Chapter Twenty-Two
Sassy woke to bright white light and warmth she wanted to ball herself into and never leave. A protest from her raw throat prevented her from sinking back into sleep, as well as memories from the floodwaters. The inertia of dreams felt far too much like the current she’d escaped.
Her mother sat at her bedside. She straightened when Sassy blinked at her, adjusting the shawl over her shoulders. “You’re awake.”
Sassy tried clearing her throat and winced. Had she swallowed the whole river? “Where’s Nick?” Her voice sounded like someone else’s, fractured and deep.
“He’s in the room next door,” Bly noted.
A partial smile slid over her lips. “I told the RN you wouldn’t be separated for long.
” Just as quickly, the smile slipped away as she lifted a cup of water at the bedside and brought it to Sassy’s lips.
“Oh, Haseya. What were you doing crossing the river during a storm? Haven’t you been through enough danger lately? ”
Sassy swallowed the water. Strange how the thing that had nearly killed both her and Nick felt miraculous against her throat.
“I didn’t think the bridge would fail. As soon as I got the word that Finbar had closed the investigation into Zephyr, I needed to see my artists on the reservation to check in, make sure they were okay after everything that happened… ”
“You were worried more about their reputations than yours.” Bly shook her head. “We all nearly lost you and Nick today.”
“Did everyone make it?” Sassy asked urgently. “From the bridge? I saw some people go into the water when it happened…”
“Everyone has been accounted for,” Bly assured her. “Some are here, and it’s a miracle none of them were fatally injured, including yourself.”
“Nick said we’d make it,” Sassy said, laying her head back against the pillow, finding comfort in the starched cotton of the pillowcase. Her limbs were still so tired, she could barely lift her arms and legs. “How is he always right?”
“Shh,” Bly said, brushing her fingers through Sassy’s tangled tresses. “Rest awhile longer.”
“Mom?”
“Hmm?”
“Ayóó ánííníshní.”
Bly sighed. A kiss touched down on the top of Sassy’s head. “I love you, too. I’ll find you something to eat while you sleep.”
Something to eat. Sassy felt her lips curve even as she drifted away, following the pull of the dark back into slumber.
* * *
When Sassy roused again, dark pressed against the windows and she was alone. A to-go container from the Sauce Spot sat at her bedside, along with a spray of flowers in a crystal vase. The sound of rain on the windowpane made her shiver.
She vaguely remembered her mother saying she was going to visit Fern. Ryan had been in to see that she was all right, along with Ava, Chay and her father. They’d all left so she could continue resting and to check on Nick in the room next door.
Nick. The need to clap her eyes on him made Sassy kick off the blankets. She gripped the side of the bed, testing her legs. The muscles were no longer cramping, though they protested when she pushed herself up to standing.
She spent a few minutes in the bathroom.
The woman staring back at her in the mirror had dark circles under her eyes and was a shade pale.
The cut on her temple wasn’t as vicious as it had felt before the nurses had cleaned and bandaged it.
Relieved to see that her mother had brought her toothbrush and robe from home, she used the first then sidled into the second, tying it at her waist.
Her hospital socks gripped the tile floor as she left her recovery room and wandered down the hall to Nick’s.
No sooner had she lifted her hand to knock than it opened.
He stood on the other side, his wavy hair a halo of messy curls over his head. His lion eyes stood out from his fair complexion. They arrested on her. “Sassy,” he said, hoarse. “I was just coming to check on you.”
Of course he was, she thought. His robe was white. The hospital logo was printed on one side of the chest. “Did my mom buy that for you?” she asked knowingly.
He reached for the tie at his waist. “She did. I thought it’d be better than wandering around in a backless gown.”
“I’d have liked to see that,” she teased. Her mirth faded swiftly. “You saved my life, Nicholas.”
“We saved each other,” he said, sobering. “Tony, too.”
“I think we owe him a meal this time,” Sassy contemplated.
“You’re right about that.” His hand lifted to the bandage on her brow. “How’s your head? You said something in the water hit you.”
“It’s fine,” she said, closing her eyes at his touch. “They did a scan. Nothing to worry about.”
“When Ryan stopped by, he said you were sleeping. I held out for as long as I could.”
“I wanted to see you, too.” Sassy made a noise in her throat. “They should’ve just put us in the same room and saved us the trouble.”
A smile pulled at his lips as he continued to scan her. “You’re really okay?”
She nodded. “You?”
“I’d have walked out of here by now if you weren’t still here and the doctor would sign off on it,” he revealed.
She thought about it. “So why don’t we?”
“What?”
“Walk out of here,” she prompted. “Right now, together.”
“Has the doctor said anything about you being released tonight?”
“I don’t care,” she told him, shuffling closer so she could place both her hands over his heart. “You’ve got medical training. You could take us home. We could take care of each other.”
His features livened with a laugh. “That’s a terrible idea.” The laughter tapered off slowly and his eyes glimmered. “Which exit should we sneak out through?”
She didn’t move, focusing on the soft thump-thump-thump of his pulse under her palm.
He was here. They both were. The solace she gathered from that healed her in so many ways.
“This is not how I wanted this day to end. I planned to visit the artists on the rez, then I was going to grab some hot wings and stop by your apartment after your shift.”
His expression softened as he tucked her hair behind her ear. “Yeah?”
She nodded. “I really miss Riot.”
He cracked a grin. “He misses you. I think he misses Rogue, too, believe it or not.”
“Maybe they should have another overnight,” she said. She tugged at his lapels, wanting to nestle underneath right up against the heat of him where she knew she’d be safe forever. “I see dozens of them in their future.”
“That would make coparenting easier.”
Expressing her true feelings to him had seemed so scary this morning. After everything that had happened on the bridge, it felt right. “We can make this work, can’t we?”
“You and me, Colton,” he said warmly, “we can make anything work.”
“We’ve taken care of each other for twenty years, prioritized each other… You’ve never failed me. I don’t ever want to fail you.”
“We won’t fail,” he promised. “I’ve fallen in love with you a hundred times, and I’m going to keep falling in love with you for all the time we have left.”
She did nestle up against him. Lifting her mouth, she sought the sanctity of his and melted into the righteousness of his kiss. When they both came up for air, she lifted her pinkie between their tight-knit bodies. “Swear?”
His lips curved against her cheek. He linked his pinkie with hers. “I’m yours, Sassy. Always. I swear.”