Page 60 of Donut Disaster
“Did she confess?” My voice is a threadbare whisper.
“She did.” Noah picks up my hand and twirls his thumb over my wrist. “She’s not going anywhere.”
“What about Cassie?” I look to Everett. “She’s a dealer. Who knows where she’s getting her supply? Can’t you arrest her, too?”
Everett shakes his head. “There have been no charges.”
“But we’re looking at it,” Noah adds. “I’m going to question her again and Anika as well. Even if Anika did come back to exact revenge on Morgan for his father’s sins, it looks as if she missed out on the opportunity.”
“I guess we’ll never know.” Everett sighs as if he were relieved as he looks my way. “Anyone ever tell you that you’re pretty good at this detective business?”
“A little too good,” Noah says. “Are you gunning for my job?”
A tiny laugh rattles through me just as a vital part of that conversation I had with Sandra comes back to me. “What about Dr. Drake? He’s a phony!” I scoot up a bit more, and it feels as if I’ve got a boulder sitting on my head.
“He is.” Noah glances to Everett. “Sandra insisted that if she was going down so was he. He was apprehended at the lake tonight. A couple of deputies took him down for questioning.”
“Thank goodness.” I rest my head on the pillow behind me, and it feels like heaven.
“I’m going to go.” Everett lands a kiss to my forehead.
“What?” I sit up abruptly. “Oh no, you don’t. I’m going with you.” I try to get up and quickly discover I may as well be tethered to the bed, my limbs are that heavy.
“Nope.” Everett’s mouth purses a moment. “Doctor says you can come home bright and early in the morning.”
“The morning? Please don’t leave me here.”
Everett winces. “Noah asked to stay with you. I’ll go and make sure Pancake and Waffles are tucked in and safe.”
“I would very much appreciate that. And go ahead and give them a snack if you like. I fed them before I left for the lake, but I’d like to think they don’t sleep well without me.”
“You bet.” He leans in and holds me tight, pressing another kiss to my ear. “It turns out, I don’t sleep well without you either.” His brows bounce as he pulls back. “Get some rest.” He nods to Noah. “Goodnight.”
Noah rises and I pull him close to me. “Don’t you dare leave.”
“I was about to lie down next to you. If you don’t mind.” His dimples depress. “I’m beat.”
“Oh, Noah.” I scoot over a notch and share my pillows with him. “It’s your birthday, and I’ve ruined it. I had this entire surprise party planned and a donut tower three feet tall and—”
“You were going to jump out of a cake for me?”
“Believe me, I would have much rather done that than this.” I pluck at the blankets. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m not. You’re here, alive and well. That’s the best gift I could have gotten.” He wraps an arm around me. His bottom lip bounces with emotion, and his jaw tenses as he struggles to hold it in. “All I kept thinking was how things were getting back on track for the two of us. How good that felt. And then to have you almost taken away—it was too much to bear. I promised myself that if you woke up I’d move heaven and hell, the sun and the moon to do whatever it takes to make you happy.”
“The sun and the moon?” A flutter of a laugh lives and dies in my chest. “I’m pretty sure displacing heavenly bodies would make a lot of people miserable.”
“I’m not concerned with a lot of people. You are my chief concern.”
A moment of silence bumps by. “Noah, it’s your birthday. Call Alex and go out for drinks. Do something fun. I’ll be just fine, I promise.”
He shakes his head. “There’s no way you’re getting rid of me.”
And in that moment, I realize why Everett left. He wanted Noah to have this time with me. A birthday gift from one old stepbrother to another. He knew Noah wouldn’t leave.
Noah and I have been through heaven and hell—and here we are.
My body relaxes against him as his gaze locks over mine.