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“Shh … shh … easy baby. Please breathe … easy … don't hurt yourself. Slow breaths, in … then … out.” he lovingly whispered in her ear. “I’m not leaving you, I swear … I would never leave you. My mom thinks I need a shower.” He kissed the top of her head and whispered, “She thinks I’m starting to smell.”
He laid his head on hers, his arms wrapped around her tightly, his silky voice crooning soft words of encouragement and slow easy breathing.
Her heart slowly settled and her breathing returned to normal. She took comfort in the strong, loving arms that held her. She felt safe wrapped up in him. He pulled back and looked at her.
“Are you okay? How do you feel now?”
She looked into his eyes. The lines at the corners seemed deeper and more pronounced, and the shine usually in his eyes seemed to have dulled. He looked tired.
He kissed her tenderly. “I love you, and I’ll never leave you. Do you understand me?”
She nodded then and took a deep breath. The nurses had come running in to check on her and observed Gray comforting her. One of the nurses walked over to check the monitor readings, her pulse, and to ask her if she was okay. She nodded and laid her head against Gray’s shoulder. He laid his head against the top of hers, and they laid there for a few moments until she was calm.
He kissed the top of her head. “All better?”
She nodded. “I’m sorry. I guess I overreacted … I thought you were leaving me,” she whispered, wiping her eyes.
Mary and Harry both stood and walked to the opposite side of the bed from Gray. Mary leaned down and kissed her cheek.
“I’m sorry, Sam. I didn’t realize you were waking up. I should have been a little more careful with my words.” She spoke softly and patted Sam’s hand.
“Please don’t blame yourself. Thank you for being here.”
Harry leaned forward and grabbed her hand. “Going a little overboard for attention, aren’t you?”
Sam smiled. Her voice shallow, “I learned this trick just recently.”
He laughed and patted her hand. A police officer entered the room.
“Ms. Powell, do you feel up to answering a couple of questions?”
She nodded, and Gray moved to get out of bed. “Can you stay with me for a little while?” she asked.
He squeezed her. “Of course, anything you want.”
The officer introduced himself.
“Ms. Powell, my name is Tom Williams. I need to ask you a few questions about what happened to you. Do you remember anything?”
Nodding slowly, then closing her eyes to the throbbing, she softly replied, “I went to get the mail. I opened a letter that seemed … off. I remember turning it over to see if there was more information on it.” She rubbed her forehead, then began smoothing her hair. She froze as her hand bumped into a bandage and a tender spot on her head. Patting the bandage lightly, she swallowed. “I remember hearing a truck coming down the road. But I didn’t comprehend it; the letter confused me. Then I looked at the envelope again and realized there was no stamp on it. Someone put it there. I looked up, and the truck was coming at me, so I ran to the driveway. That’s all I remember.”
Ethan entered her room and silently stood alongside his father. Officer Williams continued, “Do either of you know who could have put this letter in Ms. Powell’s mailbox? It could be someone you’ve just met. Someone who has a personal vendetta.”
“I work in a law office, but we haven’t had any contentious cases lately,” she tiredly offered.
Officer Williams jotted on his tablet. “Have you recently met anyone new?”
A snort escaped, and she picked at the blanket covering her. “Many.” She glanced into Gray’s weary but handsome face. The movement sent pain shooting down her neck, and she winced. “Gray’s ex-wife.” She watched his lips thin, but he didn’t look away. Ethan, however, did speak up. “Sam, I know my mother is a pill, and she’s selfish and condescending, but she wouldn’t try to harm you physically. That isn’t her style – she’ll focus on the head games.”
A soft smile creased her lips as she took in Ethan’s appearance. He stood casually at his father’s side, but the weight of the past few … oh, how long had she been here?
Slowly, so as not to send shooting pains anywhere, she turned to Gray. “How long have I been here?”
He ran the back of his fingers down her cheek. “Baby, you’ve been here since yesterday.”
“Have you been here the whole time?”
“Of course.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “Do you think I would leave you here and take the chance that you would wake up and me not be here?” His voice cracked with emotion.
