Page 108 of Rescued Faith

Good. Bryce dropped his head back, rested it against the wall. His mom came at some point with Libby and sat next to him. She took his hand but didn’t say anything. Andi rested her head on Jude’s shoulder. Izan and Zack and some of the crew trickled in, offering encouragement and assurances. He had so much to be thankful for.

But all he wanted was Penny.

He went ahead and let the tears fall as Jude prayed out loud for her.

THIRTY-SIX

Penny couldn’t be dead when she was in this much pain. She tried to open her eyes, but her lids weighed a ton. Each breath hurt, but she would thank God because it meant she was alive. For one glorious moment, she’d been with Him. The light. The peace. The joy that’d filled her, she would never forget. She hadn’t wanted to leave. But even without words, she’d understood. This wasn’t her time.

And so now she was here. The stinging smell of antiseptic. Beeps and blips and muffled voices.

And breathing. Someone was in the room. Bryce?

Oh, Bryce.

She wanted to see him, assure him that God was real. He had heard them. She wanted to build a life, a cord of three strands, with him.

Warmth flooded her, giving her strength. It was enough to help to lift those heavy eyelids.

But the room was dark. She wanted to speak. Call his name. Something in her mouth, going down into her body, prevented her. She must be intubated.

She blinked, trying to clear her blurry vision.

A shadow moved closer. A man.

But this man didn’t smell like ocean breezes or summer baseball games.

He stepped closer to the bed. He wore scrubs, a mask. Was he a doctor? A nurse?

She couldn’t move. Who was this?

A swath of light spilled in, illuminated his face as he raised a pillow above her head. Jason Woods?

“Leave her alone!” The voice roared like a lion, a mighty and beautiful sound. Bryce lunged from the doorway. Knocked Woods to the ground.

Penny could only see the shadows rolling. They grunted, punched, the sickening sound of flesh hitting flesh. The door opened wider. Jude and Olivia rushed in, light from the hallway falling on the wrestling men. They quickly pulled Bryce off Jason before he could get another punch in.

“Don’t worry. We got him.” Jude handcuffed Woods and passed him off to Olivia. He reached down and offered Bryce a hand. Bryce stood, wiped his face. Then his eyes landed on hers.

Penny cried to see the shimmer of tears in his own gaze as he approached her.

“These eyes are the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen.” He cradled her face in his hands and graced her forehead with a featherlight kiss.

For such an impulsive and strong man—hadn’t Andi once called her brothers the thunder twins?—his touch was incredibly gentle. The tenderness in his gaze undid her. How had she ever run away from him?

This man that would tackle any obstacle that threatened her. The man that cherished her, had rescued her more than once, and had pursued her even after she’d tried to run away.

More people in scrubs came in. They checked her eyes, the machines, the numbers. Through it all she didn’t lose sight of Bryce.

Finally a doctor looked down at her. “It’s good to see you awake, Ms. Mitchell. Would you like for us to get that tube out of you?”

She could only nod, but it couldn’t happen fast enough. She had something she needed to say.

Within moments, it was out. Her throat hurt, but so did every other part of her body. As soon as two of the other nurses left, leaving room on one side of her bed, Bryce came closer, grabbed her free hand while a nurse messed with her IV on the other side.

“Would you like some water?” she asked Penny. “Here. Sip slowly.” She held a straw up to Penny’s mouth. The cool water soothed as it slid down.

She set the cup down and looked at them. “I’ll give you two a minute, but I’ll need to come back and check your incisions and drains later.” She winked and left the room. Finally.

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