Shea dove low, snatching her literally from the air as she pitched over the first step. She rotated so she’d take the brunt of the fall and she wouldn’t squash the child. Then she braced for impact.
She landed on the fourth step with enough force to knock the air from her lungs, but still she hung tenaciously on to Charlotte, determined to protect her at all costs.
She slid down the remaining steps, head first, on her back, each bump jarring her entire body. When she hit the bottom, she lay there a moment and stared up in wonder as Charlotte gave her a huge gummy grin and promptly drooled on her.
Sophie, Rachel and Sarah flew down the steps, babbling, yelling, shouting “Are you okay?” and “Oh my God!” Sophie tried to take Charlotte from Shea, but Shea held on and hugged the baby to her as she gingerly rolled the rest of her body off the steps.
Her entire body hurt, but nothing felt broken. Still clinging to Charlotte, she settled on the bottom step and buried her face in all that sweet-smelling baby skin and hair. Charlotte, completely unfazed by the event, chortled in glee and grasped a handful of Shea’s hair, pulling as she tried to maneuver it to her mouth.
Tears streamed down Shea’s cheeks. She hadn’t even realized she was crying. Her shoulders shook and she wept. Huge, aching sobs.
Around her, Sophie, Sarah and Rachel gathered, sitting in intervals on the steps so they could wrap their arms around both Shea and Charlotte.
“Thank you,” Sophie whispered. “Oh my God, thank you, Shea. I don’t know how you did it. I was so scared. I didn’t see her. I don’t know how the gate came undone. I’m always so careful. Sam is always so careful. If you hadn’t seen her. Oh God, if you hadn’t seen her.”
Charlotte began to squirm, protesting the suffocating circle of women surrounding her. She pulled away from Shea and this time Shea let her go. Charlotte patted Shea’s cheeks with both hands and let out a squeal of delight that Shea felt all the way to her toes.
And then Shea smiled back. God, it felt so good. Then she laughed. Tears still streaming down her cheeks, she laughed and let the sheer joy of the moment invade her soul.
One by one, each of the women hugged Shea fiercely and Shea hugged them back, grateful for that bond that had already begun forming. Family. Friendship. All the things that made life worth living despite the risks, the dangers and the unknowns.
Rachel wiped at Shea’s tears with the pads of her thumbs and gave her a watery smile of her own. “I think there’s someone who’d love to see you about now. Why don’t you go over and surprise him?”
CHAPTER 45
HE wasn’t shooting worth a damn. He was all over his target. He was ready to say to hell with it all and go back to Shea.
“Glad we aren’t depending on you for cover,” Garrett grumbled beside him. “We’d all get our asses shot up.”
Garrett was the only one who’d hung around after Nathan started shooting. The rest of his brothers had beaten a hasty retreat and were a safe distance away.
“I can’t do this,” Nathan said in disgust. “My head’s not in it. Furthermore I don’t want my head to be in it right now. I just want…” He broke off and squeezed his fingers into a fist in frustration.
Garrett put his hand on Nathan’s shoulder. “I know, man. I know. You’ll get there.”
“I hope to hell you’re right. I feel so damn helpless. I feel like there’s something I should be able to do to help her. To make her not so afraid. To help her forget the nightmare she’s protecting herself from.”
“She’s been through a lot,” Garrett said quietly. “But she’s strong. She’s a fighter. Right now she’s just doing what she has to do to survive and cope. Think about all you did to survive the hell you endured. You’re still dealing with it. And you will. Just like she will. Only you’ll do it together.”
“Is that what you and Sarah do? Deal with it?”
“Every damn day,” Garrett said in a somber voice. “Some days are better than others. But the good ones? Are so damn sweet that they more than make up for the bad ones.”
Nathan took off the safety glasses and then pulled the earplugs he’d draped around his neck and pocketed both. It was pointless to continue wasting ammo.
He nodded in Swanny’s direction. “You and Sam thinking of taking him on?”
Garrett followed Nathan’s gaze to where Swanny was involved in a push-up contest with Ethan. “Maybe. If he’s interested. You know Van’s putting together a team. The plan was always for it to include you and Joe. There’s no hurry. You, Joe, even Swanny have a lot to sort out before you can be cut loose. We have time.”
Sam and Joe strode toward Nathan and Garrett, broad grins covering their faces. Garrett stared suspiciously at them, but they ignored him and focused on Nathan.
“Take a look, Nathan,” Joe said, pointing behind him.
Nathan swiveled, scanning the terrain for what Joe was trying to draw his attention to. Then he froze and he forgot to breathe. Or maybe he just couldn’t.
Shea was walking toward him, slowly, her steps a little unsure. But it was her. And she was looking right at him.
He stared in wonder, his gut so knotted up that he couldn’t even swallow. He’d never seen such a beautiful sight in his entire life. He wanted to laugh. He wanted to cry. He wanted to throw up a fist and let out a triumphant yell.
“Well, what the hell are you waiting for?” Garrett asked, his grin as big as his brothers’. “Go get her!”
Nathan started out with a stagger. As he got his feet under him and his knees stopped shaking, he increased his pace until he was running. As fast and as hard as he could, his only thought to get to her.
She stopped when she saw him coming, and then her smile lit up the entire world. His world. It hit him right where he lived and nearly took him to his knees.
When he finally reached her, he gathered her up in his arms and hugged her tightly against him and then spun round and round as she laughed her delight.
She threw back her head, spread her arms out as he spun them both. Her laughter rang out, the sound so beautiful and pure that no words could describe it.
Finally he stopped and let her slide down his body until their noses were nearly touching.
“I love you,” he said hoarsely. “Oh God, I love you so damn much, Shea. Welcome home, baby. Welcome home.”
She threw her arms around him and hugged him so fiercely that she had a stranglehold around his neck. “I love you too,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry I worried you.”
He pulled away and put a finger to her lips. “Shhh. You’ve come back to me. That’s all that matters.”
He kissed her and she tasted so sweet, felt so soft and warm and so very precious in his arms.
“I want a life with you, Nathan. I’ve been so very afraid. I’m still afraid. I didn’t want to involve you or your family. I still don’t know what the future holds, but I realized that whatever the future does bring, I want to face it with you. I want your family to be my family. I love them already.”
He smiled and gently lowered her to the ground, but he didn’t let go of her. He kept her close, touching him, pressed against him. His hands were everywhere, reassuring himself that she was here, with him, her beautiful eyes clear and comprehending.
“They already are your family, baby. And they love you too.”
“Can we go see our house?” she whispered. “I never got to see the inside.”
He gathered her in his arms again and just held on, absorbing the feel and the sheer joy that blew over him, wave after wave.