Page 70 of Shot Through the Heart

The nurses from earlier are there in a heartbeat, taking over for Stella and helping me back into my room. I clutch Stella’s hand the entire time, refusing to let her out of my sight for a single second.

One of the nurses tries to separate us as I lie back in bed, but I cling to her tighter.

Stella steps up beside the bed, ignoring the scowl from the nurse, and gently brushes my hair from my face.

“I need to get out of the way so they can look you over,” she says gently with a small smile on her lips. I shake my head.

“I don’t think I can let you go,” I whisper, not bothering to try to cover the crack in my voice or the fear that mingles with my words.

Stella’s blue eyes shine with understanding tears as she brings my hand to her lips and kisses my knuckles.

“Letting me go doesn’t mean I’m going to leave you. We just need to let them do their job.”

She’s right. I know she is.

“You’ll stay with me, though?” I can’t even bring myself to care if I sound desperate or insecure. There’s no possible way I will be able to sit back and let anyone help me if Stella isn’t in my sight.

“I’m not going anywhere,” she promises and bends down to give me a kiss that would definitely set off the heart monitor if it were still attached to me.

Someone clears their throat, and Stella is the one who breaks the kiss with a smile that takes my breath away.

I finally let her hand go, but never once do I take my eyes off Stella.

Epilogue

STELLA

6 MonthsLater

“Mommy, look at this one!” Harper shouts, running toward me with her hand waving in the air.

We decided to take a vacation while Greyson is in his off-season. Although it’s more like a few weeks off before training camp starts up. Either way, I took full advantage of the time. We decided to come stay with my friend Thea for the week. This is my second time visiting her here, although when I came to see her last year with our friend Addison, Nana had offered to watch Harper one last time since we were moving to Tampa the following month. At the time, Thea was convinced she was going to clean up and sell her grandma’s house. However, at some point she decided to keep it and move here full time.

One look around the quiet beach and I don’t blame her one bit.

The only other house in sight is a mile down the beach, and Thea has become close friends with the woman who lives there, Kat. Other than her and her boyfriend, Jackson, there isn’t a soul to be found on the beach.

Which has led to Harper finding all sorts of seashells. My daughter crashes into me, almost shoving the shiny purple shell in my face.

“Oo, that’s a pretty one. Why don’t you add it to your bucket?” I point at the pink sand pail beside me. She immediately grabs it, adding the latest one to the mix.

“Miss Kat says there’s more that way,” Harper tells me, flinging her arm in the direction of Kat and Jackson’s house. I bite back my grumble and Greyson chuckles behind me. When we sat down in the beach chairs five minutes ago, content to watch Harper from here, I told him I wasn’t going to move for at least an hour.

“We don’t mind walking with her, as long as you’re comfortable with it,” Kat says, finally catching up with her boyfriend trailing behind her.

“Oh, you don’t have to do that,” I tell her, but Kat just grins.

“I know. I want to.”

“She’s collecting some too, Mama! She’s gonna make a picture with them,” Harper tells me, her eyes wide, and I can see the idea sparking behind her own eyes to do the same. I glance at Kat again.

“As long as you’re sure.”

“I am,” Kat says with a nod and Harper takes off, her little bucket swinging wildly as she takes off without looking back.

“You behave for them!” I call out after her.

Greyson takes my hand and squeezes. “She’s a perfect angel.”

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