He didn’t get to finish his grand speech, because right now I didn’t need it. My mouth crashed down on his, claiming every inch, before I glanced up and into his eyes.
“I love you too. I didn’t want to. Knew that summer was going to come to an end and a whole lot of heartbreak would come with it. Kept telling myself that we had no future, but I wanted it. God, I wanted it. A life…”
It was all there. I’d tried to keep a lid on it for so long and now it all came rushing out.
“The farm, the rescue, Charlie, Bronson, even Billy.” I let out a sigh. “Everything. I jumped on a plane to escape my life, but I’d found a whole other one.” My hand trembled as I touched the side of his face, needing that warm skin, that scratchy stubble because it was only when I was touching him that this felt real. “A life I loved. It feels like everything that came before this.” Alex’s smug expression had me frowning for a second, but there was no room for him here. “It was just a bad dream and being with you helped me to wake up.”
“Need you to get into bed now,” he growled. At my grin, one eyebrow cocked upwards. “To sleep. You get under the covers…” With a wince, he considered the bed. “Maybe we’ll just sleep on top of them. I don’t think you’d want to shine a blacklight on that quilt.”
“Could make a temporary barrier with the clothes we have in our bags,” I suggested.
“Shit, the bags!”
When Troy set me down, I felt ten times lighter. So much I wouldn’t have been surprised if my head floated off my shoulders. The muffled sounds of him going outside, then down the stairs barely registered, nor did the sound of a conversation.
“A very nice lady gave us some fresh linens,” he said. “Assured me she washed them herself, so they’re OK to sleep under.”
“Rescuing me from spiders, bulls, and now…” I blanched when I stared at the bedspread. “Really, really questionable stains on a bed.”
“I know it’s going to take a while.” I stared fixedly at the stain, unable to look away until he whisked the bedspread off and then the sheets. “But you’re gonna see it, Mackenzie. Making you happy, that’s my number one priority. Once your mum is out of the woods, you won’t have to worry about a thing.”
Part of me rebelled at that idea, unable to believe his words, but the other part? It stripped off stale clothes and tossed them onto the floor because sliding under the sheets with Troy? It was a comfort I couldn’t afford to push away right now. Instead I snuggled in closer, feeling the way our bodies fit together like puzzle pieces, allowing me the luxury of fully exhaling for the first time in days.
“You’re my girl…” I was falling into sleep, but some part of me clung to consciousness, because it wanted to hear all of this. “And that means I need to spend my life giving you the world…”
All I needed right now was this. To be held, to be seen, at the moment when I was feeling my most vulnerable, so I pressed my face into his chest and finally let myself rest.
Chapter 33
Mackenzie
Days later, we finally had Mom at home. Seeing the place, all the familiar knickknacks on the shelves, the paintings on the walls, I never thought they’d be so welcome. The sofa I’d spent way too much time on crying my eyes out about Alex was still there, but for now my focus was Mom.
“Stop fussing!” she hissed as we hovered by her side, following her down the halls.
“You had major surgery,” I said in my best be reasonable tone. “Mom, you?—”
“Need to pee in peace?” she snapped back at me, then her face fell. Guilt flashed in her eyes, but it was quickly replaced by determination. “I was going to the bathroom by myself in the hospital, so I can do the same here.”
“Right.” I backed off, but knowing that was true and feeling it was a whole other thing. “Right, well, I’ll be out here?—”
“You could make me a coffee,” she said in a far gentler tone. “The stuff they serve at the hospital was terrible.”
“Are you sure…?” One dark look from Mom was enough to have me reconsidering what I was about to say. “That you want one sugar or two?”
“One.” A tiny smile, that’s all it took to have my breath coming out in a long whistle. “Thank you, honey.”
“Make coffee,” I muttered to myself as I walked back into the living room. “Get the bags?—”
“I’ll sort that out.” Troy was heading towards the front door before I could take another step, but he paused, turning back to face me. “And just remember, the doctor gave her a clean bill of health. Kimberley needs to take it easy for a while, but that’s why she has us, right?”
“Right.” Shaking my head, my hand went to my head. “I know that, but…”
“You nearly lost her.” He came to stand before me, hands on my shoulders. “And that scares the shit out of you.”
“Right?” Staring up into his eyes, I willed him to understand. “She seems so frustrated by all the fuss, but what if…?”
If the neighbours hadn’t found her. If the ambulance hadn’t got to Mom in time. If they hadn’t taken her to a hospital with an amazing cardiology team. If?—
