Page 42 of Swept for Forever
Even if there were nothing between us, it would save him the trouble of explaining.
I set the phone down on my lap and stared at it for a moment. Then, keeping my voice low, I called out, “Dom?”
The door cracked open almost immediately. “Everything all right?”
I nodded, handing his phone back. “Thanks.”
“You need anything else?”
“Actually…when you get a sec, could you buy me a new phone? Just a prepaid one. I’m not picky.”
“Sure. You might have to wait till Monday, but I’ll get it for you. Don’t worry.”
A nurse appeared in the doorway. “Visiting hours ended a while ago,” she said, leveling Dom with a look.
He sighed but didn’t argue.
I forced a small smile. “Take care of Lulu for me?”
“Of course.” Before he left, he added, “If you need me, the hospital has my number.”
“Okay.”
I wasn’t used to anyone fussing over me, but some reckless part of me ached for it—that spousal kind of care. God, if thiswasfoolish, it had never felt so damn good.
10
DOM
Lulu greeted me the second I reached my truck, her tail thumping against the door.
“You’re happy to see me, huh? Thought you’d be plotting revenge while I was gone.”
I rubbed behind her ears. “Good dog, Lulu. You did good.”
She’d led me to Autumn.
And saving a life had never hit me quite like this.
I wasn’t new to high-stakes situations. Hell, I’d spent years navigating legal minefields and pulling people back from the brink—just in a courtroom, not a hillside.
Most of my life had been one long exercise in trying to prove my father wrong. To show him I wasn’t weak. But the harder I pushed, the more hollow it felt.
With Autumn, I didn’t have to prove a thing. I simply became strong for her because she needed me to be.
Lulu gave a single bark toward something behind me. I still didn’t speak her language, but I thought she’d noticed someone she half-remembered but wasn’t sure she liked yet.
“Dom!” Logan Pierce’s voice rang out across the lot. He jogged toward me. “Everything okay? How’s Autumn?”
“She’s patched up,” I said. “Doc’s got her on antibiotics and says she’ll be fine.”
“Good to hear.”
Lulu barked at him.
Log approached, grinning. “Hey there, girl.” He reached down and gave her a friendly pat. Lulu gave him a narrow-eyed look, then dropped her belly to the ground.
“She still holds grudges,” I said. “She didn’t like riding in the back of your truck.”
