Page 101 of A Very Daddy Christmas

“Eva? Is she okay?” I ask.

Waylan smiles gently. “I need to text her and let her know we got you.”

“Please do. Where is she?”

“We managed to get her to sit tight at the bakery and wait for our call,” Waylan replies.

“Cora!” Eva’s voice cuts across the parking lot outside the motel.

I can’t help but laugh lightly. “Right. Because my sister would actually do what you tell her.”

I gently pull myself out of the arms of my men just as Eva bursts past the sheriff and Denaro, ignoring them completely upon seeing me. “Hey, sis.”

“Cora, thank god you’re alright!” she exclaims and throws her arms around me. I welcome the relief that washes over me in warm, golden waves. The adrenaline is wearing off.

Eva and the guys wait outside by one of the ambulances while the paramedics check my vitals and make sure I’m okay. At the same time, I give Sheriff Foreman my statement of the events leading up to the moment Waylan, Riggs, and Sebastian came through the door. The guys bring me up to speed on every step they took to get to me in the nick of time once the sheriff walks away.

Eva sits beside me, lovingly rubbing my back and making sure I’m wrapped snug in the emergency blanket, worried I might catch a cold. Together we watch as Foreman’s deputies shove Denaro and his surviving goon in the back of two separate cars, while the ME examines the other goon’s body before having it removed from the scene.

It unfolds slowly, giving me the precious minutes I need to wrap my head around everything until it makes perfect sense. The secrets Orson and George had been hiding. The rumors that turned out to be much uglier truths. The hypocrisy. The dirty deals. All of it, at mine and Eva’s expense. I’d be furious if I weren’t so tired.

“We still need to take you to the hospital and have a full set of tests performed,” one of the paramedics concludes. “Including an ultrasound. I want to make sure you and the little guy or gal are safe and sound.”

“Thank you,” I tell him with a weak smile.

He gives the guys and my sister a quick glance. “One of you can ride in the back with Miss Levine. The rest of you can follow us to the hospital if you want.”

“Of course,” Eva blurts out. “I’m in the back with my sister.”

Sebastian laughs lightly and plants a kiss on my temple. “I’ll see you at the hospital.”

“Okay,” I whisper, then smile at Waylan and Riggs. “I’ll see you all there.”

“You bet,” Riggs replies.

Once I’m in the back of the ambulance with Eva and one of the paramedics, I breathe a sigh of relief watching the crime scene shrink in the distance as we’re driven away.

“God, it was absolutely insane,” I whisper. “I’m so glad they got to me in time. I really thought I was going to die, Eva.”

My sister brushes my hair off of my forehead. “I’m so glad they got to you too. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“I love you,” I tell her.

“I love you too, honey. So maybe don’t scare me like that ever again.”

The paramedic checks my saline drip and blood pressure again. “You’re going to be okay, I’m sure of it. Your vitals are steady, your blood pressure is remarkably good given the ordeal you just endured. The tests should confirm all that. But you’re going to have to kick back and rest for a few days.”

“He’s right, you know. You’ll have to take it easy for a few days, at least. I insist.”

“Eva,” I say squeezing her hand. “It’s okay. I’ll rest. I won’t move a muscle. I’ll just sleep and eat my way into the new year. It’s not like we have much else going on. With Orson in jail, I can’t imagine they’ll be sending anybody to repossess the building right away.”

My heart is aching again as I remember we lost everything.

Eva gives me a wry smile. “Are you kidding? We’re opening back up on the second of January. New menu, new look. I took the liberty of going through your office notes. I know you had some fresh new pastries and cakes to introduce.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Sebastian’s lawyers came through,” she says. “Orson will never be able to void the sale.”

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