It hasn’t been a week to me.
It’s been years.
Lifetimes.
“I was so scared,” she sobs. “I wasn’t even there for you. I was heartless and left the three of you to deal with the accident yourself. I acted like a child and ran away.”
I continue to hold her, my purr increasing.
“You’re here now,” I say. “You’re here now, and that’s what’s important.”
The last week was hell without her.
But she’s back, and that’s what matters.
“Before you say anything else,” I tell her. “I want you to realize something.” I kiss the top of her head. “You are good for us. You make us better. Hell, I hadn’t sewed in years until you came along. But you stepped into my life, and suddenly, I wanted more out of it.”
She sighs in my hold.
“I can’t speak for my packmates, but I see it in them. Ryland has never been this happy, and Rowan has never been this creative before. You bring goodness into our lives. You never have to doubt that again, sweetheart.”
She moves her face from my chest and looks up at me, her eyes watery and red. “I’m not going anywhere,” she vows. “As long as you still want me.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
Then, I lean in and kiss her.
She gasps against my lips and kisses me back, wrapping her arms around my neck and whimpering.
When we finally pull away, her pupils are wide, and her lips are parted.
“There are still going to be hard days,” she admits breathily.
“I know.”
“There may be days where I get stuck in my head.”
“Then I’ll be there to pull you out.”
The ghosts of her past may try and haunt her, but I’ll chase them away every time until she can face them down herself.
One day, she’ll stop torturing herself over things she can’t control.
But until then, I’ll love her through it.
She grins at me, her eyes sparkling instead of dull.
“You want to go put some of the hats I knit on the kittens?” I ask her, and she laughs.
“Never thought I’d hear you say those words, but yes. I want to post them on our social media accounts.”
She sniffles as I wipe a tear from her cheek.
“Then let’s go photograph some kittens,” I say.
She takes my hand and leads me outside the clinic and back to the rescue, and I can’t stop the ridiculous grin that spreads across my face as she does it.
But right before we enter the front door, Blair freezes and grips my hand.
