Page 51 of Gage

“Thank God I called you,” I muttered. “What even brought up this conversation with Lori?”

“I was telling her about a patient I had who was bitten by a poisonous snake,” Graham said. “She mentioned the spider bite after that.”

A faint murmur came from the bed. “Can you at least cover half of me?”

I turned to find Lori blinking up at us, a weak smile on her lips.

Relief surged through me. “Sweetheart, I was so scared,” I whispered, pressing a kiss to her forehead. Her skin burned with fever.

“I’m glad you called Graham,” she said softly, her voice hoarse. “And that I told him about the spider.” She paused. “This time, I got him.”

“What?”

“The spider,” she murmured. “He’s under a jar in your garage.”

I exhaled, shaking my head. “I’ll take it in to find out what kind it was. And I’ll have the house sprayed every week.”

Lori’s lips curved slightly. “I love you, too,” she murmured before drifting back to sleep.

29

Lori

Tomorrow was Saturday,and I was determined to get home to fix everything for my wedding. Gage told me that Samantha and Helen had taken care of everything for me and that I should not worry about it.

Now, I needed to find my dress. I was back to normal, and I wanted to leave the hospital as soon as possible. I was tired of lying in bed. I’d been here for three days, and that was longer than I even needed.

Matthew was kind enough to take me to find a dress since my vehicle was in the garage when my dad’s home burnt down.

Hey, honey, are you ready?” Gage said, pulling me into his arms and kissing me.

“I love kissing,” I whispered against his lips. “Your lips are always so soft unless we are in the middle of making love, and then you devour my lips. We are getting married tomorrow, and I want you to devour my entire body.”

“Sweetheart, I will devour all of you as soon as we get home,” he whispered against my ear.

“Excuse me. You’ll have to wait for that. Lori and I are going dress shopping. I’ll bring her home when we find her the perfect dress,” Matthew said, smiling.

Matthew it’s good to see you again. How’s your brother doing? We’ll see if both of you tomorrow Brian is going to marry us. I decided I would tag along with you guys,” Gage said looking at me.

I shook my head nope not going with us it’s bad luck I don’t see the dress until I’m walking down the aisle. If if you don’t have anything to do right now you can go help move the tables and chairs outside.

They chased me away from there they think that I’m not doing it right. Then go have a beer with your buddies and I’ll be home after I find my dress.”

I don’t think you should be walking that much you aren’t haven’t even left the hospital yet I think shopping isn’t good for you right now,” Gage said.

I kissed his lips and smiled. “I will see you later. This shouldn’t take that long,” I explained, wrapping my arms around him.

Okay,” Gage said. He looked at Matthew and spoke, “Drive carefully with Lori in the car.”

Matthew took my hand and pulled me from the room. Two hours later, I still hadn’t found the dress I wanted to wear to my wedding. It breaks my heart that my mom’s wedding dress was destroyed in the fire, but I was determined to buy the one I wanted. The only one I will wear is one that speaks to my heart. I know that sounds stupid, but that’s how I am.

We were walking down the sidewalk and passed a Thrift store. Let’s go in here and look. You never know what you’re going to find in a thrift store. Remember that couch I had when I went away to college? I found that in a thrift store.

Yeah, I remember that couch. It stunk. Do you remember when you wanted me to sleep on that stinky couch? I ended up sleeping on the floor, and then I convinced you that we had to take it to the dump the next day.”

“Well, besides the smell, it was a great-looking couch,” I teased. “Come on, let’s go inside. I can’t keep walking around in circles.” I grabbed Matthew’s arm and pulled him into the thrift store.

Approaching the counter, I asked, “Do you have any wedding dresses? I’m getting married tomorrow and need to find the perfect dress. I’ve looked everywhere, but nothing feels right. I need a dress that speaks to me.”

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