I try to keep the grin from my face, but his smirk tells me I wasn’t entirely successful. “I’m happy for you, man. Are you happy?”
“Pretty much ecstatic.”
He smiles, the first time he’s really looked like himself since the accident. “You deserve it.”
“I don’t know about that. But she says she wants me, and who am I to argue?”
“She is a lot smarter than you,” he says. “You should probably take her word for it. Daisy said you guys are going to take a trip?”
“That’s what we’re thinking. We’d be back before your next visitation day. Think you can hold down the fort until then?”
I intend for it to be a joke, but even I can hear the genuine note of fear in my voice.
“I’ll be here when you get back, Levi. I promise. And that doesn’t have to be by the next visitation day, either. You don’t need to base your plans around when you can visit me.”
“Yes I do,” I argue. “Because you’re my best friend. And I’m a lot happier when I can see for myself that you’re okay.”
I figure he’ll argue with me, remind me that he’s a grown up, that he has a hospital full of doctors to help him, and he doesn’t need me. But instead, he nods. “Then I guess I’ll see you again next week.”
There’s a little flicker of guilt. “We could always postpone it,” I say. “Maybe go once you’ve been here a little longer.”
“Nah. It makes me a lot happier to think about you out there having fun. And I can use all the happy I can get.”
Well, how can I argue with that?
“Can we be done with the sappy shit now?” he asks, stretching. “I get enough therapy from the shrinks.”
“Sure. Wanna play cards?”
“Kicking your ass in cards will do wonders for my recovery.”
Karen joins us about twenty minutes later. By the time Daisy and Daltrey return, Lennon has beaten us both at several hands of War, and I’ve heard him laugh no less than a half dozen times. My anxiety about the situation drops a little more with each chuckle.
“We should probably hit the road,” I tell Karen. “If we want to get to Atlanta before dark.”
“I’ll see you next Sunday.”
He nods, releasing me. “See you next Sunday.”
I pause at the doorway to the hall. Lennon is dealing the cards to Daisy and Daltrey. Dalt says something that makes Len laugh and reach over to punch his brother’s arm. Somehow, that punch makes me feel more at ease than our entire visit.
When we get out to the car, Karen stops me at her door, wrapping her arms around me. “You did great.”
“You did great,” I murmur into her hair. “I think that helped him, what you said.”
“It’s true.” She looks up at me, brown eyes shining in the bright sunshine. “It is worth it when you can come out on the other side.” She raises up on her tiptoes to kiss me. “Ready to go?” I open her door for her, getting a little smile of thanks before going around to the driver’s side.
As I put the car in gear and pull out of the parking lot, we pass Reed and Paige coming in. I smile to myself as I wave—Lennon was totally right about the schedule.
As we make our way down the long, tree-lined driveway, I turn to Karen. “So. You ready for this?”
“A whole week of traveling with you? Without any responsibilities? Hell yeah.”
“Hey now. Who said anything about no responsibilities?” I pull the small black notebook out of my pocket and toss it on the dashboard. “We have several charts to fill out my friend.”
Karen grins, reaching for my hand resting on the gearshift. “I’m pretty sure I’m up for the task.”
As we reach the open road, I bring our entwined fingers to my mouth, kissing the back of her hand. I know she’s right—as long as it’s the two of us, I’m pretty sure we’re up for anything that might come next.
THE END
The fifth book in the Ransom series will be available in December 2015!
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Ransom Series
Ransom
Redeem
Relent
Lovestruck Series
Lovestruck in London
Lovestruck in Los Angeles
Lovestruck Forever
Sofie and the Movie Star (A digital short story)
Lovestruck at Christmas (A digital novella)
Starstruck
Three Girls Series
Three Girls and a Baby
Three Girls and a Wedding
Three Girls and a Leading Man
The Truth About Ever After
Three Girls and a New Beginning
Snow Kissed (A digital short story)
Love Story Series
An Unexpected Love Story
An (Almost) Perfect Love Story
Escape Series
Escape in You
Escape With you
Stand Alone
Persuaded
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rachel Schurig is the best-selling author of the Three Girls series, available now in paperback and ebook. Rachel lives in the metro Detroit area with her dog, Lucy. She loves to watch reality TV, and she reads as many books as she can get her hands on. In her spare time, Rachel decorates cakes.
To find out more about her books, visit Rachel at rachelschurig.com
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