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A hot tear slides down my temple, but my voice is resolute when I say, "I don't regret it. Maybe I should, but I don’t. I'd do the same again, Lucas, if it meant keeping you with me."
"You have nothing to regret, sweet girl. But having no regrets and processing the reality of what happened are two different things. You're gonna need some counseling. Hell, we both will, but I'll be there with you every step of the way."
"Will I go to prison?" I ask uncertainly.
Lucas smiles. "No, love. They broke into our home with loaded weapons. It was a clear case of self-defense."
Our home.That sounds so good because it’s precisely what it’s become over the last month.I can’t wait to get back there.
I frown as another troubling thought occurs to me. "Do you think anyone else will come after me? Come after you?"
"The only person with a vested interest is the man your father lined up for you to marry, but he'd be a fool to risk exposing himself. And if he does? We'll be ready for him. Like I told you that day in the motel, this isn’t some defenseless, nowhere town,” Lucas says firmly. “We look after our own, and we have the resources to do so."
I smile. "Lucky me. Not only did I meet the man of my dreams here, but it seems I stumbled into a town with a bunch of Jack Reacher’s."
Lucas grins. "Throw in an Ethan Hunt from Mission Impossible and a Rip from Yellowstone, and you're on the right track."
I raise an eyebrow. "Jace and Mal?"
"Can't reveal that information, ma'am. It's classified," he teases. "But seriously, sweetheart, you were fucking awesome. My woman has a backbone of steel and takes no prisoners when it comes to protecting those she loves."
I smirk. "I'll always protect you, my fragile little flower."
Lucas's expression sobers as he strokes my cheek softly. "Don't ever do that to me again, Mrs. Lawson. I can't live in a world without you."
"Mrs. Lawson. I love how that sounds," I whisper, turning my head carefully to kiss his palm. "And I promise not to shoot any more relatives, but only because I don't have any left now." The enormity of that washes over me, and I shiver. "I'm an orphan."
Lucas catches the tear that leaks from my eye. "I'm sorry about your mother, Amalie. But I'll never be sorry about your father, not after what he did to you. As for being an orphan, we both are, in a way. My mother isn't in my life, and I never knew my father. But you and I found each other. I was meant to pull you over that day. You were meant to be mine, and I was meant to be yours."
"Pretty sure you were stalking me there for a while, Deputy, and now you’re getting all romantical on me," I tease.
"Romantical?" He chuckles.
I wave a hand dismissively. "It's the drugs. And I almost died, so I'm allowed to make up words."
He leans closer, nudging his nose against mine. "Well, here's another for you. I'm fucking obsotted with you, sweet girl. Guess love has turned this stalker into a marshmallow for his woman."
"Obsotted?" I ask drowsily as sleep threatens to pull me under again.
He nods. "Obsessed and besotted."
“I like that," I whisper, my eyelids drifting shut.
Lucas brushes his lips against my forehead. "Me too. Sleep, sweet girl. I'll be here when you wake up."
So I do, secure in the knowledge that I'm safe and loved for the first time in my life.
As the days pass, I begin to heal both physically and emotionally. Sheriff Turner gives Lucas an extended leave of absence so he can stay at the hospital with me. He's by my side every step of the way. When I wake with a nightmare, Lucas is there to soothe me back to sleep. He ensures I'm comfortable and well taken care of. He feeds me, brings me flowers, and even reads to me while I recuperate—not that police journals are my thing, but I love the sound of his deep voice.
I start to feel stronger each day, and when I’m released from the hospital two weeks later, I'm eager to begin our new life together.
As we drive home, I look out the window at the peaceful countryside stretching before us. The death and violence that occurred here seem almost surreal now, replaced by the hope and excitement for the future blooming inside me. With Lucas by my side, I know anything is possible.
We arrive at the house, and Lucas helps me out of the car before scooping me into his arms. I inform him that I'm quite capable of walking the short distance, but he's not having any of it.
I tense as he carries me into the hallway, but there are no signs of the chaos and destruction that occurred two weeks ago. Memories of the last time we were here together flit through my mind as we enter the bedroom—our bedroom—and my body heats. I'm desperate to experience that intimacy with Lucas again, but I know I'm not sufficiently healed yet. But once I am? My husband won't know what's hit him.
Lucas gets me settled in bed, complete with soft blankets and pillows. The bed is positioned by the floor-to-ceiling window, so I have a fantastic view of the land and can even see Bessie grazing in the pasture.
