Page 19 of Zero Visibility

She smiled and ran her palm across his cheek. “We both could use some help there.”

He chuckled and placed his hand around the nape of her neck and tugged her closer. “God brought us back together, and we’re going to be parents. We’ll get through this. I love you, Jen.” He leaned down and kissed her with all the love inside his heart. He wanted her to feel his love. Needed her to know he didn’t want to repeat old mistakes. For the rest of the time God gave them together, he’d do whatever it took to make her happy.

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“I love you, too.” Jen just wanted to hold him close for a while. She couldn’t bear it if anything happened to Ben or to their child.

“That’s not going to happen,” he whispered as if reading her troubled thoughts. He gazed at her with so much love in his eyes, and she was so unworthy of it.

Out of the corner of her eyes, something caught her attention. The man in the bed moved and mumbled something. “Ben, look!” She let him go and hurried to her patient’s side. Tegan slowly opened his eyes.

“What happened?” The words were slurred. Barely audible.

“Don’t try to talk. You were shot in the head.” Jen told him what happened.

Ben squeezed Tegan’s arm. “The bullet’s been removed, but you need to rest.”

“Wh…where…are…we?” Tegan whispered in a raspy voice.

“We’re trying to get back to Montana,” Ben told him while Jen checked the bandage.

“How far?” Tegan appeared to be getting agitated.

“Let us worry about that. You just rest and get better.” Ben sat at the foot of the bed. “I’ll hang out here with you. Get some sleep.”

Tegan’s eyes latched onto Ben’s and held them as if his life depended on it.

As Jen watched her husband with his friend, she realized how much Ben’s people looked up to him. “Try to rest now,” she murmured.

Tegan closed his eyes and nodded.

“I’d like the doctor to have a look. I’ll be right back.” She squeezed Ben’s shoulder. He covered her hand with his and clasped it, keeping her there with him for a moment longer. Their eyes met. The love she saw in him warmed her inside. He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her palm before letting her go.

She loved him so much. More than anything, she wanted a safe place to be so that she and Ben could work on repairing the damage she’d done, but she had a feeling that would be a long time coming. Jen slipped from the bunkhouse and hurried down the hallway to the front of the RV.

“Everett, Tegan’s awake and talking.”

The doctor whipped his gaze her way. “I’ll pull over as soon as I can and take a look at him. I just need to find a safe place on the side of the road.”

Jen peered out the window at the small, two-lane road with drop-offs on either side.

“According to GPS, there should be a small town not too far ahead.” Peter consulted his phone. “We should be able to find a place to get off the road there and hopefully not draw too much attention to ourselves.”

“Good, we should fuel while we’re there. This thing is a gas guzzler.”

“Up ahead on the right.” Peter showed him the phone. “There’s a convenience store there.”

Ben stepped out and stood beside Jen.

She turned. “Everything okay with Tegan?”

He nodded. “He’s sleeping again. What’s going on here?”

She reached for his hand and entwined their fingers. “Everett is stopping for gas. He’ll examine Tegan closer once we’re refueling.” She scanned his face. “You look tired. Why don’t you close your eyes and stretch out for a bit?”

He smiled and cupped her face. Her heart melted at the tenderness she saw in his eyes. “They’ll be plenty of time for rest once we’re safely in Montana.”

The first shops in the small town of Golden View came into view. Everett turned into the convenience store parking lot and pulled up to the fuel island designated for eighteen-wheelers.

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