OWEN
Emma, I want to whisper as I reach out across the bed to touch her.
But I shouldn’t speak. I shouldn’t make any noise because I don’t want to disturb the bundle of joy in her arms.
Our little baby.
My little family.
This is the life I’ve always wanted.
I didn’t even know this is the life that I wanted. I thought I was happy living my isolated lone wolf life. Being a bad ass in the military and now working for good money, using the skills that I already have.
But really, all I’ve ever wanted is a family of my own, just like this.
This is love, real love. The sort of love I didn’t think a man like me could find.
Having her at long last-despite everything that we’ve been through and how hard it’s been to get here-is amazing.
I will never take Emma for granted. I will cherish every single moment…
Wait.
But what’s that?
There’s a hand reaching out, a gnarly hand, almost monster like, and it’s seconds away from grabbing Emma.
I try to bolt upright, knowing I need to sit to protect her, but my body is pinned down. There’s a weight on top of me, straddling across me, keeping me on the mattress as a figure takes Emma and my baby away from me.
Hudson.
Holy shit.
None of this is real. I must be deep somewhere in my subconscious, and everything that I have been through is starting to come to the surface, rolling through me in the worst possible way.
Hudson is taking my family from me, surrounded by faceless men. But the man behind him has a face, and it’s one I really don’t want to see.
Vinnie Lucchese.
My heart damn near stops beating when I spot the murderous look in his eye.
He wants me dead, I can feel it.
He’s the sort of man who won’t stop until there isn’t any air left in my lungs, and I can’t even defend myself because I can’t speak. I can’t even reassure my wife and child who are screaming at me for help.
My instincts rise, tension flooding my body. I can even feel myself rising up in the bed at long last. But not in the dream. That all seems to be fading away and I can’t grasp back onto it-however hard I try.
Emma, I want to scream at the top of my lungs. Emma, I need you…
As if I’ve summoned her, the door swings open and her beautiful face appears. She’s in her scrubs, just like she was when I first met her, when she thought I was Wilson Anderson.
Is this a dream as well?
“Oh, Owen, you’re awake.” She frowns at me. “How are you feeling? I don’t think you should be sitting up at the moment. Let me check you over first. I want to make sure you’re okay before you do any damage to yourself, all right?”
The softness of her skin as she touched me sends a shudder down my spine. This is definitely real, not a dream.
Especially because I can see how upset she looks.
Or is she pissed?
It could be either, and I understand that.
I haven’t exactly been great.
What was I thinking? I shouldn’t have come here.
But who else was I going to go to?
Who else could look after me? “I’m sorry, Emma.”
She says nothing.
“I shouldn’t have left you like I did, but there’s something I needed to do.”
She continues working, painfully silently.
“I had to keep you safe, and I knew it wasn’t something you would want me to do. I knew you’d try and stop me.”
“Hmm, keeping me safe,” she finally replies. “I’ve heard that before.” I sigh heavily.
“It’s Hudson. That man… I know what he’s like. I know how dangerous he is. I never wanted him to get to you, and after the ambush at the cabin, the idea that he might try to again really freaked me out. I know what he’s like and what he can do.”
“Right, I see.”
“Anyway…” I shake my head to myself. “He’s gone now. He’s dead, so we won’t need to panic about him coming after you anymore.”
“Really?”
Emma takes a step back from me, staring at me like I’ve grown an extra head or something.
“Yeah, I killed him. I know he’s gone.”
Is that a small smile playing on her lips? That’s good. I love her smile.
“Well, if there’s one thing I know for sure, Owen, it’s that you need to wash. Come on, let’s get you to the bath.”
“Is this your place?”
I’m still a little fuzzy. My head hurts.
My body hurts too.
“Yeah, I couldn’t take you into the clinic. I didn’t want you to get arrested or found or anything, so I brought you back here. I thought it was the best place I could look after you.” She cares.
That’s what this screams to me.
After everything that we’ve been through, even after me leaving her, she still gives a shit about me.
It’s been a long ass time since someone cared.
As the bath starts running, Emma helps me to peel my dirty clothing off. It’s hard because everything is sticking to me, especially around my wounds, but Emma has this magical way of distracting me from the pain.
I think it’s because I can’t stop looking at her.
She really is the most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes on.
“Right, come on. Let’s get you in the tub. Get you clean.”
I wince a few times as I get into the warm water, but as Emma starts massaging me with her wash cloth, making sure she touches me with love and care, all of that goes.
This might be the most romantic moment of my whole damn life.
Who would have thought it?
“So, things have been happening on my end as well,” she tells me in an innocent tone of voice, which makes my brain shoot back in time. Didn’t she tell me something important while I was out cold?
Unfortunately, I can’t recall what it was.
“I spoke to my father,” she tells me as she strokes a wash cloth gently over my skin. “And it went exactly as I thought it would.”
“Huh?”
I stare up at her, but truth be told, it’s hard to focus on anything other than her soft touch grazing all over my skin. It feels so freaking good. I love it.
I love her.
“Yeah, the wedding is off. My dad is furious with Rickie Flynn Junior, thanks to the recording you got for him. The tension between the O’Connell’s and the Flynn’s might be worse than ever, which is concerning,
but at least I don’t have to be the bride of the worst man ever.” She catches my eye and smiles.
“Oh, and I don’t think my father is too happy with Vinnie either. I don’t know what will happen there.”
Fuck, Vinnie is going to be in trouble.
But then that might get him off my back.
Fighting with Hudson was one thing. Taking on Vinnie and his band of assholes might be the thing to really get me killed.
Dying is out of the question especially since I’ve finally found the sunshine in my dark and dreary life.
“Are you good?” Emma asks with a smile. “Shall we get out the bath now? I can make us a coffee. We can sit and have a talk.” Oh I really hope she might fill in the gaps in my head here.
I want her to tell me what she confessed to me while I was out.
“Yeah, sounds good.”
She helps me out the bath and we head into the kitchen.
It’s warm so I’m quite comfortable in just my towel. Plus I don’t have the strength to get dressed. I feel like me and Emma are on the precipice of something, and I can’t wait to find out what it is.
I cock my head to one side as I watch Emma make us coffee.
I can’t help but notice there’s a sweet smile playing on her lips, a content blissfulness plastered across her face.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen her look like this.
Like she has everything that she wants all in one place.
Is that because of me?
“Hey, Emma, did you say something to me while I was out?” I need to know. I can’t hold back any longer.
She smirks.
“I might have told you how I feel, yes.”
My chest warms up with bliss. I can’t wait to hear what she has to say next. She knows how I feel and I need to know if that’s reciprocated.
“Oh, Owen.” She comes up behind me and loops her arms around my neck. “In case you don’t already know, I am head over heels in love with you. I didn’t know I could be in love like this, especially with someone who abandons me at a gas station…”
“Yeah, I feel fucking awful about that. I’m so sorry.”
She kisses me on the cheek. “I think we can get over it.”
“There is something I need to say though,” she tells me as she loops back around to look me in the eyes. I can see her joy there, and I have to admit it’s infectious. I can feel it swimming through me as well. “It shouldn’t be too much of a surprise since we weren’t exactly careful, but it certainly came as a shock to me.” I swallow hard.
I knew there was something.
It’s sort of starting to come back to me a little bit now, but I still need her to confirm it.
I have to know for sure.
“I’m pregnant, Owen. Having your baby. I know this isn’t exactly ideal since neither of us really know what’s going to happen next, but since I’ve fallen in love with you, I think we can find a way to make it work.”
“But… your family…”
I don’t mean to panic about that, but of course I’m going to worry about Dorian O’Connell. I would be insane not to.
“Dad already knows. I’ve talked to him. It’s going to be fine.”
Before I can lose myself in any more worry, she grabs my cheeks and kisses me hard. Lovingly too.
I really hope she’s right and that everything will be fine, because I have to admit I really do like the idea of this being my life from here on out.
There’s a reason I’ve fallen for Emma, and I’m sure it’s because we’re meant to be.
I’m going to have to face Dorian O’Connell now, and hope that he doesn’t kill me.
But if it all works out, then it’ll definitely be worth it for the happy ever after that me and Emma could have.