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“No, we know our son. There’s something not true here,” his dad states and Rafe sat up straighter to protect me if necessary. “He couldn’t have pushed Chad off the bridge.”
“I think you both should leave,” Rafe warns, sliding off the bed to walk over to them.
“No, Harrison loved Chad. He was just as shocked about when they found his body as we were,” Tom states trying to move around Rafe to get over to me. “What did you do to him? You’ve killed both our sons.”
“Outnow,” Rafe seethes, pushing him back towards the door as the sheriff came into the room. “Keep them away from Amelia.”
“She did something to them both,” Tom shouts as the sheriff tried to calm them down.
“I understand you’re in pain and want answers,” the man says, taking out a tape recorder, setting it down as he pushed play, letting them hear for themselves what had gone on last night.
I turn my face away from them and the reminders as Rafe moves back to my side. I bury my face in his shoulder, hugging him until it was over. Hearing it was nearly as bad as living through it and all I want is Rafe right now.
The sheriff moves the stunned Carrols from the room, and I try to forget the pain hearing it all brought back up. Rafe soothed his hands up and down my back until I lifted my lips to him and kissed him, showing him the best way possible how much I loved him, how relieved I was that he was okay.
“I love you, baby,” he whispered, breaking his lips from mine to drag in a breath.
“I love you too Rafe. You and Maggie own my heart and soul. You have from the start, but I was so scared something would happen to you, to us, and I wouldn’t be able to make it through again. I couldn’t understand any of this. I still can’t in a way, but I can’t stay away from you. One night was enough to crush me.”
“I’m never letting you go again baby,” he warned before kissing me gently, letting all of his promises to me show in it. I wanted more but he kept it gentle and light, showing that it would arouse the exact same reaction in me that a hot and heavy one would.
“Mmm,” I sigh and open my eyes when he lifted his lips. “Rafe…”
“I’ve asked you this before…but this time I’m really hoping to get a different response, especially since you can’t run away while barefoot and in a hospital gown,” he says giving me agrin as the sun shone in through the windows surrounding us, warming me despite the cool air from the air conditioning.
“Rafe…”
“Amelia Olivia Thorpe,” he says pausing and my heart stops for a moment. “Will you marry me?”
“Rafe…”
“Oh no…you’re not going anywhere,” he says when I started to back up. I gave him a smile and slid over his lap sliding a hand up over his shoulders. “Ame…”
“You’re not letting me answer,” I tell him, and he smiles looking far more worried than I expected him to after asking for the second official time.
“Alright…what do you say baby? Will you marry me? Will you be my wife, Maggie’s mother, mother to any others we decide to have? Will you let me love you and spoil you and adore you until we’re both old and gray surrounded by our great-grandchildren?”
“Yes,” slips from my lips without hesitation and I’ll admit I’m a bit surprised but he’s even more so, I realize when I stare down into his eyes, dancing with hope and happiness.
“Yes?” he asks, and I can’t help but laugh.
“Yes Rafe. You and Maggie, you’re everything I want for the rest of my life. This entire time I was thinking it was something to do with me, that something made it impossible for people to love me enough to stay when it got hard, but it had nothing to do with me. It was all Harrison and his psychosis. You told me from the start that we were meant to be together and now I know without a doubt we are.”
“Then I guess it’s a really good thing we came here, other than you being in a hospital right now,” he adds when I lifted an eyebrow his way glancing at the hospital gown.
“Other than that yeah, it’s been a good visit,” I agree and smile more when the door opens, and Maggie came bounding in with my parents.
Dad had a bag for me, and I relished the chance to get dressed. It hurt to try to hook my bra and I nearly gave up when I heard a light knock on the door and peeked out to see my mom standing there.
“Need some help?” she asks, and I can’t say no today. I’ve got a lovely shade of green forming on my side, and I figure it’ll just get worse before it gets better. “The doctor said you could go home whenever you’re ready.”
“Ah that is music to me ears,” I sigh sliding the top over my head. It’s a shirt Rafe bought me and my mom studies it for a moment, and I’m not sure what she’s thinking. “What?”
“Just trying to figure out when my little girl turned into a woman…”
“What is that supposed to mean?” I ask holding back the blush that I know is trying to attack me.
“It means that you and Rafe are already sleeping together, aren’t you? So that combined with the nightclub you were working at makes me wonder what else I don’t know.”
