On the Wild Side (Wilds of Montana #4)

Prologue

PROLOGUE

ABBI

Five Years Ago

“ W hat am I supposed to do without you?” I can’t stop the tears that fall onto my cheeks. Nate has been in and out of sleep, and they tell me that he’ll likely slip into a coma soon, so I should say everything that I want to say now, while he can still hear me.

He’s on a ventilator, but he’s watching me with those big, brown eyes, and his hand tightens on mine.

“I’m so sorry this happened,” I continue and lean in to kiss his cheek. “It’s not fair. It’s not right.”

He squeezes me again, comforting me.

Nate is the sweetest man on the planet. He’s good and generous, and he doesn’t deserve this.

“I’ll take care of Daisy. Don’t worry about us. I promise we’ll be okay.”

His eyes suddenly look panicked, and I brush my fingers through his hair, doing my best to calm him.

“I won’t let her near our baby, Nathan. I will not. ” He blinks, and I can see that he wants to talk, but he can’t.

“I know,” I continue. “We already talked about this, and everything is in place, so she can’t touch us. I’ll make sure of it. And I’ll make sure that Daisy always knows you. She’s still so little.”

Not even two years. Nate didn’t even have two whole years with his daughter before he caught pneumonia that devolved into a systemic infection, causing his organs to fail.

He isn’t going to get better. He isn’t going to leave this hospital.

And I want to wail at the injustice of it.

“I love you.” His eyes droop, and I can see that he’s so, so tired. “Thank you for five wonderful years. Thank you for being my best friend and such an awesome dad to our baby girl.”

He squeezes my hand once more, and then he’s asleep again, and all I can do is lay my head on the bed next to him and cry.