Page 144 of Need You Now

The phone call from Colin. Sneaking away from Seth. The dock. Beau. Hitting that icy lake, the water like knives, threatening to take her down, to steal her under. But she fought. Fought her way past the rushing current up to the surface, shedding her boots, her jacket, telling herself it was just surfing. Like winter in the Pacific. The coldest wave she ever dropped. Then there was Seth, pulling her out of the lake, coming for her like she knew he would.

Overwhelmed, she closes her eyes against the rush of memories.

Thank God for Seth. She never would have made it without him.

When she opens her eyes, Seth’s staring back at her. She blinks, chasing away a cloud of head fog. “Seth,” she whispers.

“You okay, princess?”

His rumble of a drawl has Lacey shivering.

Carefully, she wiggles her arm free, reaching up to touch Seth’s stubbled cheek. “I’m okay.”

Seth leans up on his elbow, his gaze intense as he studies her. “How you feelin’?”

Her brow furrows. “I don’t know.” She lies still to take in the sensations of her body. Her head aches, but she’s clearheaded. Her warm edges tinged by a chill. “I feel cold.”

He runs a hand down her arm. “We’ll get you warm.”

She rolls her head across the pillow to look around the room. “What day is it?”

“Three days after Christmas,” he says in a low voice. “Do you remember yesterday?”

“Ugh, don’t remind me.” She cringes, embarrassment rolling through her. She presses a hand to her eyes, remembering. “I ruined the bonfire. And my dress.” She groans. “I had the best makeup too.”

Seth smiles. But his voice is serious. “No one was worryin’ about the makeup, Lace.”

Worry. Lacey’s brain lights on Sal. Her sister had been there beside her, taking care of her all night. “Is Sal okay?”

Seth smooths a long strand of hair away from her cheek. “Sal’s fine.”

Lacey sighs at the gentle, soothing motion, the tips of her toes curling at Seth’s touch. So damn unfair. Then her eyes go wide as another thought occurs to her. The person who got her into this mess in the first place.

“What about Beau, what happened?”

Seth’s lips pull tight, a ripple of anger passing across his handsome face. “I don’t want you worryin’ about him either.”

She narrows her eyes. “He’s not dead, is he?”

Seth chuckles, but there’s no humor in it. “Close,” he says, his voice deadly. “It was real damn close.”

Lacey leans up on her elbows, trying to wriggle free from the tightly tucked-in blankets. Seth moves to sit at the edge of the bed, his eyes amused as he watches her struggle.

“I can’t ... move,” she huffs, pushing weakly at the blankets. She looks at Seth. “A little help?”

The corners of his mouth twitch. “Nope. You’re restin’.”

“I am not.” Stubbornly, she wrenches an arm free. She wants out of bed. She wants to move, to see her sister. She sits up straighter, finally twisting free of the covers, scowling down at the boxy flannel shirt and oversized sweatpants she’s been dressed in.

With gusto, she kicks away the covers and rolls off the edge of the bed. Her feet hit the floor, the solid contact like another reminder she’s alive.

Needling his brow, Seth sighs, long and pained. “Goddamnit, get back here. You ain’t ready to be up.”

She waves him away, her gaze leading her toward a pair of luxurious silk pajamas. “Seth, it’s fine, I—”

As soon as she says it, a wave of lightheadedness hits her. All the blood rushes from her face. She sways on her feet, her eyes fluttering.

The world tilts, but Seth’s there to catch her. He swears at her, scooping her into his arms and carrying her back to the bed. All her strength sapped, she sags into the pillows. Seth sits beside her, dragging the mound of blankets back up over her. He stares down at her, his blue eyes tender, serious. “And that’s why you ain’t movin’ from this bed till tomorrow.”

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