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“No laughing if it’s going to hurt you,” I insist with a frown, then more lightly, I add, “You did?”
She nods, the smile curling her lips once more. “I mean, I know it probably wasn’t actually her, but while I was unconscious, I kept dreaming, and in one dream, I was holding her in my arms.”
“Tell me about her,” I request, loving that my wife would be dreaming about holding our baby.
“Well, she definitely had your hair,” she says, combing her fingers through my dark hair once more. “And this perfect little face with chubby cheeks.”
My heart thrums an erratic beat as I picture a tiny little girl wrapped in Winter’s arms.How did I ever get so lucky?“What else?” I press.
“She was so little,” Winter says, holding her arms as if to demonstrate how she cradled our tiny baby. “And she fell asleep so soundly in my arms.”
“She sounds like an angel,” I murmur, watching the utter love and devotion on Winter’s face with a sense of awe.
Surprise lights her emerald eyes, and they flicker up to meet mine. “That’s exactly what I thought,” she says, and her smile broadens.
Settling back into the chair beside her bed, I take Winter’s hand as we talk some more, moving on to other things we hadn’t had a chance to discuss on our wedding day due to the shocking interruption.
“The flower-petal send-off was such a good surprise,” she insists, her hands going to her heart.
I chuckle. “I know I’m not the most romantic person, but I wanted to do something special for you. It was Starla’s idea,” I admit, feeling a little sheepish.
“Why am I not surprised?” Winter asks. “It was such a beautiful day.”
A knock interrupts us, and I turn to the hospital room door.
“Can we come in?” Starla asks, her hands full of coffee as Dallas holds the door open for her.
“Of course,” Winter says, her eyes shining with happiness.
Starla hands me a cup of coffee, and I thank her with a silent look. Without the constant flow of caffeine, I’m not sure I could be awake right now. It’s been four days since the wedding, and I haven’t slept more than three hours total in that time. Fear of losing Winter kept me awake for the first forty-eight hours, and after that, I almost felt like something bad might happen if I fell asleep.
Aside from going home to shower and change, I haven’t left her side. And even for those brief periods, Starla stood sentinel in my place.
“Nice to see you’ve decided to rejoin the land of the living,” Dallas says with a crooked smile.
“How long was I out?” Winter asks with mild surprise.
“Four days,” Starla says, and Winter’s eyes widen.
“The doctor thought it best for you to rest as long as you could, let your body recuperate at its own pace.” I stroke the back of Winter’s hand with my thumb.
“Still,four days?” Her eyes echo my thoughts.
I’m going to be so happy when our time filling hospital beds is over. I don’t want to come back until it’s time for Winter to give birth. Hopefully, now that we have the disgruntled relatives of Mac and the others we executed, that can actually happen.
Starla takes Winter’s free hand as she settles into her chair. “How are you feeling?” she asks, her eyes filled with concern.
“Surprisingly, not too bad. Aside from the whole gaping hole in my side.”
A flash of fear crosses Winter’s face, and my body reacts instinctually, tensing to protect her from whatever has her scared.
“I had so many awful dreams while I was asleep,” she murmurs, and slowly, I relax as I realize her fear is over something internal. While I would fight that battle for her, too, I’m not sure I have any physical capability of chasing that enemy away.
Winter’s gaze shifts to Dallas. “You’ll protect her, won’t you?” she insists.
No one seems to move an inch for a moment as I frown in confusion.Who’s she talking about?
Then Winter’s eyes travel to Starla, and she gives her hand a squeeze. “She’s my best friend, you know. And I can’t stand the thought of anything bad happening to her.”
