“Yes.” Summer turned her head on hearing approaching footsteps.
A nurse appeared at the door. “Mr. Williams is awake now. Two visitors at a time. No more.”
“Thank you,” Ashley said.
“Follow me.” The nurse hustled down the corridor.
Summer gave Ashley a quick hug. “Congratulations.”
“Why?” Josh had almost died. Again. Because of her. Trina would bear a scar for the rest of her life.
“The Labor party won by a majority of ten seats. You have enough seats to form a government on your own,” Summer said.
“We won?” After everything that had happened, the election hadn’t seemed important. She’d been more frantic for Josh and Trina.
“Yes, Prime Minister.”
Ashley stared after the departing nurse and hurried to catch up with her. “I’ve wanted this since I was five-years-old. Now, I just feel empty.”
Summer fell into step while Nikolai followed.
“This hasn’t been a typical day or the usual campaign. Understandably, you feel flat. We had to force our way past dozens of cops at the entrance. There are reporters everywhere, and no one is saying anything. Not even the people at the Labor party function.”
Ashley paused in the doorway of Josh’s room. His eyes were open, and he gave a crooked smile on seeing her.
“Sweetheart.”
Ashley ran to him, kissed him on the lips without concerning herself with their audience.
“They make their relationship look real,” Summer whispered.
“That’s what I said.” Nikolai sounded smug.
For some reason, the nurse had let everyone enter the room. Nelson and Gerry waited outside.
Ashley smiled against Josh’s lips.
“Of course it’s real,” he said. “I’m not stupid enough to let Ashley get away.”
“How do you feel?”
“Shoulder is throbbing, but the doctor says I should regain full use soon enough. Not this weekend, but the next. You. Me. Fiji.”
“Deal,” she whispered. “I’ll ask my expert admin aid to get right on that.”
“What happened? Why was this Blackwood guy stalking you? He is in police custody, right?” Summer continued with her questions.
“He’s dead,” Ashley said. “Josh shot him when Blackwood drew his weapon.”
“Oh. Will you be in trouble?” Summer asked.
“No,” Josh said. “Gerry fired his weapon too. Blackwood never intended to leave the ballroom alive.”
“My assessment too.” Ashley shook her head at the memory of his twisted face, right before Josh had shot him. He hadn’t cared about anything except revenge.
“But I still don’t understand why he stalked you,” Summer said. “None of this makes any sense. You mentioned the accident, but it wasn’t any of Jess’s family stalking you. They were all cleared.”
“The accident happened in the first place because a dog ran out on the road. That’s why I crashed into the tree. I swerved to miss it, but I never saw the dog again. It ran away. According to documents they found on the flash drive, the dog was a valuable, champion stud. It was worth twenty thousand dollars. Although the dog ran off, it succumbed to its injuries. Stephen Blackwood’s father lost his job. According to Stephen, he lost everything because that dog died. His parents divorced. His father committed suicide. His mother dragged him off to Australia, away from his friends.”
