She slept again.
Her recovering body needed rest, the nurse said when she came at the shift change. Tomorrow there would be more tests—a bone scan, another blood panel, a psych evaluation. But for now, her heart rate had stabilized. The doctors would see us in the morning.
Beyond the windows, the sun went down. The lights dimmed. Ash sat in the hard plastic chair across from me, our daughter between us, like when she was a little girl and crawled into our bed after a nightmare.
“I failed her. Failed all of you,” he said quietly. He raised his head. His eyes were wet. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen him cry. When Jo was born?
My throat ached. “We can’t fix what’s past. We just have to...”What?I swallowed. “Move on as best we can.”
“You’ve always done that,” he said.
Had I? I wondered. I hadn’t done my best for Beth. She hadn’t come to me. But I was grateful he said it anyway.
My back was stiff. My arm cramped from being held in one position so long, but I wouldn’t let go of Beth’s hand. I dozed, my head on the side of the mattress.
“Abby. Abigail.” My husband’s voice. “Lean your chair back.”
I roused, thinking I heard one of the babies cry. “The girls...”
“The girls are fine. You need to rest.”
“Beth. What if she needs me?”
“I’ll wake you.”
The chair shifted under me. I clutched the arms. “Aren’t you leaving?”
“No.” Something warm covered me. A blanket. “I’m right here.”
I believed him. Somehow, impossibly, I slept.
CHAPTER 25
Amy
The last available flight from LaGuardia to Fayetteville got in at midnight.Afterall the car rental counters closed.
I hauled my overnight bag from under my seat. I could ask one of my sisters to make the forty-five-minute drive to the airport, I thought as I walked through the deserted terminal. Or...
“Trey!”
He was waiting beyond the checkpoint. I flew into his arms, feeling them close around me. “Oh, Trey, I knew you’d come.”
“Of course.”
Of course. I closed my eyes, safe in his embrace. Even when we were fighting, Trey showed up. He didn’t need to prove himself to me. I raised my head. “But how did you know my flight?”
He gave me a squeeze before he let me go. “Meg told me.”
“How is she? How is Beth?”
He slipped my bag off my shoulder. “Is this all you brought?”
“I didn’t really have time to pack.” I fell into step beside him,fatigue warring with adrenaline and the Venti Caramel Macchiato I’d downed in Charlotte. “Beth?”
“At the hospital. I’ll take you there in the morning.”
I shivered.
