Page 74 of Refuge for Cherilyn

“Yeah. That’s all it is. Nerves.” Shaw took a deep breath and huffed it out, all the while wiping tears from his eyes with the backs of his hands. “I’m fine, really. Just exhausted and relieved. That’s all.”

“Good. You’re not mad at me, are you? I wrecked Cherilyn’s car. I’m so sorry.”

“Oh, baby, no! I’m not mad at you. I’m so proud of you. You’re a hero, sweetie. He probably would’ve killed Cherilyn and all three of you girls if you hadn’t lured him away. I want to spank your ass for it, but I want to hug you for it too. But right now, I want you to feel better. I’m going out here and sit down with the doctor to talk about how you’re doing, but you get some rest, okay? I’ll be back in a little while. And Candace?” Shaw stood, then took her hand at her bedside. “I love you, my baby girl. I never, never stopped loving you. I’ll always love you.”

“I love you too, Daddy. I’m really tired.” She yawned widely.

“Get some rest.” Shaw let Aaron lead him out into the hallway. “I’m sorry.”

“For what? Tears? You’re human! It’s a miracle that girl is alive. I have to say, she’s one helluva driver. She handled that car like a pro.”

“Did I tell you that when she showed up here, she’d driven up from Gulf Shores in her stepdad’s Lamborghini Diablo?”

“Are you shitting me?” Aaron started to laugh. “Aww, hell, that Chevy was nothing after that! Now, let’s go get you a cup of coffee and sit down for a little while. You need a break.”

They’d been in the waiting room, chatting and drinking coffee for about twenty minutes, when footsteps rang out into the hallway and Cherilyn burst into the room. “Oh, god! Is she okay?”

Shaw took one look at her reddened eyes and the tear streaks down her face, then patted the chair beside him. “Come sit down. She’s gonna be fine, according to the doctor.”

Cherilyn collapsed into the chair and buried her face in her hands, then sat up and threw her head back to sigh. “Oh, god, why did she do that?”

“To draw him away from all of you. She thought of you three first instead of herself.”

“I can’t believe it. I just can’t believe it. Candace did that. Miracles do happen.” Cherilyn reached over and took Shaw’s hand. “I love you, Shaw, you and Candace. I hope this doesn’t change anything for us.”

“Oh, it changes things. It changes things a lot.”

A stricken look covered her face. “How?”

Shaw closed his eyes and smiled. “You’ll see.”

CHAPTER11

After a good bit of consideration,the surgeons had made a small incision in Candace’s chest and repaired her lung, then wired her broken rib into place and left a chest tube in for a few days to make sure it was healing. On the fifth day, they told Shaw to take her home.

Cherilyn had done everything she could to make sure Candace was comfortable. She built a bank of pillows, since the girl had to sleep partially sitting up for a week. She made sure there was a bottle of water on the nightstand. She made sure Candace took her medicines. She made sure there was help for showers and dressing changes, and someone read to her, played a game with her, or napped with her almost constantly. She was never alone.

But on the first night Shaw had to work after she’d come home, Cherilyn saw him off to work and headed back to the kitchen when she heard Candace call out, “Cherilyn?”

Cherilyn stuck her head through the doorway. “Hey, honey! What’s up? Need something?”

“Could you sit down for a minute? I need to talk to you.”

“Sure.” Cherilyn sat down on the side of the bed and smiled at the girl. “What’s going on?”

“I need to ask you something.”

“Okay. Go ahead.”

“If my dad asks you to marry him, would you?”

Everything inside Cherilyn shrieked. Was Shaw planning to ask her? Had he and Candace been talking about it? “Uh, do you know something I don’t?”

Candace gave her a tiny smile. “No. It’s just that I can tell he loves you, and you’re really good for him. He loves Maya and Lara too. You’d make a good couple. And I…” She stopped.

“You’d what, honey?”

“Um, I… I like you too.” She reached for Cherilyn’s hand, and the woman counted it as a win. She knew what Candace was trying to say, and the idea made her smile.

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