Chapter 159

Rosalind curled up on her side of the bed next to Ashton. It had been two long days since the doctor had extracted the bullet, sewn up the wound and seen to proper bandaging of Ashton's shoulder.

When she'd asked how soon Ashton would heal, he'd replied, "The rest lies with God." The doctor's parting words had left her ill and feeling hollow. She hadn't moved from Ashton's side except to tend to her personal needs.

"Ashton, come back to me," she begged for the hundredth time. Her fingers clutched his. She waited for a squeeze, a twitch, any sign that he was still there and she hadn't lost him.

She wiped at the tears that kept pooling in her eyes. She couldn't lose him, not when her heart had finally accepted him as her own.

"Please" She would give anything in that moment for him to be all right. "I will never leave you again."

"Iwill hold you to that" Ashton's voice was rough, barely above a whisper.