Night Terrors (Sarah Beauhall Book 4) (44 page)

Holy jumping Jesus fish! “Katie?” I asked, torn between collapsing and exploding.

“Yes, what?” I asked her, laughing and crying.

“Yes,” she said again, her voice a little clearer.

“Stuart,” I shouted. “Deidre.”

I darted to the doorway and shouted again. “She’s awake!”

By the time they came barreling down the hall, I was back to her side, my face pressed against her chest, my hands over hers.

“Yes, what?” I said again, my voice as hoarse as hers.

“Yes, I’ll marry you,” she said, opening her hands in mine and fading into sleep.

I sat there, staring at her, feeling her heartbeat and marveling at the sound of her voice after so long.

“Get Melanie,” I said. Stuart took off running back to the kitchen. I knew it wasn’t Deidre because she was on wheels.

“Jimmy would’ve liked that,” Deidre said close to my side.

I straightened up and looked down at her.

“A wedding,” she said, patting me on the arm. “We need a wedding here, something to bring some hope back into this place.”

“May be a while,” I said, looking down at Katie. “She’s not out of the woods yet.”

“True, but you brought her home finally. I’m just sorry Jim isn’t here to see it.”

The night was a mad scramble. They came by ambulance and took her back to the hospital. They needed to get her stable, get her moving, remove the tubes and the lot.

She’d live. She was awake. That was the best thing.

I rode to the hospital in the back of the ambulance.

Maybe there was some hope in the world. Jai Li was going to be out of her mind with joy.

When we pulled up and they opened the doors, Mary, Julie, Edith, and Jai Li were waiting for us.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, confused.

Jai Li held up a drawing she’d made. One where Katie was awake.

I looked at the picture and down at the girl.

They took Katie into Evergreen while I stood in the parking lot, holding my girl. “You are amazing,” I said, hugging Jai Li. “How did we ever get along without you?”

She giggled and that was the best sound in the world.

Katie … home … she signed.

“Yes. Katie’s come home.”

It would be a long recovery back to a normal life, but the options were there, the hope had paid off.

Jimmy would be happy. I hope the Valkyrie told him the good news.

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About the Author

J. A. Pitts is an award-winning author who lives in the Pacific Northwest. In the dead of winter he can be found battling the elusive tree squids in the world’s only temperate rainforest.

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