Chapter 41
Forty-One
“ W hat did the doctor say, sweetheart?” John’s family surrounded him in the hospital room. He swallowed thickly, trying to clear away the emotions crushing him at that moment.
“Katy’s going to be okay. She didn’t have any signs of smoke inhalation, so they’re just monitoring her at this point to make sure she doesn’t have any side effects from eating the laced cookie.”
John sat next to his daughter’s bed, his hand gently stroking her arm. “I can’t believe I almost lost her tonight. If Abby hadn’t…”
His throat was so damn tight with emotions it was hard to breathe.
“She’s going to be okay, John.” His mom wiped at her eyes.
“I want her moved into our room. I didn’t need to be admitted. She can be in here with Katy and I can take the chair.”
“You did need to be admitted, John.” Jackson’s hand held his shoulder down.
“No, I’m fine.”
“You were drugged and in a house fire, the same as Katy and Abby. They need to monitor you overnight, asshole, so sit down. For Katy’s sake.” Jackson pointed down at the bed, where Katy was now looking up at him, bright eyes filled with confusion.
“Daddy?” God, her little voice was music to his ears.
“It’s okay, ladybug.” John brushed his hand across her forehead. “We had to take a trip to the hospital. But we’re okay.”
“Abby? She otay?”
“She just has to be in a different room right now. But we’ll be all together back home soon. I promise.”
Home.
That house wasn’t their home anymore.
How could it be when it was the place where they’d all come so close to dying? When it was where Laura had almost killed them.
John’s mom made her way to Katy’s bed and sat, telling her a story about the last time she was in the hospital, and the delicious red popsicle one of the nurses gave her. While his daughter was comforted by his mom, John needed to go.
“I need to see her. I need to see with my own eyes that she’s okay.”
“She’s just down the hall with Grace, Sam, and her mom. They won’t leave her side. I called Emma, and Hank already has Daisy here. Everyone will take turns being with her until you can be.” Jackson squeezed his shoulder .
“I didn’t know what to do. I had to pick. I had to fucking pick which one of them to save.”
“She would have wanted you to save Katy.” His father’s voice cracked. That was all it took for John to fall apart.
“She begged me to save our daughter, Dad. She said that. She said it with all the conviction in her heart. She didn’t tell me to save my daughter.”
“She did what any mother would do, John. She made sure her baby was safe.” His mom reached across Katy’s bed and grasped his arm.
“I know, but to hear her say those words. To see her giving up her life for Katy?—”
“She didn’t give up her life,” Jackson interrupted. “She gave you the opportunity to get Katy to safety. If a neighbor hadn’t seen the flames and called for help, you would have. You got her as far away from the fire as you could. Stop beating yourself up over some psycho bitch thinking she had a right to take your woman away from you.”
“John.”
Shit, her throat felt scratchy. Abby swallowed roughly as John lifted his head. He looked so worried that she wanted to jump out of the bed and right into his arms. But something told her that her body wasn’t quite ready for that.
“Abby. Thank you, God.” He pressed his mouth to her hand and wiped away a tear that was falling down his cheek.
“Katy. Please tell me you… please tell me she’s okay.”
“She’s okay. She’s down the hall suckering all the nurses into bringing her popsicles and juice boxes while my family watches over her. They’re keeping her overnight for observations, but she’s completely fine.”
Tears filled her already blurry vision.
“Baby, are you in pain? How are you feeling?”
“Like someone tried to kill my family.” She winced, lifting her wrists to look at the bandages. “How bad is it?”
“Your wrists are going to scar. Same for the cut on your leg. I’m so sorry. Do you want me to get the doctor? He can probably explain better than I can.”
“No. Tell me. About you and Katy first. Then my stuff.”
“Katy is okay. She knows our house was on fire, but she doesn’t remember anything. I…” The rough emotion in his voice had her swallowing a lump in her throat. “I got her out thanks to you.”
Abby nodded.
“She was still asleep in the ambulance. I wanted us to all go together, but they couldn’t… I’m so sorry I left you. I’m so sorry.”
“I told you to. I would never have forgiven you if you chose me over her.”
“I wanted to come back in for you. I tried. I was so weak from those fucking drugs. I want you to know I tried.”
“Of course you did.”
John pressed his forehead to her hip, and her hand moved automatically to stroke his hair. “I was supposed to save you. It’s always supposed to be me.”
She felt the thin hospital blanket soak with his tears. Abby ran her hand through his hair and waited for him to release all the emotions he was feeling.
“I’m glad I got to be the one to save you and Katy this time,” she whispered. “That’s what partners do. I wouldn’t change a single decision I made.”
“You’re hurt because of me. You’ll have more scars because of me.”
“No, Deputy. That’s not the way this works, remember? Laura is the one who hurt me. She’s the one responsible for these new scars. This isn’t like how it was before, because now I know that no matter what, these scars make me more powerful. They tell the story of how I saved my family. They are a physical reminder of how much I love my man and our little girl.”
“You broke my heart, you know that? The way you screamed and begged for me to get our daughter out of the house.”
“I love her, John. In my heart, she’s mine. There won’t ever be a day I feel differently about that.”
He pressed a kiss to her hand, the tears still shimmering in his eyes.
“Your house? What happened with the fire?” she asked.
“It’s gone, baby. We’re not going back there. Ever. Emma and Daisy are at your old apartment getting things ready for us all to go there.”
“That’s your home, though. All your memories with Katy were there.”
“And we’ll make new memories together. Besides, it was just a building. Home is wherever my girls are.”
She nodded, resting her head back on the pillow.
“You’re going to need to be in here for a few more days until they can finish your course of antibiotics and make sure we can take care of the wounds at home. Just rest for now. I’ll be here when you wake up. I’m never going to leave you again.”