He didn’t think she loved him, and so the thought of telling her he loved her scared him. But nothing would ever again have the power to scare him as much as her injury had. So down the road, when she was completely herself again, he would tell her how he felt.

At that point, she would no longer need to lean on him. She’d be strong enough to hear him say I love you and, if she didn’t feel the same, to tell him so truthfully.

At the moment, she was dazed and not in her right mind and at a disadvantage. In the days to come, the highest priority for them both had to be and would be her health.

He’d given up on ever being good enough for her, but he would show her that he could, at least, be good.

In the middle of the night, a nurse woke Finley while doing her rounds. Across the dim room, she spotted Luke, sleeping on a futon that looked much too hard and much too short for his frame. His position revealed the firm underside of his jaw. His hands rested on his flat abs.

He was still here.

And she was still alive.

The God who’d carried her through trauma before had carried her through it again. Thank you, God, for saving me. For sending Luke. Praise you, Lord.

God had given her a second chance. She recognized the value of that, and she planned to take it and run with it.

Of course, she could barely sit upright at the moment, let alone run.

But when she was better, watch out, world.

The sight of Luke stoked a glow of contentment in her while the nurse bustled around. When the woman finally left, one of Luke’s eyes slid open.

“You’re awake,” Finley said.

“I’m awake.”

“Come here.”

He did so.

It took some doing, but she managed to scoot over. She patted the open space she’d created on the bed in invitation.

“I’ll take up all the room,” he said.

“I hope so.”

He lowered the rail on his side, then stretched out beside her. His arm drew her close against him. Just as she’d imagined, she placed one arm across his chest and rested her head on his shoulder. At last, something about this difficult day had gone her way. The reality of this was far, far better than she’d anticipated.

“I want to know what happened when we went to Blood Mountain to dig up the treasure,” she said.

In a darkness penetrated by glowing machines, he unwound the events for her. He stopped only to answer her questions.