Page 103 of Saddle and Bound

For a moment that stretches like eternity, there is nothing. Then, so faint I might have dreamed it, I feel a whisper of pressure against my fingers.

My heart forgets how to beat. "Rosie?" I breathe her name like a prayer, my voice trembling with raw emotion. Slowly, so slowly I fear my mind is conjuring phantoms of hope, her eyelids begin to flutter.

"I'll get the doctor," Chris says, slipping quickly from the room.

I remain anchored to her hand, my eyes fixed on her face as if looking away might break this fragile spell.

"Don't worry, my love," I murmur. "I'm here. I've got you. Take all the time you need."

And then, finally, her eyes open.

Confused, disoriented, but open.

My heart explodes with joy and relief, a supernova of emotion in my chest.

"Hi," I whisper, tears streaming freely down my face. "Welcome back, princess."

Chapter 69

Rosie

The hospital seems like a distant dream now, days after my awakening. The doctors have declared me fully recovered, though it appears someone hasn't quite received that particular memo.

"Alex," I say, watching him dart to my side with a glass of water, trying to mask my fond exasperation, "I can actually manage to pour my own water."

"I know, I know," he says, yet still extends the glass toward me with those worried eyes. "It's just—"

"That you need to take care of me," I finish, letting warmth seep into my smile. "And I love you for it. But I'm okay now. Really."

He nods, but I see it there—the shadow that flickers across his face, the echo of fear that hasn't quite released its grip.

The girls told me everything: how he maintained his vigil by my bedside, how he refused food and sleep, how he spoke to me endlessly while I lay unconscious.

The thought of his devotion makes my heart ache with a bittersweet mix of love and regret.

"Hey," I murmur, reaching for his hand. The contact grounds us both. "I'm right here. Solid and real and not going anywhere."

His fingers intertwine with mine, seeking anchor. "I know," he whispers, voice rough with memory. "But when I thought I'd lost you—"

"But you didn't," I cut in gently. "I'm here, and what I need most is for us to find our way back to normal. Can you help me with that?"

Finally, a real smile breaks across his face, reaching all the way to his eyes. "Okay."

My mind wanders to all I've missed: the final touches for Dad and Maria's wedding, the apparently legendary bachelorette party that the girls are dying to tell me about.

Yet I'm grateful to be here at all, present for the wedding itself.

“Two days," I muse aloud. "I can hardly believe Dad's getting married this Friday. And there's still so much—"

"That's completely handled," Alex interrupts smoothly. "The girls have managed everything. Your only job is to show up and celebrate."

The mention of recent events brings to mind something that's been nagging at me.

"You know," I begin carefully, watching his reaction, "I'm still processing what you told me about Maximilian."

Alex stiffens slightly at the mention of his friend, but nods. Thinking about the fact that Max had specialists flown in for me makes me feel... confused.

"It's strange," I say thoughtfully. "I can't figure him out. One moment he seems so... cold, and the next he does something like this."

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