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Maybe what she’d seen on the exterior had painted a different picture than what had been going on in his heart and mind.

“When she wakes up, you can ask her to marry you.” Skye grinned as if she felt the need to laugh at her own joke. “You’ll wanna keep that woman around.”

“That, youdidn’tneed to tell me. I already knew.”

“Smart man.” Skye stood. “I’ll be back with coffee, and hopefully there will be news about the others.”

* * *

Jamie blinked, her vision blurry, but the fact she could see anything right now was a blessing. “Logan?”

The man eased against the side of her hospital bed. “Sorry, just me.”

“Tristan.” Jamie held out her hand. “You’re okay?”

“No, but I will be.” He squeezed her fingers. “I got checked out. Kind of. There was a cop asking for me, so I ditched and came in here.”

“You’re leaving?” She heard the intent in his tone.

“Not without saying goodbye this time.”

The tightness in her chest eased. Her head still seriously pounded, but she could at least manage the pain with the help of the meds a nice doctor with a gentle voice had given her. If he came back in, she wouldn’t even recognize him, given she hadn’t seen his face. He had told her that she would get her vision back soon enough but to be patient and let her body heal.

Tristan cleared his throat. “Thanks for coming to find me, to make sure I was all right.”

“But…”

He chuckled. “But you’re off duty as of now. And that lasts forever. If Logan gets in trouble, feel free to go after him. But I’m good, okay?”

Jamie didn’t like the sound of that, but she would be trusting God every day for her brother’s protection.

“You don’t agree.”

Jamie said, “Maybe if at some point you need something that requires my particular skills…”

“Being annoying and relentless?”

She smiled. “That isn’t what I was talking about.”

He squeezed her hand. “Yeah, sis. I’ll call you.”

“Thank you.”

“I appreciate it,” he said. “Everything, I mean. I know what you did for me. I know what you sacrificed.”

She didn’t need him to finish. Not when tears were already rolling down her cheeks. This sounded way too much like goodbye. “You are going to come back. Or I will hunt you down.”

Tristan said, “Fine. I’ll call or send a text or something.”

She figured he could do better than that if he wanted her to know he was all right. Still, she said, “I’d appreciate it. I worry about you.”

“Like I said, you’re off duty.”

She smiled. In her mind, she saw him at eight years old, stomping his foot and demanding another cookie when she’d told him he could only have one.

“Are you gonna be okay?”

“I think so.” She bit her lip. Everything was changing. She could tell.