Kostya groaned. “It sounds like we have a lot of catching up to do.”
“Aye, Father.”
Tilly stood up and stretched to work out some more of the kinks she’d accumulated while waiting for the doctor to operate on Ariana. “Do you three mind sitting with Ariana while I wait for Julian to wake up?” she asked.
Owen was out the door almost before her question was complete. Kostya followed and Serena gave her a hug before going.
“You know how stubborn Ashford is. He’ll come through.”
Tilly waited until the door was closed behind them and then knelt by Ashford’s side. She took his cold hand in hers and put her head on his chest and cried.
As her tears wound down she felt a very faint pressure against her hand. She turned her cheek so she could see where she still gripped Ashford’s fingers and sure enough, they twitched.
“Julian?” She kept her voice low, but shook his shoulder. “Come back now, Julian. Please. I need you. We all need you.”
His eyes fluttered open but they were glazed and unfocused. She prayed he was lucid and not still under the influence of being so near his former self.
“Where am I?” he asked through parched lips. She kissed them and hurriedly answered.
“You’re home, at the farm. We’re all here. How do you feel?”
He wrinkled his nose and grimaced. “My face hurts.”
“Owen hit you, darling, but you can’t be angry with him.”
At those words, his half-shuttered eyes flew open and he sat up straight as if a steel rod had been injected into his spine. She could see at once he remembered everything. To her utter dismay he began to bawl like a baby, thrashing away from her.
“Oh my God, no. No, no. Matilda, no. What have I done?” He looked at her wildly, still holding her at arm's length as if he didn’t deserve her comfort. “Dear God, Ariana.” He collapsed backwards again, curling himself into a ball on the couch, his wracking sobs one of the worst things she’d ever witnessed. “I shot her. I shot our baby girl.”
She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him, causing him to go stiff. “Ariana is all right. She’ll be fine. Do you hear me? She’ll be fine.” She said it loud, right in his ear, convincing herself as much as him.
He went limp, seeming to hear her and understand. He wriggled out of her embrace and covered his face with his hands. “I was so stupid, so stupid.”
Tilly sighed, placing her hand on his shoulder since he seemed determined to keep getting away from her hugs. “Yes. It’s good at least now you recognize that. Perhaps you won’t be again.”
“Where is she? I must see her.” He sat up, but she could feel him shaking. He was in no condition to leave the couch yet.
“She’s still asleep after her surgery.” He winced at the word surgery. “And she mustn’t see you so upset at any rate. She already feels responsible for you going in the first place.”
Ashford took a deep breath and moved so she could sit beside him. When she wrapped her arms around him again, he let her. “How can you still love me after what I’ve done?” He gasped. “You do still love me? This isn’t just pity?”
“I don’t pity you at all right now, Ashford. I’m still plenty angry. But of course I love you.” She patted his knee and smiled. “Actually, I’m too tired to really be angry. I know you did what you thought was best. And Owen said you weren’t acting yourself at all so we think that was the proximity thing. You were foolish for going off without telling me your stupid plan, but then again Ariana was a bit foolish for jumping in front of a gun to save that… well. We’re all together again, we’re all alive. That’s all I care about.”
His whole body stiffened again. “Nick is still alive. This isn’t over. It will never be over while that scoundrel still breathes.”
She paused to let the melodrama of his words fade, then answered. “You’ll hear everything soon enough. I don’t even know all the details, but the children believe everything will be fine on that front. Ariana was quite firm that Nick was innocent this time around.”
“But what if there’s a next time? We’re going to trust the children on something so important?”
Were they? She thought of Ariana’s strength and determination to keep her father from becoming a murderer, the responsibility she took when she apologized and swore never to run away again.
“Yes, we have to. They’re not children anymore. We were going to let Ri get married for goodness’ sake.”
“I never loved the idea of her getting married so young, but it’s a far sight better than the alternative.”
Tilly nestled against his shoulder, all her anger gone. Nothing had worked out the way she would have chosen, but everything had worked out. “There aren’t any more alternatives,” she said. “That past, that future, whatever it is, is gone. It’s been played out and now it’s done. Are we agreed on this?” She twisted her neck to get a look at him. He frowned and furrowed his brow. “Please, Julian. No more secrets.”
His trademarked Ashford scowl softened and he dipped his chin to kiss her. “We’re in agreement. We all tell the truth and we all trust each other from now on.” He kissed her again. “And no more time travel.”
She pulled away. “About that,” she said, placing her fingertip squarely in between his eyebrows to keep them unfurrowed. “I think I want us to visit Dexter. Ariana used a spell that was safe and accurate. I think it might be the same as what old Liam used to
