I Still Do (14 page)

“We could never do that,” Betsy assured him.

He smiled at her, then looked around to catch the eyes of all the rest of his siblings as he thought of how they'd stepped up to help Emily when she'd first moved to town and how they were ready to do whatever they could for Owen. “You're not a weight around my neck. You're my tribe and you're my support and each one of you is even more precious to me now that I realize I can count on leaning on you, as much as you can count on leaning on me.”

He ignored Jamie's sniffle because she always liked to think she was tough. “I was a flat-out idiot for wanting freedom from your love.”

He heard another sniffle, louder this time, and realized it was Anita who was brushing away tears from her face. “'Nita, sorry to bring you in on the family drama.”

“No,” she said. “It's lovely. I feel…privileged. But I need to tell you one more thing, in case it rings a bell for you.”

“What?”

“The guys said that when they got Owen out he was asking for an ‘Izzy'. He kept saying the name over and over. Captain thinks maybe it's a dog he used to have, or something, but in case it's someone important—”

Will groaned. “Izzy's not a dog he used to have. But I don't know how to contact—”

“Izzy,” a new voice interjected. “You don't know how to contact Izzy, but I do.”

The crowd around his bed parted and there, standing at the back of the room and looking as if she wished she were anywhere else, was Emily.

Emily. God. Emily.

He'd been all messed up about her, too.

Ty took his sister's arm. “Let's go find out what we can see about Owen, people. Give Bird Brother here a few minutes to catch his breath.”

Jamie yanked the oxygen mask back over his face, but he pushed it away again as his family, Anita too, melted away. This time he didn't stop them.

His chest felt tight, but it wasn't the lack of air that was affecting him this time. It was the look on Emily's face. His Emily.

“I'm assuming the grapevine got to you, too.” The smoke had roughened his voice.

“Max came to the door. I was in my pajamas, but he insisted.”

Bless Max. Just another reason to feel grateful to his family. They knew to bring him Emily. Looking at her dulled a little of the edge of his sorrow over Jerry Palmer, and his worry about Owen. The sadness over Jerry would hit him again, he knew it, but he'd take the time to feel it, like he hadn't when his parents passed. Not until Emily insisted had he allowed himself to grieve.

She cleared her throat now, then plucked at her top. “I'm embarrassed to say I'm still in my pajamas. Half of them, at least.”

He shrugged. “I don't care. You're here.”

She didn't move from her spot by the door. “You, too. You're here.”

Not dead, but he'd come close. Not injured, not really. He could see the knowledge of that on her face and in the wariness in her big blue eyes.

He remembered now, as clearly as if it had just happened, the one who had suggested they marry in Vegas. It had been
him.

His instincts were good, he always knew that. Like Em, he only got into trouble when he over-thought things. “Come here, honey.” He held out his hand to her.

She didn't move a muscle. Oh, yeah. His Em was thinking hard.

He coughed and when he saw the lines of concern crease her brow, he didn't try to hold back another round. His instincts said he should go with the sympathy if it gave him an advantage. This was just that important. “Em,” he said, “please come here.”

From her pace, he might as well have asked her to a hanging. Her own. He leaned forward to catch her hand, then drew her to the side of the bed.

“You're scared.”

Her whisper barely sounded in the room. “I've never been so frightened in my life.”

He squeezed her fingers. “It's okay though. I'm okay.”

“I call my house my mousehole,” she confessed, the words blurting out. “I'm safe there.”

She was in full retreat, he could see that, and all because he'd stopped listening to his instincts.

“But I'm out here, honey.” He rubbed his thumb over her knuckles. “I can't do much about that, because this is my job, what I'm good at. But out here, it rarely means anyone gets hurt. Honest. And out here we get to play together.”

She frowned again. Okay, so “play” wasn't a good word to use.

“I don't know that we want the same things, Will.”

“I want you.”

The face she made wasn't flattering. “You want good times. To play.” She looked down at their joined hands, and then back up. “And even then, you've run hot and cold on me, Will.”

“I've run,” he acknowledged. “But that was because you showed up when I least expected you, Em. I was all set to reclaim a life I thought I'd missed and there you were, everything I would want if I wanted to settle down.”

“Which you didn't.”

“I wanted to have good times. But, Em, guess what? Guess what I've discovered these last few weeks? You
are
my good times. Without you, I won't have times as fun or as passionate or as full of…love, as the ones I've had when I'm with you.”

Color rushed to her face. “I can't help being in love with you.”

Though he could tell she was a little mad about it. “I wouldn't want you to. Em—”

“Will, I have word on Owen.” Alex stood in the doorway. “It's good news. He's injured, but nothing life-threatening.”

A little of Will's tension eased. “Thank God.”

“Thank God,” Emily echoed. “Though I'm still going to get Izzy on the phone.”

He looked back at her, then glanced at his brother, trying to send him a silent message. There were things that needed to be said, in private, before she started making calls. Alex might have picked up on the unspoken communication, but just then Betsy and Tom drew up behind him. “Did you hear the news about Owen?” his little sister demanded.

“Yeah. So could you guys…”

Ty and Jamie arrived now too, shoving the other three into the room. Then, not that he should have been surprised, Max showed up, and it was another Dailey crazy chaos. They were exchanging information, their voices getting louder by the moment.

He was never going to get a chance to be alone with Emily, Will figured. Not while he was still in this damn hospital bed. Ah, well. His brothers and sisters had always been part of his package and he was done thinking that was a bad thing.

Yanking on the hand he held, he brought the woman he loved closer to him. “I've been a shortsighted idiot, Em. But I'm seeing clearly now. That means I'm going to insist you venture out, my mouse. Come out and play with me, sweetheart, because I love you and am not about to let you go after finding you again.”

Miracle of miracles, the Dailey clan all stopped talking at once, so that his “I love you” and then all the rest rang loud and clear in the room.

They held their collective breaths.

He cupped Emily's cheek with his free hand. “I hope my boy's dream can be this man's future, Emily. I'm so in love with you. Will you please marry me?”

She blinked as tears welled in the most beautiful eyes on the planet. “Oh, Will. I was trying to do the Danielle Phillips thing again. You know, hoping that if I avoided you and how I felt about you it would all go away.”

“But?”

“But she just stole my necklace.” Her face turned in his hand and she kissed his palm. “You stole my heart. I'm going to have to be less mousy librarian and more reach-for-what-I-want woman and do something about that.”

Oh, yeah, that sounded good. “So you will then?” he insisted. “You'll marry me?”

“Silly man, have you forgotten?” his one-time summer romance but now forever-woman asked. “I already did.”