37. Winter

Ringing pulledme from the best dream I'd ever had. In it, I was warm and safe. Comforted in a way I'd never known. Strong arms surrounded me, and a steady heart beat beneath my ear.

I opened my eyes and squinted at the morning light. It took a moment to realize that it wasn't a dream. I was sleeping cradled against Asher's chest.

I didn't want to move to get my phone, but the ringing was annoying, and besides, my mother's ringtone was so rare to hear, I had to answer. She never called me to chat. It had to be something important.

I shifted toward the phone on the nightstand, and Asher muttered a sleepy protest and tugged me closer.

"Where do you think you're going?" he murmured in a low, dangerous tone.

"To answer the phone?" I teased. "I guess it's time to get up."

"Guess again…I'm not done with you yet," he lowered his mouth to mine and then kissed along my jaw. "In fact, I'm just getting started with you."

"After last night?" I wondered, a little taken aback by the idea but quickly coming around. We'd barely slept, and I was sore, and yet, his lips on my neck were sending waves of heat through me.

"There is no limit to how many times I'm going to want you…my girlfriend. My everything. Be prepared for that." His teeth closed over my ear, biting the lobe. I groaned.

The phone ringing again broke the spell.

"I have to get it. My mom never calls me," I admitted in a whisper.

"Fine, but I get to do whatever I fucking want to do you while you're on the phone," he compromised.

Asher eased up his grip on me a little, and I strained for the phone and finally reached it.

Answering, I put my head back on his shoulder. "Mom?"

"Winter, I'm so glad you answered. Listen, you need to come down to the hospital."

"What?" I sat up.

Asher followed, immediately sensing my change in mood.

"Your dad had a heart attack."

It should have taken over six hours to make it back to Hade Harbor, but Asher made it in five. By the time we stopped, I could barely feel my legs. I stumbled around until he took my elbow and steadied me.

"Come on, baby."

He'd taken me upstairs to the private ward, and he was still here, sitting outside in the hall while I sat with my mom around a hospital bed, holding the hand of the man I'd spent my life loving and longing for in equal measure.

Mom's eyes were red as she watched his ventilator rise and fall.

"I didn't know he had health problems," I muttered.

She shrugged. "That's your father, always keeping his cards close to his chest. He never wanted to disappoint you."

My lips twisted bitterly. "I know the feeling. So, what happens now?"

"We have to see how well he recovers from the surgery. Frequent traveling is off the schedule, for now, and he needs to do something about his stress level." She looked at me. "Honestly, his investments haven't been going well lately. He's been very worried."

"He shouldn't be. He should just take better care of himself…Money isn't the most important thing in the world."

Mom raised an eyebrow at me. "You're right. It's not, but you've never been without it."

"Neither has Dad," I pointed out.

She nodded. "Yes, but he had the expectations of the family name to maintain. The legacy of your grandfather, and his father before him. There's a lot of tradition in the DeLaurie family. A lesser man would have crumbled under the pressure sooner."

"Why don't you like Duncan and Trent Fitzgerald?" I asked her bluntly.

She tilted her elegant head. "Who said I don't like them?"

"It's obvious. I know you, Mom. I know when you don't like something…" I lifted my wrist. "Like this bracelet. You don't like it, do you?"

Her eyes went to the bracelet and then away.

"I know it was Aunt Ruth's. What happened to her?"

Mom let out a long breath and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I don't know if today is the day to go into that."

"Please, I have to know." I pleaded. I didn't want to tell her that Trent was threatening me. She'd only freak out, and what could she do? My father had just had a heart attack. I didn't need to put another parent in the hospital.

"Your aunt was pushed into an engagement that she didn't want. She was battling depression and lost. I miss her, every day." My mom rubbed her temples. I felt guilty. She looked exhausted and overwhelmed and I was pushing her.

She sighed. "I have to go home and change and pack some clothes. I'll come back in a bit. Will you wait here until then? He shouldn't be alone when he wakes up."

I nodded. "I'll stay." I had endless questions piling up in my head, but I could see the strain on my mother's face. Her exhaustion. Her worry. My questions could wait…a little while, anyway.

She got up and left. I sat beside my dad for a few minutes until Asher gently knocked at the door.

"Well, Ice Queen, what's the verdict?" His dark eyes were full of concern.

I shook my head, and a tear ran down my cheek. What was this? I had years of practice at keeping my heart tucked away, protected from disappointment and sadness, and in the last month, it had all come undone. The reason for my shattered defenses was crossing the room right now and pulling me into his arms. Asher had dismantled my protective fortress, and I couldn't stop feeling everything, all the time. It was utterly exhausting.

"He had surgery and is still under," I muttered, melting into his embrace. There was that warm feeling. Safety.

"Well, he's right where he needs to be to get better. Try not to worry," Asher murmured, running his fingers through my hair.

"Last time we spoke, I was so horrible to him," I bit off, guilt crushing in on me. "I wanted him to stay home more, now look what's happened."

"So what? You caused it? Don't be silly. You're his little princess, that's clear from a mile away. Nothing you say or do will ever change that."

I leaned back and stared up at Asher. "You really think so?"

He nodded. "I know so." He tucked my hair behind my ear. "Who could stop loving you?"

His words triggered a fresh round of tears and I buried my face in his chest, while his arms tightened around me. A harsher and more terrifying truth lingered at the back of my mind.

No one can help us now.