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David nodded. “Shane shot her. She’s dead and won’t bother either of you ever again.”
Gray pressed, “Tell me what happened. I don’t remember much.”
David took in a deep breath. “Gray, I’m so damn sorry. We should have done more to protect you and Sam.” His eyes were full of worry and remorse.
“We were standing on the deck, and you saw Sam walk out past the side of the house toward the SUV. Then you saw Cheryl run toward Sam. You took off at a run to get Sam. Cheryl must have realized her opportunity to shoot was closing up, and she shot at Sam just as you got to her. She shot you instead. I feel so bad about all of this. Please accept my apology.”
He looked at Sam. She squeezed his hand.
“All that matters is that she’s safe and we don’t have to worry about Cheryl ever again. You did everything you could do, and we’re so damned grateful.” His voice sounded foreign to him. He licked his lips and tried clearing his throat. That sent a sharp pain searing through his body, and he gasped.
“Do you need something? All you can have is ice chips, but do you want some of those?”
He nodded. Mary took the bed control and raised his bed a fraction. She grabbed the cup with the ice chips and spoon in it and handed it to Gray. He winced when he tried to grab it with his left hand, but he did it anyway.
He slowly spooned a few ice chips into his mouth and lay back as he swirled them around wetting every surface he could. He looked at Sam and winked, wanting the worried look on her face to go away. Everything would be okay from this point forward.
38
Settling Gray on the sofa with his laptop and the remote while she made lunch. He was stronger today than yesterday, but he still tired easily, which is normal after surgery. The anesthesia took a while to leave the body and even though he was in great shape at fifty-five years old, it just takes the body a bit longer to recover. Much to his frustration, he thought he should have been able to go to the office today. The shooting was just six days ago.
Sam looked over at Gray to see he’d fallen asleep with his laptop open and the remote in his hand. Poor thing, it hit him fast and—boom—he was out. She smiled as she watched him. They’d had quite the scare. She loved him beyond words. It was hard to believe how he had completely consumed her whole life in such a short time.
She admired his beautiful features in sleep—relaxed and resting. His hair was combed back, but a lock always fell forward on his forehead. There was a dusting of gray at the temples, just enough to be sexy as hell and make him look distinguished. His full lips, a strong jaw, and a beautiful nose added to the list of all things beautiful about him. Her attention turned to his steady, deep breathing He didn’t get much rest in the hospital because there were always people coming and going.
She continued cutting up some fruit to make Gray a fruit salad. She was keeping it light today—ham sandwiches. The kids said they would be stopping by sometime, so if they were all here, she would come up with something for dinner. She had been at the hospital with Gray for the past six days, so she hadn’t been shopping. After finishing the fruit salad, she walked into the living room and sat at the other end of the sofa and gingerly laid down in a way that didn’t hurt her ribs. She covered up with a blanket and fell asleep.
* * *
Gray woke and glanced at Sam sleeping at the other end of the sofa. He smiled as he watched her. Thank God, he was able to keep her safe—he couldn't live without her. All these years he managed, but now that he knew what he’d been missing, he couldn’t ever let her go. He moved to get up when the doorbell rang. Sam woke up and scooted to the edge of the sofa.
“No, baby, I’ve got it. I’m awake anyway.”
He slowly stood and gently stretched before walking toward the door, a nervous twisting in his stomach as he neared. It was the first time they didn’t have security there to check the visitors before opening the door. He looked at the computer screen on the wall and smiled as he swung the door open for Jake and Ali.
“Hello, come on in. We just woke from a nap,” he greeted.
Jake and Ali walked in, hugged him then strolled over to Sam, as she stood.
She hugged them both. “Thank you for coming over.”
“Mom, we wanted to see for ourselves that you guys were doing well. We also brought food. Everyone is coming and bringing something, so you don’t have to cook.” Jake set the bags of items they’d brought on the counter.
It wasn’t long, and all the kids were there. They each brought something and sat around in the living room—on the sofa, the floor, the fireplace hearth—anywhere there was room. It was a fabulous afternoon and evening with their newly-blended family. They had blended quite well.
Of course, it was easier that they were all older and out of the house and didn’t have to share their toys and rooms. Jax and Jake bonded together quickly. They had a bit in common, and at one point during the day, Jax asked Jake if he would like to come and work with him at the demolition company. Cole had recently joined the company, and they still needed one more. Jake and Ali looked at each other and smiled. Jake said he would stop in the office on Monday and talk to Jax about specifics and they’d go from there.
Around nine in the evening the kids began packing things up to leave. By nine-thirty, the door closed on the last kid. They both leaned against the door with smiles on their faces. Sam looked at him and smiled.
“Wow, that was really nice. Tiring, but nice.”
He turned to her and wrapped his right arm around her. “This was meant to be. We both have great kids, and they can see it in each other as well. It doesn’t mean it will always be smooth like it was tonight, but it should be reasonably peaceful.”
He leaned down and kissed her. “Now, Mrs. Kinkaide, I need to make love to you.”
“Gray, are you kidding? You don’t want to hurt yourself.”
He chuckled. “Sam, we can take it slow. I don’t want to hurtyoueither, but I need to touch you. At least we can get naked and hold each other.”
