“Lucky me.”
The one eye that wasn’t swollen shut was serious as she reached out to lay a hand against his cheek. “Very lucky you.”
“I’m just gonna give y’all some privacy, let everybody know Ethan’s awake.”
“Thanks, Clay.”
The door swung shut behind him.
Miranda swallowed hard. “You want the update?”
“It can wait.” He was too muzzy headed to follow it right now. “Harley’s dead.”
“Yeah. He is. And I’m not, thanks to you. That’s the important part.”
If he’d been a fraction of a second slower… “I should have gotten him off the streets sooner.” He’d be second guessing every decision he’d made about Harley Forbes for a long while to come.
“I’m sorry I didn’t take the threat seriously.”
Ethan stroked a knuckle softly down her bruised cheek. “I’m sorry he had a chance to do this.”
“You found me in four hours. You may not have that badge anymore, but once a Marshal, always a Marshal. And a Marshal always gets his man.”
“This Marshal is more concerned with getting his woman.”
Tears glimmered in her eyes. “You took bullets for me.”
Because she seemed to need it, he managed to tug his mouth into a smile. Pain radiated from the bruise on his jaw. “Maybe that means you’ll keep me around.”
He phrased it as a joke, but he tensed, waiting for her reaction. Becca hadn’t been able to handle the realities of his job, and now Miranda had been through the worst of it herself. He wouldn’t blame her if she wanted to walk away.
She huffed a laugh, then winced again as her chest jolted. “I’m definitely keeping you. But just so you know, this makes three gunshot wounds for you. That’s your lifetime max. You’re not allowed to get shot anymore, okay?”
“From your mouth to God’s ear.”
With painstaking care, she shifted over until she could rest her head on his right shoulder. “I love you. Thank you for saving my life.”
Ethan pressed a kiss to her brow. “Back atcha, Legs.”
“Actually, Delaney saved you.”
“What?”
“My hands weren’t steady enough. She’s the one who did the needle decompression on you.”
“She’s the one who confirmed you were at the plant.”
“I’m giving her a raise and the biggest cupcake ever.”
“I’m pretty sure that’s what they call a cake.”
The door swung open again.
“Oh, my baby!”
Ethan managed to turn his head in time to see his mother rush the bed. “Hey, Mama.”
Tears were streaming down her cheeks. “Oh my God. Can I touch you? Will it hurt?”
“It’s okay. I’m fine.” If he’d been able to pronounce it at a volume higher than a whisper, it probably would’ve gone over better. But he reached out a hand to her.
“Ethan McMurtry Greer, you are not fine.” Despite the snap in her voice, she squeezed his fingers gently.
“Now, Brenna, you heard what they said at the nurse’s station. You have to keep calm.” His stepfather’s low rumble of a voice filled the room.
“I know he looks bad, but he really will be okay.”
Everybody’s attention swung to Miranda. It was a mark of their concern over him that they hadn’t seemed to notice he was practically sharing a bed with another patient.
Ethan’s mother covered a gasp with her hand. “Oh my.”
Miranda flashed a pained smile. “Yeah, I know. I look worse than he does. I’d hoped I’d be healed up by the time I met you.”
“Mom, Phil, this is Miranda.”
More people slipped into the room. “Oh, you’re finally awake!” Trailed by her husband, Lisbette Campbell curled her hands around the foot of Ethan’s bed. “We just don’t even know how to thank you for saving our daughter’s life.”
“She saved mine right back, so I’d say we’re even.”
“I’m sorry, who are you?” Brenna asked.
All the parents launched into introductions, seeming to forget for a few moments that they were in a hospital room. Miranda took that opportunity to whisper, “McMurtry? Like Lonesome Dove McMurtry?”
Ethan winced. “I cannot be held accountable.”
She gave a faint chuckle. “I think it’s perfect.”
Miranda’s father edged around her side of the bed. “How you feeling, Peanut?”
“Like I’ve been run over by a semi. But I’ll live. Thanks to Ethan.”
Pete frowned, ducking his head before meeting Ethan’s eyes. “I’m sorry I punched you.”
“You did what?” On the last word, Miranda reared up, hissing in pain. “Shit.” She sank back against the pillow, glaring up at her dad. “That bruise on his jaw. That was you?”
“It wasn’t my finest moment.”
“It’s fine,” Ethan said. “You were missing. He was upset.”
She twisted toward him. “It is not fine. We’re going to talk about this.” Somewhere in the room, a heart monitor was speeding up.
Ethan gently cupped her bruised cheek so she couldn’t look away. “You are safe. That is the only thing I care about. Everything else is water under the bridge.”
Somebody—he thought maybe Miranda’s mom—gave a watery, “Aww.”
Miranda turned her face into his hand. “I don’t get a say in this, do I?”
“No.”
She exhaled and the heart monitor slowed. “If I had his right cross, we might not have gotten into this mess.”
“We’ll work on it.” He was putting her through self defense training as soon as she was able-bodied enough to take it.
“Wow, he’s like, the Miranda Whisperer,” Cam observed.
“Shut up, Cam,” Norah told him.
Behind her, the entire Campbell clan filed in. The room was far too small for all these people, and he was pretty sure there were rules about that.
“How the hell are all of you in here?” Miranda demanded. “This is the ICU. There’s not supposed to be more than one visitor at a time.”
“Oh, Clay’s smoldering at the nurses on duty.” Norah grinned. “They weren’t paying attention.”
In the wake of that pronouncement, more introductions were made and well wishes were offered. Ethan lost track, hearing nothing but a bunch of chaos. But as Miranda settled back against his shoulder, he decided it was a good chaos, one he looked forward to getting used to.
Epilogue
“Well, it’s official.” Miranda sat on the arm of the sofa and sprawled back into Ethan’s lap. “I just accepted an offer on my house.”
His arms snaked around her, holding her tight against his chest. “Yeah? How are you feeling about it?”
“Good. Maybe I could’ve eventually overcome the bad juju of living there, but I just didn’t love it enough to try.” In the wake of her kidnapping, she hadn’t been able to bear a single night in her own house, so after they’d both been sprung from the hospital, she’d moved into Ethan’s place.