Page 73

Just five more minutes...

The ranch glows gold beneath the afternoon sun, warm light spilling across the fields as the wind moves softly through the grass.

And for some reason, everything feels light.

Easy.

Like breathing after being underwater too long.

“You're here,” Damiano says.

I turn toward him, smiling before I even realize I am.

“Of course I am.” I laugh softly. “We planned this together, remember?”

His expression softens as he watches me, like he's trying to memorize me, and for the first time in so long, I feel happy. Truly happy. The kind of happy that makes me forget there was ever a time when breathing hurt.

The sun warms my skin as I look at my husband, but after a moment I realize he's staring at me too intensely.

“What?” I ask, smiling.

His eyes soften.

“I love you.”

My chest aches with affection. “I love you too.”

Then the wind stops.

The warmth disappears.

Clouds swallow the sun so quickly my stomach twists, and when I look back at Damiano, his smile is gone.

He looks sad.

Fear crawls up my spine.

“Damiano?”

“You're not happy anymore.”

My breath catches.

And all at once it comes back.

The hospital.

The funeral.

The grief.

The emptiness.

Him dying.

“No,” I whisper desperately. “No... please.”

Tears burn my eyes as I throw myself against him, holding him so tightly it hurts.