Her gaze rested on a chair tucked in the corner of the room. A large hulk of a man sat cradling a small, sleeping boy in his arms.
Dee’s world came sharply into focus. She remembered everything. Blane hadn’t won. She recognized Jacob and Evan, two precious faces she would never forget.
Blane’s attack, his threats, all came jumbled back with nauseating force. Dee studied every inch of Jacob, and he seemed unharmed. A sigh shuddered through her.
Jacob’s eyes were closed. His head was tipped back against the reclining chair. Evan slept curled in his lap, chocolate ice cream staining the sides of her son’s mouth. Jacob had obviously discovered the way to Evan’s heart quickly.
Just as he’d done with hers.
She absorbed the image of them both and let the love fill her. Her still-slumberous mind wandered dreamy paths and she envisioned them as a family. The two looked nothing alike, Jacob so dark and angular, Evan so fair with a rounded face. Chances were Evan would never be as tall as Jacob.
No one would ever mistake Evan for Jacob’s biological son. But with Jacob’s influence, Evan would resemble Jacob in all the ways that counted.
She’d found so much beneath that brooding exterior. He’d shown her honor, constancy and a fierce protective love she hoped to claim.
Jacob shuffled, woke and stared back at her for seconds that seemed to stretch into forever before he spoke. “You okay?”
She nodded.
“I’ll call the nurse.”
“No, please. Give me a moment before the hospital frenzy takes over.” Evan stirred, and she lowered her voice. She wasn’t ready to share Jacob and Evan with the world, not yet. “What happened?”
He stood slowly, his big hands carrying her son with gentle strength. “You were shot in the shoulder, but the bullet passed through without hitting anything vital.”
She’d meant what happened with Blane, to Jacob to make him look so haggard, but now she realized those shadows under his eyes were for her.
“I’m okay,” she reassured even though she actually felt more than a little weak and breathless. But alive. They were all alive. So she asked again, “What happened?”
“Blane is in custody.”
She searched his eyes for details of how that must have happened, what had occurred after the shooting, and saw only a fierce protectiveness in Jacob’s expression. She knew. He’d been there for her, for her son and for their future because here he stood vital and alive.
More details from the showdown spilled through her mind, of how Blane hadn’t been the one stalking her. “What about Emily?” She struggled to sit up, her heart pounding. “Please say they have taken Chase back in for questioning.”
Jacob nodded reassuringly. “It’s okay. Take it easy. I was able to tip off Spike when he showed up a few minutes after you were shot. He took care of sending police over to Grace’s right away. Chase is at the station now. Emily and Madison are fine. A little shaken up, but okay.”
She sagged back on her pillow, relieved, somewhat drained, but mostly happy. It felt good to smile. To hope. She reached out her hand, twisting it free of the tangle of the IV to touch Jacob’s arm. He held her sleeping son against his chest, Evan’s arms draped over the broad shoulders as he tucked his face into Jacob’s neck.
A sight she could enjoy forever. She skimmed from Jacob to her son and traced each tiny feature she’d feared never seeing again. The feel of baby-soft skin soothed her ragged nerves and a few of her fears. It would be a while yet before she could let him out of her sight.
Apparently Jacob had known that. Children in hospital rooms were usually a taboo. He must have executed some major arm-twisting for her to see Evan when she woke. “Thank you for having him here for me.”
“No sweat.”
“Yeah, right.”
He shrugged.
A tap sounded on the door. Apparently their time alone would be cut short after all.
Emily peered around the door. “Dee? God, I can’t believe…Wow, you’re already awake.” The teenager rushed to her side. “You’re really awake. The nurse said…”
Jacob circled around to stand by his sister, more of that protectiveness radiating from him. “I haven’t pressed the call button yet.”
Emily flipped her ponytail over her shoulder, shifting from foot to foot. “I won’t stay long. Grace has Madison and she’s really kind of a handful today, so I need to get back to her. I just had to see you.” Her gaze slid up to her brother. “And you, too.”
A corner of his mouth tipped. “You’re speaking to me now, are you?”