Page 51 of The Bastard Heir
Castillo nearly blacked out when they picked him up.
***
Castillo awoke to a room full of his family. Hunter and Emmy sat in a chair in a corner consoling each other, while Zane stared out the dark window and Tanner sat on a chair right beside the bed. But the most important person was Carolina and she was nowhere to be seen.
“He’s awake.” Tanner’s proclamation alerted them all so that four sets of eyes turned to him.
The room was sparsely furnished and clean, but he couldn’t place it. “Where am I?” he asked through a throat that felt like sandpaper.
“Get him some water,” Tanner called to no one in particular, but Zane moved first, crossing the room to a table with a pitcher. “We’re at Victoria House.”
Castillo laughed, but it hurt so he groaned instead. “I nearly die getting shot and you bring me to a brothel?”
“Take it easy.” Hunter had walked to stand on his other side, opposite Tanner, and put his hand on Castillo’s shoulder to gently hold him still. “We brought you here so you could have a better doctor.”
“Caroline patched you up, with the help of her father.” Tanner grinned like he was proud of her. “We didn’t know what to do…you lost so much blood, but she came in and had us all following orders. The bullet passed right through you, and she had you stitched up before your head hit the pillow.”
“Where is she? Did she take the train to Boston?” He’d been so stupid to ever think his revenge was more important than her.
“I’m right here, Castillo.” She stood inside the open door of the room. She was beautiful, her face beaming in the gentle glow of the light, but he immediately saw the blue shadows under her eyes. She was tired, and her hair was a mess, pinned up with tendrils falling down around her face.
She was beautiful.
“Carolina. You stayed.”
She smiled as she walked over to him, taking Hunter’s place at his side and holding his hand. “You got yourself shot. Someone had to fix you.”
“You stayed and you saved me.” He could hardly believe it.
With her other hand, she touched his forehead, her fingers stroking his hair. “My father helped.”
He brought her hand to his mouth and placed a kiss on her palm. “I was so stupid to let you go. When I saw him grab you, it became clear to me everything that I had to lose. I don’t want to lose you. I want to go to bed with you every night and wake up to you every morning. I want to live my life with you. Say it’s not too late. I know I don’t deserve it after putting you in danger, but I swear I’ll live my life making it up to you.”
Her smile widened and tears formed in her eyes as she leaned over him. “It’s not too late. I want that too. I want to spend my life with you, Castillo.”
Despite the pain, he pulled her forward until he could tangle his fingers in hair and take her mouth in a kiss again. She laughed but kissed him back.
“I love you, Carolina.”
Epilogue
Caroline came to a stop at the open doorway of the study and took a moment to watch the man within. Castillo sat at his cherrywood desk with a single lamp switched on as he poured over the leather-bound ledger in his lap. Sitting with one ankle propped on his knee, he held it loosely in his grasp and mumbled something to himself as he made a notation on the paper. A strand of dark hair had fallen down across his forehead, but he brushed it back with his fingers.
Her own desk sat adjacent to his, nearly unused since she’d finished her studies back in the spring. Textbooks were stacked on one side with a few patient files taking up the rest of the surface. She was generally able to finish her work before she came home from working at her father’s practice.
“Did you miss me?” she asked, finally walking into the room.
Castillo looked up immediately and closed the ledger when he saw her. “I didn’t hear you come in.” A smile softened his features, and he stood to pull her into his arms.
Her arms went around him as she lifted her face for his kiss. She was usually home by dark, but as Caroline had been about to go home a father had brought his daughter in. The girl had taken his bicycle for a ride and without knowing how to properly operate it had fallen and fractured her wrist. Caroline had only just been dropped off at the house she and Castillo rented.
“I’m sorry I’m late,” she said when he pulled back to look down at her.
“You can make it up to me later.” He smiled suggestively.
Caroline laughed, but his insinuations never failed to make her body come alive. She was already anticipating when they could go upstairs to bed. “Anything interesting happen today?” She nodded toward the ledger.
His grin widened. “I’ve sold all the foals. There isn’t one left that hasn’t been accounted for.”
