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Sarah sat by her daughter for two days. She didn’t leave her side. She dealt with the hospital when Miranda and Rod arrived and got them to allow them in. Miranda was frantic and Rod was emotional. Bella meant the world to them.
Miranda did exactly as Sarah expected. She demanded Bella to open her eyes and Bella remained silent and still. Sarah watched as Brody took the inquisition that Rod put out to him. Answered all his questions and took the blame for Bella being where she was. She also saw Brody starting to break. She slipped out of the room for a moment and called Allie.
An hour later, Will arrived and Sarah had told Brody he needed to go home and shower. He needed to take a break, then come back. He argued with her.
“Sarah, I’m not leaving. This is my fault.”
“No, Brody. This was an accident. I need you. I need you to be strong. I need you to get some rest. I’m exhausted and when Bella wakes up, she’s going to need you. This man in front of me is unraveling, and I don’t want Bella to see it. I know you don’t either. Home. Shower. Sleep. Then come back because I need you, too.” Sarah leaned in and kissed him gently on the lips, and then turned back to go to her daughter’s side.
When she got into the room, Miranda raised a brow at her. “So, that’s Brody. Did you give into his charms?”
Rod said, “What the hell? What’s going on? What am I missing?”
Sarah and Miranda just laughed, and Rod glared at them. “Do I need to go have a talk with him?”
Sarah smiled, “No. You are not my father, Rod. I’m fine, and Brody, well he’s got some issues of his own to work through. But I’m hoping he will. I’m hoping I’m not a broken man magnet.”
Rod scowled. “Fucking Ted. I’m going to kick his ass. He should be here.”
Sarah shook her head. “Neither of you are touching Ted. He has issues. He loves Bella and he even loves me in his own way. He deserves to heal, only he doesn’t allow himself to. I don’t want either of you turning your backs on him. You are his friends. He needs you. I’ll always love Ted and he’ll always love me. But neither of us are capable of truly loving one another. It took me awhile to see it, but now I do.”
Miranda laughed, “It took a sexy cowboy to show you that you deserve better.”
Rod growled, “What?”
Sarah shook her head, and before she could respond she heard, “Mom. What happened? Where am I?”
She rushed up next to Bella and touched her cheek. “Baby. It’s okay. You’re going to be okay.” Then she proceeded to tell Bella what happened.
Bella looked at Miranda and Rod and smiled, “You guys came to check on me?”
Rod leaned down and kissed her forehead, “Of course we did. We love you, Bella.”
Bella let a tear roll down her cheek, “Even though I’ve been a brat?”
Rod smiled, “When? I didn’t notice.”
Bella laughed at him and said, “I love you, Uncle Rod.”
He leaned down, kissed her cheek and whispered in her ear. “I love you, too, Bella. Always and forever.”
When he stood up, he moved quickly to the door and said, “I’m going for some coffee. I’ll be back.”
Bella looked at Miranda when the door closed and said, “I broke Uncle Rod.”
Miranda smiled and said, “No, sweetie, you didn’t. He’s just emotional. The man just hates to show us women that side of him. He’ll be fine, just don’t mention it to him.” The three women laughed.
Bella looked at Sarah, “Mom. Where’s Brody?”
Sarah smiled at her. “I forced him to leave. He’s been here since you fell and he was starting to unravel, much like Uncle Rod. I had Will come get him and take him home. I suspect he’ll be back in a couple hours. He didn’t really want to leave. He feels responsible.”
Bella looked at her mom. “You don’t blame him, do you? I mean, it was my fault. I was distracted and-”
Sarah put her hand on Bella’s shoulder, “It’s okay, sweetheart. I don’t blame him. I told him it was an accident. He’s just taking responsibility. He hated seeing you hurt.”
Bella nodded. “Mom, did Dad come?”
Sarah shook her head no.
Bella said, “Can you call him for me?”
Sarah smiled, “Of course, sweetheart.”
Sarah pulled out her cell phone and called Ted.
********
Brody went back to the farm with Will. Once they got to the farmhouse, Will said, “Do you want to talk about it?”
Brody said, “It’s my fault.”
Will shook his head. “No, Brody, it was an accident.”
Brody looked him in the eyes and said, “No. It’s my fault. I was with Sarah’s son the day he died. It should have been me.”
Will looked at him and waited him out. Brody told him the whole story, and when he was done, Will cursed and said the same thing his sister told him repeatedly. “No, Brody. You lived. You are not to blame for this. You did nothing wrong. You can’t save the world, man. Go get some rest. Sarah needs you. Bella does, too. The fact that Trent didn’t come home, did not change the way they feel about you. If you believe that, then you don’t know the woman you’re in love with.”
Brody snapped his attention to Will. “I didn’t say I was in love with her.”
Will smirked, “You didn’t have to. I see it. Allie sees it. It’s clear that you love her and Bella. Tell them. Stop blaming yourself for things you have no control over. You deserve to be happy.”
Will left and Brody moved into the house to take a shower. He thought about Sarah and the strength she held, the courage to face a life without her son. The courage to let the man who broke her heart back into her life only to break it again. The strength she had sitting by her daughter’s hospital bed waiting for her to open her eyes.
Brody closed his eyes as the water fell around him. Somehow, he had let himself fall in love with her. He let this woman in when he hadn’t let anyone in for a long time. He didn’t allow himself to love because he felt he didn’t deserve it. He punished himself for the last, almost thirteen years, for something he had no control over. He punished himself for coming home when his friend, his fellow Marine, died protecting him, his Lieutenant, and his brothers.
When Brody got out of the shower, he got dressed and picked up his phone to see if anyone called. He was getting ready to call the hospital when his phone rang. It was Will. Bella was awake. Will told him he’d be back to get him in a half hour.
Brody went to the kitchen and grabbed something to eat. He then called Allie and asked her to come over to the house. When Will came back, Allie was with him and Johnny.
Brody scooped up Johnny and hugged him tight. “Hey there, little man.”
Johnny squirmed in his arms and said, “Bewa!”
Allie looked at Brody and said, “She’s all he’s been asking for.”
Brody nodded his head. “How about we go see Bella and you can hug her. Okay?” Johnny nodded at him, and then he looked at Allie. “Can you put together a bag of clothes for Bella and Sarah. I didn’t feel right going through their things.”
Allie smiled, “Of course. I’ll be ready in five minutes.”
Allie moved like lightening and in about five minutes, like she promised, they were heading out the door to the hospital to see Bella.”
Once at the hospital, Brody took Johnny, walked right to Bella’s room and opened the door. The resounding shriek, “Bewa!”, had everyone turning to him and Johnny.
Bella held her arms up to Johnny and Brody put him on the bed where Johnny hugged her, and Bella hugged him back.
Sarah stood up and moved to Brody. “I thought I told you to get some rest.”
Brody smiled at her and said, “I’m where I need to be. Allie and Will are in the waiting room. I had Allie put together a bag of clothes for you and Bella.” As Brody looked at her, he realized one thing. He didn’t just fall in love with her, he’d been in love with her from the first time Trent told him about her.
Sarah smiled at him and said, “Thank you. I’m going to go out and get Will and Allie. Since Bella is awake, they should be allowed in her room.”
Brody watched as Sarah left the room and then he moved next to Bella and said, “Do you need me to take him?”
Bella smiled up at him and said, “No. He’s okay.”
Brody looked at her and said, “I’m so sorry, Bella. I should have been paying more attention.”
Bella scowled at him. “It was my fault, Brody. I let myself get distracted. I think I pulled on the reins or squeezed with my heels. I did this, not you. I don’t want you to blame yourself. It was an accident.”
Brody smiled at her. “How’d you get so smart?”
She grinned at him and said, “I have an amazing mom and family.” She looked at her Aunt and Uncle, then at him. “That family includes you, Brody.”
Brody let tears well up, but not spill over. Damn, the kid got to him. “I’d never let anything happen to you if I could prevent it. I hope you know that.”
Bella nodded her head. “Aunt Miranda can you guys take Johnny for me and give me a minute. I need to talk to Brody.”
Miranda and Rod nodded and took a reluctant Johnny out of the room.
Brody looked at Bella and said, “Look, I feel responsible. I’m the adult. I should have protected you better. It’s my fault. You don’t need to take the blame here.”
Bella held her hand out to Brody and when he took it, she smiled. “Brody. This is not your fault. It was an accident. I know I’ve acted like a child, and I know you think I’m just a kid, but I’ve grown up quite a bit since coming here. Part of that was because of you. I want to tell you something, it’s important.”
Brody nodded at her and she continued.
“I know my Dad didn’t come here to see me. I know that he has issues, and that his not coming here has nothing to do with me, but him. I know that because my Mom is amazing. I’ve been a brat to her, and I know that. I was a brat to you, too. I want you to know that I don’t blame you for my fall. I want you to know that I love you, Brody. You have been so good to me, and you’ve taught me things, spent time with me, and you’ve been here time and time again since we arrived. You’ve never looked at me as a pest or a pain in your butt, you’ve been all the things to me that I wished my Dad was.”
Brody squeezed her hand, “Bella,”
She shook her head, “No. Just let me finish. I am so happy I have had this time at the farm, and I’ll never trade it for anything. In fact, I don’t ever want to leave. I want to stay, and I want to get back on Nix again with you beside me. I trust you, Brody. I trust you with me and I trust you with my Mom. I hope we can stay here with you forever.”
Brody shook his head and looked away for a moment, then back at Bella. “I’m not your Dad, Bella, but I would be proud to be. It’s not up to me if you and your mom stay or go, but I would love it if you both stayed. That decision, though, is your mom’s.”
Bella looked at him and said, “No. It’s up to you, Brody. Talk to Mom. Tell her what you feel, what you want.”
Brody smiled at her. “You’re too old for your age, little fire.” He kissed her forehead and then Sarah came into the room.
The woman looked exhausted. Now that Bella was awake and she was okay, Sarah let everything hit her.
Brody turned to her and said, “You need to get some rest. Why don’t you go with Will and Allie, and I’ll stay with Bella? Go back to the farm and get some sleep.”
Bella spoke up. “I’m okay. Why don’t you both go get some sleep. I’m not going anywhere.”
Sarah protested, “I’m not leaving you, sweetie. I’m okay.”
Bella argued with her mother and Miranda and Rod came back in the room. Miranda agreed with Bella. “Sarah, you’re exhausted. Brody, you are, too. I think Rod and I are going to stay another couple of days, so go. Rest. We’ll stay here with Bella.”
Brody took control. “They’re right, Sarah. If you don’t get some rest, Bella will come home, and you will not be able to take care of her. Come on. Let me take you back to the farm to rest.
Sarah finally relented and let Brody lead her out to his truck and drive her back to the farm.
