We were back in Denver now, after Kate had been life-flighted here. Her family wasn’t upset with me, which was kind of them, since I deserved nothing from them. Chantelle even cried and clung to me that first night for a long time and told me how happy she was that I was here for Kate. Parker and Bryce were a little off, but they hadn’t beaten me to a bloody pulp, so I knew I was forgiven. Amy had apologized over and over about her boyfriend's brother, and the part he’d played. The man himself was quite upset over what had happened and wished for the best for Kate and me.
I kissed Kate’s unmoving lips, praying there was something to hope for. A blow to the top of her spine was what had put her here in this bed, asleep for nine days now.
I watched her for a long time, wondering where I’d be without her. Kate was all I wanted out of life, all I’d ever wanted. I hoped I had enough of fate’s good graces to be granted another chance with her. If she survived this, if she woke, I’d spend every day of my life making her happy.
I hoped she had it in her to forgive me for all I’d put her through. I had no idea she’d have such a hard time when I’d kept my distance from her. The suffering without me that she’d been through had matched my own. The heartache from wanting her, the tears late into the night, the desire to have her in my arms; I’d lived through it all. I’d finally broken free from the bonds of my old life, my old self, and I wanted to start a life with Kate.
I scooted my chair forward, unwilling to part from her, and laid my head on the bed near her waist so I could sleep.
Chapter 23
KATE
My eyes flew open after I processed my last conscious state of being broken on the ground of the forest. The light was dim around me, and I searched my surroundings. I was in a hospital room, and the beeping I recognized was a heart monitor to the left of my bed. There was a window I could see through to the hallway and a nurse’s station. I turned my head to the right, and the movement sent a sharp pain through my shoulder and chest. I closed my eyes and scrunched my face in pain, breathing slowly a few times before opening my eyes again. My body felt heavy and weak, and I ached all over. I focused my eyes again and my breath caught.
Simon was asleep with his head on the edge of my bed. His cheek was on his arm, and he was drooling. My lips turned up at the sight of him.
How long had he been sleeping like this? How long had I been asleep?
I glanced down to take a look at myself but I could only see my arms while the rest of my body was under a thin blanket. There were casts on both forearms that extended around my wrists and halfway up my fingers. I wiggled my thumbs, which were mobile through the casts’ holes. Compared to the pain I’d felt in the forest, this was nothing. There was a throbbing in my shoulder and dull pain in my chest. My wrists were surprisingly not aching.
I looked at Simon again, and the desire to touch him was so great that I braced myself and shifted my arm so I could pet his face with the tips of my fingers. I stroked his forehead lightly and down his nose, and he didn't move. I ran the tip of my middle finger over his upper lip, and it twitched. I smiled and traced his bottom lip. His eyes opened wide and stayed that way as they bore into mine.
“Hey,” I croaked, though it was barely audible.
Simon stared for another second before his face fell. He laid his head on my fingers and cried quietly. I stayed still, letting him have all the time he needed. He placed a wet kiss now and then on my fingers while he rested there. “I thought I’d lost you,” he whispered unsteadily. “I thought you were gone.” Finally, after a little sniff, he sat up and held my fingers with his. He looked deep in thought as he stared at our joined hands.
Should I speak again? “Simon, I’m alright,” I assured him, but he looked devastated.
“But you weren’t, Kate. After you passed out in the forest, I carried you up the hill, where your uncle had just pulled up in his truck. I held you while we raced to the hospital, but you didn’t move the whole time. Your pulse was so faint, we thought for sure you wouldn’t make it.” His eyes were wide and far away, as though he was watching the whole thing. “When they tried to take you from me, I wouldn’t let go; I couldn’t. I went a little crazy after they took you away. I didn’t know if I’d see you alive again.” He brought his face to my fingers once more and kissed them, keeping his head there, but turned a little so he could talk. “The first day was the worst. They didn’t know if you’d wake up, but they said it was a good sign that you were conscious when I found you. I’ve been going out of my mind. I’m so sorry this happened.” He kissed me again.
“How long has it been?” I asked.
He winced a little and breathed, “Nine days.”
“Nine days? Are you serious? I didn’t even hit my head that hard.”
He sat up and sniffed. “They said the impact to your spine is why you’ve been in a coma.”
I looked around the room, feeling a little out of it still. “What time is it? Where is my family?”
He squeezed my fingers gently. “They’re at home. We’re back in Denver now. They Life Flighted you once you were stable enough to move you.” He glanced at his phone. “It’s two-thirty in the morning. They’ll be back at around eight. Your aunt stayed with you the first couple of nights, but I told her I’d call if there was any change. She spends all day here though, and the others come twice a day.”
“You come for the night shift? You don’t have to do that.” As sweet as it was, I knew the hospital sleeping arrangements were no good.
“I haven’t left.”
“What?”
He looked at me and reached up to stroke my cheek. “I haven’t left your side since you got here. Your aunt brings me food and clothes, and I use the bathroom in here to shower and whatnot, but other than that, I haven't left you.”
The beeping on my heart monitor sped up. I could hardly believe he’d been at my side this whole time. It made me feel more than important; I felt loved. “This whole time?”
“Yes.” He stood to kiss my forehead and then pushed the nurse’s button while looking at me. “I want them to check you out now that you’re awake, alright?”
“Okay. Will you stay with me?” I didn't want him to leave this room. He nodded, and a motherly looking nurse bustled through the door.
“Oh my, you’re awake! This is great news. I’ll just check your vitals and such. Of course, you’d know all about that, wouldn’t you? They tell me you’re a nurse in our pediatric wing here.”
I smiled politely. “Yes, ma’am, I am.”
“That’s just wonderful. Well, we’ll get you better and get you back with those kids before you know it.” She chuckled and finished up with me. “I’m going to phone your doctor and let him know you’re awake. Would you like me to call your family?”
“No, let them sleep, and they can see me when they come in the morning,” I said tiredly.
She nodded and left the room, closing the door behind her.
“How bad am I anyway?” I asked, looking down at my casts.
Simon took a deep breath and let it out as he spoke in a deep voice. “Two broken wrists. A fracture in your right hip bone, one broken rib, one fractured rib, your right shoulder was dislocated, your collar bone cracked, your right ear took a little damage, and your legs were badly bruised, but it’s going away now.” He stared at our hands and seemed relieved when he finished.
“I’m not surprised at all the breaks; I felt my wrists snap when I hit the ground and then my collar bone when I hit the boulder.”
Simon nodded sadly and stood, leaning over me. He traced the back of his fingers gently down my cheek and searched my eyes. His own eyes full of unshed tears. “Can I kiss you?” he asked hesitantly.
He was sweet to ask, though he didn’t need to. I nodded and winced at the movement. Simon’s lips turned up before he pressed them gently against mine. I couldn’t have asked for a better welcome to waking up. He released me after a moment and sniffed, his eyes spilling silently over.
“Please don’t cry,” I said softly. “I’m alright.”
He nodded and sat once more but scooted close enough that his chin could rest near my face, and he looked at me again. “I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you about Charlotte. She isn’t significant in my life anymore. To be honest, she never has been. I’ve known her for a long time, but I never had strong feelings for her. It was more of an arranged agreement between our families that we’d be thrown at one another.”
I grimaced. “Did they really think that’d work?”
“Apparently,” he said flatly. He brought his hand up and stroked my hair back.
I thought about this other woman and what I knew of her. I pictured her in her dress again and frowned when compassion welled up within me. “I feel bad for her,” I admitted. Simon’s eyes widened skeptically, and I grinned. “Ouch,” I gasped when the side of my face stung.
Simon chuckled and kissed the end of my nose.
“Did you really leave her at the altar? Did you make it that far?”
He stared deep into my eyes for a strung-out moment and took a breath. “Yeah, baby, I did,” he answered solemnly.
I tried not to wince, but I did avoid his gaze so he wouldn’t see the hurt. “I see.”
“She wasn’t you,” he said, and I looked up at him. “When I watched her walk down that aisle, I pictured you the whole time. And when she stepped in front of me—” Simon kissed my lips. “I wanted it to be you so badly that I stepped back and ran.”
My mouth was open in surprise, and my heart filled to the brim with love for him. “You ran? Literally?”
Simon’s sheepish smile was perhaps the most adorable thing I’d seen. He nodded. “I literally ran. Down the aisle and out the door.”
I gasped a laugh and watched him with appraising eyes. “I can’t believe you broke up your wedding for me.”
He half smiled. “I did. So if that right there doesn’t show you how much you mean to me, how much I love you…” he tilted his head, “…then I don’t know what more I could possibly do.”
I didn’t need him to do anything else. I just wanted him, here, with me. I inched my head further on the pillow to reach him, and his nose touched mine. “Just don’t ever go away again. I need you with me, Simon. I want you.”
He smiled into my eyes. “I’m more than ready for that.”
“I can’t believe you gave up everything for me.”
Simon touched my cheek, and his eyes were soft and intent “No, Kate,” he whispered. “I gave up everything when I left you. You’re my everything.” He hovered over my lips. “I love you.”
When I woke again in the morning, there were low, murmuring voices, and I blinked to focus. I grinned when I saw Jesse and Simon talking, and they even had smiles on their handsome faces.
“Yeah,” Jesse was saying. “I know she’ll be happy up there. She hasn’t seemed very settled here, not since I’ve known her. A change will be good for her.”
“I hope she’s willing,” Simon said quietly.
“What are you two scheming over there?” I croaked.
They both looked my way, and Simon’s eyes lit up when he saw me. They moved forward together, and Jesse leaned down, kissing my forehead. “How are you, Katie? Do you feel alright?”
“No, but that’s what I get for trying to handle a four-wheeler. I should’ve left that up to my man here.” I inched my fingers toward Simon, and he grinned as he took them.
“Well, if you’re up for it, you have a couple of visitors,” Jesse said with a secret smile.
I was puzzled and turned my curious gaze to Simon. “What’s he on about?”
Simon just chuckled and leaned in for a kiss.
A few moments later, Jesse ushered Angie in, and they both pushed small wheelchairs.
“Katie,” the twins sang.
I beamed at them. The kids were cute as they peppered me with questions, mostly about Simon and my accident. When the kids were infatuated with Simon a few minutes later, Jesse informed me quietly that Samuel was doing a little better now, and they were hopeful for his new treatment.
“I’m so glad,” I said with relief.
Jesse nodded and squeezed my hand. He cast a sidelong glance at Simon and then back at me. “He seems like a good one, Katie.”
I smiled softly. “He always has been.” Simon caught my eye, and I called him to me with my smile. “Can you raise my bed up so I can see the kids better?”
He shook his head. “You really shouldn’t.”
I smiled secretly at him and tried something I never had before. “Please, baby,” I said only for him to hear.
Simon’s eyes lit up, and a small smirk teased his lips. He leaned closer with his eyes on me. “I think I like hearing that from you.”
“Is he going to kiss her?” I heard Samuel squeak. I grinned just as Simon kissed me.
EPILOGUE
Simon was behind me with his arms around me as we stood at the edge of the water. It’d been a whole year since my accident, and although a hard year for me physically, it was the best year of my life. Simon spent as much time with me as he could. He still had to return home for work often, but I’d made the big move to Helena four months ago, once I’d finished my physical therapy.
Amy and James split when she’d moved with me to Helena, wanting a fresh start, and we’d gotten a small apartment together. Simon and I were old-fashioned enough to believe that you should be married before you lived together. I wasn't sure when that’d be, but we talked about it often. I got a nursing job close enough to Simon’s shop that we met up for lunch almost every day.
Simon’s mother had reached out to him when she’d heard about my accident and had flown in to be with him. She seemed sincere when she’d told him how sorry she was and she wanted him in their lives. It was slow going, but they all tried to make efforts where I was concerned. They mended things with my family, even, and we’d all made it to our annual Fourth of July camping trip.
“Are you happy?” Simon asked in my ear.
I looked back at him and smiled, remembering the night before…
I stood waiting at the bend in the slot canyon for Simon’s voice. He’d kept me waiting for a few minutes, and I was growing impatient. “Simon?” I called.
I heard him chuckle. “Aright, come on.”
I smiled, shuffling toward our mine room. Light flooded through the canyon toward me and I paused in confusion. It was dark outside, and we only had a couple of small flashlights with us. Curious now, I moved a little faster, keeping my eyes on my path as I went, and when I made the last step into the room, I froze.
Flamed candles were scattered all over the shelf across the room and the floor around me. In the center of them all was Simon, on both knees, looking up at me from under his lashes. He had a small half smile and was slowly spinning a diamond ring around his pinky finger.
My breathing came faster as he held his hand out to me, “Come here, baby.” His voice was low and soft. When I stepped to him, he took my left hand and looked up at me.
I snapped a mental picture. I never wanted to forget the sight of him in that moment—a sweet smile, flickering firelight dancing all around him.
He tilted his head to the side, and his serious eyes bore into mine. “Kate.” He paused with a small smile. “I’ve loved you from the moment you asked me to call you that. In my whole life, you’ve been the only woman I’ve ever thought about, the only woman I’ve ever wanted…the only woman I’ve ever loved.”
Moisture filled my eyes, and I blinked to clear them as I listened for more.
“It was torture for me living without you for so long, and I never want to live without you again. I want you to be with me, to be mine, forever.”
My chin began to tremble at the words I knew I was about to hear from him.
“Please…” He closed his eyes and pressed a slow kiss on my fingers, lingering there as he spoke. “Please, Kate, will you be my wife? Marry me…please?”
I couldn't speak; I was looking at the love of my life, and when his eyes found mine again, I nodded. He pulled me down to his lap and took my face in his hands, Simon gave me a crooked smile and kissed me.
I held my left hand out, watching my ring sparkle. “Yes, I’m happy.” I smiled, and he kissed my cheek.
“What do you want to do today?”
“Hmmm, I was thinking we should go out on the water in the kayaks for a while.”
“Alright…but I get the red one.” I could hear the smile in his voice, and I rolled my eyes.
Did he really think I’d give in so easy? I turned around and wrapped my arms around his neck. “Oh, come on,” I said in a low voice and used my tongue to trace his bottom lip, making Simon groan a little.
“What are you trying to do to me, woman?” he murmured.
“Simon…” I tempted in a low whisper.
“Hmmm?”
“Let me have the red one.” I started to trace his top lip, but he enveloped my mouth and kissed me deeply. When I surfaced, breathing heavily, I nodded. “Okay, good, the trade is made.”
Simon smiled. “I don’t think so.”
“What?”
He shook his head.
I pursed my lips, and an idea popped into my mind. “Tell you what. We’ll skip for it. If your rock goes farther than mine, you can have the red kayak.”
Simon snorted. “Alright,” he said with a cocky grin. “Though I don’t know why you’d forfeit so easily.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Pretty sure of yourself?”
He laughed and picked up a couple of flat stones, handing one to me, and we both took our places. “You couldn’t skip a rock if your life depended on it.” He threw his rock, skipping it nine times.
I saw him turn to me, but I kept my eyes on the water. “Maybe so,” I quipped. “But I could do it for the red kayak.” I flicked my wrist and it flew so perfectly before skipping eleven times and sinking to the bottom.” I smiled in my victory and turned to Simon, who looked dumbfounded with his mouth hanging open. He’d tried years ago to teach me how to skip rocks but he’d never witnessed how good I was now. It was my turn to snort. “I guess you lose, baby. Better luck next time. Enjoy the blue kayak.” I patted his chest as I walked by.
Everything for You (Unforgettable) Page 19
