Because she hears you…keep going.
Closing his eyes again, Dakota now spoke of his brothers and their mates… how proud she would be of them for following what she taught them, how they stuck together, helping each other get through the toughest time they ever faced and how they were all waiting for her to find her way so that there’d be happiness once more in her life.
Babe, Ian said to stop…fifteen minutes are up.
Shaking his head, Dakota refused. He was close, he knew it, and he wasn’t about to lose the precious connection with his mother he’d finally made. Pausing for a moment, Dakota thought about what he could say that would convince his mother he was real. Then it came to him: “Mama, do you remember the first time you showed me how to make cookies for the Long Night Moon Festival? I hope so, because I expect you to teach my son how to do it. Now Mama, please come back to me.” Dakotawaited. When nothing happened, his shoulders slumped and tears began to veil his eyes.
He had failed.
Chapter 36
Devastated by his failure, Dakota felt Ian unhook him from the monitoring equipment; all he could think of was the loss of his mother—again.
“Da...Dakota? Is it really you?”
The voice whispered through him, jerking Dakota back from the abyss of grief he was facing. Not sure it was real, he tried to hear it above all the chatter going on around him but wasn’t able to isolate his mother’s voice. “Quiet!” he ordered. The room went silent. “Mama? I’m here…Dakota.”
“Da...kota.” Hope’s voice was barely above a whisper. “Baby, are you real?”
“Yes, Mama, yes…please open your eyes,” Dakota replied, grasping his mother’s hand and kissing it.
Focusing intently on his mother’s face, Dakota held his breath, waiting for a response. Then, he saw it—a few flutters of his mother’s eyelashes before she finally opened her eyes and looked at him. Smiling through the tears of joy now streaming down his face, Dakota squeezed his mother’s hand. “Mama, I love you.”
“I…love you...too...baby.” Then Hope closed her eyes, exhausted at the effort it took to keep them open.
Alarmed, Dakota looked at Ian. “What happened? Why isn’t my mother awake?”
Working quickly, Ian examined Hope, pleased with what he found. “Your mother is only sleeping, Dakota. When her body has rested, Hope will wake up and you can speak with her again.”
“Are you sure she hasn’t relapsed into her coma?” asked Dakota.
“Positive. She’s just very weak after spending the last several months in bed. Hope needs sleep and food to help build up her strength so she can begin to move around,” Ian explained. “Once that happens, you’ll see improvements quickly.”
“Food? Like what? I’ll make whatever she needs,” Dakota said, eager to help with his mother’s recovery.
“Broth is best. Nothing solid for now,” Ian replied.
“That’s easy.” Leaning back in his chair, Dakota finally looked around the room, seeking out his brothers who stared back at him in astonishment.
“Well done, Dakota,” Logan said, breaking into a big smile as he cuddled Kieran.
“You’re amazing, bro,” Colton murmured, bending down to kiss his mother’s forehead.
“It wasn’t just me…Ki helped, too,” Dakota said. “I couldn’t have done it without him.”
“Uh-uh,” Kieran added. “You were able to get past the mind block, Kota, something I couldn’t do.”
“I think we all can agree it was a team effort,” Ian said. “Dakota, your pup is fine, as is yours, Kieran. Mac, thanks for the help. Now everyone out, I want Hope to get some rest.”
“Can I see her again when she wakes?” asked Dakota.
“Yes,” Ian replied, “but you’ll have to wait until I feel she’s strong enough. In the meantime, go make the broth because I know your mother will need some nourishment when she wakes up.”
Springing to his feet, Dakota held out his hand to Slate. “C’mon, babe, I gotta do some research to find out the best broth to make for my mom.”
Logan looked at his mate’s aura and, noticing the blackness nearly gone, said, “That was fast!”
“I know,macushla,” grinned Kieran. “It’s because I’m so happy Hope is awake and I can’t wait until our squirt is born so he can meet his grandmother and it is just so amazing isn’t it that now he’ll have two grandmothers just as if my mother was alive. I can’t wait for them to spoil him because that’s what grandmas are supposed to do, not that I know because I never had a grandma, but my Shaman told me all about it so I believe him because he never lied. This is the bestest day ever.”
