Sweet Surrender

Micah walked up to where Pop was standing. “Come on, Gray. I’ll drive you home. We’ll come back up in the morning so you can see her.”

Gray sighed in defeat. “Give me a minute.”

He turned and walked over to Faith’s bed and stared down at her for a long moment. He reached out his free hand and brushed his fingers softly over her cheek.

“I’m so sorry,” he whispered. “I love you.” He bent and pressed his lips to hers, inhaling her sweet scent. “I’ll be back tomorrow. I swear.”

Reluctantly, he turned and trudged toward the door where Micah waited. He looked at Pop and Co

Pop nodded. “We’ll be here. You go get some rest. You’ll do her a whole lot more good when you can hold your head up.”

Gray looked him square in the eye. “I love your daughter. I want you to know that.”

Pop’s expression softened. “I know you do.”

Gray turned and slowly, painfully made his way down the hall. Micah caught up to him. “You can crash at my place tonight. You shouldn’t be alone with your injuries.”

Gray nodded, too tired to argue. “I wasn’t out there when the news came in. Did they catch Samuels?”

“Yeah, they got him,” Micah said grimly.

“I want to kill the son of a bitch.”

“Yeah, me too,” Micah said.

“What about her mother?” Gray asked. “Pop said something about her helping Faith escape.”

“Last I heard, they were questioning her. I don’t know if they’ve decided what her involvement has been yet or not.”

Gray nodded. “No matter what, it’s only going to upset Faith in the end.”

“Yeah, it sucks.”

They walked out of the emergency room exit and headed toward Micah’s truck. It was only a few hours until daylight, and he needed about twenty-four hours of sleep.

When he climbed into the cab, he leaned back against the seat and closed his eyes.

Micah got in and started the engine. He put it in reverse but didn’t back up. Gray looked over to see him staring at him.

“What?”

Micah paused. “What are you going to do, man? I mean about your job? Are you going to go back now that it’s all over?”

Gray tensed. Over. The man who had killed Alex, killed Mick and had hurt Faith was in custody. For all practical purposes, his time here was up. He had a while until his official leave was over. A month ago, he would have said he had no reason to stay. But now he had absolutely nothing left for him in Dallas.

“I can’t go back,” he said, the decision settling over him, the first thing that had made him feel good in two days.

Micah nodded. “I hoped you’d say that. Faith’s a good woman. You fit in well here. We could use you on a permanent basis.”

“I’m not so sure Pop will feel that way,” Gray said. “But whether I work for him or do something else, I can’t leave Faith.”

“I hear you. It’ll work out.”

Gray hoped so. He still had to face Faith. He was just thankful she was alive and well, and he had the opportunity to make her see how much he loved her.

CHAPTER 39

Faith woke feeling like she had a mouth full of cotton. She blinked, trying to remember where she was, but it was dark. She was really starting to hate the dark. A whimper worked its way out of her throat as she shifted, trying to get her bearings.

“Faith, are you okay?” Co

“Light,” she rasped out. “Turn it on, please.”

She heard him fumble around in the dark, and then soft light flooded the room. She winced and blinked, covering her eyes with her hand.

The bed dipped, and when she moved her hand, she saw Co

She licked her lips and pondered that question for a while. “I think I’m okay. Co

“Oh God, no, honey. He’s fine. We sent him home because he took a bullet in the shoulder, and he’s been ru

She sagged against the bed in relief. “I saw him go down. That man shot him. I thought he was dead.” A tear slid down her cheek, and she closed her eyes to the horrible memory.

Co

So much had happened. Even without the head injury, her head would be spi

“What the hell is the light doing on?” Pop demanded from the doorway.

She looked up to see him holding two cups of coffee. He looked tired and haggard. Worry had carved deep lines on his face, and she felt terrible that she had been the cause of it.

It hit her like a ton of bricks. Everything that had happened had been because of her. She closed her eyes, and in that moment wished she could just go to sleep and wake up somewhere else.

Pop’s rough hand curled around hers. She opened tear-filled eyes to see him standing by the bed.

“You scared ten years off me, girl,” he said gruffly. “And I don’t know what’s currently going through that pretty head of yours, but I assure you I won’t like or agree with it.”

“Everything’s such a mess,” she whispered. “I just want to go home.”

“And you will,” Pop said gently as he rubbed her hand. “The doctor said if you’re doing okay that you can go home today. I reckon he’ll be around to see you in a bit.”

“Can I get you anything?” Co

“Water,” she croaked.

He hurried to pour her a cup of water and then held it to her lips so she could sip at it.

“Gray was here to see you last night, but I made him go home,” Pop said. “That boy was hurting pretty bad. He should still be in the hospital.”

Faith closed her eyes. “I don’t want to talk about him right now.”

“Faith, honey…”

“Please,” she whispered.

“Pop, let it alone,” Co

Pop sighed and nodded.

A knock sounded at the door. When no one immediately came in, Pop frowned and walked to the door. He returned a moment later, a peculiar expression on his face.

“Who was it?” she asked.

He cleared his throat. “It’s your mother, Faith. She’s here to see you. She asked if you would mind her coming in for a minute.”

Her heart seized, and dread filled her chest.

“You don’t have to do anything you don’t want,” Pop said soothingly.

Tears filled her eyes again then slid down both cheeks. A sob caught in her throat. How bad was it when the mere mention of her mother reduced her to tears?

Co

“Let her come in,” she said tiredly.

Co

Pop walked back to the door and opened it. A few seconds later, Celia Martin walked hesitantly in. She paused several feet from the bed before finally approaching.

For the first time, Faith got a good look at the mother she hadn’t seen in three years. Time hadn’t been good to her. She looked tired, worn, old. Not at all the vibrant young woman Faith remembered from her childhood. She had the regrets of a lifetime reflected in her dull eyes.

Faith waited, not knowing what to say. Thank you? For rescuing her from a situation Celia was responsible for? She swallowed against the rising anger and clenched her jaw until her teeth ached.

Co

Celia looked up at Pop and Co

Faith bit her lip to keep from crying more.