The officer grabbed my arm and practically dragged me to the other side of his patrol car. I felt like I was about to throw up my spleen.

“God, please don’t take the baby. Please don’t…please…”

I leaned against the car and tried to stay calm, but the moment I heard Azurdee’s voice, I lost it and started crying.

She grabbed on to me and hugged me. Now, it was her turn to comfort me. “Scott, she’s going to be okay because she is the strongest person I know. She’s going to be okay…Lark promised.”

I couldn’t help but let out a small laugh when she said that. I pulled back and smiled. “So, because Lark promised, it makes it so?”

She nodded and barely grinned. “He seems to know everything…so I’m going with it.”

The officer called for me to follow him, and the next thing I knew, I was sitting next to Jessie in the ambulance. I held her hand and just stared at her.

I looked up at one of the paramedics and whispered, “The baby?”

She didn’t answer me, but she gave me a weak smile. I slowly looked back at Jessie and thought about Trey.

The driver is…he’s dead, sir.

“The driver, did he…instantly?”

Fuck me. Why would he try to take her? What in the hell was he thinking?

“I’m not sure, sir,” she said.

I shook my head and held on to Jessie’s hand as the ambulance raced to the hospital. I closed my eyes and prayed like I’d never prayed before.

The moment her hand moved through my hair, I felt that familiar feeling zip through my body. She’ll always have this effect on me. Even when we are eighty, I’ll still feel this way when she touches me.

I slowly lifted my head and smiled when her stunningly beautiful green eyes met mine.

“The baby?” she whispered.

“She’s perfect. I got to see her,” I said. My smile grew bigger.

“You did?” she gasped. “That is so not fair!” She went to move and grimaced. “Oh god…I’m so sore everywhere.” She lifted each arm and then wiggled her toes. “I feel sore, but…I’m not in a whole lot of pain.”

I smiled. “Yeah, you were so incredibly lucky, baby. You didn’t break anything. You’re just battered and bruised.”

I watched as a tear rolled down her beautiful face. I reached up and wiped it away.

“I’m so sorry I didn’t listen to you. I should have turned around or waited for you to get there before I met him. I just…I just never imagined Trey would ever hurt me…but…” She began to cry harder.

I grabbed her hand and kissed the back of it. “Shh…baby, it’s okay. Please don’t be upset. You need to relax and try not to get stressed out, okay? Just take a deep breath and blow it out. You couldn’t have known he would do something like that.”

She quickly wiped away her tears.

I reached for a Kleenex and wiped her nose. “I’m practicing. Ari said I’m going to have to wipe a lot of runny noses,” I said with a wink.

She let out a giggle and shook her head. “Where am I?”

“Brackenridge, but I think they said you could go home tomorrow if you felt good and got some fluids in you.”

“Tomorrow? Oh, I want to go home now, Scott. Can’t I go home now?” she said in that cute whiny voice that drove me mad with love.

There was a small knock on the door, and it slowly opened. I turned to see Azurdee and Lark both walking in.

“How are you feeling, honey?” Azurdee asked with a smile.

“I’m okay…just really sore,” Jessie said.

Azurdee walked to the other side of the bed and took Jessie’s other hand. I glanced up at Lark and shook my head, letting Lark know Jessie didn’t know about Trey yet.

“I’m glad you’re okay, Jessie,” Lark said.

Jessie flashed that smile of hers at him, and I knew what was about to come.

“So, now, are you going to tell us what you do? Because I would love to know how in the hell you caught up to us like that. How did you know where we were?”

Lark shrugged his shoulders. “I just needed the license plate number, and after one phone call to a friend at the Department of Public Safety to check the traffic cameras, bam, there ya go.”

“I’m never going to get it out of you, am I?” Jessie asked.

I peeked over at Azurdee, who was looking at Lark.

“Nope. Nothing really to tell,” Lark said as he quickly looked at Azurdee and then back at Jessie before he turned and sat down.

“We just wanted to make sure you were okay before Lark and I took off. We left all our stuff back in Mason,” Azurdee said as she pushed a piece of Jessie’s hair behind her ear.

Jessie tried to sit up, but she stopped when she realized how sore she really was. “Oh no. I’m so sorry y’all have to drive back to Mason and then turn around and come back to Austin.”

“No big deal, honey. It just gives me more time to grill Mr. Tight Lips here,” Azurdee said as she gestured toward Lark.

Jessie let out a small laugh and then looked back at me. Her smile faded a bit as she took a deep breath and slowly let it out. “Is Trey okay? Did they arrest him?” she asked.

I looked up at Azurdee and then quickly back at Jessie. “Baby, um…Trey died in the car accident. He broke his neck and died instantly,” I said.

I watched the tears build in her eyes before she closed them.

“So stupid. Oh my god. If I had just waited for you, none of this would have happened, and…and…maybe you could have just talked him into leaving, and he would…” Jessie began crying.

Azurdee said, “No, Jessica, this is not your fault. You had no idea that Trey would do something like this. You can’t sit here and play what-if. It doesn’t do anybody any good. What happened, happened. There is nothing you can do about it.”

Jessie looked at me, and my heart broke at the hurt I saw in her eyes.

“I’m so sorry that I didn’t listen to you, Scott. I’m so sorry I didn’t just wait for you.”

She began sobbing, so I crawled onto the bed and took her in my arms. I saw Azurdee wipe a tear away from Jessie’s face. I closed my eyes and just held the woman I loved more than the air I breathed.

Once she finally stopped crying, I gently laid her back down and kissed her lips. I whispered, “I love you, Jessie. I love you so much.”

She looked into my eyes, and I had to catch my breath.