When the last person was out the door, Jeff collapsed onto the sofa that pulled out into a bed. I would have thought he had just given birth to an almost eight-pound baby. He fell asleep in less than two minutes. The nurse walked in, looked at him and smiled.

“It’s from worrying about you. It totally wears them out.”

“Uh huh.”

She let out a giggle. “Do you want me to wake him up, so I can open the sofa bed?”

“Nah, he’s alright.”

“Ari, I’m going to take Luke for a few hours to the nursery. When did you feed him last?”

“Just a few minutes ago.”

“Great. I want you to get some sleep, okay? If you need to get up, make sure wake up your husband or call me.”

The moment she left the room, I closed my eyes. I drifted off into a deep sleep, dreaming about Jeff and Luke riding by the river while I followed behind them. Right behind me was a little girl, a bit older than Luke, riding on a white stallion. She had brown curly hair and emerald green eyes. When I turned around to look at her, she smiled at me, and I felt my whole body get warm. A feeling of complete peace took over.

“Don’t worry, Mommy. I’ll never leave y’all.”

My little angel would always be with us.

CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT

HEATHER

Josh and I decided to head back out to Mason the day after Luke was born.

After we’d left the hospital, we had gone back to my apartment and did nothing but make love and talk until three in the morning. We woke up the next morning, went out for breakfast, and planned on heading out to the ranch. I had never in my life felt so complete and happy. It was the happiest I’d been since my parents passed away. Being with Josh was beyond amazing.

I called Jeff to see if there was anything they needed for Ari or Luke before they got home. I made a list of a few things, and Josh and I hit H-E-B before heading back to Mason

Josh’s cell phone died yesterday afternoon. We stopped and bought a charger, so it could charge on the way out to Mason.

We were just walking out of H-E-B when my cell phone rang. I looked at the caller ID and saw that it was Ellie calling.

“Hey, Ellie! Have you seen Luke and Ari today?”

“Yeah, they’re both doing wonderful, and I think they might get to go home today. If not, then they’ll be heading home tomorrow for sure.”

“Okay, well, I’m heading back to Mason right now with Josh, so I’ll be sure to cook up a few meals. I know Ari asked if I could stay a few extra days to help out, so I probably will.”

“Um, Heather, I need to tell you something.”

“Okay, is everything alright?”

“Is Josh not answering his phone?”

“His battery died yesterday. He just bought a charger, and it’s charging right now. Why?”

“Jim has been trying to get a hold of him. They came back a few days early from their trip.”

My heart started pounding. Lynda was back and probably trying to get a hold of Josh.

“Okay…”

“Heather, Lynda was in a car accident yesterday when she was heading over to Josh’s apartment.”

I stopped walking. Oh god, no.

“Is she.”

“She’s in the hospital, but she’s banged up pretty bad. She’s been asking for Josh.”

I looked at Josh. He had been smiling, but now, his smile faded.

“Which hospital?”

“Brackenridge.”

I handed Josh the phone and started to walk toward my car. I heard him talking to Ellie…and I heard the panic in his voice.

“I’ll have Heather take me over there right now.”

Josh hung up with Ellie and walked up to me. “Can you please take me to Brackenridge? I’ll figure out a way to get my truck later.”

“Um, sure. Yes, of course.”

He helped me put the items that I had picked up in my car, and then he jumped in on the driver’s side. I walked around and got in. I looked at him, but I didn’t even know what to say.

***

The ride over to the hospital was completely silent. It was clear Josh was not going to talk to me.

He looked over at me and gave me a small smile.

“Will you come up with me?”

“Why?”

“I need you with me, Heather, I’m not sure how bad she is, and I don’t know if I should say anything about us.”

“Josh, of course, I’ll come up with you, but Ellie said she was in bad shape. I don’t think now would be the time to tell her you want to break things off.”

Josh slammed his hand on the steering wheel and cursed.

“There is always something that gets in the damn way.”

***

As we walked into the hospital, he took my hand. He held on to it until the elevator doors opened, and he dropped it before he walked out.

Jim and Michelle were standing at the nurses’ station. Michelle turned around and saw Josh coming toward them. She walked over to him, gave him a hug, and started to cry. Josh looked at me. He looked so confused.

“We’ve been trying to get a hold of you,” Michelle said.

“I’m sorry. My phone died. We left Mason in a rush yesterday when Ari went into labor, and I didn’t grab my charger.”

“Where were you last night, Josh?” Michelle asked.

“By the time we left the hospital, it was late and.”

“He crashed at my apartment since he drove in with me from Mason,” I said as Josh turned to look at me.

Michelle smiled at me and then turned back to Josh.

“She’s in bad shape. She has a broken leg, a few broken ribs, a concussion, and her left eye is black and blue.”

Shit.

Josh grabbed my hand right in front of Michelle, and he asked if I would go in with him. Michelle looked a bit confused, and it was not lost on me when she looked down at our hands.

“Of course, I’ll go in with you if you need me to,” I said.

We walked into the room and I tried to take my hand from Josh’s, but he held on to it tight. Lynda looked over at us, and immediately, she looked down at our hands and then back up at Josh. She tried to smile, but I could see the hurt in her eyes. Although she was hurting, I still didn’t trust her, especially not after she’d lied to me about Josh asking her to marry him.

“Josh…” Lynda said.

He let go of my hand and walked up to the side of her bed.

“Hey, I’m so sorry this happened to you, babe.”

My heart slammed into my chest when he called her babe. She tried to smile at him. When she glanced at me, I smiled. If looks could kill, I would have been on the floor in two seconds flat.

Then she looked back at Josh.

“I had a dream. You left me…” She glared back at me.

Oh.My.God. She knows. Somehow, she knew Josh and I had been together.

“What?” Josh asked.

“I had a dream on the plane on our way back. I woke up in a panic, so when we landed, I ran to my car to try to get to you right away.” She started to cry or at least attempted to cry and then she called out in pain because of her ribs.

Oh, she’s good.

“Lynda, please don’t be upset.”

“I was trying to get to you when I had the accident. Please don’t ever leave, Josh. Please don’t ever leave me.”

Josh put his head down on the hospital bed, and Lynda looked up at me. The look she gave me showed me exactly what type of person she was. She knew exactly what she was doing.

Then, she gave me a smirk.

“Heather, can I talk to Josh alone, please?”

“Oh, um… Yeah... sure.”

I left and sat in the waiting room. About fifteen minutes later, Josh came walking out, looking white as a ghost. He sat down next me and put his head in his hands.

“Motherfucker.”

“Josh, you have to know she’s trying to make you feel guilty. She knows we’ve been together.”

“I can’t leave her right now, Heather.”

“What?”

“I just can’t walk away from her. You heard how upset she is. She’ll be devastated.”

“Oh my god Josh, can you not see she just came up with that stupid story because you walked into that room holding my hand? She’s playing you and you’re falling for it. Can I just call a Rebecca here?”

“Heather, stop. She’s in such bad shape. How could she come up with a story that fast?”

Michelle clearly saw our conversation was not one to interrupt because she turned away and walked the other direction.

“I just need more time. I need to help her heal and get in a good place mentally before I just leave her.”

I shook my head and stood up.

“I knew this was going to happen. I knew there would be some reason why you wouldn’t leave her. I knew it was stupid to be with you while you were still with her.” I tried not to cry, but I felt a tear slowly slide down my face. I turned away and started to walk to the elevator.

Josh called out for me, but I didn’t stop. I hit the down button and thanked God the doors opened immediately. I could hear Josh telling Michelle that he would be right back. I got in the elevator and tried to hit the main floor button as fast as I could. Then, I saw him as he started running toward the elevator.

Shit! Close, you damn doors. They started to close, but Josh stuck his arm between the doors and they opened back up.

He got in, reached over, and hit the button to close the doors. As the elevator started to descend, I backed away from him, but he came at me and kissed me. I pushed him off of me.

“Stop. You can’t do this to me, Josh! You can’t.”

“Just give me a couple of weeks. Please, Heather, you’re the only person I want to be with, but I can’t leave her right now. I’d be a dick if I walked out on her and left her like this.”

I knew he was right, but I also knew that Lynda was going to do everything in her power to keep Josh.

“She’s going to trick you into staying with her, Josh. I don’t trust her.

I felt sick to my stomach.

“Please, princess, just give me some time. I promise that we’ll be together. I promise.”

He pulled me to him and kissed me with so much passion that it felt like he was trying to pour his love into my body. Then, he pulled away and smiled at me.

“I love you, Heather. I love you more than anything.”

“I love you, too, Josh. I probably need to get back to Mason. What about your truck?”

“I’ll see what time Gunner and Ells are leaving, and I’ll catch a ride back with them to get my truck. Can we spend some time together before I come back to Austin?”

As much as I wanted to say yes, I shook my head.

“I don’t think it would be right, not while you’re still with Lynda.”

He looked down and stared at the ground. When he looked back up, he had tears in his eyes, and my heart was breaking all over again.

“Please wait for me, Heather. Please.”

I smiled, leaned over, and kissed him softly on the lips.

I turned and walked out of the elevator. I left the hospital and headed toward my car.

I didn’t start crying until I pulled out and drove away.