Gavin shushed her, rubbing his chin against her hair as she cried. His brain was mush from the painkillers, and he struggled to convince her not to feel guilty. All he could tell her, over and over again, was that she shouldn’t blame herself. But he knew Kat: she had a good heart, and she took it hard when things happened that were out of her control.
Hell, he was the same, wasn’t he? He’d blamed himself for Teagan’s overdose. He’d blamed himself for letting Kat go out of sheer fear.
If anyone was to blame, it was him, for not protecting his family like he should have.
“Please don’t cry,” he begged. “You’ll really kill me if you don’t stop. I’m begging you.”
She let a little laugh. “I had no idea tears could get you to do whatever I wanted.”
“Now you know: just cry and I’m putty in your hands.”
He and Kat lay quietly for a bit, and Gavin simply listened to her breathing. He was about to fall asleep when the door to his room opened, and there was Emma. Her face lit up when she saw that Gavin was awake.
“Dad!” She ran toward him and clambered up onto the bed right as Kat got down.
He didn’t care that Emma jostled his wound; he didn’t care that his IV started beeping as he wrapped her in his arms. He held her tight, breathing in her sweet scent, reveling in the feeling of her warmth and vitality.
“Emma, sweetheart,” he said in a rasp. “God, it’s good to see you.”
“You’re going to be okay?” Her lower lip trembled.
“I’m not going anywhere.” He hugged her again before she curled against his side.
“I was so scared.” Emma’s face was pale. “I wasn’t sure you’d find me in time.”
“I’ll always find you. Remember that,” replied Gavin.
Emma nodded, burying her face against his shoulder. Kat rubbed Emma’s back.
“She’s been so brave through all of this,” said Kat in wonder. “Haven’t you, Emma?”
Emma just shrugged. “What else was I supposed to do?”
Gavin knew that his daughter was simply too young to process what had happened to her. He thought of how scared she must’ve been, and it tore him up inside. His only wish was that his entire family could heal from this, because Silas didn’t deserve to have the satisfaction.
“Aunt Joy let me watch Frozen every day,” said Emma. “She even let me watch it when I kept having bad dreams.”
Despite the seriousness of the conversation, Gavin smiled because he knew that Emma rewatching Frozen over and over would’ve been a huge sacrifice for Adam, since his brother couldn’t stand musicals. To have “Let It Go” playing at all hours of the day and night? Gavin owed his brother—big time.
“What else did you do while I was asleep?” said Gavin.
Emma shrugged. “Nothing, really.”
Kat caught his gaze, and he knew that that answer was loaded with meaning. Gavin wanted to ask his daughter about her bad dreams; he wanted to reassure her that she’d never go through something like this again. The only reason he wasn’t breaking down completely was because his brain was foggy. Once he got out of the hospital and was no longer on painkillers, he knew a reckoning would be coming.
“I’m just glad you’re safe,” said Gavin, holding Emma close and enclosing Kat’s hand with his. “Both of you. My girls. My brave, beautiful girls.”
“Do you think I was as brave as Kat?” said Emma.
“You were both brave. Extremely brave. I’m proud of you both.”
A memory slowly formed in his brain. The encounter with Silas was patchy at best, but talking about it now seemed to bring it into clearer focus. Bits and pieces tugged at his memory, including one piece that made his breath catch in his throat.
He stroked Emma’s hair with a trembling hand as he looked up at Kat, shaking his head. “ I can’t believe you threw yourself at Silas.” He clutched at her hand. “That was so stupid, Kat.”
She laughed a little. “Maybe, but it worked. I’m okay. Just a little bruised up, but better than you.” She arched an eyebrow, and he knew she was trying to keep things light for Emma. “I’m not the one who got shot.”
He sighed, and he took her hand to kiss the back of it. “I love you, Kat,” he said. “I’m sorry I was such a coward. I don’t deserve you, you know.”
“I know that.” At his expression, she grinned. “I love you, too, you stubborn man.” She leaned toward him and they kissed, but Emma made a disgruntled noise, which caused them to part and laugh.
“I am sitting right here,” Emma said pertly. But then she looked up at Kat and asked, “Are you going to be my stepmom?”
Kat raised an eyebrow. “Maybe. Your dad hasn’t asked me, though.”
“Ladies, ladies. Let a guy recover first before we start talking about weddings.” But the thought of Kat becoming his wife, walking down the aisle toward him, wearing a beautiful white gown? It didn’t make him want to turn tail and run. He only wanted to embrace it and see what the future would bring them.
The rest of the Danvers clan came in, with everyone surrounding Gavin and asking him how he was feeling, what he remembered, and every other question under the sun. Kat had filled them in as much as she could, but everyone wanted to talk to Gavin. He tried his best, but after about an hour of questions, he looked so exhausted that Kat shooed everyone out.
The nurse came in and gave him another dose of morphine. Gavin tried to fight the sleep that wanted to claim him, but his eyelids were so heavy that he wouldn’t last long.
“Emma, can you tell me what happened?”
Emma plucked at the sheets, avoiding his gaze. He jostled her a little. “Tell me,” he breathed.
“I got scared,” she mumbled.
When she didn’t seem like she’d continue, Kat rubbed her
