Damn if tears didn’t burn Rio’s eyes all over again.
Gently he reached down and tucked her hand into his. “Come sit down and talk to me, Elizabeth.”
She followed him to the far corner, away from the others. He sat and she stood awkwardly as if she had no idea what to do or what she should do. His heart broke when he looked at her, because she was trying so hard to be brave when her entire world had shattered around her.
“Come here,” he saiӀx201D; hd softly.
He held out his arms and she went willingly into his embrace. He hugged her to him and then lifted her onto his knee.
“You’re right. Your father wasn’t a very good man.” He wouldn’t lie to her. Elizabeth wasn’t stupid. She knew what her father was. “But he loved you very much. Love will make you do all manner of things. He would have done anything to save you because he loved you that much.”
She nodded solemnly. “I wished to be better so many times. I kept praying for a miracle because I wanted him to be good. I used to pray that God would make me well and that my father and I could go somewhere and start over. I—”
She bit her lip, but Rio could still see her entire mouth trembling.
“You what?” he gently prompted.
“I used to think that me being sick was his punishment for all the bad things he’d done,” she whispered.
Rio hugged her tightly, his heart breaking for the burden this child had carried for so long. She was just a baby. Old beyond her years.
“Oh, honey, no. That’s not how it works. Your father made choices. God doesn’t punish you for the choices he made. You were a gift to your father. He loved you so very much. Bad things happen to good people all the time. It sucks. It doesn’t always make sense. But look at Grace. She’s been treated horrifically by people who want her for what she can do. She’s good through and through. But she’s suffered so much. It’s not fair bu
t then much of life isn’t fair. It’s how you live that matters. It’s how you deal with the bumps in the road.”
“I don’t have anyone now,” she said quietly. “I never knew who my mother was. I think my father took me from her when I was a baby. What will happen to me, Rio?”
He smiled tenderly and wiped the hair from her forehead. “I have an idea that I’d very much like to get your input on.”
Her brow wrinkled and she stared questioningly up at him.
“What do you say, you and I go down and see if we can find something to eat and we’ll talk over the proposition I have for you.”
Her eyes lit up for a moment but then they dimmed, and she glanced toward the door as if expecting someone to walk through at any moment.
“What about Grace? I don’t want to leave her.”
“Terrence will call us the minute the doctor comes in if we’re not here. Then we’ll race back up as fast as we can so we can be there when she wakes up. Deal?”
Elizabeth smiled and bobbed her head up and down. “Deal.”
CHAPTER 40
GRACE struggled through an endless sea of murkiness, shadows that seemed to reach out and wrap around her like vines. She warded off the encroaching darkness, wanting instead to savor the warmth of the distant light that seemed to grow dimmer all the time.
She knew she wasn’t dead, but she also knew that she was dying. This was it. The epic battle between life and death. It all sounded so poetic but quite frankly it sucked and there was nothing particularly poetic about dying.
Rio?
It was a small whisper in her mind. She wasn’t sure she had the strength to push it out, but she desperately needed confirmation that he was alive and okay, that she hadn’t failed. And she needed the comfort of his presence because her mind was frighteningly blank. So dark and barren and cold.
Iր019;m here, baby. Right here. With you always. Just open your eyes, Grace. I’m right here. Open your eyes and look at me.
Her brow furrowed and her nose scrunched up. He made it sound so easy. She had no idea where she was. Somewhere between life and death, and yet he made it seem like all she had to do was open her eyes.
Her entire body was heavy. Understanding was slow to come, but with each passing moment, she became aware of more. She was cold because it was like a freaking icebox wherever she was. It was dark because she couldn’t seem to pry her eyes open.
There were lots of sounds, harsh in her silent, dark world. Strange beeps. A whooshing sound. Distant buzzing, like conversation but not close.
Grace, I’m right here. Come back to us. Just open your eyes. You’ve been sleeping too long. You’re safe now. You’re with people who love you.
Shea.
Warmth spread, replacing some of the bone-deep chill. Rio and Shea both held her lovingly in their grasp. She was cradled in their arms, supported. Loved.
She tried. She truly tried to open her eyes, but it was as if someone had cemented them shut. She allowed some of the frustration to spill down the pathway to Rio and Shea.
It’s okay, honey, Rio soothed. You’ll get there. Don’t overexert yourself. Relax. Think of the happiest thought you can imagine. Then open your eyes so you can see it.
That was easy. What she wanted most in the world was to see him. Know that he was alive. That he was here beside her.
She pushed everything away except the unerring desire to open her eyes. It was like rolling back a stone from a tomb. Heavy. Cumbersome. She’d never felt so weak in her life.
Her eyelashes fluttered.
Excitement coursed through her body, and she realized it was Rio’s excitement.