by Casey Hagen
“Her parents?” Lily asked.
“They’re with her,” Jasmine assured her.
“Good,” Lily said leaning back and closing her eyes.
Her head throbbed, but the gauze they had dressed her cut with was wrapped tight enough that she might just not burst into a million tiny pieces.
“That’s it? You don’t want to ask about anyone else?” Jasmine asked.
“There’s no one else to talk about.”
“I don’t know. I wouldn’t mind hearing about that tall drink espresso out there pacing the halls waiting for permission to come in and see you,” Ivy said.
Lily’s eyes widened, letting in a little too much light. She blinked as she tried to steady her voice. “Mason is here?” Lily asked.
“He sure is and if we don’t clear out and give him a chance to see you, he might just have us all arrested,” Sage joked.
“I don’t think he has that kind of power,” Lily assured her.
“Oh, I don’t know. I just watched him put a bullet between a man’s eyes, and other than filling out some paperwork, he’s free and clear,” Jasmine said.
“It was him?” Lily asked pushing herself up. “Raise this will you?”
Ivy pressed the button and raised the back of the hospital bed. Sitting up changed her blood flow and she flinched against the pain.
“I thought he hated me.”
“Well, then you got hit a lot harder than I thought. That guy out there is frantic about you,” Sage said pointing at the door.
“God damn it! I don’t care if there’s a three-person limit. I’m going in,” Mason bellowed before barging through the door to her room.
All heads turned in his direction. Lily’s mouth fell open He still wore his ops outfit, but likely had to give up his weapons at the door.
His rigid shoulders told the tale of a long night, a heap of fear, and a hefty amount of irritation.
“If you ladies don’t mind. That lady,” he pointed at Lily, “and I have a few things to get straight.”
Without another word, they hustled their butts out the door, sharing knowing smiles along the way.
He pulled a chair up to the side of her bed and seemed to sag in relief the minute he sat down. He took her hand and rubbed his thumb along the back of her hand over and over
“I almost lost you,” he whispered.
“You had already given me up,” she said.
He met her gaze and squeezed her hand. “I was an idiot.”
“Yes, you were.”
He frowned.
“But I was an idiot, too. I should have told you about that journal from the very beginning. I just didn’t know how. I had no way to explain why I couldn’t see experiences clearly when it came to your sister. I’m sorry. I wish I could have helped.”
He stood and kissed her forehead. “You already did. That first vision tonight. It was a vision of my sister’s case. That container was old. When we got inside, we, uh, we found her horse necklace.”
“Oh, Mason, I’m so sorry. I mean, I guess I’m not, but…I don’t know what I’m supposed to be feeling here. I can’t bring her back. No one can. But I hope you can find the people who took her and make them pay.”
“About that…I think we’re on the right track. Mara’s case is tied to a kidnapping ring. It’s a break off of anther ring that was busted a decade ago. They might all be connected. Enough about that though. We have plenty of time to talk about my sister and her case later.”
“Do we?” Lily asked.
He smoothed his fingers over her cheek. “I guess that depends on if you forgive me for being an ass.”
“It wasn’t your most attractive side,” Lily said with a small smile.
“You’re not the first woman to tell me that.” He kissed her hand. “But I’m hoping you’ll be the last.”
She pulled his hand to her mouth and kissed it.
“I’m not sure you can handle me,” Lily said.
“I don’t want to handle you. I want to love you. If you’ll let me,” Mason said. He stood, leaned over, and captured her lips in a gentle kiss. “Give me a chance, Lily. Please.”
“I’ve been in love with you since before I even knew what being in love meant. I don’t know how to be anything else. You’re mine, Mason. You’ve always been mine,” Lily whispered.
Get the second Devlin Brothers novella, Luca’s story,
in February of 2018.
Available on Kindle, Amazon, and Audible…
Falling in Fiji
A Falling in Paradise Novel
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Falling in Angels Falls
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Available on Kindle, Amazon, and Audible…
Sunset at Lake Crane
A Livingston Valley Novel
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Other Kindle World novellas by Casey Hagen…
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ABOUT CASEY HAGEN
Casey Hagen pens her snarky, passionate stories from the salty air of Kennebunk, Maine. She’s a born and raised Vermont native, a New England girl to the core, with Ben & Jerry’s in her heart and real Vermont maple syrup pumping through her veins.
She’s the proud mother of three girls and a soon-to-be first-time grandma with an insatiable addiction to Fall Out Boy, and a new, rather concerning obsession with tattoos and piercings. Can you say “cool grandma?”
The inked and pierced grandma spends her time tucked away in her office, coated in cat hair, alternating between tearing her hair out trying to find the perfect words and being one step ahead of her three scheming fur babies she is positive are plotting her demise with every swirl around her ankles at the top of her office stairs.
She loves writing stories about real people, with complicated histories, relatable everyday problems, and giving them the hard-won happily-ever-afters they deserve.
And she thanks every last one of you who picks up one of her stories.
Casey is done talking about herself in the third person.
*Casey out*
