Page 44 of Tyler

Her head was spinning, her arm was aching, and her mouth was no doubt wide open. She’d never felt better in her life because Ty was still alive.

“Piper!” Ty stumbled to her and pulled her close. “Jesus. Don’t leave me like that again. Don’t ever leave me.”

Inhaling at the raw emotion in his tone and embrace, she wrapped her arms around him, mindful of his injuries because he was really going to start to feel them again as soon as his rush subsided. “I won’t. And don’t you leave me either.”

“Not a chance.”

“God, I almost lost you twice today, Ty.” Suddenly, it all became too much, and she finally let go of her emotions and cried against his chest.

After nearly losing him the first time, she’d been unable to deal with the pain. Flashbacks of all she’d gone through with Zane had paralyzed her.

But this second time?

It had knocked something loose inside her, something primal, and she discovered she was willing to fight tooth and nail to keep him alive. Keep him with her.

After her tears subsided, she drew back and kissed his cheek. “I’m never letting you go.”

“Thank God.” He kissed her forehead then glance at Hunter, who already had the guy’s hands zip tied and was leading him toward Dex, who stood next to an open vehicle.

She had no idea when he’d shown up and didn’t care. All that matter was Ty.

But there were a few things the sheriff needed to know.

“Did you hear what he said?” she asked Hunter as he was loading the bloodied man into the SUV.

“Yep. Every word. I’ll relay it to Gabe,” Hunter replied, then nodded to Ty. “You might want to get your hand looked at,Rocky. And you look like you’re about to fall over.”

Piper glanced down at the bloodied hand he’d placed on her hip, which was starting to swell.

“Oh, wow. He’s right. Let’s get you back inside.”

“No. I realized being in the hospital is tough for you. I’ll be fine. I’ll ice it.”

The fact he was going to forego treatment to prevent her pain brought more tears to her eyes and a swelling to her chest. “You need to get it checked out, Ty. And probably your ribs and shoulder again, too. It’s okay. I’ll go with you. Besides, you need to exchange the hospital gown for your shirt and coat.”

“I don’t want you to suffer, Piper,” he said and made to touch her and frowned. “Damn, I don’t have an uninjured hand to cup your sweet face.”

He had one in a sling and the other was well on its way to becoming a balloon.

She touched his instead. “I love that you don’t want me to suffer. There you go, being amazingly sweet again.”

“It’s your fault.” He smiled. “You bring it out in me.”

She apparently brought theRockyout in him too.

“I couldn’t bear it if you left me, Piper.”

“I feel the same.” She brushed his uninjured cheek with her thumb. “I’ll never leave you, Ty. I’m your wingman, remember?”

Epilogue

Ten weeks later, the grand opening of The Artery rolled around and brought with it an amazing opportunity for Ty to honor the reason he was grateful he’d been discharged from the Navy and had landed in Harland County.

Piper Monroe was his reason, and he had a special surprise for her after the Grand Opening Gala.

Over the past several weeks, the amazing woman had painted her butt off, creating several incredible masterpieces that were just auctioned off to benefit the local animal shelter. He’d especially loved the one titled, “Twilight in the Courtyard”. It amazed him how they’d both witnessed and experienced the sunset behind the building that night yet captured it so differently. He’d narrowed the focus to where the light glowed through a crack in the stacked stones, casting interesting shadows in an acute spot then captured it in a photo.

Piper had used a canvas and paints to capture an entire scene, showing how the setting sun’s glow touched every surface, and cast an array of shadows that affected the entire landscape, not just one object.

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