He bounces back to his spot in line after we take the rings from him and we turn back to Hannah.
“Noah, place the ring on Kady’s finger and repeat after me, I, Noah Thomas LeBlanc, do take you, Kady Jane Sinclair, to be my lawfully wedded wife, through sickness and health, for richer or poorer until death parts us.”
“I, Noah Thomas LeBlanc, do take you, Kady Jane Sinclair, to be my lawfully wedded wife, through sickness and health, for richer or poorer way past when death parts us.”
I laugh as she slips the ring on my finger and Hannah turns to me, repeating the same thing. I turn back to Noah and say the vows as I slip the ring onto his finger and when I’m done, he grins and pulls me into a kiss.
“I’m not done, y’all!” Hannah yells and everyone laughs around us as Noah’s fingers tangle in my hair. “Oh, fuck it. I now pronounce you man and wife.”
Cheers fill the air as he pulls away, his eyes shining as he flashes me a full grin, the one he saves just for me.
“Oh, Mrs. LeBlanc… I’ve got plans for you.”
“Wait,” Hannah growls, wiggling in between the two of us and I laugh. “I have to give you my present first.”
I nod. “Okay, Han. You really didn’t have to get us anything but what is it?”
“Shut up, you know I had to get you something.”
“No, you did…”
“You know how much I love you, right?” she asks, interrupting me as she grabs my hands and I nod as I glance up at Noah. He shrugs.
“Of course.”
“Well, the thing is, after growing up the way we did, I’ve decided that I don’t ever want to have kids of my own but I have this perfectly good uterus here so I was thinking… maybe I’d help you two have a baby or two.”
“What?’ I breathe, tears springing to my eyes as I stare at her. She smiles and nods.
“Hannah, that’s…” Noah whispers, his voice trailing off as he shakes his head.
“You don’t have to say anything right now. Just know that the offer is here whenever you want it.”
I yank her into my arms as I start crying and she hugs me tight as I look up at Noah as he smiles and nods his head. In one single day, I’ve gotten everything I wanted in my life and it’s as overwhelming as it is amazing. And for the first time in a really long time, I can finally look into the future and feel excited about what life has in store for Noah and me.
Never Let Me Go
Bayou Devils MC
Book Six
Chapter One
Juliette
“Baby,” someone whispers through the fog, his voice calling out to me through the haze of the endless darkness swallowing me up. It claws at me, frantically trying to pull me back into its debilitating embrace but that voice… it commands me, urges me to fight the faux warmth of the darkness. “I miss you. Open your eyes… please.”
The plea in his voice is so potent, so sorrowful, that I ache to reach out and let him know that I can hear him and everything will be okay. But… who is he? He sounds kind of familiar but I just can’t quite place it, like I’m scratching at the memory but unable to dislodge it. It’s maddening.
“Juliette,” he says, his voice cracking. Oh, God, who is this man and why does he sound so heartbroken as he calls my name? My heart twinges at the desperation pouring off of him. Everything begins to hit me at once as I drift further from the darkness trying to hold me captive. There’s a steady beeping sound to my right that soothes me but from somewhere else, I can hear an alarm blaring. Hushed voices hit me next, too quiet to be understood, and the smell of disinfectant fills my nose.
“Good evening, sir,” a woman says, her feet shuffling on the floor as she approaches us. Her hands are cold as she presses her fingers to the inside of my wrist, checking my pulse. “I’m Colleen, the night nurse. Is there anything you need right now?”
“No,” my mystery man answers as he grabs my hand and cradles it between both of his. The farther I float from the darkness, the more the real world comes into focus. Every part of my body throbs with more pain than I’ve ever felt in my life and my throat is bone dry as I try to move my fingers to get someone’s attention.
Mystery man gasps. “Juliette?”
“Is there a problem, Mr. Hale?”
“She just moved her finger a little bit.”
“Hmm,” the woman hums as she pulls her fingers from my wrist. “I don’t see any change to her vitals. It’s possible it was just a reflex.”
He grips my hand a little tighter. “No. She moved. I’m sure of it. Get the doctor in here now.”
“Mr. Hale,” she sighs. “I know this is hard but as I said, I’m sure it was just a muscle spasm. It’s quite common in coma patients and I see no change in her condition. She would be in quite a bit of pain from the accident. If she was waking up, I would expect to see her heart rate go up at least a little bit.”
“She moved,” he growls, gripping my hand even tighter and I whimper as pain shoots up my arm. The pressure disappears immediately as the woman gasps.
“Miss Shaw? Can you hear me, honey?” She presses her fingers to the inside of my wrist, checking my pulse again, and I try to move but stop when my body screams in protest.
Oh, shit, that hurts.
I focus on each breath being pulled into my lungs as the pain slowly fades back down to a more manageable level before attempting to open my eyes. It feels like they’re glued shut and I want to cry and scream at my body to just do what I tell it to.
“Jules, baby?” the mystery man asks, his warm, minty breath hitting my face as he leans in close and cups my cheek in his hand. “Can you open your eyes and look at me?”
The excitement and hope in his voice urges me on, despite the pain, and I slowly suck in a breath as I peel my eyes open, blinking at the harsh florescent light above me as I resist the overwhelming urge to shut them again. I try to move once more and cry out. Pain shoots through me like an arrow and tears sting my eyes.
Oh, good god, what the hell happened to me?
“There she is,” mystery man whispers as I lock onto his piercing blue eyes hovering above mine and suck in a breath. Those are the kind of eyes a girl could spend her whole life getting lost in and if that wasn’t enough, they have that mischievous sparkle that can get a very smart girl to do very dumb things in the name of love. But it occurs to me, that as gorgeous as his eyes are, I don’t recognize them.
“Welcome back to the land of the living, sweetie,” the woman says and I turn away from mystery man to glance at her. She’s older with big blonde hair that reminds me of every soccer mom ever but her smile is sweet. “I’m Colleen, your night nurse. How are you feeling?”
“Ow,” I squeak, my throat dry and painful. Raising my hand, I grip my throat to reiterate my point and she nods before turning to grab a small cup of water from the bedside table. She holds the straw in front of my lips and I take a sip, closing my eyes as the cool water coats my throat. I take another drink and she pulls the cup away.
“Small sips.”
I nod and when she presses the straw to my lips again, I take a couple small sips of the cool refreshing liquid before pulling back and nodding to her. She smiles in encouragement and pulls the cup away, setting it back on the table next to my bed.