Some Regrets Are Forever (River's End Rescues Book 1)
Page 22
They were a team now.
They would face everything together.
Here on out Meadow and her baby were stuck with him.
February 9th
10:50 P.M.
Very slowly, Meadow began to emerge from her little cocoon.
It was warm and dark and safe in there, and she was a little afraid that when she came out, she would have to face a reality that she wasn’t quite ready for.
The first thing she noticed was that someone was holding her hand.
Abe.
Knowing that he was there beside her encouraged her that reality wouldn’t be quite so bad.
Lifting her eyelids was a little harder than it should be, but when she did she was rewarded with the sight of Abe sitting at her bedside. His eyes were closed, and his head rested back against the chair, his free hand rested on his stomach and rose and fell with each breath he took.
Meadow took a moment to just watch him.
He’d come through on his promise to be there for her, and she knew that every promise he had made to her he would fulfill. He was such a good guy and she was so glad that they still had a chance to have the future they had talked about.
The future she had been dreaming of since she was a little girl.
She shifted slightly on the bed and immediately realized what a mistake moving had been. All the pain that had been hidden because she was still partially stuck in her little bubble reared its ugly head.
She groaned, and Abe immediately snapped to attention.
“You’re awake.” He grinned and stood up, leaning down to touch a kiss to her forehead.
“Yeah,” she agreed with a grimace.
“Are you in pain?” he asked, running his fingers through her hair.
“A little,” she admitted. There seemed to be no point in hiding it from him, he’d already seen what she was capable of doing when she was backed into a corner so she didn’t feel like she had to put on a strong front right now.
“I’ll go grab a doctor and ask them to give you more pain relief,” he said, tapping the back of her hand where a needle was connected to an IV bag hanging behind her bed.
“No, don’t go,” she begged, reaching for his hand. She didn’t want to be alone right now. “Please, stay with me.”
“All right,” he agreed, perching on the edge of the bed. “I’m so glad you’re awake, you scared me to death, sunshine.”
“Sorry.” Meadow hated the fact that Abe had been worried about her, in abducting her John hadn’t just hurt her but Abe too, and that upset her more than what he had done to her. “How long was I out?”
“We found you around nine-thirty last night, it’s now nearly eleven at night, so you’ve been out a little over twenty-four hours.”
“Wow.” She hadn’t realized she had been unconscious for so long. While she knew John had hurt her badly, she had no idea just how badly.
“You were a little banged up.” Abe smiled, but the fear was still there in his eyes. He took her hand and laced their fingers together. “But doctors say you’re going to be fine with time and a lot of rest.”
“What did he do to me?”
“I don’t think you need the details right now,” he told her.
Right now she did need details, she needed information, had to know what she was dealing with. The more she was awake the more she was leaving her little bubble, and to survive outside it she needed to be armed with every piece of information she could get. “Please, Abe, I know it might not make sense to you, but I need to know. I know he hit me, and I know he bit me a few times, but I want to know.”
Abe sighed and looked like he strongly disagreed with this, but then he said, “You have three cracked ribs, a concussion, there were four deep bites where he broke the skin, bruises everywhere, since you didn’t have your shoes on when you ran your feet got cut up pretty badly, and there was some internal damage from him, uh, raping you.” Abe seemed to struggle to get the word out. “I don’t know how you managed to walk for miles through the forest. Well, actually I do because you’re amazing.” He brushed the back of his knuckles across her cheek.
His report of her injuries wasn’t any worse than she had been anticipating so that was a blessing in disguise, and that Abe thought she was amazing almost made her believe that it was true. “John is really dead, right?”
“He’s dead. I saw his body for myself. When I saw him, when I realized what you had done, how you had saved yourself, I have never been more proud of someone. All those things that he told you about yourself, Meadow, I hope you know that none of them are true. You are smart, and funny, and full of life, and you are more than capable of taking care of yourself and your baby without anyone’s help. But … I hope that you’ll let me help. I want to be there for you, Meadow, for you and the baby. I know we haven’t known each other for very long, and I know we still have a lot to learn about one another, but I really want to get to know you more, because I think we could have the future that we both want.”
“Are you saying that you want us to be a couple?” She felt a little vulnerable right now, with everything that John had done, and Abe knowing about it, and she needed to hear him say the words.
“Yes, but I understand if it’s too soon for you. I know that your husband only just died, and I know the hell you’ve been living for the last five years, plus you have a baby on the way, so if you need to go slow then that is fine. I just want you to be happy.”
This was happening quickly.
Her husband had only just died.
She had been living in hell for the last five years.
She did have a baby on the way.
The only question was whether or not she wanted to take things slowly.
Meadow had a lot of regrets. She regretted that she had been so naïve and starved for love and attention that she had fallen for the first guy who had shown her even an ounce of interest. Because of that she had found herself the victim of domestic violence, she had lived with a serial killer, and she had very nearly gotten herself killed.
Was she ready to jump straight into another relationship?
Her regrets about John were never going to go away, they were a part of her now just like the psychological and physical scars that he had left her with, but she knew that Abe was nothing like John. When they had been dating, John had been all suave and charming, he’d seemed like the perfect guy, but Abe was real, he was sexy, he made her feel amazing when he touched her, he listened to her and was honest with her, he could be a little gruff, and he was rough around the edges, but he was perfect.
He was everything she wanted.
He respected her, saw her strength and love of life, and saw her, which made him ever sexier.
Meeting Abe’s gaze, she said, “I don’t want to take things slow. I want us to be a couple. Like you said we still have lots to learn about each other, but I want to learn them with you as my boyfriend.”
Abe relaxed, and the biggest smile she had ever seen on him spread across his face. He lifted her hand and kissed the back of it, and then turned her hand over and pressed a kiss to the inside of her wrist, making her shiver.
“No fair,” she pouted, “you know I’m all banged up.”
“When you get out of here I’m going to rip your clothes off and kiss every inch of this gorgeous body.”
She knew he meant it to be sexy, but it reminded her that her body wasn’t gorgeous, it was like a roadmap of scars.
“Your scars only make you more beautiful, they’re a testament to your strength, they make you who you are,” he told her, correctly interpreting her pause.
Meadow was starting to get sleepy now, but she couldn’t help but smile at that. “You’re almost too good to be true.”
“Oh no, that’s you, sunshine.” Abe kissed her, and she felt that tingle start in her body, even the pain of her injuries couldn’t wipe it away. “You should get some more sleep.”
“Are you staying?”
“Do yo
u really have to ask?” Abe turned around so he was stretched out on the bed beside her then carefully tugged her against him.
Meadow snuggled against his side, her body was still throbbing with pain, and her head still swum a little, there was a coldness in her bones that she suspected might hang around for a while, and she felt like she could sleep for a month, but she had never been happier in her life.
She finally had what she wanted.
A man who loved her and had pledged to be there for her, a baby who would be hers forever, a family of her own. A place she belonged.
Fighting for her happiness had finally paid off.
Content, Meadow closed her eyes and let herself drift off to sleep.
Return to River’s End for Theo Black’s story in this gripping, emotionally charged romantic suspense series!
Some Lies Will Haunt You (River's End Rescues #2)
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
SIX
BURNING SECRETS
SEVEN
EIGHT
NINE
TEN
Broken Gems Series
CRACKED SAPPHIRE
CRUSHED RUBY
FRACTURED DIAMOND
SHATTERED AMETHYST
SPLINTERED EMERALD
SALVAGING MARIGOLD
River’s End Rescues Series
COCKY SAVIOR
SOME REGRETS ARE FOREVER
PROTECT
SOME LIES Will HAUNT YOU
Saving SEALs Series
SAVING RYDER
Christmas Romantic Suspense Series
CHRISTMAS HOSTAGE
CHRISTMAS CAPTIVE
CHRISTMAS VICTIM
YULETIDE PROTECTOR
Conquering Fear Series (Co-written with Amanda Siegrist)
DROWNING IN YOU
OUT OF THE DARKNESS
About the Author
Jane Blythe is a USA Today bestselling author of romantic suspense full of sexy heroes, strong heroines, and serial killers! When she's not weaving hard to unravel mysteries she loves to read, bake, go to the beach, build snowmen, and watch Disney movies. She has two adorable Dalmatians, is obsessed with Christmas, owns 200+ teddy bears, and loves to travel!
To connect and keep up to date please visit any of the following
Email – mailto:janeblytheauthor@gmail.com
Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/janeblytheauthor
Instagram – http://www.instagram.com/jane_blythe_author
Reader Group – http://www.facebook.com/groups/janeskillersweethearts
Twitter – http://www.twitter.com/jblytheauthor
Website – http://www.janeblythe.com.au
sic enim dilexit Deus mundum ut Filium suum unigenitum daret ut omnis qui credit in eum habeat vitam aeternam