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“You look tired, I’m going to head out and let you get some rest.”
“Thanks for the coffee and company, Bella, I appreciate it.”
She squeezes my hand and smiles, lightly closing the door behind her.
I lay there for I don’t know how long, worrying about money–– how I’m going to pay for everything. At least I don’t have to worry about Maddie. I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to thank Ronan’s family for taking care of her for me.
I let sleep claim me as I push my worries to the back of mind. I just need a few hours of undisturbed sleep, then I can think clearly.
* * *
Something tickles my face. I try turning my head but whatever it is follows. I let out a small groan before opening my eyes, only to find my little girl inches from my face, smiling at me, her fingers tracing the outline of my facial features.
“Hi, Momma.”
“Hi, baby girl. What are you doing here?” I pull her to me, hugging her as her arms wrap around my neck, and she giggles.
“She’s had a rough day. After we left this morning, she spent most of the day asking for you and, er… Dylan, so I figured it would be good for her to come and see you again before bed.”
“Oh God, really? Thank you for bringing her to me Finn, and I’m so sorry that you guys have had to take care of her while I’ve been in here.”
“Stop, you don’t have to thank us, it’s been a pleasure. For a three-year-old, she kind of just entertains herself a lot. When she’s not bossing me around.”
“Yeah, she’s always been like that, makes friends easily but often chooses to be by herself. Hey, where’s Ronan?”
Finn looks to the door just as it opens and he enters the room, a huge grin on his face.
“Guess who’s coming home tonight…”
“I am? Wait, how?”
He strides over to me, nodding as he reaches out for Maddie, who goes to him without hesitation. “Hey, beautiful, can you go with Uncle Finn while I get your Momma up and dressed?”
He places a kiss on her cheek as he passes her over to Finn, and I watch as she snuggles into him as they leave the room, leaving Ronan and I alone.
He pulls the blanket from me, helping sit up and swinging my legs off the side of the bed. “Convinced the doc you’d be better off at home, told him that there was an army of people who would be there to help you, and that your kid needed you tonight.”
Forty minutes later and I’m on the sofa in Mary’s, drinking a decent coffee, curled into Ronan’s side, while Maddie sits on the floor at my feet, colouring in.
“Where are the rest of your family?”
“Ah, the girls and Kill are in the kitchen with Ma making dinner for everyone. Alex, Connor and Finn are at the club introducing the new security team to everyone there. Although, I think Alex is just using the club office to get some work done. Why?”
I sit up and face him. “Can we talk?”
He sits up straighter, making sure to pull me close to him, but he looks worried. “Of course.”
“Ronan, I… I need to stop working at the club. With my injury, I don’t know when I’m going to be back at full strength enough to be any use, and I can’t afford not to work. I have a huge medical bill to pay for and I need to think about Maddie. I’ve got to have money coming in to take care of her.”
He leans forward, gently kissing me on the lips, then looks down at Maddie.
“Your medical bill is taken care of. You don’t need to worry about money coming in to take care of Maddie because I’ve got us covered.”
“Ronan, no. You can’t be serious? You can’t pay for everything, I can’t ask you to do that…”
“Breathe, sweetheart, you were shot because of who I am, you didn’t ask me to pay for anything, I’m paying because I want to, because I owe you…”
“You don’t owe me anything––”
