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“If not, I would have beat the crap out of that bitch.”
For a moment, Autumn said nothing as she studied her, then she threw her head back and laughed. The sound bounced off the walls drawing attention from everyone else. Before she had to explain anything, a young man stepped into the waiting room, carrying a huge box.
“Hey, cuz,” Drew said as he approached the man. “I see Auntie Marlene got my text.”
The other man nodded. “Any news?”
“All looks good. They’re just sewing him up.”
Cat stepped up to her husband as he set the box on one of the chairs.
“Time to eat,” she said to the room. And as always, everyone from TFH didn’t hesitate.
Her mom looked at Tamilya. “You should eat.”
She shook her head. If she had a bite to eat before she heard Marcus was totally in the clear, she might just throw up.
“Maybe in a little bit,” she said, and her mother smiled.
“Hey, the Lowes should eat first, you heathens,” Del said as the team descended on the food like locusts.
She smiled. Yep, they were a part of her family. Crazy and a little dysfunctional, but definitely part of her family. The thought warmed her heart, and she used it to calm her nerves while she waited.
* * *
Marcus came awake slowly.The sound of machines beeping filled the room and the clean antiseptic smell of the hospital hit him. He took stock of his body. His shoulder ached, but not too badly. More than likely, it would as soon as the meds from surgery wore off.
He tried to move his hand but found it impossible. He turned to look and saw someone was holding it. There was just enough light in the room to see that Tamilya was sitting by his side. Her head was laying on the bed, as she held his hand in a death grip.
He had fuzzy memories of the night before, but most of them involved laying on the table waiting for surgery and refusing to have it done unless he spoke to Tamilya. His gaze traced over her features. She was safe, that was all that mattered.
Marcus knew he should let her rest, but he was a selfish man. Especially after yesterday. The fact that he realized he’d wasted over four years without Tamilya, and he could have lost her…his hand twitched. That little movement had her head popping up off the mattress. Her eyes were still hazy with sleep, and even in the darkened room, he could see the stress had taken its toll on her these last twenty-four hours.
“Hey,” she said, a smile curving her lips.
In that one moment, he wanted to tell her everything. He knew that he had told her he loved her. What he didn’t know was if she loved him. Sure, he had forced her to say it in the operating room, but he wasn’t sure if she didn’t say it just to appease him.
“Hey yourself,” he said and mentally rolled his eyes. Clever, Marcus, really clever.
“Del just stepped out to take a call, but he’ll be back.”
“I don’t care about him. Just you,” he said, raising their joined hands so he could brush his mouth over her fingers. “I seem to remember forcing you to tell me that you loved me.”
She shook her head, suddenly acting shy.
“I remember that part. Don’t lie.”
“What I meant was that you didn’t force me. I do love you.”
His heart jolted at those four words. “Yeah?”
She nodded, a smile curving her lips.
“We have a lot to talk about,” he said.
“I agree, but Del is about to come back in here.”
And the rest of the TFH Ohana would show up. There were rules about how many visitors a person could have in their room, but they tended to ignore that.
