Page 46 of Yours To Keep
“Why can’t she open her eyes? I know she’s gonna be in pain, doc. But she can’t even wake up?” Dalton asks someone, and I have to say, I’m wondering the same thing.
“We sedated her last night after surgery. She needs to rest as much as possible, guys. Her body has been through a lot, and I don’t want any unnecessary stress put on her. You’re already pushing it having all these visitors in here, Mr. Murphy.” The doctor scolds. That sounds like my man, always pushing the limits.
“We’ll be super good, doc. Quiet as church mice, and all that shi…uhhhh stuff.” Everett’s voice says somewhere in the room, and I want to laugh. I know Kelsea is giving him a look that saysbehaveright now, and I wish I could see it.
“We turned off the sedation about an hour ago, so she should start coming around pretty soon. Take it easy on her. I mean it, or you’ll all be gone.” The doctor says.
I want to thank them all for being here. There’s so many things I wish I could tell them right now. I’m so grateful to havethem all here to support me today, and almost every day since we’ve all met. I love them so much, and I can’t imagine being where I am or who I am without each one of them. But before I can open my eyes, exhaustion takes me under again.
Over the next few days, I’m in and out. I catch bits and pieces of conversations I’m not sure I’m supposed to be hearing, but I do. I hear Breaker tell Dalton that he found hundreds of conversations between Aaron and my mother detailing the plans they concocted. Aaron told my mother all he cared about was making sure he had a virgin bride. After our wedding night, he planned to sell my body to the highest bidder and my mother encouraged him to use his property any way he saw fit. I wish I could say I’m surprised by any of that, but I’m not. The only thing I found myself wishing is that my mother suffered more before she died. I want to ask what happened with Aaron, but no one seems to mention him, so I let it go for now.
A physical therapist comes in to teach me a bunch of different ways to get in and out of bed, and Dalton actually takes notes on everything she says. That man loves me with a devotion I never thought I’d be worthy of.
“You’re getting stronger and stronger every day, Magpie,” my dad comments on my third day living in this bed. Whatever it takes to get me out of this place, that’s what I’m gonna do.
“I really am. Now if I could just get the warden to let me out of here,” I say, knowing the doctor is just outside the door talking with Dalton.
“We hear you, angel. Be nice. After all, Doctor Sinclair was just giving me the rundown of all your discharge instructions.” Dalton says, walking into the room with his normal swag. Fuck, that man is sexy. And completely mine.
“Thank God! You’ve really been lovely, doc. But I’m ready to go home.” I say, and he laughs.
“I just want to make sure you will have the best care outside of this hospital, Ms. Monroe. It’s a serious wound you’re recovering from. You’re very lucky the bullet didn’t pierce any major organs or arteries,” the doctor scolds, and I see my dad wince.
I know he feels guilty that I ended up here. But if I’m being honest, I don’t regret anything that happened. My friends are safe, my father is safe, and Dalton is safe. I may live the rest of my life with a nasty scar across my chest. But it will serve as a reminder to me every single day that tomorrow isn’t promised. We have to live and love as much as we can today, and I won’t waste another day being held back by my mother’s opinion of me.
Dalton worships the ground I walk on, even if my steps are unsteady sometimes. He loves me in a way I never thought possible. And I won’t waste another day without being all in with him.
IRIS
It’s been two weeks since Magnolia came home. The doctor stressed how difficult it would be for her to get up and down the stairs at her apartment and mine, so while she helped direct her friends what things needed to be packed for a “long-term” stay at my place, I found us a new place.
It’s not a mansion like she grew up in, but the green farmhouse just outside of Grovewood suited our lifestyle. I know ideally Magnolia would’ve wanted to shop around and get a feel for the bones of a place before we dove in. Hell, she probablywould’ve loved to have a conversation to really solidify our relationship before I bought a house.
But I’m a man who knows what I want, and all I will ever want is her.
When I saw this white farmhouse with sage green shutters, almost matching her eyes, and a wrap-around porch with a swing already hanging on one side, I knew this would be ours. In the blink of an eye, I saw Magnolia turning this place into ahome.She’ll paint the walls and build a beautiful library where all of our books can live on the shelves together. She’ll find the perfect mix of her colorful boho style and my minimalist black and white, and meld them into something I can’t wait to come home to at the end of a long day. She doesn’t know yet that under the hundred-year-old Magnolia tree in the backyard is where I will ask her to be my wife. I want to watch her rock our babies on that front porch and teach our grandchildren how to fish in the creek running through the back of the property.
Just five miles down the road is Ember and Eli’s house, and our kids will grow up together. I love this family we’ve created, and I can’t wait to make Magnolia Monroe mine forever.
No matter where we live, no matter how, wherever Magnolia is will always be my home.
epilogue
IRIS
ONE YEAR LATER
“You always gonna geton your knees for me, Mrs. Murphy?” I ask my wife.My wife.I never get tired of hearing that, or saying it. It’s been almost a year since I made Magnolia my wife, and I still feel the same excitement I felt the moment she first kissed me.
“You always gonna love me the way you do, Mr. Murphy?” she asks, looking up at me through my lashes. I bite my bottom lip, my control barely hanging by a thread.
“I love you more and more every single day, angel. I always have. I always will,” I tell her, holding her face in my hands so she can see the truth in my eyes.
She swirls her tongue around the tip of my cock and I lean against the counter in our kitchen. My wife has a thing about blowjobs in the kitchen and I will absolutely never complain about her choice in scenery. She traces each barbell with her tongue, the way she always does. She knows it drives me wild every time. We’ve had months to learn anything and everything about each other, physically and emotionally. I knowshe blushes a deep scarlet across her chest every time I kiss her collarbone. She knows I can never resist the sexy little sundresses she wears, especially when she’s bare underneath.
Fuck, I love this woman more than life itself. I would do anything for her. Hell, I have done almost anything for her.
Aaron Montgomery’s body was found in his car a week after Magnolia was shot. A detailed record of his numerous gambling debts was found in the car next to him, and the fingers on his left hand were missing. I told him he would die for putting his hands on my woman, and I don’t regret a single thing I’ve done.
