Raeann

A firm hand squeezing mine makes my eyelids flutter like a baby bird trying to fly for the first time. They open and droop again, exhaustion pulling me under, but unless my brain is lying to me, Micah is here.

I try to say his name, but my breath comes out in a wheeze, and then I cough, spluttering and hoarse. My chest, throat, and eyes ache.

“Don’t try to talk.”

My eyes open again, and I focus on his beautiful face. Those ruggedly handsome features, dirtied with black smudges. I attempt to say hi, but it makes my throat burn, and I cough again, this time searching for a tissue as black-tinged mucus comes up.

Micah gets to his feet, walks to the other side of the hospital room, and rips a whiteboard from the wall. He uses the hem of his shirt to wipe off what could be important information and hands it to me. “Please don’t talk, baby. They want your lungs and throat to rest.”

The bright-white, monochromatic sterility of the hospital comes into focus more and more. Micah’s dirty hands, face, and hair are the only things that stand out.

I take the offered marker, nibbling on my lip, and write out Athena? Tab?

“Athena’s out. I got her just like you told me to,” Micah says, giving me his first smile.

Tears burst forth in a rush that I couldn’t hold back if I tried. The sudden release of fear like opening a dam. “I tried,” I croak. “I tried to get her out. I did.”

Micah flutters over me, his gaze assessing before grabbing my hand. “She knows.”

Questions run through my head, and focus is almost non-existent. There are so many things I want to ask. Like how did he do it? How did he know there was even a fire? He should’ve been at a meeting. Was Tab even in the apartment?

“I want to see her.” Every word hurts like a hot poker to the chest.

“She’s okay,” he tells me as he wipes the tears from my face. “She’s strong like you are. Davis took her to the vet Joey lined up. He’s sending me updates every ten minutes. The vet thinks she’s going to be fine, but she has to monitor her cough and lungs for things like pneumonia.”

I breathe a heavy sigh of relief. If anything had happened to her, I don’t know what I would do. “Thank you,” I mouth.

He runs his hand up into my hairline and then cups my cheek.

I point the marker to Tab’s name on the whiteboard and look over expectantly.

His lips dip into a frown, and my heart races.

I watch every nuance of his face, his attempt to school his features, and then the raw honesty when he says, “I don’t know.

It’s complete chaos there and no one is saying anything.

I’ve got Levi and Reid stationed there, and they’re going to let me know as soon as anything is said. ”

I lie back, the pillows catching my head in a soft caress. Tears leak from the corners of my eyes, trickling toward my ears.

Not Tab… I find a clock on the wall and realize it’s later than I thought. Where else would she be if not in the apartment? I clutch my chest. I should’ve tried harder. I should’ve…

“I’ll call them,” he says, moving to his feet.

I reach out to grab his arm, making him stay.

He stares down at me, and in an instant, a deluge of emotion hits me.

Like I’ve been ripped open, everything rises to the surface.

I can’t believe I ever second-guessed what we have.

Just looking at him, his skin mottled with black soot…

He went into a burning building and saved Athena.

“I love you,” I croak out, my throat flaring in pain.

“They wouldn’t let me go back up for you. I wanted to.” He sits back down. Bending at the waist, he rests his forehead on my hand, his shoulders shaking while wet drops fall across my skin. “I thought I’d lost you two.”

I squeeze his hand, and he squeezes back. This is what love is. I know how much it killed him to leave me in that building while he got Athena out. For so many people, she would’ve been an afterthought.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper.

His fingers dig into the sheets. “I don’t ever want to do something like that again.”

I reach out with my free hand, gently touching his hair. For so long after the tornado, I was mad at everyone and everything. I lost count of how many times I thought Why me ?

But here, right now, thankful tears spill. Micah and I are together. He gave up his baser instinct to save Athena over me. That kind of love is extraordinary, and the fact that I can keep on living it is a gift I don’t plan on taking for granted again.

One week later…

“They said I have to rest, not keep me chained to the bed,” I grumble after Micah thwarts my attempts to escape the hospital bed in his living room once again.

“I agree with Micah,” Pawpaw says from the comfiest seat in the house in front of a seventy-five inch TV.

He and Granny have made themselves comfortable here, moving into the extra primary while I recover.

I’m not sure he’ll ever get them to leave after this, but with how Micah dotes on them, I’m not sure he even wants them to.

His mom and dad left yesterday after making sure I was settled in.

They went back to Rhode Island for a couple of days, but they’re returning to watch over me when Micah has to go to an away game.

When I asked him why the private nurse can’t do it, he informed me that his parents will be here to make sure the nurse does her job.

Normally, I wouldn’t like the fuss, but for those few days when all of us were together, the house was so full of love, laughter, and kindness. Bonds between my family and his were being built layer by layer with every conversation and shared story. I’ve never had a house so full.

Plus, watching Micah with his parents has been another avenue to fall in love with him.

When his mom showed up at the hospital, he cried in her arms when he thought I was sleeping, and when I “woke up,” she took my hand and gave me a watery smile.

So much passed between us then that no words had to be said.

It was like a welcome hug and an acceptance that I’ve only ever felt with a few people.

“Wait until your mom gets back,” I threaten Micah with a cold stare that’s hard to muster.

He smirks. “I’m her only son. If you think she’s taking your side, you definitely need to stay in this bed because the smoke addled your brain.

” He lies next to me. Mirth still flirting his lips, he leans over and whispers in my ear, “You can get out of this bed when you can ride my cock like before.”

I squirm. “Not fair,” I mouth. I can’t get myself worked up.

Every time I expend energy, my lungs act up.

I need breathing treatments, daily pills, and breath exercises.

The doctors think my lungs will heal in time, but I have to take it easy.

Unfortunately, Micah and I have different views on what this means, and whenever I contradict him, I get a chorus of voices that agree with whatever he’s just said.

He traces his mouth over my cheek to quickly give me a peck on the lips, even though I’m pouting at him. “Husband’s orders.”

I stick my chin in the air. “You’re not my husband.”

“Keep it up, and I really will chain you to the bed, bring in a judge, and marry us.”

His face is so serious that my mouth drops open. There’s not one ounce in him that’s kidding, and I can’t help the thrill that shoots up my spine. I attempt to get up, just to push him a little further.

His eyes flare. He moves my shoulders back to the bed. “Raeann Gorman, love of my life, don’t push me. If you think I won’t, you’re sorely mistaken. I’d rather see you in a beautiful white dress, but if you want to get married right here, I see the value in that, too.”

“Like what?” I tease.

“Like attaching my name to yours as soon as possible and making sure I have the right to make decisions regarding your care and…”

He trails off, and I know exactly what he’s avoiding saying. There are insurance calls to be made, fire cleanup, and the hiring of architects and contractors to make the building new again. With Tab—I can’t even say the words—with Tab unavailable , it falls on me.

Who would’ve thought one faulty wire could have caused this much damage?

Overwhelmed, I attempt to hold the tears back, and as usual, Micah is right there. He cups my cheek. “Don’t you worry about a thing.”

I take in a deep breath that triggers an explosive cough that burns my lungs.

Athena comes running from her favorite spot and jumps her front feet onto the bed.

Micah holds out the inhaler, and I use it, dragging in a ragged lungful along with the medicine that’s supposed to clear my airways.

It works, and I take several controlled inhales to calm the flare while petting Athena absentmindedly.

Afterwards, I stare up, tears clinging to my lashes from not being able to breathe properly. “Are you sure you still want me?”

“With every fiber of my being. I’d switch lungs with you if I could. I made Joey look it up, and unfortunately, it’s not actually feasible.”

“These lungs wouldn’t be great for football.”

“Who needs football when I have you?”

I swallow. His gaze captures mine like it did all those months ago on The Paula Show .

His hold on me hasn’t let go since. We’re connected, him and I, in a way I couldn’t begin to explain.

He once called it fate, and maybe he’s right.

Because fate sure as fuck owes me someone like Micah for everything else it has done to me.

A curved smile parts my lips, and I attempt to get out of bed again. Once more, Micah slices a look at me. “If you think I won’t…”

“I’m hoping you will.”

He blinks, the biggest smile finally taking over his face. “I need to call my parents back, don’t I?”

I nod yes, and he covers me with his entire torso, consuming me. “God, I want to fuck you so deep right now,” he whispers. I gasp, my breath catching, and he places his hands over my chest. “Careful, Raeann. I need you to make it to our wedding.”

“A wedding in which I’ll be wearing a white dress and standing up for.” He doesn’t say anything. “Micah? A wedding in which I’ll be wearing a white dress and standing up for, right?”

He pushes off the bed, pats Athena’s head, and shouts, “Granny, did you hear that?”

Granny startles awake on the couch. “Hmm?”

“Raeann just asked you to be her matron of honor. We’re getting married!”

Bless her, my grandma gasps, hands to her chest as she stares at me. “My granddaughter…getting married…”

“You’re fixin’ to what now?” Pawpaw says, squinting his eyes like that makes him hear better.

“Raeann and I are getting married, and you’re going to stand up with me,” Micah states. “Athena will be the ring bearer.”

I see what he’s doing. He’s making everything else perfect, so I agree to lie here in this bed and get married. Damn him.

The truth is, though, I’d marry him under far worse conditions.

Micah Freeman has healed my heart in every way imaginable. He’s taught me not to live in fear. That love is raw and unpredictable, but that it also measures life.

He peers at me and winks, showing off his dimples.

This man…

What matters is that he’s next to me, forever and always.

The End