“He can rub some people the wrong way,” I answered, but I couldn’t begin to imagine what he said to her. Bennett Connelly was far from abrasive, and I would probably describe him as the most charming man I knew. He never rubbed anyone the wrong way. Something crazy must have happened between them.
“But you should tell Donovan about what your plans are now that the bar exam is out of the way. He can still hear everything,” I encouraged her, like Bennett had encouraged me.
“I won’t leave,” her voice got quiet as she said it. “I can’t leave until he is okay. My plan is to stay and help. Nothing else matters to me.”
“Oh, Kenna,” I hugged her again.
“Moving to the country, Mackey Mae? Never thought I’d see the day,” Donovan’s gravelly voice filled the room. Both of us turned to him, too shocked to speak.
“D-D-Donovan,” I stuttered out, as my heartbeat pounded. I was frozen in place for a minute, processing his voice and looking into his eyes. “You’re awake?” I hit the nurse’s call button immediately, and kissed him as carefully as I could before interlacing my fingers in his and hugging him. “I love you,” I said as the sting in my eyes returned. “God, I love you, Donovan. Thank you for waking up. I’m so sorry.”
“I love you, too, Audra. Sorry for the poorly timed declaration yesterday, but damn, I love you. And I love you too, McKenna. Miles? Wait, am I really dead? How are you both here?”
Donovan’s voice was hoarse, so I lifted the cup of water by the bed and gave him a small drink while McKenna came in to hug him, too.
“My bonus son was in the hospital and unconscious. Of course I flew in with Kenna. Plus, I needed to keep an eye on your sister, this is as foreign to her as outer space,” Miles said.
They told us the story of how he sped into the parking lot and jumped on the plane at the very last minute. It solidified everything they had said about Miles being like a father to Donovan.
“Thank you for being here, you two,” he said. “I wish it was under better circumstances.” Then, clearing his voice, he looked at me and spoke again. “So what’s going on with me?What’s this sticking out of my chest? What’s your status, Chaos?”
“Your lung collapsed, and you lost so much blood internally that you needed a blood transfusion. Those are drains sticking out of you. I didn’t have any damage to vital organs, so I’m just stitched up here.” I maneuvered my gown to show him my dressing. Then I moved it to show him a different part of me. “You’ll have scars like this.”
“Street cred,” he replied.
“Yeah, on the mean streets of Savannah Springs,” I reflexively said, as I immediately realized how dumb that was.
“Hey, hey, we both got stabbed yesterday, so shit’s wild out there.”
I laughed before I got choked up. “I’m ... I’m so damn sorry, Van.”
“Sorry? I’m sorry I didn’t stop him from stabbing you first, Jesus Christ. Talk about scaring me. Fuck Audra, it happened in slow motion for me. I’m so happy I was there and that he didn’t hurt you worse. Is he alive?”
“Hi is, but you’re right. He would have killed me, Donovan. You quite literally saved my life.” I looked at Donovan and hoped he understood the weight of my words. “Thank you.”
“I’d do it again in a heartbeat, Audra, no questions about it. So what’s my prognosis here, nurse?”
“As I understand it, you’re expected to make a full recovery. You’ll be in the hospital until the drains come out, and that could be anywhere from three to seven days. After they’re removed, you can leave, but you’ll have to take it easy for a while. But, you’ll be okay.”
“Plus, you’ll have a nurse on your payroll. Audra will have to look after you,” McKenna piped in.
“Well, things are looking up then. With her expertise, I’msure I’ll make a full recovery. I believe we have some adventures to get to.” He winked at me and my heart somersaulted. I wondered if he heard me. “Don’t think this puts me at a disadvantage for Pentathlon Day, though,” he tried to say seriously, “I’m still going to beat you.” He smiled at me, and I spotted his dimples despite the cannula on his face. Relief flooded my system as he laid his head back on the bed, “But fuck, this hurts. I can’t believe I freaking got stabbed. Not in New York or any of the shady ass neighborhoods around the globe I’ve been to, but in a small-ass town in South Carolina. Chaos, you’ve really earned your name now.”
At that moment, a wave of something powerful swept over me, and it was so intense it left goosebumps on my skin. I wasn’t much for religion, but it had to be a sign from heaven. A deep, soul-soothing certainty settled in my chest when I laced my fingers with his, and I knew, without question, that Donovan Wright was my forever.
EPILOGUE
DONOVAN
“Donovan, where are we going?” Audra asked as I parked the car in what looked like a spot I just made for myself on the side of the road. I double-checked the map. Yep. Exactly where I needed to be. It was 9:00 p.m. already, so we had to hustle.
It was our first major trip since I was released from the hospital eight months ago. I had planned a surprise trip to Iceland for her, and it was our first night there. She had no idea what was on our seventeen-day itinerary; hell, she didn’t even know where we were going until we got to the airport. I had Maeve and Cora help me pack for her.
Recovery took as long as I expected, but I had Audra nursing me back to health, so not too many complaints there. In good news, because that level of caregiving was a full-time job, she resigned from her job at the hospital before I was even released. After my home care was cleared, she took on the role of running the medical side of Quest, and loved it. There was still enough happening with patrons to keep her on her toes, but there wasn’t the same kind of emotional investment shehad at the hospital. Plus, no night shifts. We also agreed that she would be in charge of our table decorations at the resort. Lead tablescaper was a joke that never got old between us. But she genuinely knocked it out of the park every single time.I loved to watch her shine.
She was happier, and I was happier than I’d ever been, too. Audra pretty much moved in when I was released because of my need for round-the-clock care. Okay, everyone knew I didn’t need it, but it was easier to say that because it made a hell of a lot more logical sense than saying we fell madly in love in two months and moved in together. But things were seamless with us. There was not a single day that either of us had a second thought about it, and that feeling of home between us had been a constant since … well, since that day we laughed together in the flower shop. Neither of us could have ever imagined what fate had in store.
Audra had no idea that I heard her on the day she was in my hospital room. I can recall the sound of her voice and the emotion of it more than I could remember most of the words, but there was one thing that stood out. Hell, I would be on my deathbed and still remember that one.
