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I reached for my phone. “Oh my God! I forgot to plug it in! How could I forget to plug it in?”
I felt sick to my stomach. Wade had tried to call me, and I wasn’t there for him.
Corina took my face in her hands. “Don’t. He’s okay. He’s on his way back to you. Smile! Jump up and down! Scream, do something!”
I reached up and took her hands. We both started jumping around my bed like silly schoolgirls. Paxton walked in, her hands on her stomach.
“What are you two doing? You’re going to wake up Chloe!”
“Wade’s okay!” I yelled out. “He’s okay!”
Paxton covered her mouth and screamed. “I’d climb up there and jump with y’all if I wasn’t so pregnant.”
Corina and I jumped off the bed and took Paxton’s hands. We danced around the room, laughing and crying.
“He’s here! He’s here!” my mother cried out, running into my room. “Mitchell is pulling down the driveway now.”
I raced past everyone.
“Slow down, Amelia Parker, or you’ll break your neck!” my father cried out from the bottom of the stairs.
I giggled and jumped down the last three steps. I threw the door open and came to a stop on the porch. The passenger side door of Mitchell’s patrol car opened and Wade stepped out.
Crying out his name, I ran down the steps. He had a huge smile on his poor, cut and bruised face. I was running as fast as I could, aiming to slam into Wade’s body, when Trevor grabbed me.
“Whoa, hold on there, Meli. He has broken ribs.”
I sucked in a breath. “Oh, my God! Wade!”
Trevor slowly set me down. “I know you want to attack him, but he’s in bad shape.”
“I’ll be gentle, I swear. I just need to touch him, feel him, to know this isn’t a dream.”
Trevor let me go and I walked up to Wade. His entire face was covered in scrapes and cuts.
“Oh, God,” I said, placing my hands on his beautiful face. “You’re here. You didn’t leave me.”
Wade closed his eyes for a second before opening them and looking at me. It was still dark out, but I could see those breathtaking grays. “I’m so sorry you’ve been through hell.”
Reaching up on my toes, I gently kissed him. “I love you. I love you so much. I’m so sorry this happened to you.”
His hand wrapped around my waist and pulled me to him. “I survived because of you, darlin’. You were the reason I kept fighting.”
I buried my face into his chest. “You’re home. Thank you, God, for bringing him home to me.”
I couldn’t breathe. My body had never hurt so bad. The water rushed all around me as I tried like hell to hold the horse and keep my head above the water.
“Wade! Don’t leave me. You’re leaving me!”
I forced myself to swim to her voice. “I’m not leaving you, Amelia! I’m here!” I screamed, climbing out of the water.
“Wade! Wade, help me!”
Turning, I watched in horror as my sister was swept away by the flood waters.
“No! Grace, no!”
Sitting up in bed, I grabbed at my chest and sucked in a deep breath.
“Wade, are you okay?”
The feel of Amelia’s hand on my arm calmed me, the nightmare slipping from my mind. Or at least, I pretended it did.
“Yeah, just a bad dream,” I mumbled.
Her blue eyes looked so sad. “Do you want to talk about it?”
Forcing a smile, I placed my hand on the side of her face. “I’m okay, darlin’. I promise.”
Her eyes closed, and I knew she wanted to say something else, but she didn’t. Pulling her to me, I held her tightly while she drifted back to sleep. I spent the rest of the night with my eyes fixed on one spot, forcing myself not to fall asleep.
I heard muffled talking as I sat on the back porch and stared out. The last few weeks had been hell. I was ready to put it behind me, if only my mind would let me.
“Mind if I sit with you?” Mitchell asked as he took a seat in the rocker next to me.
“Not at all. Bored with the baby shower?”
He let out a gruff laugh. “I’m happy for Steed and Paxton, but I’m going to kill my sisters for coming up with this whole co-ed shower shit.”
“Yeah, Amelia’s been pretty excited. I feel bad they put it off because of me.”
Mitchell tipped his beer back and waved off his hand. “Don’t be. It’s keeping Paxton’s mind off of things, and she isn’t due for another couple weeks.”
I finished my beer and set it on the table. “Can’t believe it’s almost the end of July.”
“Wade, if you need to talk, you know I’m here, right?” Mitchell asked.
I felt the anger building as I turned to face him. “What did Amelia say to you?”
He looked at me. “Nothing. She hasn’t said a word, at least not to me.”
