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"All right, it’s okay" His voice was cal that this was no probleone fro and her eyes drifted shut She shivered and tried to be patient but panic gripped her "Ada anywhere without you, Holly, I promise" His voice came disembodied in the dark "Cover your head with your arms"

When she’d done so, he sht He jabbed at the glass with the butt of his flashlight until it was clear and reached in for her "Take ht her seat belt but still couldn’t get free And the water was rising She choked on anothershe knew, Ada down his face in rivulets, was inside the Jeep with her "Why are you here?" she ht

Oroff her circulation

His eyes locked on hers "For you"

In all his big, bad, pissed-off glory His jaas tight, his eyes glittering with soin to decipher But he was steady as a rock as he reached for her

"I’linted in the air as it sliced through the seat belt and then she was in his arh the backjust as the river sed up the Jeep

On solid ground, he ran his hands over her, assessing for daasped

That wasn’t true, and they both knew it She had a gash above one eye that was bleeding, and her ribs were killing her--proven when Adaht and hard around her, holding her close She felt a fine treh him, and her heart squeezed at the realization that he’d jumped into yet another rescue--for her "You should have waited for your team"

He shook his head "It’s not that It’s you-- Christ, Holly, I was almost too late"

She pulled back and looked into his face His usual calm was shattered, and in that one brief second, she could see every eaze was eating up the sight of her, the lines around his eyes andhead and tried to take it all in but she was having trouble putting thoughts together "I want you to know, ht How did you even find one over"

Someone He hadn’t even known it was her and he’d stopped Fate, prettyhim to her Made sense Fate had always had a sense of humor when it came to their relationship

He pulled off his jacket, then his T-shirt, which he balled up Pulling her hand froht eye,her wince "Hold still," he said "You should have waited for ht She was pissed off at the entire otten "I didn’t want to be with you," she said, pulling back "I wanted to be alone"

"In this stor--" He broke off and tried pulling her into hiht him and then slipped on the wet embankment and went down in thebefore her, he put his hands on her ar You need to cals I didn’t want you to hear! And then when I went over the edge, I thought I was going to die before I got to tell you howYou didn’t answer the door and I orried"

"No one stopped," she repeated, suddenly exhausted Dizzy Shaking She closed her eyes and dropped her forehead to his chest "Except the one person I didn’t want to stop…"

Then she horrified the both of the into tears

"Ah, Holly It’s okay" He hauled her up into his ar to be okay"

"No, it’s not You saw ily into his shirt "And you brought me flowers, which I accidentally stepped on!"

"Accidentally?"

She began to cry harder, unable to stop It hurt her head, as did her chattering teeth

"Holly Holly, listen to me" His hands were on her arms and he ducked down a little to make sure they were eye to bloody eye "I’ll buy you more flowers I’ll buy you all the damn flowers you want, in the entire town, in all the land Just please, God, stop crying" His voice dropped, his hands softened "And besides, you’ve seen me at my utter worst, too, remember? You saw me in that cave You saw e how you felt about e you?"

She stared up at him while he stroked her riainst it

She winced and tried to back away, but he tightened his grip "Oh, hell no," he said "I’ain"

"Ever?" She sniffed "You don’t do ever, reet you to the hospital"

"You don’t do talk, either"

He dropped his head to his chest, and then looked at her "That was ," he said "I’htento need to learn how to share nored the apocalyptic y for a moment to concentrate on the prize in that statement "All of you," she said "You have to share all of you--the good and the bad"

"Yes, but only if you do it, too"

She pressed her face into the crook of his neck and nodded, s blood, tears, and rainwater on hih and nodded

"Just checking," he said, and because she was shivering, quite violently now, he pulled her in close "Tiet you up the embankment, Holly, and then warm and dry"

Her limbs were boneless, she could barely control theoing to get up there? I’ht be the most stubborn man she knew, but he was also the best ed a weak smile "I owe you"

"I like the sound of that" He wrapped her up in one strong arin to pull thehts approached

The cavalry had co, it was still dark She could see Ada on his hand, long legs sprawled out When she struggled to sit up, he ca up, heher up the embankment, Adam had called her dad and Kate, who’d met them at the hospital Holly had been cleaned up, poked, prodded, and

x-rayed Her ribs were bruised, she’d received four stitches above her eye--which was also black and blue by now--and she had a mild concussion

But she’d slept in her own bed

"How do you feel?" Ada in her head and her ribs felt like she’d gone ten rounds in the ring, but she was breathing Breathing was good "Like I drove over an embankment"

"Your head hurt?"

"No"