Wrecked Palace

by Catherine Cowles

  The nurse moved towards a corner room and then paused. “She’s going to look a little rough, but she’s breathing on her own, and that’s a great sign. Go on in.”

  “Thank you.” I moved around her and through the door that was propped open. As soon as I caught sight of Caelyn, I froze. She was pale. Almost stark-white. And her face seemed swollen as if she’d been battered. A bruise bloomed across her cheek. I could only imagine what the rest of her body looked like.

  This woman that was so full of life was far too still. I hated everything about it. I forced myself to step closer, one foot in front of the other as if they were weighed down with cement blocks. By the time I reached the bed, my breathing was labored, and my chest was so tight I thought I might be having a heart attack.

  I lowered myself into the chair beside her bed. “Caelyn.” Her name was a prayer. A plea for her to return to me. I slipped one hand under hers, placing the other on top, careful not to disrupt the oxygen monitor. “I’m here. And I’m not going anywhere. Not until you wake up.”

  There was no response. Only the constant beeping of her heart monitor, and the faint hum of the other machines. “I love you. More than I thought possible. I didn’t think I could ever let anyone in again. But you and those tiny terrors… You wormed your way into my heart. So, you don’t get to leave now.”

  A tear splashed against our joined hands; it was the only way I even knew I was crying. “I’ve lost too many people I’ve loved, Caelyn. Don’t you leave me, too.”

  50

  Caelyn

  I seemed to drift through foggy pain. Occasionally, voices pulled at me. Sounds I wanted to move towards, but I couldn’t seem to find my way there.

  “Come on, Caelyn. You can do it. The doctor says you’re trying to wake up. Open those eyes.”

  Griffin. I wanted to see him. His blue eyes. Heck, I’d even take his scowl. I let out a groan.

  “There you go. Keep fighting. Come back to me. I need you.”

  My eyelids fluttered. But they felt as if someone had tied tiny weights to my lashes. Griffin squeezed my hand, and I fought harder. Light flared, blinding me for a moment, and then my view was full of Griffin. Tears glistened in his eyes. “You’re awake.”

  “Hi,” I croaked.

  He reached for a cup with a straw. “Here, take a small sip.”

  The water was like a balm to my throat, soothing the burn there. But before long, Griffin was pulling it away. “I don’t want you getting sick. How do you feel?”

  “Everything hurts.” And my mind was muddied. I was in a hospital, but why—? My eyes widened. “Mia, is she okay? Ava and Will?”

  Griffin brought my hand to his chest. “They’re fine. Everyone’s fine. They’re in the waiting room. When you’re ready, we’ll bring them in. But I want you to take it easy.”

  I sagged back against the bed. My side screamed in protest, hot, burning pain engulfing me. Griffin must have seen me wince because he pushed in even closer. “Are you okay? Do you want me to call the nurse?”

  “No. No. I just want to be with you for a minute. Am I? Is everything okay?”

  Griffin brushed the hair back from my face. “You’re going to be fine. Now that you’ve woken up, they say you’ll make a full recovery. But…”

  “But what?” The stark fear on Griffin’s face, the pain, it had me gripping his hand even harder.

  “Your heart stopped twice. I almost lost you.” His voice cracked, emotion leaking through his words. “I don’t know what I would’ve done.”

  “I’m here. I’m right here.” I pulled my hand from his grasp and framed his face with my hands, fingers rubbing against the stubble on his cheeks. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  His eyes drifted shut and he pressed a kiss to my forehead. “No. You’re not. And you’re stuck with me for life.”

  I let out a little laugh, instantly regretting it as pain flared to life throughout my middle. I let my hands fall back to my sides.

  “What is it?”

  I gave Griffin a weak smile. “I don’t think laughing is on the docket quite yet.”

  He found my free hand again, holding it close. “It’s going to take some time to recover. But we’ve got you every step of the way.”

  “The men? Are they…? Did Parker get them?”

  Griffin’s eyes shifted to the side. “One’s in custody. The other’s dead.” He paused for a moment. “I shot him.”

  My hand spasmed in Griffin’s. “I’m so sorry.”

  He looked back to me. “You’re sorry?”

  “That you had to do that. Even if he deserved it, I hate that you have to carry that weight.”

  He swallowed hard. “I’d do it a million times over if it meant keeping you safe.”

  “I love you,” I whispered. “So much.” I never thought I’d find someone who would love me enough to put me first. To stay by my side when times got tough. But in a matter of months, Griffin had proven to be that man and more. “I don’t know how I got so lucky.”

  His gaze burned into mine. “I promised myself I’d wait. That I’d give you and the kids time to settle into the house and our new routine. But I don’t want to wait. If the past few days have taught me anything, it’s that we shouldn’t waste any of the precious moments we’re given. Marry me, Caelyn. Start forever with me right now.”

  My breathing had completely ceased as my heartbeat thundered in my ears. “Yes. It’s totally and completely insane. But yes.”

  Griffin’s lips found mine in the gentlest of kisses. But with that barest of touches, I felt everything. His love, protection, devotion. I knew, with him, I’d never doubt how cherished I was.

  He pulled back, shaking his head. “I don’t even have a ring to slip on your hand.”

  I linked my fingers with his. “I don’t care about a ring. You’ve given me everything I could ever want. A home. A family. You.”

  “I love you, Caelyn.”

  A soft knock sounded on the door. It opened a fraction, and Will’s face appeared. “I just wanted to—Caelyn! You’re awake.” He bolted into the room and came skidding to a stop at the side of my bed. “You’re really awake. They said if you woke up, you’d be okay.” Tears filled his eyes.

  “Come here,” I said, waving him closer. Griffin released my hand so I could take Will’s. “I’m fine. I promise.”

  “I was so scared,” he said, his voice hoarse.

  “But you were so brave. You kept Ava safe. You did what I asked.”

  He nodded slowly. “Are you hurting?”

  I smiled. “A little. But seeing your face helps.”

  Griffin crossed to the door without another word as if he sensed I needed to see Ava and Mia, too. Within a matter of seconds, he’d returned with them—Mia curled in his arms, and Ava right beside them. As soon as they saw me, Mia burst into tears, and Ava ran to my bed.

  “My girls. My beautiful girls.”

  Will wrapped an arm around Ava, bringing her closer to the bed. And Griffin sat in the chair next to my bed with Mia in his arms.

  “I’m okay. I promise,” I assured.

  “I’m so sorry,” Mia wailed. “I shouldn’t have run away after Luci. Then you wouldn’t have gotten hurt.”

  “Mia, no.” I reached out and grabbed her knee, ignoring the flash of pain. “This isn’t your fault. The only people responsible are the ones who did this and they aren’t going to hurt us ever again.”

  “Promise?” she asked, voice wavering.

  “We promise,” Griffin said, holding her close.

  I glanced at Ava. “You okay?”

  “I’m okay if you are,” she whispered.

  “I’m better than okay,” I said, looking at the people surrounding me. The love I felt for them, warming me from the inside out. “How about some happy news?”

  Will gave a wobbly grin. “I think I’ve only got room for good news for about the next ten years.”

  “Sounds like a great rule to me.” I looked at Mia. “Think yo
u might be up for being a flower girl? Or a junior bridesmaid?”

  Ava gasped, looking from me to Griffin and back again. “You guys are gonna get married?”

  “We are,” I said.

  “What do you say?” Griffin asked. “How do you guys feel about being stuck with me forever?”

  Will grinned. “I think I can struggle through it.”

  “You’re already family,” Ava said.

  Mia beamed. “Do I get a sparkle dress?”

  Griffin chuckled. “We’ll get the sparkliest dress we can find.”

  “How about this summer?” I asked.

  Griffin’s eyes flared, a mixture of surprise and heat. “You want to do it that soon?”

  “I don’t want to miss a second of a life with you.”

  Epilogue

  Caelyn

  TWO MONTHS LATER

  “That’s perfect.” I set down the end of my table runner at the same time Bell set down hers. “I can’t believe you made all this happen. Thank you.”

  She rounded to me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “I can’t think of a better use for some of my furniture pieces.”

  I scanned the backyard of the farmhouse. It was dotted with a handful of mismatched tables and chairs with artful table runners and soon to be filled with flowers. Our friends had worked overtime to make this wedding happen.

  Griffin had acquiesced to having a little more help on the house. And between him, Will, Crosby, and Ford, they’d completely finished the restoration just last week. Bell had offered to handle all of the furniture for our small affair. And Kenna was tackling flowers.

  Just the thought of her seemed to will her into being. Kenna’s rounded form came around the house with her fiancé hot on her heels. “Brown Eyes. Stop walking so fast. Something could happen to the baby.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Do you hear him? It’s not like this little lady is going to just drop out of me.”

  “Little lady?” I squeaked.

  She blushed. “Oops. I was going to keep that one a surprise. It’s a girl.”

  I let out a squeal and flew in Kenna’s direction, pulling her into a hug. “You realize this means we can start shopping for all the cute baby things now.”

  She grinned. “I like the way you think.”

  “Hey,” Bell whined. “I want in on this.”

  We wrapped one another in one of our group hugs. “Love you, guys,” I whispered. “Sisters of my heart.”

  “Always,” Bell echoed.

  Kenna sniffed. “You two are always making me cry now.”

  I chuckled. “Who would’ve thought we’d ever see the day where Kenna became a crier? I always thought that would be my role.”

  She straightened and brushed out invisible wrinkles in her sundress. “I’m pregnant. Which means, I have an excuse.”

  Crosby came to a stop outside our huddle. “You guys okay?”

  “Oh, we’re fine,” Kenna griped. “Just like your progeny is fine.”

  Crosby grinned. “She tell you it’s a girl? I’m gonna spoil her rotten.”

  “You will not,” Kenna argued.

  Crosby only smiled wider. “We’ll just have to see.” He turned to me. “We’ve got the flowers in the back of the truck. Ready for them to be put out on the tables?”

  “We’re ready,” I said.

  “Flowers!” Mia cried, leaping off the deck in a sparkly dress that might have blinded a few people as she spun in circles. One sparkly dress had not been enough for my Mi. She’d needed three. One for the bridal shower, one for tonight’s rehearsal dinner, and one for the big day tomorrow.

  “Mia, you look beautiful,” Bell called.

  Mia greeted her with a deep curtsey. “Thank you.”

  I choked on a laugh. “I’m pretty sure she thinks we’re marrying into the royal family,” I whispered.

  “You might as well be,” Kenna said.

  We’d tried to keep our wedding off the radar. Only about twenty people were attending, in addition to the wedding party. But somehow, the danged reporter who never stopped harassing Griffin had gotten wind of our engagement. It might’ve been the massive rock Griffin had planted on my finger a week after my release from the hospital. Or, she might’ve started digging after the police report of my incident was released.

  Griffin had been cleared of any wrongdoing, and Darryl Kidman would be in jail for a very long time. The police had found my father buried in Max’s backyard, and we’d been able to put both my parents to rest in a cemetery on Shelter. There would never be simple feelings when it came to them and the events that had transpired, but we were healing together as a family. And having this wedding to focus on had helped so much.

  Will opened up to Griffin as they worked on the house, letting his guilt and fear flow. Griffin was there every step of the way, encouraging and being a shoulder to lean on.

  Mia had been struggling with nightmares, but we were there every time she called out. It helped that she and Ava shared a room, and that Luci never left her side. I swear that cat had become my little sister’s fiercest defender.

  Ava processed the way she usually did—quietly and with deep thought. We’d spent a lot of afternoons walking the property, just the two of us as I slowly got my strength back. And my girl opened up to me over time.

  We were all going to be just fine.

  Ava and Will bounded out of the house. “Hey,” Crosby called, “we need your hands to unload flowers.”

  “I can help, too,” I said, starting to head in that direction.

  “Actually, Griffin wants to see you. He’s in his office,” Will said.

  I stopped and turned back to the house. “All right. I’ll be out to help as soon as I’m done.”

  I made my way inside, moving through the kitchen that had become my favorite place in the house and down the hall into Griffin’s office. “Hey, handsome.”

  He looked up and grinned, those blue eyes sparkling. “Come here, gorgeous.”

  I crossed to him, and he tugged me onto his lap. “Have I told you lately that I love you?”

  “Hmmmm,” I said, tapping my lips with a finger. “I think you might’ve mentioned it once or twice. But I never get tired of hearing it.”

  He trailed his lips up the side of my neck. “I love you.”

  “Griffin.” His name was more of a pant. “There are half a dozen people outside.”

  He chuckled, the sound sending shivers through me. “I’ll be good. I promise.”

  “I hate that you have to be.”

  He squeezed my legs. “Trust me, I do, too.”

  “So,” I said, twisting in his lap, “what did you need?”

  “To give you this.” He nodded to a long box on his desk. The piece that had once belonged to his father and had become his most prized possession.

  “What is it?” I asked, sliding the box closer to me.

  “Your wedding present. I wanted to give it to you before all the craziness began.”

  My mouth curved as I toyed with the ends of the ribbon. “You know you didn’t have to get me anything. You’ve already given me so much.”

  He pressed his lips to my temple. “Open it.”

  I tugged on the ribbon, sliding the box out of its hold. I slowly lifted the lid. Inside were papers folded neatly in thirds. As I unfolded the stack, I gasped. “What in the world?” There were pictures and lists of places. Rome and the south of France. Mallorca, Spain and Mikonos, Greece.

  “Next summer, you, me, and the kids are going to Europe. And every place we go, you’re taking a cooking class.”

  Tears stung my eyes. “My dream.”

  His lips brushed my hair. “I love making each and every one come true.”

  I leapt from his lap, hurrying to a decorative box on his bookshelf. Griffin grunted. “That wasn’t exactly the reaction I was expecting…”

  I lifted the lid of the box and pulled out my own papers, but they were rolled into what looked like a scroll with a red ribb
on tied around them. I turned, rushing back to Griffin and taking his mouth with mine in a hard kiss. “I love you so much. I never thought I could love a person as much as I love you.”

  He smiled. “Okay, that’s a little better.”

  I handed him the scroll. “This is from me. And Will, Ava, and Mia.”

  Griffin quirked a brow but untied the bow. As he scanned the top page, his entire body locked. His gaze shot to mine. “This is paperwork to file with the court. To make me a guardian of the kids.”

  My tears spilled over, tracking down my cheeks. “We want to make it official in every way possible that we’re family. Will, Ava, and Mia, too. Crosby can file them next week. If you want.”

  Griffin let the papers fall to his desk and framed my face with his hands. “I want.” He slid his lips against mine in the most tender kiss. “You’ve given me my dream, too.”

  “What’s that?” I asked.

  “A family. Forever.”

  Want to find out what Shay is running from? And meet the hero she falls for with secrets of his own? Find out in Reckless Refuge. Available for purchase by tapping HERE. And turn the page for a special preview.

  * * *

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  Enjoy this preview of Reckless Refuge

  Shay

  PAST

  It burned. Everywhere and nowhere. Slices in my skin that made it feel as if hot lava had been poured into my flesh. I couldn’t count them, had lost track after the tenth. I tried to move, to somehow escape. Only my fingers twitched.

  Sounds. Voices. Hovering above me. They were everywhere and yet nowhere. Pinpricks of light, like glimmering stars on the darkest night.

  “Miss? Can you hear me?”