Instead of drinking himself incoherent, he should’ve camped out on her doorstep and begged for her forgiveness instead of stomping off like a petulant child and pouting.
So many bad choices in his life. He wanted to make amends — to make a difference in his life so he could live a different life. He wanted many more daughters and sons to fill his house with the sound of laughter and happiness and he wanted to help Shannon attain any goal she had — even if it meant moving to Canada so she could chase her dream. He’d live anywhere or do anything to see her succeed because her happiness was his only currency.
But none of that would matter if he couldn’t wake the fuck up!
“Come back to me,” Shannon whispered as she held Nolan’s hand, still not quite able to believe any of this had happened. He looked so still in the hospital bed, his handsome face almost boyish as he recovered from a terrible head injury. The doctor had said it was a miracle he was alive. Two inches to the left and he would’ve hit his temple and it would’ve been lights out but even so, Nolan’s injury had been severe enough to cause his brain to swell. It’d been touch-and-go for a while but the swelling had finally receded. Now, it was up to Nolan. “I love you,” she murmured, kissing his hand as she clutched it in hers. “I should’ve told you before but my pride was in the way. I was so hurt that you’d…”she swallowed, closing her eyes. “Please come back to me. We have unfinished business. Aubrey needs her daddy.”
And then, as if by the power of a prayer that only her heart could whisper, Nolan’s eyelids slowly fluttered open and she held her breath, tears springing to her eyes. “Nolan?”
“Sh-shan-non,” he said on a moan and she nearly broke down and sobbed in relief.
“Yes, I’m here,” she assured him, raining kisses on his hand. “I’ve never left your side.”
“Shannon?”
“Yes? Do you want the doctor?”
“My head hurts and my mouth feels as if I’ve been sucking on a dirty shoe.”
She laughed through her tears. “Well, I should say so, you’ve been unconscious from a head injury. You fell and hit your head at the hotel. You’re lucky to be alive. Your brothers and your sister in law are here. They went out to get something to eat but they’ll be back soon.” She lifted a water cup to his lips and he drank deeply. “Hold on, I’ll get the doctor.”
“Not yet. I have to say something that’s meant for your ears only.”
“You need to rest,” she protested but his grip on her hand tightened and she stilled.
He grinned slowly, looking unconscionably adorable, as he said in a husky voice, “I’m lucky because you’re here with me. I don’t need anything else but my woman and my daughter. I love you, Shannon.”
His admission stole the breath from her lungs. She licked her lips, unable to believe what she’d just heard but as he held her gaze she knew he spoke the truth. “I love you, too,” she murmured happily, bending down to place a tender kiss on his lips. “I love you more than I ever realized I could love another person aside from my child.”
“I should’ve been spending more time figuring out how to be a man worthy of your love, instead of trying to buy your affection,” he said. His earnest tone nearly cracking her heart in two as he said, “I’ll spend the rest of our lives making it up to you. I promise.”
Shannon’s answering smile was warmed by the love spilling over in her heart as she whispered in his ear, “That’s a deal, Buchanan,” she paused to add in a teasing manner, “Now hurry up and get well. We have three years worth of sex to catch up on and I’m impatient to get started.”
He grinned weakly but soon enough his eyelids fluttered closed again and he was asleep. Shannon watched him sleep, knowing with a certainty that she was looking into the face of her future. Maybe that’s why she’d been so eager to leave him that morning after their first night. One night and her soul had known, he was the one.
Two years later, fate had returned her to him.
And she wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth.
She wanted a life with Nolan Buchanan, starting right now.
-Epilogue-
“One bonk on the head and you’re nearly six feet under. I never knew you were such a pussy,” Dillon joked, eliciting a muffled laugh from his wife, Penny as they sat around the table at the family home on a weekend visit. Nolan had made the choice to telecommute for Shannon’s sake so she could finish the season with the Juggernaut. It’d been an easy decision for Nolan. He wanted to be wherever his two favorite people were. Nolan accepted the good-natured ribbing because he knew there was no choice. If the situation were reversed for either of his brothers, he would be as merciless.