That was when he walked right to the bulletproof vest’s plate that he’d extracted from the ruined plate holder and turned it to show Pace.
Pace stiffened.
“At first, we weren’t sure what the hell was going on,” he said. “There was blood all over her, but no actual wounds. That was when we realized that she’d picked up your blood-filled uniform shirt, vest, and utility belt and brought them to her. They were soaked with your blood.”
They had been.
I had no idea why I’d done that.
“I think that was why Jackson stopped shooting at her, to be honest,” Dad said. “He saw the blood and figured he’d gotten her. The only real place that she’d been hit was by tile fragments that sprayed up off the floor and peppered her hands. That’s the only reason she was hurt at all.”
When I looked from my dad to Pace, it was to see them both facing off.
Pace’s face looked terrible. Sick to his stomach.
My father’s didn’t look much better.
“Honey, why don’t you go get the nurse and tell him that Pace is awake,” Dad suggested.
I opened my mouth about to refuse when I happened to see the grateful look in Pace’s eyes.
Placing a kiss on his cheek, I got out of bed and hurried to the nurses’ station.
I found them all standing there looking over a Scentsy catalog.
“Umm,” I interrupted them. “My fiancé is awake.”
***
Pace
“She’s okay?” I rasped.
“Yes,” Trance answered. “We’ve watched out for her. She’s lost a bit of weight over this last week, but ultimately, she’s doing just fine.”
I swallowed hard.
“I almost lost her,” I breathed.
“You protected her with your life,” he said. “I saw you crawling across a hospital floor Army-style. I can’t think of anyone in this world that I would give my baby girl to that would be a better choice than you.”
I’d already talked to him about asking for Oakley’s hand in marriage, which he’d given me permission, but it was still nice to know he felt that way after everything that had happened.
“I almost fucked up,” I breathed.
“Almost doesn’t count,” Trance said. “Now, ask her to marry you already. She’s been lying to these nurses so she can stay with you, and I’m pretty sure that it’s wearing on her.”
Grinning wickedly, I gave him a thumb up.
“Will do.”
And that was exactly what I did five minutes later when she returned.EpilogueI’m not a bitch. I’m just hangry…and maybe a little bit of a bitch.
-T-shirt
Oakley
Three months later
“I can’t believe y’all are making me do this,” my dad muttered as he stared straight ahead.
I licked my lips to keep from laughing and turned my eyes on my mother.
She rolled her eyes and said, “Trance, you’re walking your daughter down the aisle. You were the one to suggest to them to have a destination wedding.”
He grumbled under his breath. “That’s true, but I didn’t think they’d want me to come.”
“You’re my father.” I laughed then at the absurdity of his statement. “What did you think was going to happen?”
“I thought you’d go to Vegas and elope. It’s much faster and cheaper,” he admitted.
“You’re getting your flight for free,” Viddy said. “You’re also getting your hotel room for free, and the wedding is almost paid for. The only thing we did for it at all was hire a photographer.”
That was true.
Pace’s aunt and uncle had taken care of everything else.
And when we’d tried to buy my wedding dress the day that all the fittings were done, I’d gone into the shop and come out moments later with the dress only to tell my mother that it was already paid for. My guess, Pace’s aunt.
Pace had wanted to include his aunt in the ceremony and had asked if we would consider getting married in Alaska.
I’d had absolutely no problem with that, which was why we were all on a plane to Alaska for mine and Pace’s wedding.
My father, being my father, was freaking out as usual.
And by the time we landed a couple of hours later, he was drunk off his ass along with my mother who’d had to deal with him.
“Are they always like this?” Pace asked, holding my dress as his carry-on.
I peeked to make sure that it was okay after being shoved into a small space for so long before I answered him.
“My mother drinks because of my dad,” I said. “And my dad drinks because he hates airplanes.”
Pace’s lips twitched. “That’s funny.”
“It’s not funny,” Mom piped in. “Twenty years ago, it was funny. Now it’s just a pain in my ass.”
Pace looked over at me over my mom’s head.
“I love you,” he told me. “Even if you want to start acting like your father.”
My lips twitched. “You never know. I just might.”
An hour later, when my mother and father were securely tucked into their hotel, I looked over at Pace and said, “You ready to go for that run?”