To Love (13 page)

Kelsey was a nervous wreck. What if something went wrong with the surgery? What if her body ended up rejecting Shaun's kidney? So many thoughts went through her mind, and she voiced them all to Shaun when he snuck into her room just a few minutes before they planned to prep him for surgery.

"Nothing will go wrong," he assured her, planting a kiss on her forehead. "I've had a lot of bad luck in my life, and I believe the well has finally run dry. I love you. I'll see you later."

Kelsey allowed his words to relax her. "I love you too," she whispered, as a stern nurse told Shaun to leave.

***

"How did it go? Is Kelsey all right?" Shaun asked the doctor when he showed up in his room a few hours after Shaun's surgery.

The man's lined face split into a grin. "Yes," he said. "Miss O'Neil is doing great. The operation was a great success."
              Shaun sighed. "I'm glad. I'm glad to hear that." Going into surgery, he had been optimistic, but there had still been a nagging fear at the back of his mind. The same fear Kelsey had expressed. After all, things went wrong all the time. "I want to see her."

The doctor shook his head. "Not yet. She's sleeping right now. And you should rest too."

"Okay," he said. "Later then." No point in rushing. He had saved Kelsey's life so they could have a whole lot of laters together.

For the first time since Carmen died, a weight rolled off his shoulders, and peace flooded his every cell. Finally he had paid for his sin of taking a life by saving another. He could breathe freely. He closed his eyes and fell into the deepest sleep he'd had in years.

He was awoken by a nurse who came to tell him Kelsey was ready to see him. She pushed Shaun to Kelsey's room in a wheelchair. As they approached the room, he touched the nurse's hand and asked her to halt the chair in the doorway.

For a breathtaking moment he watched the woman he loved lying on the bed, her curly hair, which had grown longer, framing her face. She looked like an angel. To think he had almost lost her was too much to consider. He’d thought he'd never love another woman as much as he had loved Carmen. But he had been wrong.

He nodded, and the nurse wheeled him up next to her bed. He reached out and touched a lock of Kelsey's hair. "Hey, sweetheart. Wake up. They told me everything went great. I want to see your eyes to know you're really okay."

Kelsey smiled first and then opened her eyes slowly. She blinked twice. "Well, you did say it would be fine. You were right." Her voice still sounded thick and weak, and her eyes looked groggy, but her face was peaceful. "Now that I have your kidney, I guess we’re stuck with each other forever."

"That was my plan." He kissed her on the mouth and laughed. "I wouldn't have it any other way. Besides, I just returned the favor—I gave you back what you gave me first. You healed me. Giving you a kidney was the least I could do."

She simply smiled, and then her eyes started to drift closed again. "I'm tired. I'll sleep a little. Don't go anywhere."

"Never. I'm not going anywhere. I'll be right here when you get up. Always."

"Always," she repeated, and closed her eyes.

Shaun stayed with her and watched her sleep. "I'll never leave you," he said softly, more to himself than to her.

It would be hard to face the past, and the people he had hurt, but with Kelsey by his side, he knew he could face anything, no matter how dark or how painful. He was in love again, and that love would carry him through whatever lay ahead.

END OF BOOK 2

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To Breathe Again (Learning to Live Again 3)
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Entangled Moments
(Moments in Time #1)

Rekindled Moments
(Moments in Time #2)

Bittersweet Moments
(Moments in Time #3)

Defining Moments
(Moments In Time 4)

To Live Again
(Learning to Live Again 1)

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