Page 11 of Devotion By the Mountain Man

“Text Tessa with any updates, we’ll be over as soon as we can,” Luke says, pulling me into a quick hug and I can’t even explain how lucky I am to have them as friends.

“Thank you,” I whisper, letting go and climbing into the ambulance behind Wade’s stretcher.

The doors slam and as we drive away I’m filled with nothing but hatred for Steve, for how insecure he was, for how unaccepting he was of me and my position.

How could this have happened?

***

I wake with a jolt, sitting in the same chair beside Wade’s bed that I’ve been in for the last two days, only leaving briefly to eat and to change my clothes. I feel like I need to be here with him every second, it’s what he would do for me. I know it in my heart.

Tessa, Ava, Luke, and Scott have popped in a few times to check-in and bring me snacks and I couldn’t be more grateful for their friendship. Sophie has been here most of the time, too. Making sure her brother is okay and advocating for both of us with the police. They followed us into the hospital the other day and have come back to question me a few times about Steve. They said he seems to have fled town, but that they won’t stop looking for him any time soon.

I’m disappointed, and frustrated, that he has gotten away with all the pain he has brought to my life, but I have hope he’ll slip up and be caught soon. He can’t be too smart. The cops also told me they found journal entries at his house about how much he hates me, hates what I took from him.

I can’t help but feel a bit bad for him. He’ll never know success, know what it’s like to have such an amazing group of friends and feel joy for them. He’s pathetic, really, and I know he’ll get what’s coming for him soon enough.

Wade has been out cold the last few days recovering from the small surgery he had to remove the bullet. It missed all of his organs, thank God, so he should make a full recovery, it will just take some time.

Which is fine, I hope we have all the time in the world after this.

I place my hand on top of his, curling my fingers beneath his palm and lean my head over his body, desperate for him to wake up, to hear his voice, to feel his touch again. He nearly lost everything because of me, the least I could do is give my all to him in return.

Just as I’m about to drift off again, I don’t even know what time it is—sometime in the middle of the night, I think, I feel his hand squeeze mine. I shoot up, meeting sleepy brown eyes as a slow grin spreads across his face.

“Hi,” I whisper-shout, tears falling down my cheeks.

“Hi, honey,” Wade croaks out. “Can’t believe that fucker shot me,” he says with a laugh. I return it, though it comes out as a half-sob, half-cackle, that isnotattractive. I can’t bring myself to care. I crawl on the bed, settling next to him, careful not to touch his chest.

“How long have I been out?” he asks, laying his head against my chest as I play with his curls. Despite what brought us here, everything about this moment feels right.

“A few days,” I say back. I tell him about the cops and Sophie standing our ground for us, about our friends stopping in, how Luke saved his life by stopping the bleeding, and how Steve ran away like the slimy coward he is.

“Do they have any leads on him?” he asks, leaning further into my touch.

“No… but I think they’ll find him. They did say they found a bunch of journal entries about how much he hated me at his house.”

“I should have killed him,” Wade whispers but the anger is apparent in his tone.

“I think we’ll be free of him soon enough,” I say back.

I take a deep breath before I continue speaking. “I… I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t shown up when you did. If you hadn’t forced me out of the way, I would probably be where you are now, or dead. You saved my life, Wade.”

“I’d do anything for the woman I love, Rosie,” he says softly, lifting his head and meeting my eyes. His own brown depths swimming with nothing but affection.Love. He loves me too.“I can’t believe someone tried to hurt you in that way,” he continues, “that I was almost too late to save you. All I could think in that moment was how much I loved and you and how I hadn’t told you yet. There was no choice but to show you.”

I’m crying again, overwhelmed by his declaration and by his actions. He’s the most perfect man in the world.

“I love you, too, Wade. I knew it almost as soon as I saw you and when you jumped in front of me, I felt the same way, that I hadn’t told you. That I should have told you the second I metyou, really. There was no one before you and there will be no one after you. You’re my one and only,” I say.

“My one and only,” he repeats before meeting my lips with a ferocious kiss. We pull away with a shared laugh moments later, not wanting to get riled up while he’s healing.

“I love you,” I repeat over and over as I stroke his hair. He drifts back to sleep after the doctor comes in to check on him and I stay there all night long, never willing to leave his side.

My perfect, selfless man.

Chapter Eight

Wade

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