Now, here she is, alive and whole and watching me with all the wariness of someone who has backed a wild animal into a corner.
“Yeah.” Gracie nods slowly. “It’s me.”
Again I have the fleeting thought that this is too much, more than any one person should be expected to bear, before the world around me goes dark once more.
CHAPTER 4
BRAM
Imanage to catch Josie a moment before she hits the ground, scooping my limp babygirl into my arms. “What did you say to her?” I snarl at Gray, who matches my expression with an impressive snarl of her own.
“I didn’t say a goddamn thing. All I did was call her name and then she took one look at me and passed the fuck out. What didyoudo to her?”
“All I did was wake her up and spank her ass for cussing at me.”
“Jesus Christ, Bram, you couldn’t even give her a few hours to get her bearings?”
Guilt stabs at my chest. “What was I supposed to do, Gray? Let her keep swearing at me with no consequences?”
“Enough, you two.”
At the sound of our eldest brother’s stern tone, we both turn to find him standing at the bottom of the stairs, Lanie perched on his hip. Our Little niece is watching us through wide, round eyes.
Scared eyes.
Fuck.
“Sorry, Ax.” Forcing a smile for Lanie, I juggle my unconscious ex-girlfriend in my arms. “It’s okay, Lanie. Your Auntie Gray and I were just… having a discussion.”
“Is that Josie? What happened to her?”
“She just got a little overwhelmed, sweetheart. She’ll be okay.” At least, I hope she will.
Ford appears seemingly out of nowhere and sighs. “Bring her back to the exam room. I’ll check her over.”
Even though I’m certain she really is just overwhelmed, I’m not willing to take risks with my babygirl, so I follow him back to the room we built just for Ford. The sterile white walls and stainless-steel cabinets rival any doctor’s office, and despite not having a medical degree, Ford is as skilled as any physician. There are times I look at him and my chest aches for what he could have been in another lifetime.
But there’s no time for those regrets right now, so I lay Josie out on the table while Ford pulls on a white coat and the stethoscope Gray bought him for his twentieth birthday. It has his initials engraved on it, and though there are probably better models out these days, we all know he’ll never part with it.
He listens to Josie’s heart and her breathing, checks her blood pressure, all while I watch, feeling helpless and hating myself for not being able to do anything for her. For this woman I’ve loved for half my life.
“Everything looks and sounds good,” Ford says as he straightens. “I think it’s like you said and she was just overwhelmed. This is going to be a lot for her to take in all at once.”
“I know. But she’s stronger than she seems.”
Not looking the least bit convinced, Ford opens a drawer and pulls out a small white bottle. Twisting the top off, he holds it beneath Josie’s nose, and she jerks awake with a violent cough.
“What thefuck—” Stopping short, she gapes up at him, her mouth falling open. “Fallon?”
“Hey, Jo.” A grin splits my baby brother’s face. “It’s Ford now, but yeah. It’s me.”
“This isn’t happening.” Drawing her knees up to her chest, she closes her eyes and rocks back and forth. “I’m having some weird-ass dream and I just need towake the fuck up.”
Her little meltdown would be adorable if I wasn’t worried she might be on the verge of anactualmental breakdown. “It’s not a dream, bug. We’re really here.”
“But you can’t be. Youdied. All of you.” When she opens her eyes again, tears shimmer over the pale gold. “I watched them put you in the ground. Every single one of you.”
“I know, baby.” And I grieved the loss of her just as keenly, though I know that’s not what she wants to hear right now. “If you think you can handle it, we’d like to tell you what really happened.”
