Page 140 of Finding Forever

He grabbed hold of Fern’s arm, his grip bruising, and Cade immediately got between them, shielding Fern from the older man.

“Back the fuck off, Abernathy,” he warned, his voice filled with menace. He was twice as broad as Granger, and a good few inches taller. And Fern, fearing that the altercation would escalate into blows, violently wrenched her arm from her stepfather’s grasp only to find herself teetering on the edge of the step.

Cade heard her gasp.It was a sound he would never forget for the rest of his life. A small, shocked inhalation of air, filled with absolute fear. He swung his head toward her and saw her lose her balance. She jerked her arm out of Abernathy’s grip, stepped backward, and her left foot hit nothing but air.

Her eyes met his in that instant, lit with sheer terror as she understood that she was going to fall. He reached for her, but his hands missed her by a fraction of an inch as she went down.

He shoved Abernathy violently away from him, only vaguely aware of Cyrus, yanking the man backward—and dove after Fern. But it was too late, she landed in an awkward heap at the bottom of those steps.

Just five steps. Not very steep, but potentially catastrophic if you were falling backward, without warning, or any means of stopping yourself.

“No,” he muttered, dropping heavily to his knees beside her too still, limp body. “Nonononono… Fern. Open your eyes, sweetheart. Come on.”

He lifted a hand to her face but Cyrus’s harsh, commanding voice stopped him.

“Don’tmove her. We don’t know what she might have injured. You could make it worse.”

“Is she breathing?” Cade asked in a choked voice, rocking slightly as he fought the urge to touch her. “I can’t tell if she’s breathing, Cyrus.Please.”

Cyrus knelt beside him.

“She’s breathing, son. She probably just has a little bump on her head, and she’ll be right as rain tomorrow.”

Cyrus didn’t sound very convincing and Cade sobbed. A choked sound that he couldn’t quite control.

“I can’t lose her, Cyrus. I can’t… Ican’t. I only just found her.”

“Don’t think like that, Cade, come on. Ithink it’s probably okay to hold her hand, talk to her. Let her know you’re here. Okay? The ambulance is on its way.”

Cade nodded and gently gathered her small, limp hand up in his. He lifted it to his cheek—which he only then discovered was wet with tears—and took solace in the fact that her skin was warm, alive to the touch.

She’d hit her head. He’d seen it happen. Seen it bounce off the tiled floor. Heard the sickening thump of it. The damage that may have caused didn’t bear thinking about… and yet it was all his brain seemed to want to focus on. How bad it could be. How much worse it could get.

And through it all the thoughts spinning chaotically through his mind in an endless loop were…

God help me, I love her.I lovethem.

Chapter

Thirty-Two

God.

Fern’s whole body hurt.

What the hell had she done to deserve this punishment? She stifled a groan and shifted slightly, but the movement set off a cascade of pain starting at her toes and spearing through the rest of her body to coalesce in her head.

She attempted to open her eyes but her lids felt glued shut. What fresh hell was this? She sighed impatiently and tried again.

She finally succeeded, then winced as bright daylight nearly fried her retinas.

Why was it so frikking light out? How late had she slept? If she wasn’t pregnant, she’d swear she had a hangover.

“Why do I feel so crap?” she wondered out loud.

“Fern?” The deep, familiar voice on her left, sounded gruff with concern. “Are you awake? Can you open your eyes, sweetheart?”

“I’ll open my eyes when you turn off the sun,” she responded grumpily.

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