by Mia Carson
Reider leered at her bitterly. “Right, course they do. You’re a bitter old woman, you know that? I’m sorry you never found happiness, but I’m not going to lose this chance at mine.”
Silence fell over the waiting room until a man in surgical scrubs cleared his throat. “Are you all here for Johanna Chadwick?”
“Yes,” Reider said the same time Lucy did. She scowled at him and raised her chin, walking to the doctor.
“She’s my daughter,” she said. “How is she?”
The doctor frowned and glanced at Reider. “Are you the husband?”
“Don’t you dare talk to him,” Lucy yelled. “She’s my daughter!”
“And she’s my wife, you bitch,” Reider snapped. “You do not control her life, and unless she says so, you will not be a part of it, not anymore.”
Lucy’s mouth hung open. The doctor cleared his throat again, motioning for Reider to follow him. Fredrick and Izzy said to give her hugs from them, and he promised he would. His heart pounding with trepidation, he waited for the doctor to tell him something—anything—but the man waited until they were at the doors leading to the ICU.
“She’s stable,” he said and Reider’s shoulder relaxed in relief. “She’s banged up, has a concussion, and has a few broken ribs and some minor internal bleeding, but she’ll pull through.”
Reider nodded frantically. “And the baby?”
The doctor hesitated, and Reider leaned back against the wall, tears in his eyes, until the doctor reached out to steady him. “The baby is fine as far as we can tell,” he said. “She’s not far along at all, but so far, so good. Your wife and child are going to be fine, Mr. Marquette.”
He clung to the man’s arms, thanking him repeatedly. “Can I see her?”
“She’ll be coming out of the anesthesia soon, so she’ll be groggy, might not remember everything,” he said. “But I’m sure she’d be happy to see you when she wakes up.”
Reider followed him through the doors, ready to see his wife again.
18
Screeching filled her ears and then screams. Flashing lights. Sound of crunching metal and then…nothing. Johanna tried to speak, to open her mouth and yell for help, but no sound came out. Slowly, her body erupted in pain—her head, her sides, until every nerve screamed for relief. A familiar voice whispered in her ear, and the pain was gone. She drifted in darkness again.
Images appeared before her, the face of a man she knew well. A man she loved. She reached out to it, but it slipped away and she was alone again. The darkness lasted for hours—days, maybe? Johanna didn’t know.
A rough hand held hers, she knew that much, and rubbed a thumb over the back of her hand and whispered her name. Her curls were smoothed back and something wet dripped onto her face. Someone was sad, very sad, and she heard crying nearby. Her heart twisted when she heard such cries, so she reached out and her hand held a face covered in beard stubble.
“Don’t cry,” she whispered hoarsely.
“Johanna? Jo, can you hear me?” a deep voice overflowing with worry said. “Jo?”
She knew that voice, but the name wouldn’t come to her so she nodded instead.
“Thank God. Can you open your eyes, love?”
It took a moment for her eyes to open, and when they did, she winced. The light was dim, but she made out the man’s face hovering nearby, tears welling in his eyes. She pressed her hand against his face again and grinned. “Reider.”
He nodded and kissed the hand he held. “Do you remember what happened?”
She blinked slowly a few times, her brain fuzzy with memories. “We… we got married,” she told him, and he smiled with her. “We left, and there was… there was another truck. An accident?”
Details flashed before her eyes. The truck getting hit and rolling. Hearing Reider call out to her but unable to reply. There was a flash of an ambulance and hearing yells from Reider as she was taken away. Hot tears filled her eyes, and her fingers traced the cuts and bruises on Reider’s face gently. “Are you alright? How bad was it?”
“Pretty bad,” he told her. “I’m fine. You scared me. I thought… I thought I lost you for a while there.”
Another memory nagged at her, and her hand slipped down to her belly, her eyes widening. “The baby? Did we lose it?”
His hand covered hers, and he shook his head. “You and the baby will recover.”
She relaxed against the bed, and he kissed her forehead. “Well, this was not how I had hoped to make our getaway,” she teased, and Reider’s face darkened. “What did I miss?”
“Quite a bit, actually,” he said.
Johanna sighed and scooted over some so he could lay in bed beside her. Once he was settled, she rested against his chest, loving the sound of his heartbeat in her ear, lulling her into a sense of calm. “Everyone knows, I take it?”
“Yes, and our parents are dealing with it,” he muttered darkly.
“Have they been by to see me at all?” she asked, hoping her voice didn’t sound as hurt as she felt.
“No. No, they have neglected to visit, and I’m not sure they will. Sheriff Princeton has been by with some good news. Izzy and Fredrick have visited, if you couldn’t tell by the flowers,” he told her with a quiet laugh.
Johanna followed his gaze and smiled at the bright yellow and red flowers across the room, vases and vases of them. A giant teddy bear sat in the chair in the corner, along with several balloons.
“Even James came by a few hours ago,” he added.
“What was the good news?” she asked and forced down any anxiety she had over her parents. Now was not the time to deal with them. She wanted to be with her husband.
Reider rested his chin against her head. “The good news is we now have access to the money in our personal accounts. Our parents will be forced to hand it over by the end of the week since the money is ours by right. I'm not sure if this other part is good news or not, but Frank was arrested and is being held for the murder of Micah’s parents. Apparently, the accident was not meant to kill them, just scare them off of accepting a new business deal.”
Johanna sighed. She wanted to feel shocked, but she couldn’t actually say she knew Frank anymore. “I don’t know what happened to him, but at least Micah should feel better.”
“He’s hanging in there but definitely better.”
She tilted her head back to study the bags under his eyes and the stubble covering his face. “I think I’m liking the beard look,” she told him. “How long was I out for?”
“Too long,” he whispered. “You came to a few times before, but the doctor said it would take a while for you to fully wake up. Don’t ever scare me like that again, alright? I don’t think I could take it.”
She hugged him the best she could as he held her close. “I don’t plan on it, but what do we do now?”
He laughed quietly and reached into his back pocket. “Now, we go and live our lives.”
“What’s this?”
“That is our new home,” he told her proudly. “I know you liked the barn and the creek with the tree, so I bought the chunk of land from my dad.”
The words on the paper blurred as tears filled her eyes. “Reider, this is perfect!”
“Good, because we’re already moved in. Waiting for you to come home.”
“I’m ready,” she said and hugged him as he kissed her sweetly. They sat on the bed for hours, talking about their plans and what he was going to do with the land. Johanna’s eyes slid closed listening to his voice, and she fell fast asleep, the timbre of his words her lullaby and the sound of his heart matching her own.
Four Months Later…
Johanna laughed as water splashed her legs and Rosaleen reeled in another fish from the creek. Travis squealed with delight and rushed forward to help snatch it out of the water.
“God, he’s getting so big,” Johanna said, watching them together.
Rosaleen unhooked the fish, and holding it in Travis’s hands and hers, they l
et it go back into the water. “I know. I can’t believe he’s almost two already.”
“And the wedding plans are coming along? Freddie’s not dragging his feet, is he?”
“Ha, not anymore. We had a very long, long talk,” she said with a laugh.
Johanna glanced over her shoulder at Fredrick and Reider standing at the fence posts, drinking beers, probably going over plans for how they were going to use the land. Johanna hadn’t realized Chadwick land backed up right behind this plot. Fredrick had bought it from their dad a few months ago. A house was going up nearby, and Johanna couldn’t be happier to have him as a neighbor.
Izzy would be coming to live with Fredrick and Rosaleen soon, but for now, she was in New York at art school having the time of her life, and surprisingly, she was dating Brandon’s cousin Phil. Though Brandon was a grade-A asshole, his cousin was like Izzy.
Johanna rubbed her growing belly, but when the baby moved, kicking near her hand, she froze. “Rosaleen,” she whispered, reaching for her hand. “Come here.”
“Did he kick?”
She nodded, bouncing on her heels. “Reider! Reider, come here!”
Rosaleen grinned as the baby kicked again but stepped aside as Reider ran over, wearing a panicked look.
“The baby? What’s wrong?” he asked as she took his hand.
“Shush and put your hand here,” she told him.
Reider pressed it against her belly, and when the baby kicked again, his eyes grew wide in astonishment. “I felt him,” he whispered.
“He’s got a good foot,” Johanna muttered as he kicked again, harder.
He kissed her, wrapping her up in a hug as Fredrick hustled over a moment later. Reider’s beard tickled Johanna’s cheeks, and she laughed, melting into his touch. “Should we start grilling?” he asked. “Or are you two ladies still having too much fun fishing?”
“You’re just jealous because you didn’t catch any yesterday,” Rosaleen teased.
“Or the day before,” Johanna added.
“And I think even the day before that?” Rosaleen added, and both women burst out laughing.
“You both think you’re so funny,” he muttered and nuzzled Johanna’s neck until she laughed and turned around to smack his arm. “Alright, a truce until food is eaten. Deal?”
“I guess so,” she said and held his hand. She stared at the creek rushing past the cottonwood tree where they had shared one of their first kisses. She sighed, resting her other hand on her belly.
“Are you happy?” he asked, putting his arms around her and resting his chin on her shoulder.
“Yeah. Yeah, I am. You?”
“I'd be better if Mom would stop trying to call me,” he muttered, “but yeah, I’m happy. I have you and our son. This is more than I ever thought I’d have.”
She leaned to the side and kissed him. “Me, too.”
“Great. So we can name our son Milton, right?”
Johanna stared at him for a long second until he laughed. “No. God, no. That’s the best you can come up with? Milton?”
“What about Theodore? Sebastian?”
“You’re terrible,” she said, laughing with him. “What about Reider Junior?”
“You think you can handle two of us?” he asked.
She kissed him again, heat growing between them as it always did. “The question is, can you both handle me?” He returned her kiss hotly and groaned as his hands cupped her full breasts. “How long until the food is ready?”
“Your brother is here,” he muttered but didn’t sound too worried. “Damn it, woman.”
Johanna grinned against his lips. She took his hand and led him towards the barn and to the rest of their lives, wrapped up in their intense and unstoppable love.
About the Author
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