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Kinsley agreed with a nod. “Honestly, I thought Boone was nuts when he suspected someone was trying to hurt you. I mean, if I hadn’t woken up with a needle mark in my neck and a terrible fucking headache, I would agree with you and say that he’s way off base here.”
“And just to think,” Peyton said dryly, “I came to Maine for peace, and instead, I’ve found a psycho.”
Kinsley snorted a laugh. “You know, when you say that aloud, it sounds completely unbelievable.”
“Just a little.” Peyton smiled back.
A long moment passed and then Kinsley shook her head slowly. “How are we seriously smiling with what we just went through?”
Sadly, Peyton knew that answer. She heaved a long sigh. “If I’ve learned anything from all the shit I’ve been through so far, it’s that you gotta laugh and smile in any moment you can. Because in the end, you’ve got one life. That’s it. When it’s over, it’s over. You don’t get second chances.”
Kinsley wiggled a little bit closer, knees touching Peyton. “Sometimes I think you’re really one of the smartest women I’ve ever met.”
Was that a compliment? “And other times?”
“Other times,” Kinsley said softly, “it makes me really sad that you know these things about life because of how much you’ve been through.”
Peyton had no idea how to answer that. For a while, she’d gone through denial, wishing that becoming a widow so young hadn’t happened to her. But then acceptance hit, and she simply dealt with what she’d been handed. “Back in Seattle,” Peyton began before drawing in a deep breath, “life was hard, you know. There was a time I had to force myself to get out of bed. Hell, even tell myself I had to keep breathing when all I wanted to do was crawl under the blanket and hide away. Now life isn’t hard like that.” And she realized, saying that aloud, how far she’d actually come. “Being here, with Boone, with you and Remy…it’s not bad anymore.”
Kinsley smiled. “Well, I’m glad to hear you say that, because if I were you, I’d be packing up my shit and getting the hell out of this crazy-ass town and hoping to hell the psycho didn’t follow me.”
And that’s what Kinsley didn’t understand. “I have nothing to go back to in Seattle,” she admitted, no matter how pathetic that sounded. It occurred to Peyton that should have been a depressing thought. She’d rather stay in a town where a killer was after her than return to the city where she was raised. “My life is here now.” A newfound strength rose in her chest. “And no one, certainly not some lunatic, is going to take away the life I have here.”
“Attagirl.” Kinsley drew in a long, deep breath, then exhaled it slowly. “Honestly, though, let’s hope Boone finds him dead somewhere.”
Peyton never wanted to wish anyone dead before, but she also knew she’d sleep better tonight knowing that the man who had targeted her was gone. “Do you remember anything of him?”
“I remember I was leaning against the counter looking at my cell phone and then I felt the prick in my neck. I turned around and saw the guy but as soon as I went for my gun, everything went blank. There’s just nothing there at all.”
“Well, thank God your cell phone was there. I used it to call 911.”
Kinsley snorted. “Too bad I hadn’t had my gun in my hand instead. Then we’d know the fucker was dead for sure.”
Peyton guessed growing up surrounded by generations of cops rubbed off on Kinsley. “I’ve never held a gun in my life, let alone shot one.”
“Doesn’t matter.” Kinsley’s mouth twitched. “You’re pretty lethal with a knife, it seems.”
“It’s because of the car accident,” Peyton said, then surprised herself by remembering a little more now. “For whatever reason, in that moment, I remembered that the man in the car accident might have died because of blood loss because he had metal stuck in his leg, so that’s where I sent the knife.”
“Thank you to your brain, then,” Kinsley said.
Peyton took Kinsley’s hand again, squeezing tight. “I’m really, really glad you’re okay.”
Emotion filled Kinsley’s face and voice. “Me too.”
Peyton never had a sister, but she imagined this was how sisters felt. Close, like nothing could stand between them. “I know it’s kind of weird, but will you stay with me tonight?”
Kinsley snorted a laugh. “Girl, you couldn’t kick me out of here tonight even if you tried.”
Peyton laughed too. “Okay, first, I gotta pee. Be right back.”
Kinsley pulled the blankets up around her. “I can’t promise I won’t be asleep when you get back.”
“That’s okay. Snooze away,” Peyton said, sliding out of bed and moving toward the door. She found two male police officers, and one female, setting their hard gazes on her. “I’m not leaving, I just need to use the ladies’ room,” she told them.
The tall cop nodded.
She moved toward the bathroom just next to her open hospital room door. She spotted a nurse walking by, sipping her coffee. Peyton remembered long nights like this when she worked the night shift. She felt so different now, like she couldn’t even imagine being a nurse. Her nursing career seemed like a life that belonged to someone else.
