Chapter 36
CHAPTER
THIRTY-SIX
WES
My eyelids were heavy and I struggled to lift them. Lift them through the tension and pain in my upper side. Open .
My vision was blurry and I struggled to focus. A white blob with black dots
What the hell is that?
The blob took shape and became clearer. Snoopy? The Snoopy I’d given Lindy.
I tried to move, but a dull pain radiated through me.
“He’s waking up!”
At the sound of her voice, the most comforting word in the English language burst in my mind. Mom.
My mother’s hands stroked my arm, her voice murmuring in my ear, pulling me forth. “Hi, Wes. I love you, baby. You’re going to be fine. You’re at the hospital. You had surgery and everything went well.”
My head turned toward her voice, her face coming into focus at last.
“The doctors said you’re real strong and you need to rest. Lindy’s here, and she’s okay. Pick and Minty are on the mend. All you have to do is rest.”
I pushed my lips up into a grin. Pure Alicia. Prepped and primed. The second I’d become conscious, she gave me all the info she knew I’d want in under five seconds. I squeezed her hand. “Mom,” I managed, my voice sounding rough. My throat was raw.
“Don’t try to speak yet, honey. You’ve been on a ventilator. They just took it out. You’re probably feeling sore.”
“Mmm.” With my other hand, I grabbed onto Snoopy, my fingers digging into his soft plushness.
Mom receded, and medical staff fussed and hovered over me. Within moments, Mom returned. “Honey, Lindy’s here. Do you have the energy to see her now?”
I squeezed my mother’s hand and attempted to nod.
Her smile filled my vision. “Be right back.” She kissed my forehead and left the room.
Moments later Lindy came in, and my weary gaze swallowed her whole.
She took my hand, her gaze darting to Snoopy. “Hello, Sleeping Beauty. I’m so glad you’re okay.”
“Lin—”
“Shh. I can only stay for a couple of minutes, so I’ll do the talking.” My heartbeat picked up speed as she swiped at my hair, her fingers softly stroking the side of my face. A noise rumbled in my throat as I studied the black and blue marks on her face, the cut on her lip. That fucker had assaulted her, left his marks on her.
She kissed my hand. “I’m fine. He threatened me, and I talked back, so he smacked me. Your firebombs stopped him, and I was able to shoot him. In the shoulder, but it was something. All the men showed up, and Finger got you out of the house, and they got Minty and my dad. They’re both okay…”
As she talked, I focused on her beautiful brown eyes. Eyes that were so expressive of every emotion, every feeling.
She squeezed my hand even harder, and that rumble went off in my chest again. “Raptor’s gone. You shot him in the stomach, and he got burned alive in that fucking cabin.” The brightness in her face faded. “But you’re suffering because of me and my great idea to go the Dip on our own, and I’ll never forgive myself.”
“A…live,” I managed.
“That’s right, we’re alive. You, me, my dad, Minty.” She planted a quick kiss on my lips. “I haven’t said a word to anyone about what was said up there. That’s up to you. Must have been an awful shock for you. Are you going to tell Butler about what Jump did?”
My hold on her hand tightened.
She touched my cheek. “Tell him, Wes. It needs to be finished, and you need to finish it. You shouldn’t have to hide that terrible secret, because if you do, it will kill you. You can’t let it. It’s not your sin to hide. It’s Jump’s. And anyhow, Butler’s tough, I’m sure he’ll be able to handle the truth. It might do both of you good.”
My pulse charged in my veins. My beautiful smart as fuck woman. I nodded.
She stroked my arm gently, careful not to touch the tubes. “Speaking of truth, I found out more about my parents … can I tell you?”
I squeezed her fingers and she told me what she’d learned about her parents’ relationship with Raptor, about him. About how he could be her dad and none of them knew for sure. How it didn’t matter to her. How she and her dad had talked everything through.
I met her intense gaze, desperate to take her in my arms and ride through this carousel gone amok that we’d been on together. To hold her.
Lindy kissed my hand again. “A lot of secrets got told that night,” she whispered. “And we took them in and then they went up in flames and burned to smoke and dust in the darkness. That’s good, ‘cause they’re not ours to keep.
“All the whys and the what ifs, the hows that we’ve been stuck to? The fire burned those too, Wes. Sure, the truth stings. It’s astonishing and ugly, but there’s no changing it. There are no more questions and there’s no more pushing back for us to do. There’s a bright clean in that, don’t you think? Such a relief.”
Yes.
I clung to every word she uttered. Truth had slashed me, cut me deep, slit me open. Bled me. But I was here. I was alive, and I was with Lindy. And we were free.
“My dad and Minty are back in Nebraska, and I’m going to go there this afternoon to help them both get set up with physical therapy. I’m going to help Dad find somewhere else to live. He doesn’t want to be in that house anymore.” She let out a sigh and glanced at me. “Fresh, clean start.”
My skin tingled with heat, sweat broke out on my forehead. Would she be back? I squeezed her hand.
“You’ll be released from here soon and go to a rehab hospital in Rapid. Then your mom’s going to take you home with her and Ronny. You hang onto Snoopy for me until I come back.”
My pulse jumped, and my muscles tensed, a stinging pressure erupting over my side. “Promise?” I grit out.
She grinned and brought her lips to mine. “I promise, Wes.”
And on the glory of her sweet kiss, the relief of her pretty face lighting up once more, my eyelids drifted shut. My muscles got heavier, heavier. Her hand slid from mine, and I drifted.
Soft fingers glided over the side of my face, sending a stroke of warmth radiating over my flesh. Silky softness brushed my cheek. “Wes? You know what the cleanest, brightest feeling ever is?” Her whisper tickled my ear, sweeping through my darkness. “That I love you.”