“That makes two of us.” She looked up at the sky and sighed. “When I was younger, I used to worry about a giant asteroid hitting the earth and killing everyone. Granddad told me the chance of that happening was so low that it wasn’t worth losing sleep over. I didn’t believe him, so I went to the library and looked in a book. He was right. A large asteroid hits the earth about once in every 100 million years. So, then I thought, what if this is the year? What if we were the unlucky ones? Do you know what Granddad said?”
Gabe shook his head.
“He told me that sometimes you need a little faith. Life will work out how it’s supposed to—with or without my doom and gloom predictions.”
“My parents would have liked your granddad. They told me something similar after Michelle died.”
“Did it help?”
Gabe took a deep breath. “Not straight away. I had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It took over my life for a while. After you were shot, it felt as though I were reliving what happened to Michelle. My PTSD is back.”
Natalie wrapped her hand around his. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Be patient. Give me some time to work through what’s happening.”
She squeezed his fingers. “I can do that.”
Gabe searched her face. “I can’t promise you anything at the moment. But you need to know that I love you. I’d give my life to keep you safe and to never have anything like this happen again.”
“I know you would. Just remember what granddad said. Have a little faith. Our lives will take the path they’re supposed to.”
“What if that path doesn’t lead to where we think it will?”
Sadness filled Natalie’s heart. “Then we make the most of where we are and be the best people we can.”
Gabe lifted her hand to his mouth. The gentle kiss he placed on her knuckles brought tears to her eyes.
“I’m glad I met you.”
She held his hand tight. “I’m glad I met you, too.”
As they watched the sun set together, Natalie realized how deeply she meant those words. No matter what happened, she would never regret falling in love with Gabe.
