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In seconds, Jack was beside me, his eyes filled with tears as he stared down at me.
I opened my mouth to talk, but found the words wouldn’t come. The adrenaline of the last few minutes overwhelmed me, making my heart race out of control.
“Breathe, baby. Just breathe.”
I tried desperately to get myself under control, but it was impossible. Jack’s hands roamed over my body, shoving my shirt aside when he saw the bullet wound. He pressed down on it, but I cried out, feeling the shard of glass dig deeper into my back.
“I have to, Sky. I have to?—“
“My…back,” I hissed.
As gently as possible, he rolled me to my side. I knew what he would find, but I didn’t know how bad it was. I felt him shift and then a pillow was shoved under my back, holding me up from where the glass was protruding.
More boots stomped into the house and Jack called out over his shoulder. “Johnny, I need an ambulance!”
“Is she?—”
“No,” he answered, his eyes focused on mine. “You’re not going anywhere. Do you hear me?”
I wanted to say yes, but there was so much pain, so much anger that Rico was destroying my life just as I got away from him.
Jack grabbed my face, forcing me to look at him. “Sky, where’s Parker?”
I opened my mouth, but again, nothing came out.
“Sky, I need to know, where’s Parker?”
“Up…stairs.”
“Hang on, baby,” he whispered, bending over to press his lips to mine. The taste of salt pressed into my lips and when I looked into his eyes this time, I knew those were tears. Shit, this had to be bad. He looked up, speaking to someone else. “Get Parker and get him out of here. I don’t want him to see her like this.”
It was strange, for all the men I imagined walking through the door, I never thought someone in a cowboy hat would be here. Which was silly because we were in farm country. The thought made me laugh, but only a small squeak left my lips.
“Hey, you’re going to be okay. Just hang in there. The ambulance is on the way.”
His blue eyes watched over me, pleading with me to stay with him. Those blue eyes that I got lost in, that made me feel like I was at home with just one look. I swore I could see Jack walking through the door with Parker, laughing as he tickled my son. He smiled at me, a sight I rarely saw, and then he started to fade into the wall. “Jack,” I whispered.
“No, Sky, stay with me!”
My body shook under his hands, but I felt no pain. Everything was peaceful, like being in a dream, walking through the zoo with Jack and Parker. I could see their smiles and hear my son’s laughter, and I knew he would be fine.
40
JACK
“Are you ready for school, buddy?”
“Yep!” he grinned, but then his face turned down in a frown. “The teacher says I have to let other kids answer.”
I chuckled at how annoyed he was by that. When I was a kid, I would have given anything for another kid to get called on by the teacher. “Yeah, I know it sucks, but sometimes you have to give other kids the chance to get the answer right.”
He sighed dramatically, hoisting his backpack onto his shoulders. “They never know the answers, and I always do.”
I ruffled his hair as I walked past him. There wasn’t a day that went by when I didn’t fall deeper in love with this kid. I never thought I would want kids of my own, that someone like Parker would make me glad to wake up every morning. Being a dad wasn’t the thrilling adventure that I was used to. There were no more bad guys chasing us. The only pretending was when we played cowboys and robbers. And when he wrapped those cuffs around my wrists, it didn’t bring back horrible memories that I would sooner forget.
All I saw was the smile on his face and that was enough to know that I’d chosen the right path. It may have taken me a while, but I was finally here.
“Jack?”
