his eyes. That love for her little unborn baby girl, Nugget.
When he turned back to her though, his expression had turned fierce. “You are not allowed to regret us, because our love gave me the best thing ever. I love your little girl, Julie. She may not be mine, but I love her just as if she was and I’ll be here to take care of her for as long as you need me. You have a long, happy life ahead of you, but you have to get your head out of your ass about this. I loved you and you loved me, and everything worked out the way it was supposed to. Now you need to get on with your life. Chris needs you.”
He smiled back toward the little girl. “She has your sass, but his stubbornness.” He turned his smile back to her and told her gently, “You won’t have an easy path ahead of you, but if you trust it, you will have immeasurable happiness over the next few decades.”
“I don’t understand. I don’t understand any of this. It was just a year ago, but she looks older. How is this possible?”
“You’re not meant to understand it. Things work differently here. Just have faith. You can’t control everything, honey, but that’s the way life works. Embrace the chaos.” He brushed his pants as he stood up and offered a hand to her to help her up. “Now let’s go play with your little girl for a bit before you have to head back.”
Chapter 20
The doctors said she was getting better. They’d even moved her out of ICU and into a private room, but as Chris examined Julie’s immobile form, he just couldn’t believe that. They said she was sleeping and healing, but she still hadn’t woken up. If she was truly better, wouldn’t she be awake by now?
His hand shook as he brushed it up against her cheek. This fear that she wasn’t going to come back paralyzed him. He didn’t know what to do anymore, besides sit by her bed, pray, and wait.
The door opened and Pete strode in. He was in his police uniform so he was probably on his lunch break. He glanced at Chris before concentrating his attention on Julie. “Has she woken up yet?”
Chris shook his head.
A frown creased Pete’s forehead as he looked questioningly at Chris’s hand, resting on Julie’s cheek. He leaned back on his heels as he stared hard at Chris. He cleared his throat. “I didn’t realize you two were an item.”
Chris slipped his hand from Julie’s cheek and took a step back, shaking his head at the same time. “We’re not. We’re just friends.”
Pete examined Chris, like he would a science experiment. “Well, that’s good because I don’t think she’s in a place mentally where she’s ready to date someone else after Aaron.” He pursed his lips. “I would really hate it if someone took advantage of her grief.”
There was no mistaking the edge of a threat in the growl of his voice and while it made Chris’s hackles rise, he could appreciate Julie’s friend was trying to protect her.
“So tell me, if you aren’t dating her, why is it that every time I come here, I see you and you look almost as bad as her? You haven’t left her side and by my calculations that’s been three days. No one functions well when going for three days without sleep and this seems just a bit above and beyond mere friendship.”
“I appreciate you want her safe, Pete, but frankly what I do is none of your damn business unless what I’m doing is against the law. This isn’t, so you need to back off.”
“Why are you arguing?” Both men’s eyes widened at the sound of Julie’s scratchy voice from the bed.
Chris snatched up her hand, his heart pounding. “Julie, can you hear me?” Her eyes weren’t open, but that had definitely been Julie speaking.
She hummed low and nodded before her eyes fluttered open. Chris knees weakened. There was no better sight in this world than the sight of her weary eyes.
“Water,” she croaked.
Chris scrambled to fill her pitcher and glass, while Pete took up position on the other side of the bed.
She looked around the room in confusion. “What happened? Why am I in the hospital?” Her voice was reedy and weak.
Chris gently lifted the head of her bed so she could drink comfortably and also pushed the call button for the nurse. They’d want to