“Me either.” Cassie grimaced. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if Andi hadn’t taken him.”
“You could’ve used him to commute to work. He’s the size of a small horse,” Taryn said.
“I hadn’t thought of that.”
“I’m sorry about your mom.” She twisted a strand of Cassie’s hair and dragged it along her own skin, enjoying the soothing sensation of its silky softness. “And I’m sorry I wasn’t there to help you through it.”
“Don’t be,” Cassie said. “It was something I needed to do by myself. And I feel stronger because of it. That strength is part of what made me realize I couldn’t walk away from you.”
Taryn recalled Cassie’s exact words. “You said the problem with my plan wasn’t your mom…”
“I love Rachel. She’s my best friend. But she’ll always be that regardless of where I am in the world.”
Taryn’s heart jumped into her mouth. Was Cassie really working toward saying yes to her proposal? She tried to slow her racing pulse.
“And I don’t like the direction the hospital has taken since Barr took over. He couldn’t care less about the patients, and that’s getting harder to ignoreandkeep doing my job properly with the cuts he’s making.” She nibbled her lower lip and fell silent briefly. “I want to do the clinic work, but that’s not something I could do full-time because I have to eat. And I love my apartment but after seeing your trailer…” She shook her head. “It’s no home. It’s just a place I sleep.” Cassie fixed her gaze on Taryn. “I want to be wherever you are.”
Taryn sat up and put her arms around Cassie. “Oh my god. Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
“What do you think I’m saying?” Cassie asked and grinned.
“That you’ll give the travelling doctor thing a try with me?”
Cassie nodded. “The only problem with it is the danger. As long as the places you take me to aren’t super dangerous, I’m in. But, you know, if my heartbeats are finite, maybe I’ve got the same number left as you. If we’re meant to go in a blaze of bullets trying to save lives, maybe that’s okay.” She winced. “But somewhere that wouldn’t be the case would be better.”
Taryn chuckled. “I’m pretty sure the vast majority of their work isn’t that dramatic, but I like your thinking. I love you so much.” She pulled Cassie into a kiss and closed her eyes to sink into the dream-like feel of the past few hours. All her negativity and dread had fallen away, and the path ahead promised a life Taryn couldn’t have begun to imagine before she met Cassie.
Taryn opened her eyes to see Cassie looking back at her, love and longing bright and unabashed in her soft gaze. She pulled back and smiled. “So we’re off on a new adventure together?”
“I’ll adventure with you anywhere. You’re my home now.”
Epilogue
Two years later
“I know I’ve already said it, but this really is the only way to travel.”
Taryn wasn’t wrong. This had been Cassie’s best trip ever on a plane. She leaned across the substantial gap between their seats and kissed Taryn. “Don’t get used to it. We’ll be back in suspension-challenged vehicles in two weeks.”
Taryn rolled her eyes. “I won’t. But it’s okay to admit I’ve missed comfortable seats and a smidge of luxury, right?”
“If you can call a private plane a ‘smidge of luxury,’ sure,” Cassie said.
Taryn grinned. “Having a friend with a billionaire wife has its perks.”
“Did you say Andi is meeting us at the airport?” Cassie took a sip of water and placed the glass back in the cooler situated in the armrest of her seat.
“Yep. Ralph, Jessica, and Sammie are coming in on a later flight, and they’ll meet us at the hotel.”
It still stung that they’d missed Sammie’s birth while they were overseas. “I can’t wait to meet the little one,” Cassie said. “Seeing her face on a screen is no substitute for the real thing.”
Taryn tilted her head and narrowed her eyes. “Exposure to tiny humans can activate long-dormant maternal instincts. You have to promise me that she won’t replace me as your favorite person on the planet.”
Cassie shrugged. “You know I don’t like making promises I can’t keep.” She laughed when Taryn frowned.
“Then I’m turning this hunk of tin around and heading back to the Ukraine.”
Cassie laughed. “I don’t think you need to be jealous of a baby.”
