Page 112 of Hit the Ground
“Of course I am.” She caught my hand, bringing it down to my side. “Let’s get you something to drink.”
She put a straw to my lips, and I drank like it’d been years since I’d had a drop of water. Hell, maybe it had. I couldn’t say I knew the day or where I was. Just that Alice was here with me and my boy was safe, which meant all was right in my world.
“There you go,” she murmured. “Do you want more?”
I let go of the straw and shook my head. “I feel like shit.”
“Yeah.” She put down the cup and brushed my hair off my forehead. “You had an accident. Do you remember?”
“I don’t know.” There was something on the edge of my memory, but I couldn’t quite grab it. “Everything’s fuzzy.”
“That’s the pain medication.” She dragged her fingers through my hair, slow and drugging, lulling me into a state between awake and asleep. “It’ll wear off once you get some sleep.”
“You’re going to stay.”
It wasn’t a question. I didn’t want to give her a choice. I needed Alice here. If she left, I’d surely be lost.
“I’m staying, Cay. Always. I’ll be here when you wake up.”
“Come lie with me.” I patted the bed next to me. There wasn’t a lot of room, but she could lie on me. I’d prefer it.
“Are you sure?”
I gave her hand a tug. “Come’re, darlin’. Give me a cuddle.”
Soon, her familiar weight settled beside me. Feeling so right against me, I couldn’t fight the pull of sleep.
I woke to my father’s lined face hovering over mine. “What the hell?”
“You’re awake,” he gruffed, his frown deepening.
“Seems like it.” I blinked a few times, clearing the sleep out of my eyes. “I’m in the hospital.”
“You sure are. Banged yourself up good. Your meds have probably worn off. Are you hurting?”
It took me all of a second to assess my condition. “My chest…my ribs. Christ, did I break one?”
“Try three. Scraped the hell out of your chest too.” He gave my shoulder a gentle pat. “You’re gonna have to take it easy for a while, bud.”
I couldn’t argue that. Getting up out of this bed sounded like the last thing I wanted to do. As my head cleared and I fully woke up, memories of how I’d gotten here came flooding back.
I jerked, my eyes going wide with panic. “Jesse? Where is he?”
“He’s fine. Shelby’s with him at your house. That was where he wanted to be.” He shook his head, the line between his brows a bolt of lightning. “He got scared, but he’s not hurt. Can’t say the same for Kent.”
The door swung open before he could elaborate, and in walked one of the most beautiful sights I’d ever seen. My mother and Alice, arm in arm, their heads together. Alice was smiling, my mother laughing. And like she knew I was watching her, Alice’s eyes found mine.
Without a beat of hesitation, she broke off and ran to my bed. Her hands flew to my face, holding it as she looked me over. I let her examine me for as long as she needed to. When her eyes finally met mine again, they were filled with tears,
“You only look a little worse for wear,” she rasped.
I curled my fingers around her wrist. “What are you doing here, darlin’? You hate hospitals.”
Bending over me, she brushed her lips across my cheek. “I still hate them, but I couldn’t let you wake up alone, honey.”
It hurt, the way my heart swelled inside my chest. This woman—mywoman—who’d woken up screaming in terror in this very building a few months ago, had set it all aside to be with me. Because she couldn’t stand the thought of me being by myself like she’d been too many times. I’d never been loved so damn well.
I’d already been a goner for her, but this? Oh, I was never letting her go. She was stuck with me for life.
