“That would be f**king splendid.”

“I was thinking about something earlier, just before I called you.” Her heart rate accelerated. She hadn’t exactly intended on letting him know just yet where her thoughts had been wandering, but if he wanted to occupy his mind with other things, she was certain she had the solution.

“Uh-oh.”

“We’re actually only three hours apart if we meet in the middle.”

“Are you being serious?” All humor had left his voice.

She pulled her lip between her teeth and considered for a moment. “If you’re up to it, absolutely. Not like this minute, because I need more sleep, but I just want to see you. I want to be there for you when I can. If you need to get away and you can’t come all the way home…I’ll come to you, I’ll come all the way if you need me to, but… say the word and I’m there.”

“I’m… I don’t know what to say, really.”

In the darkness of her room, she cringed. “Too much? I’m sorry.”

“No—”

“You’re dealing with something I have no experience with and I don’t know what to do to help. So tell me if I need to back off.”

“You’re helping me by talking to me. By being there. By doing every damn thing you’re already doing.” He was quiet for a minute. She was tempted to fill the silence herself, but she let him have it. “This is more bearable because of you.”

Her heart warmed, and she wanted so much to feel his lips on hers she might have driven those six hours right then, sleep be damned. That she wanted to be his any and every way she possibly could, both physically and emotionally, was a revelation that knocked the breath from her.

Cautious Macy had fallen for the very kind of guy that should send her running for the hills.

That had once, but she had her bearings now. She had a little of her old self back. Tiny, but it was there, and it was all thanks to him. She owed him far more than he could ever owe her.

“Are you off Saturday?” he asked.

Saturday. She was supposed to go to Jared’s Saturday. But if it came down to one or the other…there was no question.

“Yeah. I’m usually off on weekends.”

“Hmm.”

“What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking by then I will damn sure need to get away for a few hours. I’m thinking overnight.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m not sure I should, but…” He gave a frustrated growl. “Shit.”

“Whatever you think,” she said quickly. “I don’t want to pull you away if you need to be there.”

“I know that, baby. But I wouldn’t be considering it if I didn’t need to see you, too.”

“You have to take care of you. I don’t care if we just talk all night.”

“Oh, I think we can find more to do than that.”

Chapter Nineteen

It had been the longest week of his life. Whether it was the anticipation of seeing Macy or the absolute devastation of basically being on a death watch, he didn’t know. The two factors simply amalgamated into one long, never-ending stretch of agony.

He felt better the instant he got away from the sterile hospital smells and on the road, putting miles between him and that damned place and eating up the ones that separated him from his girl. He ate them up a little too eagerly, resulting in a speeding ticket halfway to Fort Worth. It didn’t even matter. Minutes after getting back on I-35, he was flying again.

She would probably get on his ass about that if she were here. He could almost hear her, and it seemed even her imagined nagging made him grin. He supposed he wouldn’t do either one of them any good if he got himself killed, so he managed to ease off the accelerator a little. The closer he got, the calmer he got.

Macy had booked the hotel room and texted him the directions. She’d also said she would call him when she got there, so even though she’d left home earlier than he had, he figured as he pulled into the parking lot that he must have beaten her.

Well, given the f**king ticket tossed over in his passenger seat, it was no wonder. At least the cop had let him go without searching his damn car. His appearance didn’t exactly present him as an upstanding citizen.

After parking and stretching his legs for a minute, he grabbed his cell and dialed her. It was a perfect day, the sky a flawless, early spring blue. He stared at the cars zooming past on the interstate while he waited to hear her voice again.

“Do not tell me you’re already there,” she answered.

“Yeah, I am. Where is your slow ass?”

“Hey, now. I’ll show you slow in about…twenty minutes, according to my GPS.”

Oh, hell yes. “A’ight, then. Just making sure I wasn’t about to get stood up.”

“Not in a million. See you soon.”

“Be careful.”

While he waited, he texted Steph, then called and shot the shit with Brian for a few minutes. The dude sounded frazzled but hid it fairly well. If Ghost hadn’t known him for half his life, he might have missed the strain.

Did Brian think the same about him? Probably. Weren’t they just a couple of miserable clods. But brighter days lay ahead. They had to. He could put a bug in Macy’s ear that she needed to get her best friend to drag that guy away and f**k him senseless for a few days. He’d be a new man.

A burgundy Acadia caught his attention as it whipped into a parking space a few down from him, and he said his good-byes to his friend.

All through the week while he’d been away from Macy, he’d told himself she couldn’t be as beautiful as he remembered, he couldn’t feel for her this much this soon. He’d spent days having to look at Brooke, whose beauty was like a knife carving his heart out all over again. When Macy came around the back end of her SUV, her bright smile all for him, she was like a balm to his ragged senses. His breath fled him. He literally couldn’t take in air for a moment; he damn sure couldn’t speak.

She couldn’t know she did this to him. Not ever. How could he give someone that kind of power over him, when every time he’d allowed it to happen before, everything had gone to shit?

Macy flew into his arms, and he held her with all the conviction and determination he had in that moment to keep her at a distance. To not get so crazy so fast. It wasn’t smart, and he knew it; he just didn’t think good sense would be enough to trump his need for her. He was so f**ked, careening madly down the path to getting his heart splattered all over hell. And grinning like a buffoon the entire time.

Her scent engulfed him. Warm vanilla, even sweeter than he remembered, tempting him to eat her alive. She made a little helpless sound in his ear, and he damn near lost control of himself.

“You okay?” he asked, wondering at her exuberance. They’d talked a lot in the past week, almost every night, but he realized they’d mostly talked about what was going on with him. What hurts and stresses had she come here to work out? He simply couldn’t believe she was only here to see him, but he had all night to get to the bottom of it.

She nodded against his neck. “Mm-hmm. Long drive. Glad to be here, glad to see you.” She gave him another squeeze, and he set her feet on the ground, only then realizing he’d lifted her.