Page 134 of In My Heart
“I don’t want you to hurt at all,” he said firmly.
Luckily, we walked into Cal’s room and found him and Arran sat on the edge of the hospital bed, both fully clothed and Cal’s arm in a sling.
“Hi,” I greeted as they both turned to look at us.
“There ye are, darlin’. We were just talkin’ about ye,” Arran announced happily as he got to his feet and came my way.
Just seeing him after the night I’d had, and all we’d been through filled me with relief and emotion in equal measure, and without thinking, I stepped out of Dio’s hold and rushed into Arran’s arms, landing against his front hard.
“Is Cal okay?” I asked shakily as I clung to him and breathed him in.
“Aye. He’s about to be discharged, so we can get him home. He’s fine, lass. What about you?”
“I missed you.”
“Didnae sleep well, eh?”
“Not really,” I admitted.
“She won’t take any pain killers and she’s in a lot of pain,” Dio added with some frustration.
“I’m alright,” I argued, but I didn’t move from where I was pressed against Arran, his arms around me.
“Come and sit down, beautiful. Let me get a cuddle too,” Cal said, and I looked around Arran to him where he was still perched on the bed, holding his hand out to me.
I smiled shakily as I pulled away from Arran and went to him. As soon as my hand landed in his, he pulled me close and scooped me up with his good arm.
“Cal!” I cried, worried he’d hurt himself, but I was already in his lap by the time my protest was out. “Your shoulder!”
“Calm down!” he smiled. “You don’t weigh a bloody thing.”
“Arran! Tell him!”
“He’s fine, wee one. Quit yer fussin’ and let the lad hold ye. He’s been worryin’ about ye all night,” Arran dismissed with a wave of his hand.
“Did you get a wink of sleep?” Cal asked as he wrapped his arm around me and studied my face.
“A few hours, but it was a rough night,” I admitted. “I missed you and Arran.”
“We missed you too, babe, but we’ll be home tonight. Didn’t Dario stay with you last night?”
“He was in and out. He was fielding a ton of phone calls,” I explained quietly, not wanting Dio to overhear and feel bad for not being at my beck and call all night. He’d been with me as much as he could, but he had a lot of work to do with Rafe still out of action.
“I need to find out what’s going on with Dante. Stay here, okay baby?” Dio called over to me from where he had been talking toArran near the door. I looked up and nodded, giving him a shaky smile.
“How’s Rafe?” Arran asked as he approached and sat in a chair beside the bed, opposite us.
“Exhausted after yesterday. He had to sleep with oxygen last night because he pushed way too hard. The doctor checked in on him this morning and suggested he stay in bed for today at least. Thankfully, Rafe was too worn out to argue. Terza is keeping and eye on him,” I explained. “I’m worried about him.”
“He’ll be alright. He just needs to actually allow his body to rest and heal. Hopefully, he can do that now things are going to settle down,” Cal assured me.
“Things better settle down,” I sighed.
“They will. Yer past is dead an’ buried now, and Rafe is getting’ the family outta this darker side of things. Life will get quieter, hen, and you will finally get that peace ye’ve been hoping and waitin’ fer. It’ll take a while to recover from everythin’ that’s happened, but we can start lookin’ te the future now, all of us. A good future.”
“He’s right, Cara. Brighter days lie ahead now. You just need to hold on. We’ll get there,” Cal agreed.
I opened my mouth to tell him I wanted that – the brighter days and a future with the two of them and Dario. And Dante too, hopefully, but before I could utter a word, a loud shout erupted from somewhere, and my body froze as I looked around me.
