Page 204 of The Sweetest Obsession

I nod fiercely.

I’ll take care of them all, if I need to.

Ethan’s last unspoken wish and my fate, accepted without complaint.

“How can you even say that?” Ros whimpers against her sister. “Everything’s falling apart. And a lot of it’s my fault.”

“It’s not, and some things that fall apart can be put back together,” Ophelia says bravely with the same soft, serene strength that’s made her who she is. The same power that’s always defined her. “Because I love you, baby sister. That’s all that matters. There’s always a way to work things out with the people you love.”

She’s talking to Ros when she says it, but over Ros’ head, her eyes find mine.

And she smiles, something so luminous in her eyes igniting that it takes my breath away.

I can’t help but smile back.

I grin like I’m losing my mind, cuddling Nell against me while the EMT looks her over and pressing my lips to my cousin’s hair.

No matter how Ophelia feels about me, I won’t ever stop loving her.

That strong, fierce woman who fought for her family, for mine.

That storm of my life, the one I could never forget in a decade-long drought.

The fire of my soul, destroyer of grief, pulsing light of a thousand butterflies that never go dormant with winter.

She is everything.

It’s more than half an hour before the EMTs are satisfied and declare me, Ophelia, and Nell safe to go home. Ros is whisked off to the local hospital where they can start treatment for substance abuse.

It’s another forty-five minutes before the cops are done taking our initial statements.

I’m gonna have one hell of a fat police report to write when I get back to Redhaven, but I’ll worry about that later.

By the time we can breathe again, Nell’s passed out, clinging to me like a kitten. She’s barely said a word, and it’s been driving me nuts that I can’t pull away from all this to focus on her.

I just hold her tight.

So she knows her Uncle Grant is never going anywhere, and he’s never going to let anything ever hurt her again.

Once was bad enough.

We saved her, yeah, but not without a scratch and a whole mess of fear. Happy endings don’t hit like they do in action movies or thriller novels.

Not when real life is so goddamned messy.

I’ll only be undoing the damage for the rest of my life.

The sun starts setting over the water, staining it pink and gold. I take a quiet moment to watch it, to breathe, while I hold a sleeping Nell in my arms.

I’m not expecting the soft voice at my shoulder.

“How is she?”

I lift my head.

Ophelia stands there, watching me with a tired, wistful smile. Her hair tumbles down around her, turned into a fiery gold halo around her face by the fading sunset.

“Not great,” I say, keeping my voice low, rubbing a soothing hand over Nell’s back. “She’s been through so much already. I think sleep is the only way she can cope, but I’m definitely gonna have to get her in to a child psychologist soon. I don’t know. I’ve gotta know how to help her without accidentally stomping around and doing more damage.”

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