Page 129 of Speechless
“Thank you. I…you’re a good man, Doctor O’Malley. You’ll be good for her. We didn’t appreciate that before.”
Connor nodded once, sharply, then slipped his hand from under Jenna’s. “I love you, Jenna. I’ll be right outside if you need me.”
Her lips trembled. “Okay.”
*
Flat on her back in a hospital bed was never the way she’d wanted to see her parents again. In her mind, her mother was on verge of being erased, but her father…she loved her father. He’d been her rock, her line in the sand when it came to rules and discipline, and her safe place when the monsters crawled from the closet.
It was clear Connor harbored anger toward him, and her mother. Jenna couldn’t blame him; part of her hated her family for what they’d done, tearing her away from Connor and the life she loved after so long in captivity waiting to die.
“I’m not ready to talk about the future,” she told Aaron slowly. “Not one that involves you and Mamma. I’m sorry for what you went through. I am. But what you did caused untold harm. I need time to learn how to forgive you for that.”
“I don’t expect forgiveness, Penelope.” Aaron winced and pressed his hands to his face. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry, it’s hard to think of you as anything but Penelope. Half my life is full of memories of you, and you’re my shining Penny in all of them.” His hands dropped. “We acted rashly, Jenna. Selfishly. Trying to save ourselves while sacrificing the one piece of us we couldn’t survive without. I’m sorry for it.”
Well, he got anAfor sincerity. “I know, Papa. I know it even if Connor doesn’t want to see it. He will, one day. He’s angry and I don’t blame him for that. I’m angry too, but I’ve missed you so I’m not going to shout and rage about what’s done.”
“Always did have a soft heart. I understand we have to earn a place back in your life, Jenna. All I’m asking for is the chance to do so. Losing you a second time would pull the family apart.”
“That can’t be my responsibility, Papa. You’re asking for a chance; I’m asking you for the time you should have given me before. I want to build a life with the man who saved me. Who loves me enough to take bullets for me. Give that to me, give me that opportunity to work on this life, before you charge in and set my world upside down again.” She sighed quietly. “I love Connor. He loves me. This is what I need, Papa. He’s all I need.”
Aaron closed his eyes and nodded quickly. “I can do that if you’re sure it’s what you want. I never meant to cause discord, Jenna. I just wanted my Penny back.” His shoulders slumped, and she wondered if it finally dawned on him that his little shiny Penny had tarnished in the muck of her ordeal. “I’d like to…can I kiss you goodbye, Jenna?”
She hesitated, hating the vulnerable position she was in and how he’d crowd her personal space. It wasn’t possible, not now. The wounds were too raw, physically and mentally. “I’m sorry. I can’t…not today.”
“I understand. I…I’ll give you some breathing room. I love you,” he murmured before abruptly turning on his heels and making a hasty exit.
Worn down to the bone, Jenna watched him go and, horribly, felt nothing but relief. A good indication she wasn’t ready to tackle the minefield of her family just yet. Her body started to sing its usual aria of discomfort as she sank deeper into the mattress. A precursor to the swift onset of pain if not treated promptly.
But she hated the drugs, despised the way they stole her away for hours and hours at a time. So many minutes ticking away while she slept, oblivious to everything around her.
Connor stepped back into the room, smiled as his eyes roamed over her. He hobbled forward, swung himself onto his bed with an odd grunt, then just laid back and covered her hand with his. “You okay, baby?”
“Yeah. Yeah, it’s all settled, for now.”
“Good. That’s good.” He patted her hand gently. “Sarah’s persuading Maryanne to slip us some new dressings.” A yawn contorted his face. “Shit, no one ever tells you how exhausting recovering can be.”
She snuffled softly in reply, unable to form actual words. It didn’t matter. Her white knight rested beside her, her world was set to rights—or as right as they’d ever be—and she was happy.
She wouldn’t change a thing.
Chapter Twenty-Six
March 15ththe following year…
Connor paced the yard, glancing at the sky and tugging at his jacket. Though the sun shone with all the hope of spring, he knew how quickly the weather could turn. Winter’s influence hadn’t completely vanished, and it had been a long, hard season this time around.
The snowstorm at the heart of Jenna’s ordeal—nearly four months ago now—had been only the beginning of a winter riddled with unfathomably low temperatures, deplorable precipitation, and so many flu cases Connor thought the epidemic would never end.
Now he walked over green grass a little too long, wearing a path in the damn stuff, thankful for every vibrant blade beneath his feet. Four months ago, things could have been very different.
He and Jenna could have been under the lush green carpet instead of standing on it. They’d come far too close to kissing this mortal plane goodbye.
“Stop worrying, Connor. Everything will be fine.” Zeke stepped up beside him, looking relaxed and self-assured as, like Connor, he took the time to survey the small gathering in the yard. “This is nice. Jenna’s been cooped up for too long during her recovery, this will brighten her day.”
Itwasnice, Connor supposed. His nerves jittered as he wondered whether it was nice enough. He’d asked only a handful of people to join them today, the anniversary of the day Jenna’s life had turned upside down in the parking lot of a mall when Sire—otherwise known as Iverson Wyatt Ford, formerly of the Billings PD—for a small, intimate party to celebrate her life, her rebirth.
“Everything’s in place, right?” he demanded of his friend.