“Shh, we’re safe now,” I murmured into her ear.
“What if she comes back to finish it?”
Her tortured whisper struck an even harder blow than the dragon statue. Ignoring the IV line, I captured her face in my hands, ready to tell her we were leaving on vacation first thing in the morning, but she flinched when my finger brushed the back of her neck.
“Eden,” I growled, tipping her head forward so I could look at the burn on her nape.
“It doesn’t hurt.”
“Libby? You all still hovering out there?” I called. “Eden needs this burn checked out.”
My sister-in-law popped her head in quickly enough to confirm my suspicion. “Ready when you are, Eden. Unless youwant me to flag down Dr. Thorne. I’m sure he’d be willing to add you to his roster next time he comes to check on Milo.”
Unsurprisingly, Eden’s scowl didn't fade, but she flopped back against the raised head of the bed and muttered, “Fine, go ahead.”
“Who’s the terrible patient now?” I teased.
Eden tilted her head and held out her arms one at a time while Libby assessed the damage. After dabbing some kind of burn cream on Eden’s neck and carefully placing a gauze bandage over it, she leaned in to kiss my cheek, then Eden’s forehead.
“You’re both terrible patients and you deserve each other. Visiting hours end soon, so I’m going to send the family in and go arrange for Eden to stay with you tonight.”
I felt Eden’s relief as clearly as my own. Her grip on the hospital gown eased and her body relaxed against my side.
“You’re stuck with me,” I whispered in her ear.
“Oh no, anything but that.”
I was still grinning when my parents, Maverick, Carter, and Mark all spilled into the room. Carter’s eyes, big as saucers, landed on my bandages and the poor kid flinched. Then he looked at Eden and his lip quivered.
“I’ll make you a new dragon painting,” he vowed. “Better than the other one.”
Eden held out her hand and my nephew immediately moved toward the bed. With her arms around him, Eden murmured in his ear until Carter nodded, straightened his shoulders, andsmiled at her. Not even a teenager yet and the kid was already a charmer.
Mark and Maverick came to my side as my parents spoke to Eden. For a second, the two of them just looked at me, but I knew what they saw on my face.
Relief. Comfort. Peace.
I had been a mess from the minute I was closed in the ambulance until Eden finally came through that door. Everything felt easier now that she was at my side, from breathing to keeping my eyes open again.
“Holding up okay, bro?” Mark asked.
“Yeah. Better now that she’s here.”
Maverick smirked. “Not surprised. She have any hot nurse outfits in that shop of hers?”
I narrowed my eyes at him, but of course Eden had overheard. She tried to muffle a laugh, which turned into a snort, which sent both her and Carter dissolving into giggles. My mom held out another half second before joining in, then my dad started chuckling.
My brothers and I stared at the lot of them—not with irritation or surprise, but with warmth.
With love.
I’d never been so grateful to have my family nearby, to see them open their arms and their hearts to the woman who meant everything to me. Though Eden had slapped one hand over her mouth, the other rested on my knee. I laced my fingers throughhers and she squeezed them so tightly, I knew she was grateful, too.
The situation wasn’t amazing, but we’d get through it, just as we’d gotten through everything else. Even if Eden had seemed afraid I was going to blame her when she first got to the hospital, at least she wasn’t bolting.
Hopefully, I’d finally convinced her of what she had in me, showed her that she’d found exactly what she’d been searching for.
Family.
