I live in Nevada, Ashley. Northern Nevada. I used to live in Georgia till I was 10, then moved to Las Vegas, and I moved up here a little over a year ago. That help? And no more falling asleep in class!!! :-P
I'm glad you got some stuff for your speech today, Trish. Good luck with it. :-)
And now....the moment no one has been waiting for.....the last chapter of Thicker Than Blood...which is being dedicated to my NEWEST grandchild...Mary-Mary
Chapter 25:
I blinked a few times, trying to adjust my eyes to the light of the room. I felt…what was the word…oh yeah, oogy. I attempted to sit up, but I felt way too weak.
“Nisha?” I heard Joe’s voice. Thank God he was ok. I couldn’t remember much, but I did remember that we had been battling Samar.
“Joe?” It came out a whisper. He was suddenly at my side, taking my hand in his. “Did we win?” He nodded and smiled. “Are you ok?”
“I’m fine. You’re the one with the stab wounds.” I gasped, which only caused me pain. “Shhh.” He brushed the hair out of my eyes. “Don’t worry. You’re not at a hospital, we’re in a hotel. And you’ve been out for two days.” He sat down on the bed next to me.
“Two days?!?!?” Granted, it was still a whisper, but it was a harsh whisper. I attempted to sit up again, but he gently held me down.
“Whoa, there, Nisha. You’re not done healing yet. You’ve gotta rest.”
“But what about you? And your brothers? And the tour? And who’s gonna make sure you guys eat healthy? And…” He leaned in and silenced me with a kiss.
“Nisha., I am ok. I only got a few scrapes. Nick and Kevin are fine. They’re bummed they missed out on the action.” I rolled my eyes. “The tour is fine. We just had to reschedule a few dates. Rob has been cooking for us, so don’t worry.” He paused. “And, I love you. You have no idea how terrified I was that I’d lost you.”
“She didn’t stake me in the heart, so…”
“I know. But you’d lost a lot of blood and you had really bad injuries. I was all for taking you to a hospital, but Kevin wasn’t sure that would be such a good idea.”
“You saved my life.” I rubbed my thumb across the back of his hand. His face paled, and I knew he was having a hard time coming to terms with the fact he had taken a life. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t have killed her myself and saved you from having to do it. I…” I started crying, my heart breaking for him.
“Hey, now. Don’t start that. I’m just glad that you’re ok, and that she’s gone. I’m sorry you lost your sister.” I sighed, knowing it would take some time for him to truly be at peace with what happened.
“I love you.” A small smile finally found its way back to his lips. “There’s no love lost between my sister and me. Yeah, she may have been my last blood relative, but you and me…what we have goes deeper…its…it’s like that song…blood is thicker than water, but love, our love, is thicker than blood.” I brought his hand to my lips and kissed it.
“I love you too. And if you’ll let me, I’d like to spend the rest of eternity proving that to you.”
“Well, we ARE Beloveds…”
“No.” He said, reaching into his pocket. “Marry me?” I gasped again, softer this time so it didn’t hurt so badly. He pulled a ring from his pocket…a simple, diamond ring…and slipped it on my left ring finger.
“Oh, Joe.” I felt a tear fall from my eye, a happy tear this time. “Of course I will.”
So, the end.
Hope you all enjoyed it...stay tuned for a preview of the prologue of the sequel that has yet to be titled.
