My girl.
The realization settles deep in my chest.
After everything that happened yesterday—after the fight, after the shouting, after the look on Cabe’s face when he found us together in the barn—I’m still here, and so is she.
I glance down at her.
Her blonde hair is a complete disaster, tangled in every direction imaginable. One strand is somehow stuck to her lips.
God, she’s beautiful.
But then my smile fades.
The dark circles beneath her eyes stand out immediately. Her eyelids are swollen. Her whole face puffy. Like she spent half the night crying.
Guilt punches me harder than Cabe ever could.
I carefully try to shift, hoping to get a better look at her without waking her. Which is a big mistake because the second I move, she jolts upright, and her eyes fly open.
Worry flashes across her face so fast that it steals my breath.
“Axle!”
Her hands and eyes focus on me as she gently checks and scans my shoulders, my chest, and my face.
“You okay?” she blurts. “Are you hurting? Is it your ribs?”
The questions come so fast that they trip over each other.
I can’t help smiling.
Even looking half asleep and completely terrified, she’s the prettiest thing I’ve ever seen.
“Morning to you too, Doc.”
She doesn’t laugh. Doesn’t even crack a smile. “Axle.”
“I’m okay.”
Her eyes narrow.
I sigh. “Okay, I’m probably better than I look.”
That earns me a glare.
Truth is, my ribs hurt like a son of a bitch, and my face feels like it got introduced to a battering ram. Repeatedly.
Jovie studies me for another second before throwing the blankets back.
“Don’t move,” she commands. “I’ll get you something for the pain.”
She starts climbing out of bed, but before she can escape, I catch her around the waist.
The movement sends a bolt of pain through my ribs.
She squeaks as I pull her backward.
“Hey!”
