Chapter 49
Kelsi
Abby napped in the chair next to her hospital bed, leaving Kelsi alone with her thoughts and the rhythmic beeping of the heart rate monitor.
She couldn’t seem to fall asleep. She was stuck on a loop, reliving the worst moments.
Sheridan’s betrayal, McGuinness telling her he was going to kill Dylan, the deafening bang of the gunshot in the small room, the empty look in his eyes as his blood soaked the floor.
Her stomach heaved and she fought the urge to vomit.
She wished she could sleep like Abby, but every time she closed her eyes it was his eyes that she saw.
Alternating between the psychotic gleam and the vacant stare.
In her job, she had seen plenty of images of victims of homicides, but she’d never watched someone die in front of her.
It was taking a toll on her, and she was struggling to hold herself together.
Not even the pain medication the hospital gave her through her IV drip could force her to sleep.
All she wanted was for Dylan to hold her and tell her everything was going to be okay.
As if he’d heard her thoughts, the door to her room opened and he was there, still in the same disheveled suit pants and white button-up from earlier. Vaguely, she noticed that there were some spots of blood on his shirt near his shoulders and collar, which must have been from her.
The creak of the door opening jarred Abby awake.
She blinked blearily, then looked back and forth between Dylan and Kelsi as if watching a ping-pong tournament.
Stretching, she cracked her neck to clear the kinks and stood.
She leaned over Kelsi and gently kissed her forehead.
“You’re in good hands now. I’m going to head home, but let me know if you need anything, okay? ”
Kelsi nodded at her best friend, throat restricted from emotion. “Love you,” she whispered, her voice hoarse.
Abby turned to the door, stopping when Dylan pulled her into a hug.
“Thank you,” he said, chin resting on top of her head. Kelsi’s heart felt like it could burst from her chest as two of the most important people in her life bonded.
Abby pulled away first. “You never have to thank me for helping my best friend.” She headed toward the door. Behind Dylan’s back, she pointed at him, winking at Kelsi as she mouthed, Get it, girl, before the door swung shut and Kelsi and Dylan were left alone.
In the silence that followed Abby’s departure, they stared at each other, hearts in their eyes, until Dylan closed the gap between them in two gigantic strides. Despite the speed at which he came at her, his grip was gentle as he placed his hands on either side of her face.
“Don’t scare me like that, Red.” He shuddered, closing his eyes briefly. “I thought I had lost you again. Just for a second, I thought it was like last time, that you ran. I know now that’s not what happened years ago, but I was still scared.”
The words were soft, but their impact was hard.
She winced, regretting that he even had to question her for a moment.
She lifted her hands to cover his on her cheeks.
“I will never leave you again, Dylan.” She said this with strength, uttering it as a promise.
“I love you.” She whispered the words she had regretted not saying to him in his hotel room, green eyes meeting blue.
His lips parted in surprise, briefly, before the sweetest smile she had ever seen him wear appeared. “Say it again.”
She laughed, an entire flutter of butterflies taking off in her abdomen. “I love you.”
He leaned his forehead on hers. This close, his eyes were breathtaking. She could make out the gray rim on the outer irises and the cornflower flecks toward the middle.
“I love you, Red. From the day I met you until the day I die and after that.” With that, he kissed her.
He kept it featherlight, the barest brush of lips, a ghost of a kiss.
She moved her hands to his shirt and tugged him closer, wrinkling his shirt even more than it was already, and pressed her lips firmly against his.
They moved their lips slowly together, lost in the feel and taste of each other and the sweet feeling of finally giving in.
He pulled back slightly, far enough that he could see her face. He held her eyes with his in a way that told her he was being completely honest. “I love you.” He spoke reverently, his promise in return.
Both of them had giddy grins on their faces when the nurse appeared a minute later to give Kelsi another examination.
She slid knowing eyes in Dylan’s direction but remained professional and said nothing.
She told Kelsi that they hadn’t found anything concerning in her scans and would discharge her shortly.
A couple of painkillers every few hours and some rest was what the doctor ordered.
Dylan nodded along seriously as the nurse rattled off instructions, and he took Abby’s abandoned chair to wait until the discharge papers were brought to them.
Kelsi took a deep breath, needing to know one last thing in order to clear the air between them. “I know this question isn’t fair, Dylan, because I was engaged to Tom, but I need to know. Was there anyone else? After graduation?”
“No. No matter how angry I was at you for what I thought you did, there hasn’t been anyone else.
How could there be, when no one could ever measure up to you?
” He gave her a rueful smile. “Plus,” he joked, “it’s not like there were too many options in the military.
You’ve seen Kole. He doesn’t do it for me. ”
She laughed, which was exactly what he’d wanted based on the blinding smile he gave at hearing it.
“What does this mean for us?” Kelsi hadn’t expected to ask the question here, now, but it had been banging around in her brain for the past forty-eight hours, and she needed to know his answer more than she needed air in her lungs.
He chuckled. “I had this whole speech prepared for after the trial today, because we never talked about what we are now. I wanted to make the case for us, to convince you to be with me, and you’re beating me to the punch.”
“You know me,” she said with a shrug. “So?” She bit her lip, crossing her fingers underneath the hospital sheets.
“It means,” he began, twirling a strand of her hair around his finger, “that I will never let you go again. That we will face our demons, whether they be our own thoughts or the crazy people we see every day at work, and we will do it together. We will always be friends first, but it’s time to be something more now, too. ”
Her heart felt almost too full as she smiled broadly, throat tightening with emotion. I love this man so much. “That sounds perfect.” Kelsi grabbed his hands in hers.
“Tomorrow we’ll go home,” he said, holding her hands to his lips to brush a gentle kiss across her knuckles before kissing the bandages on her wrists.
“Home,” she repeated, a bright smile on her face. For the first time in years, it truly felt like Oyster Shoals was her home.
“I do have to warn you, though.” He sucked in his bottom lip, forehead creasing in worry.
“What is it?” Kelsi held her breath, wondering if this was when the other shoe would finally drop.
“I had Boone watching our moms, and, uh, Boone might have told them that you’d been kidnapped.”
Damn it. Her mom would be freaking out. Kelsi was surprised they weren’t already banging down the hospital doors.
“I called them after we found you, so they know you’re safe. They did demand that we stop by your mom’s place first, as soon as we get back to town.”
Kelsi closed her eyes, knowing that the rest she needed would have to wait a while.