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“Settle down!” Neils urged me. “They have you on some pain medication, so you might be a bit more excitable than usual. But trust me when I say you need to relax as much as you can while we’re in transit. It’s for your own good.”
I nodded, though I felt sick to my stomach with the news. I hated the thought of Libby carrying any kind of pain like that for any length of time, especially after I knew she felt that way. It didn’t surprise me that she would blame herself for this since she was on the railing when I told her not to be, but I had to let her know that it was a simple accident that could have happened to anyone, it was just chance that it was her.
I worried something was going to happen before I had the chance to tell her the truth, and I didn’t want her to carry the burden of thinking it was her fault without the chance to make it right. But I had to trust what Neils was telling me, even if it wasn’t easy for me to hear. I wasn’t in any position to make any decisions about those things at this point. I had to trust that he would take care of me.
“What are we going to tell my dad?” I asked at last, hoping to have some sort of game plan in place for when I did see my father again.
“He knows everything already,” Neils announced.
“What?”
My mouth fell open when I heard the words. He hadn’t said anything about that when I told him minutes ago that we should tell my father together, so I was caught completely off guard when he told me that Dad was already aware of what was going on. But, as the words sunk into my brain, so did the feeling of dread.
“What did he say? How did he find out? Is he even really here?” I asked, throwing out the questions as quickly as they came to mind. He didn’t have the chance to answer one before I asked another, and he did his best to calm me down. But I was already envisioning my dad being so angry with me that he just went home, that he wouldn’t be there for me because of my betrayal of his trust.
But Neils just shook his head.
“Baby, you know your dad loves you more than anything. He might not agree with all your choices, but he still loves you, and he’s not going to let any of the choices you make tear your relationship apart,” he told me.
“He said that?” I asked.
“Trust me on this one,” Neils said with a wink. “You know there are just some things men do when they have daughters that they don’t have to talk about, they just do. One of those things is supporting their daughter no matter what. Sure, he might not be happy, but he does love you. Remember that.”
I sighed, feeling the lump form in the back of my throat. I didn’t want to have a wedge between my dad and me, and even though I knew it was a risk, I had really hoped it might not happen after all. The fact that it had gone so poorly wasn’t necessarily a surprise but more like a disappointment.
“But there is something else I wanted to talk to you about,” Neils suddenly told me. I snapped back to the moment, looking at him with raised eyebrows. I wasn’t feeling good about my situation right now, and I knew there was very little he could say that would make me feel any better about this.
I knew he was trying, however, and I appreciated that. It showed he was trying to be gentle with my feelings and me.
“What did you want to tell me?” I asked.
“I love you,” he said.
I was shocked and had no idea what to say. I felt it was true, but that was the first time he said the words to me directly. Before I could say a word, he pressed his lips to mine, kissing me tenderly in my wraps.
“I love you, too,” I said with tears in my eyes as soon as we came up for air. “I love you, Neils.”
He kissed me again, and I cried harder than before. I had found my person, my partner, and I knew he felt the same about me. It didn’t matter what the rest of the world thought. As long as we had each other, we would be okay.
No matter what.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Neils
IhadnodoubtI was prepared to do anything and everything necessary to help Erin recover. Once I knew for sure she wasn’t paralyzed, I knew it was just going to be a matter of working through the physical therapy she’d need, along with the emotional support she’d require to work through the anxiety and PTSD that would come with what she’d gone through.
I had already been through it, and I helped Libby through it with her accident, so I felt it was now Erin’s turn. It was even better to know I had Libby here to give me a hand with the therapy, along with Krissy choosing to stay for the next month or two to help us out as needed.
“If anything, I can help take over what Erin was doing with Libby so you have the freedom to help her,” Krissy offered.
“That sounds like a good plan to me,” I told her. “And you can take her room across from Libby’s so you don’t have to worry about being cramped while you’re here.”
“I called my job and let them know to fill my position,” she told me. “I’m here for as long as you need, and I’ll figure out something else when I get back to Nashville.”
“You really are a good best friend, aren’t you?” I asked.
She beamed. “You know it.”
