Dylan’s Redemption(63)
The sheet covered Jessie’s legs and hips. He opened the back of her gown to look at the wound. Rain gasped. Brody and Owen both swore when they saw Jessie’s back.
Dylan traced his finger over the long, jagged, knife wound. “I’d like to kill the bastard all over again for doing this to her.”
“I’d hold him down for you,” Brody said.
“I’d help you hide the body,” Owen added, despite the fact he’d also chosen a job that required he uphold the law.
Dylan hung his head. “He tried to kill her. Look what he did to her. Pregnant with my baby and that man took a knife and slit her open from her shoulder to her hip. Greg told me she had it stitched up once, but it was a piss-poor job. She had to have the whole thing redone at the emergency room. Fifteen, pregnant, and almost murdered by her father. All alone. I wasn’t there.” Dylan gently traced his fingertips down the long scar again. Then he leaned over and kissed her shoulder.
“I know just how you feel, man,” Brody said, coming around the bed. He clamped his hand on Dylan’s shoulder and squeezed. “I wasn’t there when Rain needed me. I wasn’t there when Autumn needed me to protect her from that bitch, Roxy. We have more things in common now than we did growing up.”
Dylan couldn’t agree more. They’d had completely different family lives, but they’d both gotten the women they loved pregnant and abandoned them, none the wiser they had a child on the way. Or in Brody’s case, two children.
“Like me, you’ve got a second chance to make this right.”
“How do I make this right? My daughter is dead. Jessie has suffered that burden alone and the burden of thinking I didn’t want her. She’s lying here dying because she saved my son. I don’t deserve that, but she’s given it to me. I could have lost my son too. Maybe that’s the punishment I deserved.”
Jessie responded to his voice. Despite the pain, she lifted her hurt arm and grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him down to her. “No, Dylan. You don’t deserve to be punished. She does. She lied.”
He leaned down and kissed her cheek. “I shouldn’t have left you in the first place. I was afraid of what I felt for you. I’m not afraid anymore. I love you, Jess.”
Nothing could have made him feel better than the feel of her fingers sliding through his hair and grabbing on. She pulled his face to hers and he touched his forehead to hers. “Please, Jess. Get better. I love you.” Her hand went lax in his hair. She slept again. He sighed and wondered when she’d have enough energy to stay awake for more than a minute. These brief periods were being wasted. He still hadn’t gotten to tell her anything important, like sorry and thank you for saving his son.
Bent over Jessie, stroking her hair, he pressed a light kiss to her temple.
Claire walked back into the room. “The nurse will be here shortly. We should go if we’re going to make the movie on time.”
“Date night?” Dylan asked.
“No, Pop’s watching the kids right now. We’re going to pick up Will and take him for pizza and a movie with all the kids. You stay here and be with Jessie,” Rain said, giving him a hug goodbye.
“I’ve made you a roast beef and cheddar sandwich,” Claire said, handing him the bag she brought in earlier and set on the table. “I put a couple of your favorite chocolate-chunk brownie bars inside too.” Claire gave him a hug too. “Call me. I’m happy to bring you food anytime.”
He tried to give her a smile, but he couldn’t manage even half of one. It touched him deeply that they’d come today.
Owen gave him a bear hug and a slap on the back goodbye. “Hang in there, man. Anything you need, just call.”
“I will. I’m glad you guys came.”
Brody hung back as the others went out. “When I came back and discovered how deeply I’d hurt Rain and that I had two girls, I was overwhelmed with guilt and anger and so much more that I couldn’t put into words. My own worst enemy, I vowed to make things right, like I know you’re trying to do right now. Nothing you say or do will count as much as you proving to her how much you love her. Do that, and you can make this right. It’s possible. Look and Rain and me.”
“Your girls are alive and well. Mine died and I wasn’t there for Jess.”
“Not your fault. Not hers. You can’t change that, Dylan. Neither can she. But if what you shared then is still alive today, that you can make thrive, make into a lifetime of love and happiness. After what you’ve lost, you both deserve that. Don’t let the death of your child be the death of the love that brought her here, if only for a short time.”