LITTLE BIT STRONGER | A COUNTRY ROMANCE

Chapter Thirty-One

After lunch, Kate asked her brother to drop her off at the hospital. Josh's sisters insisted on taking her.

Krista got out of Kyle's car to hug her. "I'll swing by and grab Caleb. Lynton wants to take us fishing."

"Fishing..." Kate couldn't help her confusion. Krista was not an outdoorsy person.

"They're fishing. I'm reading and listening to music. Don't judge me. The result is the same."

"Agreed." Staring into her sister's eyes, she said quietly, "Thank you for going to the arraignment. I needed someone to see what was happening."

"You can't be in two places at once." Stepping close, Krista added, "You can't live two lives at once either. Let go of the one that never really suited you and grab hold of the one waiting ahead."

Taking a deep breath, Kate nodded. "You're right."

"Of course I am. Tell Josh we said hey."

"I'll call you tonight."

Getting in the backseat with two of Josh's sisters, Kate tried to think about what she'd say to the man she'd fallen in love with and was shot by her ex-husband.

They didn't exactly make a Hallmark card for such things.

Looking at her in the rearview mirror, Jasmine said, "Don't overthink this. My brother loves you. He doesn't blame you for what happened because you didn't do anything wrong."

Beside her, Julia nodded. "Exactly. It will all be okay."

"I hope you're right. I want it to be."

They let her off at the front entrance of the hospital to find a parking place. Julia said, "I'm positive our mom will be down here shortly. We'll keep her entertained while you and Josh talk and whatnot."

"Thank you. All of you. For everything."

Jessica gave her two thumbs up. "Like we said, you're gonna be our sister. We don't take that shit lightly. See you later, Kate!"

She waved at the receptionist as she passed and got on the elevator. The first night after being shot, Josh was in the ICU. Their surgical team was one of the best in the state but so much could go wrong with such an injury.

Twenty-four hours later, he was pronounced stable and moved to a standard ward. He'd be going home in a couple of days.

Tapping lightly on the door, Kate took a deep breath and entered Josh's room.

His mom glanced up with a smile and immediately stood. "He's sleeping but I know seeing your face when he wakes up will be just the healing he needs, honey. I'll go down to the cafeteria."

"Thank you, ma'am."

"It's good to see you and I know why you haven't been here sooner." The older woman took Kate's shoulders. "You didn't cause this. You didn't hurt him. You did save his life and I don't think I'll ever be able to repay you for keeping my boy safe." She smiled gently. "I'll do my best, though. You can count on that."

"I'm just...so glad he's okay."

Nodding, Mrs. Hennecart picked up her purse and walked to the door. "Don't know where you've been all these years, Kate. Real glad my son happened upon you now."

The door closed softly behind her and Kate took a seat in the chair she'd vacated beside Josh's bed. Reaching out, she held his hand, marveling at the strength and gentleness it possessed.

His fingers instantly tightened around hers.

Glancing up, she met his eyes. "Josh..."

"You look incredible, Kate. You alright?"

Standing, she moved closer to him and smoothed her free hand over his hair. "No. I've never been so scared. I'm sorry I haven't been here."

"I knew you were blaming yourself. I planned to stop by your place the moment they let me out of here and explain why you don't own any of this."

Tears slipped over her face. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry this happened to you, Josh. I-I set him off..."

"Bullshit." He said the word low and gripped her hand in his firmly. "You didn't do this. He was already on this path. It was only a matter of who he hurt first...and if it hadn't been me, it would have been you or Caleb."

He tugged her closer, let go of her hand and wrapped it around her hip. "He takes no responsibility for his actions. It's always everyone else's fault. A person like that, rage digs deep. He would have hurt someone and I'm fucking relieved it was me."

Pulling her more firmly, he tried to hug her but the leads on his other arm prevented it. Kate rested her head beside his and hugged him as much as she could. His free arm held her against him.

"Your wound..."

"Let me hold you. I'm fine."

Suddenly, the stress of the past days overwhelmed her. She started to cry and Josh held her, murmured to her, as she purged it.

"I-I thought you were dead..."

"I'm right here."

"So much blood. I've seen everything over the years but your blood...I thought I'd lost you already."

"You didn't, Kate. You won't."

"I'm sorry. I tried to stop him but I wasn't fast enough..."

"Ssh, honey. You were fast enough to slow the bleeding. Hank and Enrique told me how fast you ran across the field and how you went into action."

"He had no right to h-hurt you..."

"Your ex is going to prison. It's going to cause different heartache for you and Caleb - I hate that - but he's going away for a long time. It's okay. Everything is going to be just fine. You'll see."

Lifting enough to look into his eyes, Kate whispered, "I love you."

"I love you. Let me hold you a little longer. One morning wasn't enough...I've missed the way you feel in my arms."

She settled her face beside his again and let her upper body relax on his good shoulder. "Alright?"

"Perfect."

"Rest so we can get you out of here."

His arm around her back started to relax and she knew his healing body was wiped out. "You gonna nurse me, Kate?"

She chuckled against his neck. "In actual medical ways you're going to hate...but yes."

"I'll take whatever I can get," he said groggily.

Planting a kiss on his skin as he drifted to sleep, she whispered, "You get everything...and I can't wait to give it to you."

When Josh was fully asleep, Kate tucked the blankets carefully around him and left a kiss on his temple. Then she settled into the chair beside the bed.

She loved him deeply and thought it was only going to grow as time passed between them.

More importantly, she liked him. As a man, as a human, as someone Caleb could look up to.

Josh had shown up - day after day - with kindness, honor, hard work, and patience.

When Brian upended her life, she was angry and bitter. She told herself to never love or trust another man because it wasn't worth the fallout, the pain.

Staring at her wounded lover, she smiled.

"One should never say never," she murmured to the quiet room. "Because here you are."

© Shayne McClendon