“Heather, Lynda is not trying to keep us apart. That’s just stupid. Why do you keep saying that?” I asked as a tear rolled down her cheek.

Jesus. My whole world just stopped at the sight of that tear.

“Whether you want to see it or not, that’s exactly what she’s doing.” Heather turned and walked inside and then made her way upstairs.

Just then, I heard my parents, so I went inside to meet them. I watched as my mother and father came into the kitchen, laughing. I put on a smile, trying to act like nothing was wrong.

“Josh, darling! Is Heather here also?” my mother asked, looking toward the family room.

“Uh, yeah. She’s upstairs, trying to figure out what to wear for the party.” I glanced at my father, who was giving me a knowing look. How the hell does he know when I’m putting up a show?

Turning to head up the stairs, my mother said, “Wonderful! I can’t wait to see what she has planned for tonight. I’m going to go say hello and see if I can help her pick out a dress.”

Once she was gone, my dad looked at me. “What happened?”

“Lynda called, and I took the call outside. Heather overheard me talking to her, and that led to a fight.”

“Josh, you need to cut these ties with Lynda…now,” Dad said as he took a water bottle out of the refrigerator.

“Oh fuck. You, too, Dad? What exactly am I doing wrong? The girl has problems, and I’m just trying to be her friend.” I sat on the bar stool and put my head in my hands.

My dad let out a laugh that caused me to look up at him.

“What the hell is so funny?”

He stopped laughing and gave me a look. “Are you kidding me, Josh? The only problem that girl has is the fact that you love Heather and not her. The other night, your uncle told me he saw Lynda out with his neighbor, and she was hanging all over the kid. Wake up, Josh. Stop acting like a fucking idiot, and give a hundred percent of yourself to the girl you love. She deserves at least that. I think she’s been patient enough with your ass.” He reached for an apple and took a bite.

“Well, shit. Don’t hold anything back, Dad,” I said, standing up.

My mother walked into the kitchen. She stopped and placed her hands on her hips, shooting me the look she always gave when she was pissed. “What in the hell did you do to Heather?”

“Oh. My. God. You, too?” I said as I started to walk past her.

My mother grabbed my arm, stopping me. “She just left, Josh. She said she’s not going to the office party tonight. She wanted me to tell you that she’s heading to Mason. So, I’ll ask you again, Josh. What the hell did you do or say that caused her to walk out of my house with tears in her eyes?”

When my father cleared his throat, my mother and I looked at him.

“Lynda,” he said, raising his eyebrows.

Traitorous bastard.

“Josh, oh no. Josh, you didn’t…” My mother started shaking her head.

“I didn’t, what?”

“Will you just kick that girl to the curb already? Can’t you see that she’s trying to pull you two apart?”

Holy hell. Not her, too? “This is bullshit. I’m going upstairs to take a shower and get ready for your Christmas party, Mom.”

“Josh, what about Heather? She left!” My mother pointed toward the front door.

Reaching down, I held on to the ring box in my pocket. “I’m not going to force her to go to the party. If she doesn’t want to go with me, then I’ll have to go without her,” I said as I walked out of the kitchen.

Before I hit the stairs, I heard my father say, “Stupid bastard is going to lose the only girl he’s ever loved just because some twisted nutcase won’t let go of him.”

With each step I took, my heart starting beating faster. I couldn’t lose Heather. I’d rather die than live without her.

What the hell am I supposed to do?

Chapter Three

Sitting in the waiting room, I thought about everything that had happened between Josh and me. The love I felt for him was beyond anything I’d ever felt before. My hands started shaking as I recalled what had happened yesterday. I had walked out of his parents’ house without even telling him that I was leaving. I’d just left, like I had done with my parents. I’d just left without a single word to him—no, I love you…no, we’ll talk later about things.

Nothing.

“Heather, I see the wheels spinning in your head. You heard the doctor. Josh is going to be fine.”

I looked over toward Ari. She was curled up next to Jeff on the small sofa.

“I just left him. I didn’t even say good-bye to him. I just walked out. What if—”

“Don’t do that to yourself, Heather,” Jeff said as he got up and walked over to me. Sitting down, he pulled me closer to him.

I wanted so badly to be in Josh’s arms right now. I wanted him to tell me how much he loved me and how he wanted no one but me. Why was I so upset with him? I’d heard him tell Lynda he was in love with me.

“I was so mad at him when I left. He went outside to talk to Lynda, and at the time, I thought he was just trying to be sneaky about it. Now that I look back…oh god, Jeff. He was just trying not to hurt me. I’m such fool.”

Ari stood up and came toward us. Getting down on her knees in front of me, she grabbed my hands. “The moment he wakes up, just tell him. Tell him how much you love him and that you’re sorry for walking away like that. Tell him you’ll never walk away again,” Ari said, giving me that smile of hers.

Greg cleared his throat. “Um, Heather, honey, would you like to go in and see him?” he asked. “Liz is still in the room.”

Getting up slowly, I nodded. Greg reached out and took my hand. As he led me to Josh’s room in the ICU, my heart started racing, and my head was spinning.

When we stopped right outside the door, Greg turned me to face him. “I want you to know something before you walk into that room.”

Tears began building again, and I did everything I could to not cry. “Okay,” I whispered.

“Josh was on his way to Mason when he had the car accident.”

I felt all the air leave my body at one time. What? “What do you mean, ‘Josh was on his way to Mason’?”

“When we were at the Christmas party, I could tell he was so miserable. He told his mother and me that he’d made the mistake of not going after you the moment he knew you’d left. He wanted to make things right with you. He said he was going to Jeff and Ari’s because he figured that would be the first place you’d go.”

Oh. My. God. It’s my fault he had the car accident. He was coming after me! “Oh no. Oh god, no. This happened because of me,” I said, barely able to get the words out.

Placing both of his hands on my face, Greg brought my eyes to his. “No! This is not your fault, Heather. This is no one’s fault. It was an accident, and he’s going to be okay. He is going to be okay, Heather. I want you to repeat this to me right now, ‘This is not my fault.’”

Tears were rolling down my face as I looked at Greg. He was the closest thing I had to a father, and I felt like I had just let him and Elizabeth down.

“Heather, repeat it to me right now. You have to say it.”

I slowly started to open my mouth to speak, but instead, I broke down and began crying.

Greg pulled me into his arms. “Everything is going to be okay. He’s going to be okay.”

“I’m so sorry, Greg. I’m so sorry I left. If I had just stayed and talked to him—”

Just then, I felt another hand on my back. I looked over my shoulder to see Elizabeth smiling at me.

“Heather, you will never utter those words out of your mouth again. None of this was your fault. Josh could have just as easily run after you to stop you from leaving. Things happen. This is life, sweetheart. He’s going to be okay. You’re both going to move on from this. You’ll get married and give me grandkids, damn it!” Elizabeth said, taking me into her arms.

I let out a giggle as I buried my face in her sweater. I loved how she smelled. It wasn’t like my mother at all, but it was just the same. Just from being in her arms, I calmed down almost immediately.

Elizabeth held me out at arm’s length as she looked me up and down. “Shall we go in, so you can see our boy?” With a smile, she wiped the tears off my face.

“Yes, let’s go.” I glanced back at Greg before Elizabeth and I headed into Josh’s room.

The moment I saw him in the hospital bed, I sucked in a breath of air. His face was cut and bruised. He was just lying there…broken. Then, it hit me. I hadn’t even asked how the accident happened.

I stopped and turned to face Elizabeth. “Wait. How did the accident happen?” I whispered.

Elizabeth shook her head and glanced down at the floor and then back up at Josh. “A drunk driver ran a red light. Bastard doesn’t have a scratch on him. He’ll be sorry though when my law firm gets done with him,” she said with a wink.

A drunk driver? I looked back over toward Josh. I love him so much. I’ll never, ever leave him again. I’ll never give up on him.

“I love him so much, Elizabeth. I can’t live without him,” I said, turning back to her.

Elizabeth reached down and took my hand as we made our way toward Josh.

“I know, baby girl. He feels the same way about you. I know how much that boy loves you.”

For a few minutes, we stood there, talking.

“Honey, I’m going to give you some time alone with Josh,” Elizabeth said.

The moment the door shut, I sat down in the chair next to his bed. I picked up his hand and stared at the IV.

“I’m so sorry I left you, Josh. I promise you, right here and right now, I will never leave you again. I don’t care if you tell me to leave you…I never will. With every ounce of strength I have, I will fight for our love. I will forever be true and faithful to only you. I love you so much, and I’d be lost without you in my life. I could never go on without you. You are my every breath, every smile, every tear, and every single laugh. You are my everything. You are my life, Josh Hayes.”

Just then, I felt him squeeze my hand. As my heart started pounding, I jumped up, and the chair flew back, landing on the floor with a loud crash.

“Can you hear me, baby? Please squeeze my hand again if you can hear me!”

“Heather! What’s going on?” Elizabeth ran in with a nurse following right after her.

“He squeezed my hand! When I was talking to him, he squeezed my hand.” I smiled at her.

The nurse walked over and picked up the chair.

“I’m so sorry. I just got excited when I felt him squeeze my hand!”

“No worries, sweetheart. Let me get some vitals on Mr. Hayes,” she said as she started to take his blood pressure.

I turned and ran into Elizabeth’s arms. “He’s going to be okay,” I whispered in her ear.

She hugged me for a long time. “Yes, of course he is.”

I was so glad Greg and Elizabeth had talked Ari and Jeff into heading home. I knew Ari wanted to get back to Luke. This was the longest she’d ever been away from him, and I was sure that she was worrying herself sick from not being with her baby.