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“We haven’t even talked about dating.” And yet, her heart had already decided, hadn’t it? She wasn’t going to bother trying to be logical when her emotions were involved, as much as she wanted to use caution and wait for God to lay the path out ahead of her.
She wanted to talk to Gage. Tell him how she felt about him—still.
“But you’re both thinking about it.” Ember lifted her brows. “And more.”
“Just because you’re hurrying to get married doesn’t mean everyone is.”
“Like you’d say no.” Ember chuckled and stood. “I’ll go check in with Bob and Pete. Start planning the renovations.”
“I want everything back where it was.” Clare looked around. “And I need my phone. It was in my car.”
“I’ll check on that. Track it down.” Ember reached the door. “Arlington Street?”
Clare nodded, because that was where she’d left her vehicle. “And…Ember?”
“Yeah?”
“Can you bring me a Bible?” If she was going to lie here, she would at least do something useful.
Ember grinned. “On it.”
The door closed.
In the quiet, Clare shut her eyes and let go of the hold she’d had on her broken heart. God could take those pieces and make something whole. The way she wanted to be when she told Gage that she loved who he was now even more than she’d loved the boy he’d been back then.
God, You can write the next chapter of this story. I trust You.
FORTY-FOUR
Gage flipped the shoulder of his shirt on. He had to stop and take a breath, let it out slowly. His ribs were cracked, not broken, thankfully. Didn’t mean it didn’thurt.The ER bustled around him, but he ignored it, hidden behind the curtain the nurse had pulled before she had him take off his shirt so she could see.
He sighed, then started buttoning the shirt.
Liam had shown up at the cabin after it exploded, Aaron with him in cuffs. Those darn pipe bombs in cardboard boxes Aaron had used to blow up parts of Vanguard. He’d stashed one at the house so he could get away and destroy all the evidence in the process.
Liam had gone to the PD to book Aaron Crenshaw. Blake and Jasper had gone with him because Gage insisted on it—and had to pull rank to get them to go when they didn’t after he insisted.
They’d told him after he woke up, before the orders, that it looked like Clare had broken her leg. Selena had been unconscious and beat-up. He figured it was likely the mental healing would take longer than the physical.
All was right in the world. So why did he feel like they’d barely started? Not with the case. The bank robbers were caught, or dead.
The curtain moved, and he spotted Dakota. Nervous.
Gage said, “Get in here. I need help.” He let his hands fall to his lap.
Dakota let the curtain fall behind him and came over. “Help with what?”
Everything.“Where are my shoes?”
Dakota huffed a laugh. “You’re sure you shouldn’t be admitted?” The guy looked like he wanted to test Gage’s forehead for a fever. “You don’t look so good.”
“I’m fine. I just need shoes.”
“So you can go talk to Clare?” Dakota eyed him. “Might want to wait for that.”
“I don’t want to.”
Dakota chuckled. He pulled open a cupboard by the bed and found a big clear plastic bag with Gage’s things in it. He straightened but didn’t hand it over. For a long moment Dakota stared at him. “I need help.”
