He wasn\u2019t alone in his cot and she could feel it, even as she squared her shoulders and marched down the narrow hall toward his door.\u00a0 Jacqueline took a slow, deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment.<\/p>\n
Lord, give me the strength I\u2019m going to need to deal with this raging idiot of a man right about now.<\/i><\/p>\n
His words still stung, made her heart hurt.\u00a0 How dare<\/i> he think about leaving.\u00a0 That just wasn\u2019t an option.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t just abandon them out here to their own devices.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d she murmured to herself. \u00a0\u201cNo, he absolutely can\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
She pushed open the door.<\/p>\n
Phelan was half propped up on an elbow and his head jerked up when the door came open.\u00a0 \u201cJac,\u201d he said, his voice hoarse.\u00a0 \u201cWhat are you doing here?\u00a0 J.T. was\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u00a0 I told him that he has to deal with you until you stop thinking about this stupid leaving thing.\u00a0 I won\u2019t be a captive audience and I\u2019m sure not going to help patch you so you can just bolt at the earliest opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUnless you\u2019re about to tell me that you\u2019re not going to leave, Phelan, I don\u2019t want to hear it.\u201d\u00a0 She finally closed the door behind her and strode toward him.\u00a0\u00a0 She could have sworn that she heard the faint sound of female laughter coming from somewhere to the left of Phelan\u2019s bed.\u00a0 She tried to ignore it.\u00a0 There was something else in here with him, but she wasn\u2019t quite sure she wanted to know what it was.<\/p>\n
It was the same presence she\u2019d felt vaguely the last few times she\u2019d looked in on him when he was sleeping\u2014something she was fairly confident that he didn\u2019t know she\u2019d done.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t stay, Jac,\u201d he whispered.\u00a0 \u201cPlease, try to understand that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d she said firmly.\u00a0 \u201cYou<\/i> need to understand.\u00a0 You have to stay.\u00a0 We need you here.\u201d<\/p>\n
I think <\/i>I need you here, and God knows that should somehow be enough, right?<\/i><\/p>\n
Right.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
He wasn\u2019t alone in his cot and she could feel it, even as she squared her shoulders and marched down the narrow hall toward his door.\u00a0 Jacqueline took a slow, deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment. Lord, … Continue reading