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All of a sudden, Chase’s big body covered hers. “Stay down,” he warned, his voice thick and urgent.
She struggled under his weight, but he held her down, his arms covering her head. “Chase,” she called out, trying to soothe him, knowing he was probably having a nightmare or flashback of some kind.
Chase abruptly sat up beside her and grabbed her arm. “Wake up,” he shouted. His eyes filled with fright, unmistakable even in the dim light. “No, no, no, no, no. You can’t die. Wake up,” he shouted again, shaking her by the arm.
She reached up and touched his face to soothe him. “Chase, it’s me. Shelby. You’re okay.”
He didn’t let go. He just kept shaking his head, and silent tears spilled down his cheeks. “Wake up,” he pleaded, and shook her arm harder.
The grip on her arm tightened to the point she couldn’t stand it. “Chase, please, let go.” She tried to pry his fingers off her.
“You can’t die. No one else can die.”
“Chase, let go!” Frantic now, she slapped him to wake him up. The crack of her hand against his face echoed in the room, and Chase went eerily still.
“Shelby.” Confusion sounded in his voice.
“Let go.” She tried to keep her voice calm and soothing despite the tears spilling down her cheeks andclogged in her throat. She tapped her free hand to his wrapped around her arm. “Let go!”
As soon as he realized he had her in his grasp, he released her and shot into the corner of the bed, his back against the wood wall, and stared at her wide-eyed.
She felt a distance as wide as a chasm opening up between them.
She crossed that distance and wrapped him in a hug, her arms locked around his neck. He didn’t hold her back, so she held on tighter. “I’ve got you, Chase. You’re okay. I’m here. You’re okay,” she repeated, feeling his stiff body start to relax against hers. “I’m so sorry she died. You couldn’t save her. No one could. It’s not your fault.”
His arms went around her, and he crushed her to his chest. “She’s not the only one I lost.”
“I know.” She slid her fingers into his hair and held him to her as he wept for the friends he’d lost and a woman he barely knew but meant something to him all the same because she’d been like him. A lost soul, starting over and forging a new path.
Hers ended tragically and way too soon.
Chase probably felt like it could have been him. In some ways, maybe he believed it should have been him because of what he’d seen and done while serving overseas.
But Shelby wanted him to know and believe that wasn’t true.
He deserved to live. He deserved to be happy.
And no matter what, she wasn’t going anywhere. “I’m here. I’ve got you.”
She felt the energy wane from his big body. She managed to shove a pillow up against the headboard behindher. She leaned back and pulled Chase toward her. He settled his head in her lap and she brushed her fingers through his hair over and over again. “I’m here,” she whispered again.
His arms contracted around her waist, and he fell back to sleep. She wondered if he’d even remember this in the morning. She hoped not.
It scared her a little to think he could do something in his sleep and not remember it when he woke up.
Chapter Fourteen
Chase woke up with a jolt. Shelby’s grunt punctuated his nightmare as he unknowingly smacked her leg and shoved his shoulder into her ribs. The visions of war, death, and blood dissipated along with the racing of his heart and the rush of adrenaline.
Somehow he’d fallen asleep in her lap, his arms wrapped around her waist. He backed away, not wanting to hurt or disturb her again. He lay on his side and stared at her. She had her head cocked at a weird angle as she tried to sleep sitting up against the wall.
The second he moved away, she reached out for him, finding his shoulders and brushing her fingers gently over his skin. “Shh. I’m here,” she assured him, pulling him back into her body without fully waking up.
She couldn’t be comfortable. At all. So he hooked his arm around her waist and pulled her down the bed until her head was on the pillow, her body lying down the length of his.
She patted his arm and snuggled into his chest. “You’re okay,” she mumbled.
Yeah, with her here, he was better than okay. He hugged her close, let the feel of her and the light and joy she brought into his life warm him from the insideout, and realized he actually felt like he’d slept most of the night.
