Page 17 (1/2)

Uncertainty flickered across her face and her eyes went dim He could tell she didn’t entirely trust him and he couldn’t blame her Not after what had happened last ti at straws, anything to allay her fears "We wouldn’t have to be gone long A few days at most I know you don’t like to be away fro at his arms as she looked up at him, her eyes so earnest "I don’t like to be away from you, Rafe You Not here Or there Or anywhere"

"Then come with me I won’t lie to you, Bryony I don’t know if I can fix this All I can do is prorip his, so tight that her knuckles hite "I believe in you"

He crushed her to him and buried his face in her hair She made him want to be the man she was so convinced he already was

"You’ll come with me?"

"Yes, Rafe I’ll coether, holding their hands between them

"No matter what happens, Bryony, I love you and I want this to work out between us I need for you to trust in that"

"I do trust you You’ll fix this, Rafe I know you will"

He s some of the anxiety lift away He could breathe easier The idea of expressing his feelings had given him a sense of uneasiness, but now that he’d done it, he realized it had been harder not to tell her as in his heart even if his head still screa

He’d spent a lifeti ultra-practical Maybe it was time he threw a little caution to the wind and let his heart lead for once

Eighteen

Bryony’s phone rang in the ht She pried herself from Rafael’s arms and reached blindly for the phone on her bedside table

"Hello?"

"Bry, it’s Silas You need to corand the fuzz of sleep from her eyes "Maar dropped She calledso I rushed over and took her to the hospital"

Dear Lord, and she and Rafael had slept through it all

"Why didn’t someone come over and tell me?" she demanded

"There wasn’t a need to alar I still think it’s nothing but the nurse insisted I contact you so you could con some paperwork They just want the insurance stuff squared away You know these daru up to see Rafael sitting up in bed, a look of concern on his face

"Is Laura all right?"

Bryony grimaced "I don’t know She’s a diabetic and she doesn’t always take care of herself Sometimes she doesn’t always take her insulin and at other times she doesn’t eat when she should I never know if she’s in insulin shock or on the verge of diabetic coo with you," he said as he hurried from the bed

Twenty minutes later, they strode into the small community hospital Silas met them in the main hallway

"How is she?" Bryony asked anxiously

"Oh, you know your grandht She didn’t even want to go to the hospital I ht around but I thought she ought to be checked out anyway She’s not speaking to hed "Where is she now?"

"They ency room to observation They won’t release her until they know for sure they have someone to watch over her for the next twenty-four hours"

"Take us to her," Bryony said

As Silas predicted, Mao ho to lecture her on the i a ht in irritation

She brightened considerably when Bryony and Rafael walked through the door but glowered in Silas’s direction

Bryony went to the bed and kissed her grandmother’s cheek "Mamaw, you scared me"

Mamaw rolled her eyes "I’o hoo They seem to think I need a babysitter for the next little while"

"Glad to see you’re all right, Laura," Rafael said as he bent to kiss her cheek

Ma hter out of bed at this hour Pregnant women need their rest, but no one but me seems to be concerned with that little tidbit"

"Is she okay to go ho her attention to the physician standing to the side

The doctor nodded "She knohat she did wrong I doubt it’ll do any good to tell her not to do it again, but she’s fine otherwise You’ll need to keep an eye on her for the next twenty-four hours and check her blood sugar every hour Make sure she eats properly and takes her insulin as directed"

"Don’t worry I will," Bryony said firmly "Can we take her hooes hoet her discharged That’ll take a few minutes so make yourself comfortable"

Mamaw shooed the doctor aith a scowl and then stared pointedly at Silas, who still stood by the door With a sigh, Silas nodded in Bryony’s direction and walked out

Bryony shook her head in exasperation "When are you going to stop being such a twit to him, Mamaw? He’s crazy about you and you know darn well you’re just as crazy about hi rumbled

Bryony threw up her hands "Maybe he’ll stop when you prove that you can You know better than to skipyour insulin"