He slid his handto my neck and pulled me close, kissing my temple. “I fucking owe you a kidney,baby.”
“Well, let’s getyour knee sorted before we go offering up other body parts, okay?”
He smiled. “Goodplan. Let me find that airport and let Louisa know what’s happening.”
I nodded.
“I have anotherask.”
“Anything,” Isaid.
“Can you comewith?”
I bit my lip.“Are you sure you want me—”
“Don’t finishthat sentence,” he growled. “Of course I want you to come. If I could chain youto my side for eternity I’d do it.”
“Okay, no needto be dramatic.” I met his eyes. “But I kind of like that idea.”
He kissed megently. “Thank you.”
“Thank Melody. Ijust asked, and barely at that.”
“I’ll givehera kidney, then.”
“I’m going to dosome website stuff for her at a later date, so the deal’s been done.”
“Jesus, I loveyou.”
“I know.”
He stroked mycheek, kissing me one more time, then I texted Melody with all of theinformation about the closest airports, and she took it from there.
* * *
Less than twelve hourslater, we were in the air and on our way to Huck and Louisa’s childhood home. Iwas a nervous wreck. Mostly because I was worried about Huck’s dad and howbadly he was hurt, but also because I was meeting his parents under thesehorrific circumstances.
“This plane isunreal,” Huck said as Holly, the head flight attendant, handed him a beer.Anders, the second attendant, was working on a batch of cookies apparently.
“Seriously,” Iagreed. “I had no idea.”
Melody’s planewas some kind of Gulfstream and could fly over seven-thousand miles withoutrefueling. It seated sixteen people, had a bedroom, a kitchen, and a smallprivate office. To say it was luxury was an understatement and I had never seenanything like it.
“You’ve neverbeen on it before?” Louisa asked.
“Nope, never.”
“Flightattendants, prepare for take-off,”the pilot said over the PA.
Holly made herway to us and checked our seatbelts, then headed back to her jump seat fortake-off.
Huck reached overand linked his fingers with mine, giving my hand a squeeze, and I leanedagainst him as the plane taxied down the runway.
“He’s going tobe okay,” I whispered.
Huck nodded,bringing my hand to his lips, and kissing my palm.
Our flight wasquick, less than two hours, and we landed in the small private airport lessthan twenty minutes from Huck’s parents’ home. Melody had organized a car aswell, which was waiting for us, so Huck’s uncle didn’t need to leave thehospital to collect us.
