Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 76364 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76364 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
“I miss you too! Thank you!”
Without so much as a goodbye, Jordan’s gone and Sara’s back on the phone. “I think they’re having a good time,” she says with a laugh.
“It sounds like it.”
“Beckett had to go out of town for a firefighter conference, so it’s just me and the girls. If you want, you can come over for coffee after your shift. Maybe stay for dinner.”
Her sweet invite warms my heart. Even though the thought kind of makes me nervous because it’s been a while since I’ve let anyone in—aside from Pierce, which hasn’t been the easiest—I say okay. Sara is one of the good ones, and I’d genuinely like to get to know her.
Since I don’t have a vehicle yet, we agree that after my shift, I’ll go home and shower. Then, she and the girls will pick me up once I’m ready. I hate being such an inconvenience, but she insists it’s not a big deal.
We’ve only just hung up, and I’m walking over to greet a couple who sat down, when I hear someone mention Pierce’s name. “…not sure what happened. Only that he was transported to the hospital.”
“The Inn is—”
“Pierce is in the hospital?” I gasp, cutting into their conversation.
The gentleman nods. “A few people were brought in. Bad fire. Destroyed the entire Inn. Poor Mary-Beth…”
He continues speaking about the devastation, but my only thought is that Pierce is in the hospital. He’s been injured. Was he burned? Is he alive?
Memories from three years ago hit me hard…
The heat.
The smoke.
The choking.
The fear—and acceptance—of death.
Waking up in the hospital room, thinking Jordan and Trent were gone.
Finding out Trent was gone.
Oh, God. Pierce can’t be gone.
Before I know what I’m doing, I’m running out of the café and onto the sidewalk, needing to get to Pierce. Only when I’m several blocks from the café, do I realize I can’t get to him because I have no car. And the town doesn’t have a hospital, which means he was brought to one in the city.
I pull my phone out and dial his number, but he doesn’t answer. I hang up and call back again, and this time when his voice comes over the phone, letting everyone know that he’s not available and to leave a message, I do.
“Pierce,” I choke out. “I need to know you’re okay. Someone said you were in an accident and brought to the hospital. Please call me.” I hang up and Google the closest hospital.
“I’m looking for a possible patient: Pierce Adler.”
“Sorry, ma’am. We can’t give out patient information over the phone.”
“Can you at least tell me if he’s there?” I beg, needing to know something, anything.
“He was brought in. However, no information regarding his condition has been put into the system.”
I thank her and hang up, then look around, realizing that I’m standing on the sidewalk, crying. I can’t go to the hospital since I don’t have the money to pay for the ride, so I do the only thing I can do—walk home.
I text Dorothy to apologize and let her know I left. And then I call Sara, hoping maybe she’ll know something. When she doesn’t answer, I drop onto the couch, raise my knees to my chin, and cry more.
I knew there was a chance this could happen. I knew I could lose Pierce like I lost Trent. Only I took the risk, anyway. Because I’ve fallen in love with Pierce. I can’t pinpoint the moment it happened, or when my feelings shifted, but what I do know is that I am in love with him. With his smile, his laugh, the way he cares about my daughter and me. If he is okay, instead of pushing him away, I won’t waste another moment without telling him how I feel.
I’m in love with Pierce Adler.
And there’s a chance I’ll never get to say those words to him.
There’s a chance I’ll never get to kiss him again.
Make love to him…
Thinking about everything we might never get to have causes my body to wrack with sobs. I’m so lost in my thoughts and fears, I don’t hear the door open or him walk in. One second I’m in a ball on the couch, mourning over what could’ve been, and the next I’m in Pierce’s arms.
My legs wrap around his waist, and my arms encircle his neck, holding on to him like there’s a chance he might disappear as he walks us to my room and lays us on the bed.
“Sweetheart,” he coos, wiping my tears, and for a moment, I wonder if I’m dreaming or hallucinating.
I reach out and touch his face: his cheeks, his nose… I run my fingertip along his bottom lip and then the top.
He smiles softly and presses a kiss to the pad of my finger. “I’m real. I’m here,” he says, as if he can hear my silent question. “I’m okay.”