But the wonder, the awe, the light—the love—all of it was so much bigger than the fear. So much more powerful. It was the fiery brightness of the sun against the cool glow of the moon.
No matter what happened, Caden had a family. Right this very minute. For the first time in over fourteen years.
And he wanted that family more than he’d ever wanted anything in his life.
“Makenna James family?” a blond-haired woman wearing scrubs called from the doors to the emergency department.
Caden rushed over. “I’m her boyfriend,” he said. The word was so fucking inadequate compared to what she was to him—his everything.
The doctor guided him inside past patients waiting in cubicles, on gurneys, and in chairs. “I’m Dr. Ellison. Makenna’s awake and stable. She’s cramping a little and the baby’s heartrate is elevated, but otherwise the baby seems to be fine. The next twelve to twenty-four hours will give us more information.” They turned a corner into a hallway with curtained rooms. “She needs an X-ray on her hand and a CT scan for the head injury. We’ve got those orders in, but radiology’s backed up so we’re in a holding pattern. Hopefully it won’t be too long.” The doctor stopped at the edge of a curtain. “Any questions?”
Only about a million, but none that he needed the doctor to answer. “No, thanks.”
With a nod, Dr. Ellison drew back the striped curtain and stepped into the small room. And there was his Makenna, bandaged and bruised with IVs protruding from her hand, but alive and awake. And without question the most beautiful thing Caden Grayson had ever seen in his life.
*
Makenna felt like she was moving slower than everything around her, or maybe that was just the pain meds they’d given her. Sounds came as if from a distance. The walls seemed a little wavy. Her limbs were like lead.
The curtain to her room suddenly opened and the doctor walked in…with Caden!
“Makenna,” Dr. Ellison said, “I have Caden here for you. I’ve updated him on your condition. We’re just waiting on radiology, okay?” The woman patted Makenna’s arm.
“Okay,” Makenna said in a weak voice, her gaze glued to Caden. He wore his uniform, his coat dirty with mud and blood here and there. “Thank you.”
“Press the call button if either of you need anything,” Dr. Ellison said, and then she was gone.
Caden shrugged out of his coat and dropped it on a chair, and then it was like he was stuck there at the edge of the room. She ached for him to come to her, but all she could manage was his name before she started crying. “Caden…”
He was to her in an instant, his body folding over her, his forehead settling against hers. “I’m sorry, Makenna. I’m so fucking sorry,” he said.
Makenna shook her head as her mind struggled to process his words. “It wasn’t your fault,” she said. “I was just glad you were there. I was praying for it, actually, so hard. When you showed up, I wasn’t sure whether to believe you were real.”
Caden reached behind him and dragged a chair as close to her bedside as he could. He sat heavily and cradled her hand against his big chest. “I’m not talking about the accident,” he said, dark eyes blazing. “I’m talking about how I left you, how I shut you out, how I lost myself and didn’t know how to own up to it with you.” He swallowed thickly, his Adams apple bobbing in his throat. “I’m talking about making you go through finding out you were pregnant all by yourself, making you worry for even a second that you would have to raise a child by yourself.” He shook his head, and she’d never seen his expression more earnest.
Relief flooded through her that he’d accepted the idea of the baby so readily, and that he seemed to want to be involved. Which meant that her little one wouldn’t have to grow up with only one parent as Makenna had, after all.
“Do you remember what I said after they pulled you from the car?” he asked, his eyes on fire with an intensity that reached inside her chest and just…owned her.
But Makenna couldn’t remember anything after the scare of her car door screeching open. They’d cut her loose from the seat belt, and then… It was all a blur. “No,” she whispered. “What did you say?” Her heart tripped into a sprint because the moment felt weighted with a significance she didn’t understand and didn’t want to read too much into. She wouldn’t be able to withstand the disappointment and heartache. Not after the scares this night had entailed.
“I said…I said that I love you, Makenna. I said—”
“Because of the baby,” she threw out, fear getting the best of her. But she had to know.
“Yes, because of the baby—”