The next thing Mitch knew he was being dragged off Baxter by two sets of hands that felt like vise grips around his arms.
It took a second to register that one of the voices shouting at him was his cousin’s.
“Kimberly needs you,” Zach said in an urgent tone.
Mitch stopped resisting and popped to his feet.
Zach stepped over Baxter’s bloody frame.
“Patch him up,” he said to one of the EMTs. “He’s going to spend the rest of his life in jail. I want him well enough to serve his sentence for a very long lifetime.”
Law enforcement had descended on the scene that was now a bustle of activity. EMTs were on the ground, working on someone—Kimberly.
Mitch bolted toward them, toward her.
“Let him through,” Zach commanded, using the authoritative voice all lawmen seemed to possess.
Mitch dropped to his knees beside her as an EMT allowed passage. He was performing chest compressions on her.
An oxygen mask covered most of her face. Seeing Kimberly lying there, lifeless, Mitch couldn’t breathe.
He’d lost her once. He’d never survive losing her again and especially now that he knew the real her. Smart. Brave. Fierce.
Tears welled in his eyes. He swiped at them.
“Stay with me, Kimberly,” he said, taking her by the hand. “Don’t go away again. My life means nothing without you. I love you. I want you to stay here with me and our twins. Aaron and Rea need you. I need you.”
There was no response from her still, breathless body.
This wasn’t right. None of this was right.
Dammit.
He leaned down next to her ear.
“Can you hear me? These next words that I’m about to say never came easy to me before I met you. I love you. I need you. I’m half a man without you.” He sniffed the tears that had started rolling down his nose.
And then her hand twitched.
He heard an EMT say, “She’s breathing.”
And another, “You’re doing great. Chopper’s landing. We’re going to fix you right up.”
The sudden bursts of wind and chop-chop-chop of the helicopter registered somewhere in the back of Mitch’s mind.
“Sir, we’re taking her to Hope Memorial Hospital. Someone will take you there to meet us,” the younger EMT said.
“Take good care of her,” Mitch said.
Zach was already behind him, urging him toward the parking area. He glanced back to see that law-enforcement officers had the other one of Baxter’s associates facedown and cuffed.
Kimberly’s nightmare was over.
His was just beginning.
FOR THREE LONG DAYS, Mitch held vigil by his wife’s side after surgery to remove bullet fragments from her stomach. She’d been in and out of consciousness since then. Mostly out. The nurse had told him that she wouldn’t remember any of this. Her vitals were strong. She was young and healthy. All signs pointed toward a full recovery. But no one knew for certain if she’d lost too much blood. Or if she’d ever be the same after the shooting.
His family had been taking shifts to keep him company. His brothers were at a hotel with Joyce and the twins. Amy and his sister, Amber, had gone to pick up an important package at the airport.
Exhaustion was wearing thin as Mitch sipped his umpteenth cup of coffee in the last seventy-two hours.
He watched his wife sleep, occasionally offering words of reassurance. She was going to be fine. She had to be okay when she woke.
Mitch wasn’t much of a praying man, but he wasn’t afraid to admit that he’d called in a man of the cloth to pray over her. He figured it couldn’t hurt.
His brothers made sure he got fresh coffee, and Joyce made him a homemade meal every day. He didn’t want to insult her but he had no appetite. One of his brothers would cover for him, slipping out with a full plate and returning with an empty one.
“Come on, Kimberly,” he finally said, wishing he could see those beautiful eyes of hers again.
And then Kimberly coughed. Her eyes opened. She blinked a few times as her eyes adjusted to the sunlight bathing the room.
“I can close the blinds,” Mitch offered. His heart galloped.
Her eyes found him and his chest squeezed. There was nothing left of him to protect. The past seventy-two hours of not knowing if she’d ever wake had hollowed him out. Every encouraging sign that she was recovering meant nothing if he couldn’t share his life with her.
“It’s okay,” she rasped.
She seemed to realize he was holding her hand. Her other one came up and searched around her neck.
“Are you looking for this?” He pulled her wedding ring still attached to a string out of his pocket. The nurse had given it to him for safekeeping before wheeling her into surgery.
Her eyes lit up when she saw the gold band. “Yes.”
“I can get the nurse.” He placed the makeshift necklace into her palm.
“No. Not yet. What happened?” She glanced around, looking a little scared.
“You’re recovering from surgery,” he said. “Baxter and his cronies are locked away. It’s over. You’re safe now.”
Relief crossed her tense features.
“What day is it?” She tried to sit up.
“Hold on. Doc says you have to take it easy.” He picked up a remote and placed it in her hand.
“I liked holding your hand better,” she admitted and her cheeks flushed. It was the first sign of color in her face.
“You have no idea how happy it makes me to hear that.”
“What time is it?” she asked, raising her bed to an upright position. Her voice cracked when she spoke.
Mitch checked his phone. “Four thirty.”
He scooted the tray table next to her and brought a cup of water to her lips.
She took a sip. “That’s good. My throat is so dry.”
Hearing her voice and seeing her sit up were about the best things he’d ever experienced after fearing that he’d lost her.
“It’s Thursday,” he stated.
A look of confusion drew her brows together before she started counting on her fingers.
“I’ve been here for three days?”
“Surgery went well and you’ve been sleeping a lot,” he said.
“Have you been here this whole time?” She didn’t hide her shock at the revelation.
“Yes. And I’ll be here for the rest of your life if you say the word.” He dropped down beside her bed, took her hand in his and rested it against his forehead. He feared he’d overwhelm her with his next words but his heart was about to burst if he didn’t say them. So he lifted his chin to look directly at her. “I love you, Kimberly. And I want my wife back home where she belongs, where you belong. What do you think? Will you come home with me?”
Tears streamed down her cheeks and she smiled the biggest smile he’d ever seen.
“I love you, Mitch. I can’t wait to come home.”
He stood up and pressed a tender kiss to her lips.
“How soon can I get out of here?” she asked. The spark in her eyes had returned.
A soft knock sounded at the door.
“Come in,” Mitch said.
Zach peeked around the half-opened door. “Is this a good time?”
“Yes,” Kimberly said with another smile.
Mitch and Zach exchanged bear hugs before Zach moved to Kimberly’s side.
She motioned for Mitch to sit on the edge of the bed, which he did.
“I remember a couple of deputies being shot at. Are they here?” she asked.
Mitch hadn’t had time to give her the bad news.
Zach tucked his chin to his chest in reverence. “We lost one. The other has been treated and released.”
“Zach couldn’t save them both,” Mitch added. His cousin had done everything he could. Stillwater had survived because of Zach’s quick thinking.
“I’m so sorry,” Kimberly said.
Mitch had set up a fund to take care of Bright’s parents. The loss of the young deputy had hit the community hard. Mitch had also set up a college scholarship fund in Bright’s name in order to honor his memory.
“Baxter and his men will do hard time,” Zach reassured. “It won’t bring him back or take away the pain you’ve suffered. But justice will be served. Talisman will spend the rest of his life behind bars, too. He started talking as soon as he realized he was in a no-win situation.”
“And did he say how my father was involved in all of this?” she asked.
“Tonto was desperate to get his sick grandmother across the border, where she could get medical care. He was introduced to Baxter, who promised to help if Tonto could get access to a van,” Zach informed her. “That’s when Tonto went to your father, who agreed to help. But then—”
“My father figured out the partnership between Deputy Talisman and Paul Baxter,” she said on a sharp sigh.
“He had proof in the safe,” Zach continued.
“That’s what he was really talking about,” she said.
Mitch’s cell vibrated. He checked the screen and turned to Zach. “Mind keeping her company for a second?”
“Not at all.” Zach took the seat next to Kimberly. “We can’t replace the Bristols. I know you loved them very much. But you have family to lean on now. You’ll never be alone again.”
Mitch heard Kimberly sniff back tears as he stepped into the hallway.
The trio of women coming toward him wore the second biggest smiles he’d seen all day.
The one in the middle’s resemblance to his wife caused him to perform a double take. Her hair was more brown than black—Kimberly’s original color—and her nose was slightly bigger. But he didn’t need an introduction.
“She doesn’t know you’re here,” he said to Rose.
“I can’t wait to see her. It’s been so long,” the younger version of Kimberly had tearstained cheeks. And when he really looked at them, so did Amy and Amber.
He thanked them both for delivering the “package” that had taken Isaac exactly six hours to track down. He’d been begging for work to do since he’d been released from the hospital and the incident with the heifer seemed to be isolated.
The first conversation had lasted three hours. Rose had wanted to know everything about her older sister.
“I have goose bumps,” Rose admitted. “I’ve thought about her every day for more years than I care to count.”
“Well, then let’s not keep you waiting any longer,” Mitch said.
He stepped inside the door and then stepped to the side.
“There’s someone here to see you,” he said to Kimberly.
“The babies?” She perked up.
They would come a little later after being fed dinner. “Not exactly.”
He nodded to Rose, who rushed in and to Kimberly’s side.
Kimberly gasped and her hand covered her mouth. “It can’t be. Is it really you?”
“It’s me. Your little sister.”
“You’re okay,” Kimberly said, throwing out her arms.
“Yeah.” Rose seemed surprised. “I always had you with me to protect me.”
She pulled out the charm on a string that Kimberly had given her before she’d been hauled off to a new home.
Tears streamed down Kimberly’s cheeks as she pulled her sister into a hug.
Mitch took a back seat, chatting with his cousins and sister until the nurse came in, followed shortly by the doctor. The news was good. Kimberly was healing well and could leave the hospital in a couple of days.
The early evening hours flew by. Rose and Kimberly seemed to catch up on years in the span of a few hours.
A nurse came in and cleared everyone out, saying they could return once Kimberly ate her dinner and had a bath.
Mitch wrangled a spot in the chair next to his wife. Nothing and no one was going to keep the two of them apart again, and the nurse seemed to realize this as she excused herself to let Kimberly eat in peace. She promised to return in half an hour to help Kimberly bathe.
When the room was quiet and it was just the two of them again, Kimberly leaned toward Mitch.
“First you gave me love and then a family. Now my sister.” Tears fell and he thumbed them away for her. “I’m a leaky faucet. But I just want to say that I can’t imagine spending my life with a better man. I love you, Mitch Kent.”
“The day we met is the day I found home,” he said. “I’m ready to put the past behind us and start forever as a real family. No more hiding. No secrets. Just the two of us and our babies.”
Kimberly wiped away more of those tears. “I love you. And I can’t wait to go home.”
Look for the next book in USA TODAY
bestselling author Barb Han’s
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Ransom at Christmas,
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