by Jane Blythe
“How long?” Belinda asked, surprised.
He shrugged fitfully, “I'm not sure, a month maybe.”
“Because of Sofia?” Belinda’s scrutinizing dark brown eyes studied him calmly.
“Yes,” Ryan replied truthfully.
“You didn’t take time off after Katrina,” Belinda reminded him.
“That was different. After Katrina died this job was all I had, it was the most important thing in the world to me.”
“And now Sofia is the most important thing in the world to you,” Paige said gently.
“Yes,” he agreed. “And she’s going to need a lot of help and support to get through this. I don’t think any of it has really sunk in. Everything happened so quickly, I don’t think it feels real to her yet. When it hits her, it’s going to hit her like a bomb. And it’s a lot to deal with in one go. Her paternity and maternity, the fact that she's the only member of her family left, that Isabella is still out there somewhere. She’s going to need someone to help her deal with it all.”
“And that someone is going to be you?” Belinda asked, calmly and non-judgmentally so Ryan didn’t lose his temper.
“Yes, it is,” he replied firmly. “And it’s not just emotionally that Sofia is going to need someone, but physically, too. Her injuries from the fall alone are going to take her a while to recover from, and who knows what kind of long-term damage Isabella caused with the poisoning. Bottom line is she needs someone and I want it to be me. I want to make this work.”
“All right,” Belinda stood and collected her papers. “However long you need, you have.”
“I’ll miss you, partner,” Paige stood, too. “Don’t be a stranger; I expect a call every day to let me know how you two are doing.”
“Anything you or Sofia need, call me and I'm there,” Stephanie’s hazel eyes shone with unshed tears. “Don’t be away too long. We’ll all miss you.”
Once he was alone, Ryan realized he was surprised that he was so at peace with his decision. His job would be here when he came back, but right now Sofia had to be his priority. And to that end he was going to head back to the hospital, for the first time in a long time excited about what the future held.
* * * * *
10:57 P.M.
“Mmm,” Sofia moaned tiredly, her head felt like it was full of cotton wool.
“Sofia?”
“Ryan?”
“Yeah, it’s me,” he gently picked up her hand and brought it to his lips.
“Where am I?” she was too tired to try and figure it out for herself.
“The hospital,” he answered.
“I fell down the stairs,” she recalled.
“Yeah, you did,” Ryan confirmed.
“Did you find Isabella?”
“No, I'm sorry.”
She sighed, so her sister was still out there somewhere. A threat to anyone who got in her way.
“We’ll find her, Sofia, I promise,” Ryan sounded sincere.
She didn’t really believe him, but she was too weary to disagree.
“Can you open your eyes for me?”
She managed to accomplish this usually minor but at the moment mammoth feat.
Ryan beamed at her from a chair beside her bed and leaned forward to kiss her but hesitated, “I don’t want to hurt you,” he explained.
“I don’t care if you do, just kiss me, please,” she half whimpered. Sofia wanted to feel close to Ryan, would have melded their bodies together if she could, she didn’t want to lose him like she’d lost everyone else.
Ryan complied, pressing a soft kiss to the tip of her nose. “It’s the only place that doesn’t look bruised.”
“I feel like I got hit by a truck,” Sofia offered up a feeble smile.
“Are you in a lot of pain?” Ryan’s bright blue eyes filled with concern.
“It’s not so bad, these pain meds they have me on are doing their job,” she answered honestly, her pain was just a dull throb, there but manageable. “When can I go home?” Sofia longed to be in her own bed, in the security of her own home.
“I'm sorry, cupcake, but not for a while,” he squeezed her hand apologetically. “I spoke with your doctors earlier and they want to keep you in for at least a week, probably longer. The concussion, broken ribs, broken leg, these are serious enough injuries on their own, but add to that the fact that your body was already weakened, and your doctors want to keep you here so they can monitor you, make sure you're healing okay. And make sure that the prolonged poisoning hasn’t caused permanent damage.”
She was disappointed and scared that Ryan would become preoccupied with other things and soon forget all about her. Fighting back tears, she shot him a watery smile instead. “Well, you can come visit me when you're not too busy with work.”
He leveled her with a serious expression. “I took time off work, Sofia.”
“Why?” she asked, trying not to get her hopes up too high.
“You know why.”
Hardly daring to ask, “For me?”
“Yes,” he stood, lowered the guardrail on her bed and perched beside her. “I'm not going anywhere, understand?”
Slowly she nodded.
“I mean, I'm not going anywhere ever, you're stuck with me forever now,” he shot her an adorable grin, his dimples making him look boyishly handsome.
“Forever?” she attempted to hold back her tears but one escaped anyway, she could feel it winding its way down her cheek.
Wiping it away, “Forever,” he promised.
“You know it’s not going to be an easy road for me,” Sofia cautioned. “I don’t think anything that happened has really hit me yet, and when it does…” she trailed off, not wanting to think of that right now. But she knew it was coming, knew she couldn’t avoid it forever. At the moment, thankfully, the anesthetic and pain meds in her system had her groggy enough not to have to deal with it, but that wouldn’t last.
Ryan began gently stroking her hair, “I know, cupcake, and we’ll deal with it together, every step of the way, a day at a time.”
She was so grateful for his support that she couldn’t hold back her tears, they streamed out now. “I have a lot to get used to. My brother was really my father. The mother I thought wasn’t a mother really is. I'm the product of a rape. My whole family is dead. And the only member of my family that I really trusted was a crazed killer.” It was Isabella’s betrayal that hurt the most.
“There’ll be time to work through all of that later, right now you need to rest, focus on healing.”
Nodding, Sofia wanted to sleep, but was afraid of what her dreams would hold. She had been scared of bad dreams before; now she was utterly terrified.
Reclaiming his grip on her hand, Ryan said, “Close your eyes and let yourself rest,” his voice had gone oddly hypnotic, and she found herself obeying. “If you have a nightmare, I’ll be right here beside you holding your hand, so there's nothing to be afraid of.”
Sofia allowed Ryan’s comforting presence to calm her, and the rhythmic rubbing of his thumb across her knuckles to lull her toward sleep. Despite the nightmare her life had become, it had produced one wonderful, perfect, magical thing. And as she drifted off to sleep, Sofia prayed that it would be enough to get her through the days, weeks, and months ahead.
Also by Jane Blythe
Detective Parker Bell Series
A SECRET TO THE GRAVE
WINTER WONDERLAND
DEAD OR ALIVE
LITTLE GIRL LOST
FORGOTTEN
Count to Ten Series
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR
FIVE
Christmas Romantic Suspense Series
CHRISTMAS HOSTAGE
Flashes of Fate Series
CHARITY'S WRATH
MACKENZIE'S TRUST
Subscriber Book
FLASHES OF FATE
Jane has loved reading and writing since she can remember. She writes dark and disturb
ing crime/mystery/suspense with some romance thrown in because, well, who doesn’t love romance?! She has several series including the complete Detective Parker Bell series, the Count to Ten series, the Christmas Romantic Suspense series, and the Flashes of Fate series of novelettes.
When she’s not writing Jane loves to read, bake, go to the beach, ski, horse ride, and watch Disney movies. She has a black belt in Taekwondo, a 200+ collection of teddy bears, and her favorite color is pink. She has the world’s two most sweet and pretty Dalmatians, Ivory and Pearl. Oh, and she also enjoys spending time with family and friends!
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sic enim dilexit Deus mundum ut Filium suum unigenitum daret ut omnis qui credit in eum habeat vitam aeternam
