Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 160684 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 803(@200wpm)___ 643(@250wpm)___ 536(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 160684 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 803(@200wpm)___ 643(@250wpm)___ 536(@300wpm)
Oh God. She got the feeling that she wouldn’t sit well at the end of all of this.
The crash sent the car spinning!
Slam!
Pain screamed through her. She could barely breathe. Turning her head, she searched for him.
“Joe! Joe!”
She knew something was wrong and she started sobbing. But when she caught sight of him, it wasn’t Joe’s face she could see.
It was Grady’s.
The scream broke out of her and she woke up, panting heavily.
“You’re all right, baby girl. You’re okay.” Steele pulled her up so he was sitting with her on his lap.
The door to the bedroom slammed open and Grady raced in, looking frantic.
“Nightmare,” Steele told him.
She shuddered, sobbing for breath. She hadn’t had a nightmare in the hospital last night, so this one took her by surprise.
She was shaken and scared.
Grady climbed onto the bed and she threw her arms around him, dragging him to her.
“Oomph! Wow, for a Little one you sure are strong,” he teased.
“I dreamed it was you. I dreamed it was you.”
“Me, what, sweetheart?”
“In the car with me. It wasn’t Joe’s face, it was yours.”
“Oh, sweetheart,” he said, his voice breaking. “I’m fine. I’m here. It wasn’t me.”
He drew back, and she frantically ran her hands over his face and down his body, searching for injuries. “Not you. Not you.”
“No, sweetheart, not me. I’m right here. You’re all hot and sweaty. Why don’t we get you in the shower?”
She nodded, just wanting to stay close to them.
Grady picked her up and held her against his chest. He nuzzled her neck. “I’m right here, sweetheart. I’m not leaving you.”
Steele got up and turned on the shower. They passed her back and forth as they stripped off so she was in the arms of one of them at all times. Then Grady held her, singing quietly as Steele washed her body.
“It’s going to be all right, Little one,” Grady told her. “Just hold on.”
When they were all dry, Grady placed her on the bed and they climbed in on either side. But she couldn’t sleep, the nightmare played over and over in her mind.
“Why don’t we try to help you sleep?” Steele murmured.
“I’ll go get the bottle,” Grady said, climbing from the bed.
Effie wanted to reach after him and pull him back, but she knew she was acting like a crazy person.
Unfortunately, even a bottle of milk didn’t manage to calm her or make her sleepy. She was aware of the two men sharing an alarmed look before Steele got out of bed. She stared up at him with fear, wondering if he was planning on leaving.
“We could try swaddling,” Grady suggested.
“You okay with that, baby girl?” Steele asked.
“Yes,” she said croakily.
Grady came back with a large muslin blanket that had pictures of sloths on it. Laying it on the bed, Steele placed her in it and Grady wrapped her up tight.
An instant feeling of calm came over her.
Steele slipped her pacifier into her mouth and then picked her up in his arms.
Then he started rocking her back and forth.
Her eyes started to drift closed.
“We’ve got you, baby girl. We have you.”
They had her.
She just had to hold on.
She still couldn’t feel her legs.
And she was done.
Brooks seemed to have settled in well. It was Sunday, four days after the accident. Last night he’d gone on a date with Stella, just the two of them. And today he was with the twins.
She hated to uproot him. But she couldn’t do this anymore. She couldn’t hold on.
Not when she was going to become a weight around their necks . . . dragging them down.
Effie, no one wants someone who is a burden.
“I know that, Nan.” She clenched her hands into fists. “I know it.”
A knock on the door had her looking up.
The guys wouldn’t knock.
“Hello?” A woman with dark hair and a big smile peered around the door.
What the heck?
“Oh good, you’re awake.”
Wait. She’d seen this woman before. But where? Oh, in the photos downstairs.
Millie.
But why was she here?
“Hi, I’m Millie and you’re Effie. And I’m . . . I’m . . .”
What was she doing? Was she trying to drag something in here?
“Come on, Mr. Fluffy. I am not carrying you. You weigh over a hundred pounds and the vet said that you’ve got to get more exercise. You can manage some stairs and then a few steps more.”
Effie sat up, her mouth falling open in shock as Millie practically dragged an enormous dog into her bedroom. It looked like it was big enough to eat her . . . except it appeared that would be too much energy to expend.
The dog stumbled in, then flopped on the floor, letting out an exhausted sigh.
Millie put her hands on her hips and blew a breath out. “Seriously? That’s as far as you’ll go? Come and say hi to Effie.”