re the one who just got out of the hospital. I didn’t mean to fall apart on you.”

He was still holding out his hand, so I took it and stepped down, fixed on Braden’s face. Bella loped off the seat and sat down next to him. “First of all, never apologize for being tired. And second, falling asleep isn’t falling apart.”

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