Chapter 70

seventy

LIAM

When I arrived at the medical clinic, a nurse took me to see Amy. It had taken two hours to travel to Sunrise Bay. The weather had taken a turn for the worse and a storm was closing roads and creating havoc everywhere.

If Amy had been out in this weather, there was no way she'd be sitting in a hospital bed now. And for that, I was profoundly grateful.

The nurse smiled and pointed to a room on our right. "She's through here. First bed on the left."

I thanked her and stepped into the room.

Paul had his back to me, but Amy saw me.

Her eyes widened, but she didn't give her usual squeal of delight. "I'm sorry." Her softly spoken words echoed around the room.

Paul turned around.

The worry of the last few hours was etched into his face. "Hi, Liam. Thanks for coming."

"I couldn't have stayed in Boulder." I pulled a pink, fluffy toy rabbit out of a bag and gave it to Amy. "I'm glad you're okay. I thought you might want to cuddle this rabbit. She's not as fast as the rabbits we saw at Jacob's house, but she's cute."

Amy clutched the toy to her chest. "Thank you."

Paul stood and looked around the room. "I'll get you another chair."

"I don't mind standing. I've been sitting for most of the day."

"I'm surprised you could get here. The weather's really bad. One of the nurses said the road between Sunrise Bay and Boulder is closed."

I wanted to do so much more than talk about the weather. I'd started to think about Paul and Amy as my family. I wanted to protect them, keep them safe, and love them.

"I must have made it through at the right time. How are you feeling, Amy?"

"I feel good now, but I had to use the bathroom a lot."

I looked uncertainly at Paul.

A small smile pulled at the corners of his mouth. "Amy drank lots of hot chocolate after she arrived at the hospital. The nurses were trying to warm her from the inside out. That's why she needed to use the bathroom."

"I had warm blankets as well," Amy added. "But I'm okay now."

"You are indeed," a voice said behind us.

I turned and looked at the doctor who was standing at the foot of the bed.

He shook my hand. "I'm Amy's doctor. You must be the man Amy told me about."

"Liam's a special agent," Amy said. "He works in a big city called Chicago."

I didn't have the heart to tell her I wasn't going to Chicago until Friday .

"That explains why you wanted to go to Chicago. Next time, ask Paul or Liam first. It's too dangerous to go there on your own."

The smile on Amy's face disappeared. "I'm not going anywhere on my own again. It was scary."

"I'm sure it was." The doctor handed Paul a sheet of paper. "These are Amy's discharge papers. One of the nurses showed me her chart a few minutes ago and I'm happy to report that she can go home." He smiled at Amy. "Don't build any snowmen for a few days. It's inside activities only."

"Can I go to school tomorrow?"

"Of course, you can. I'm sure your friends will want to know what happened."

I studied Amy's face. She didn't look as though she wanted to tell anyone about today.

Paul shook the doctor's hand. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Amy was a pleasure to look after. Hopefully, we won't see you again."

"I hope so, too," Paul said. He looked at me. "Would you like to come back to our house? I could make you a late lunch."

I nodded. I knew that nothing would ever be the same between us, but I hoped that after today we could at least be friends. "I'll follow you in my truck."

Amy pushed the blankets off her legs. "Can I go with Liam?"

Paul started to say something, then stopped. "If it's okay with Liam, that's fine. But you'll need your car seat."

I lifted Amy off the edge of the bed. "It's okay with me. On our way home, you can tell me what you've been doing since I left. "

Paul collected Amy's backpack and jacket and followed us out of the room.

While Amy chatted about her new friends, I waited until Paul was beside us. It had been the kind of day that was every parent's worst nightmare. But, tomorrow, the sun would still rise, and the world would keep spinning on its axis—with one major difference: from today onward, at least three people wouldn't be taking their lives for granted anymore.