Page 28 of Christmas Wish
“Go back, Jeremy. Get the fuck away!”
Ryder!Savannah slipped out of Timmy’s room and made her way to Ryder’s as shivers tiptoed up her spine.
“No! Fuck no!”
Standing before the closed door, she swallowed then gathered the tattered edges of her courage and turned the knob. Darkness encased her and she waited until her eyes adjusted to the dimness of the room.
“I fucking shot a kid! Get back, Jeremy. I got this!”
Ryder’s anguished-filled voice bounced off the walls, and she slowly approached the bed. “Ryder? It’s me Savannah.”
“I’m hit. Goddammit! Jeremy, go back! There’re fucking landmines everywhere. Don’t follow me!”
He was in the war. That’s how he lost his leg. Oh, Ryder.Savannah climbed up on the bed and breathed in and out several times before she reached out and gently shook him.
“It’s okay, Ryder. You’re okay,” she said in a calm, reassuring voice.
He groaned and cursed while tossing and turning, but she kept a steady hand on his shoulder and shook him several times. It seemed to have helped because he stopped yelling.
“Where are you?” he grunted.
“I’m here.” She came closer and ran her hand over his sweat-soaked face. “You’re okay.”
“Where’s Jeremy? Is he in the Medevac? Where the hell is he?” His voice began to rise again.
“You’re in Colorado, Ryder.”
“I’m in the fucking Chinook. Why won’t you tell me where the fuck Jeremy is?”
Again she gently shook him, then leaned over and grabbed some tissues from the box on the nightstand, and mopped his face. “It’s okay.”
“Am I in a war?” he gritted.
“No, you’re safe in your cabin. Brutus is sleeping on the floor, and I’m Savannah. Everything is just fine. We’re all safe.” She cuddled his head on her lap and rocked slowly like she did when Timmy had a bad dream—it always calmed him.
“Fuck,” he said in a low voice.
“It’s all okay.”
“I’m in Pinewood Springs.”
“Yes, you’re home and you’re safe, and nothing can hurt you.”
Silence engulfed them as Savannah ran her fingers through his damp hair, still cradling his head in her lap. Seconds turned to minutes before he gripped her hand and tucked it under his chin. His heavy breathing told her he’d fallen asleep.
Slipping her legs under the sheets, she held on to him. There was no way she was going to let go. Ryder was a lonely and broken man, and she was an angry and scared woman. For a split, second she wondered if fate had brought them together to heal one another.
Maybe there’s something to Christmas wishes.
Ryder’s arm flung over her thighs as he let out a sputtering sigh. Savannah smiled and leaned against the headboard as his breathing quietly lulled her to sleep.
