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“She’ll be okay,” I said thickly, my heart swelling in my chest.
“And you?” He arched a brow, looking at me like he knew exactly why I was struggling right now.
I kept reliving that moment over and over again—when she’d stumbled out into the road in front of me. Thank God, I’d already been slowing down to make the turn, but Christ… when I realized it was Kenzie, her dazed eyes almost blank as they stared at me before she crumbled to the ground… that moment would haunt me forever.
“I don’t know.”
What if I hadn’t realized what was really going on?
What if I hadn’t gotten there in time?
What if Stan had given her too much to come back from?
What if. What if. What if.
My heart stopped beating in my chest then, the same as when Ace and I had pulled up to the burning car with Addy trapped inside all those years ago.
“Life isn’t about what if. It’s about what is,” Ace said like the guy could read my thoughts. In this case, he probably could. “And what is, is your wife and your boy in there, Zeke, and both going to be perfectly fine.”
I gritted my teeth and nodded.
Addy reappeared then. She’d gone to the cafeteria to get some ice cream for her sons, Axel and Aaron, who’d come with Ace, and for Jake. “Are you ready?”
“For what?”
“To be the hero.”
My head cocked to the side. “Pretty sure we’re past that part, Addy. Kenzie is safe.”
“I’m not talking about for her. I’m talking about for you,” she said firmly, leveling me with a stare that made me feel like she was a decade older than me instead of mere minutes. “Time to be your own hero and get your girl.”
I let out a long exhale and looked over my shoulder again at Kenzie.
Her hair was a mess. Her eyes red and swollen from crying. Her arms scratched up with IVs streaming out of them. And she’d never looked more beautiful.
But after all of this, would she still want to be mine?
“Yeah,” I croaked.
It was time to get my wife.My family.And neither blood nor time defined the two.
* * *
I knocked on the door,seeing Kenzie and Jake look my way before I opened it cautiously.
“Hey.” I stepped inside, and Addy followed right behind me, leaving Ace and the boys in the hall.
“Jake, I found the good stuff,” my sister said with a wink and nodded to the hallway. “Let’s eat out here so we don’t drip on your mom’s blankets. Plus, my boys are here, and they want to meet you.”
Jake squeezed Kenzie, and she planted a kiss on his head before he climbed down from the bed and followed my sister out into the hall, a smile working its way to his face. I caught Jake’s introduction to Addy’s sons, who were just a little younger than him, but I couldn’t bear to keep my attention away from Kenzie any longer.
As soon as the door closed, she spoke,“I’m sorry.” Tears dripped down her cheeks.
“Dammit, angel.” I went to her side, brushing the drops away with the pad of my thumb. “Don’t apologize.” I cautiously sat on the edge of the bed.
“I should’ve told you about Stan—about what he did.” Her head shook, dismayed.
I swallowed the lump in my throat and asked, “Did you think I wouldn’t believe you?”
