Color of Forgiveness (50 page)

“But I need you to know that I’m all in with
you. I’m giving you all of myself. I know I can be a real asshole,
and I guarantee you that I’m going to fuck things up along the way.
Possibly in the next five minutes…” he says, smiling as his fingers
brush against her cheek. “And I know I’ll probably drive you up the
fucking wall with how protective I get over this baby and just mess
all kinds of shit up so I wanna apologize in advance.”

Myra giggles, brimming with joy and
happiness as her eyes well up.

He smiles again before his face grows
serious. She can feel his fingers still lingering on her cheek.
“But if you think you can put up with me, I need you to know that…
I want you. I want you so damn much to be with me. And I want this
baby.”

Myra closes her eyes and smiles, letting
those precious words sink in. Seep into her skin and work their way
right into her heart and finally into her soul. She opens her eyes
and tries to get closer to him, pressing her fingers against his
chest. “I want you, too,” she whispers. “I want all of you. I’ll
take everything you can give me, even the broken pieces.”

His eyes are soft as he stares deep into
hers. “You have me, all of me,” he whispers, swallowing hard.
“You’re putting all my broken shit back together again.”

She closes her eyes, tears streaking down
her cheeks. When she opens them, he stares at her for a long
moment, his eyes lingering on her mouth before he leans in,
touching his lips softly to hers.

* * *

“There’s the yolk sac,” the nurse says as
she points to the little blob on the screen. Dylan squeezes Myra’s
hand and turns to look at her face. Her eyes are literally
sparkling and dotted with tears as she stares at the screen. He
smiles lifting her hand to his lips and kisses her knuckles,
holding her hand against his cheek.

She turns her head towards him, and he can
see the gold flecks in her eyes. He leans closer. “That’s our
baby,” he whispers.

She smiles radiantly and eagerly nods. As
his eyes stay on hers, he brings her knuckles back to his lips and
kisses them again. Smiling, he lowers her hand and presses it to
his heart. A tear leaks from the corner of her eye. “Don’t cry,” he
whispers.

She laughs and it kind of comes out as a
half-sob. She smiles as she wipes at her face. “These are happy
tears,” she tells him. “The happiest tears, ever.”

Leaning forward, he touches her lips with
his. “I’m happy too,” he whispers.

She smiles and squeezes his hand back.

“Well, let’s see if we can hear a
heartbeat,” the nurse says. “It’s still quite early in your
pregnancy so don’t be alarmed if we don’t hear one yet, okay?”

Dylan’s heart rate picks up. He just hopes
like hell that they hear one otherwise he’s going to sit around
worrying about that shit. Besides, Myra doesn’t need any more shit
to worry about for like the next century. He looks at her and
watches as her eyes stay glued to the monitor, her expression
serious.

A loud, thrumming beat fills the room. “Oh,
there it is,” the nurse says, smiling.

Myra gasps, her eyes darting to Dylan’s. A
shaky laugh leaves his lips, the sound of that heartbeat is one of
the most beautiful sounds he’s ever heard. Watching Myra’s glowing
face, his eyes start to sting and burn. That heart.... that strong,
rapid beat that he hears echoing in the room is a new life, and it
belongs to Mel’s brother or sister.

Mel.

His eyes look up to the ceiling, and his
lips begin to tremble. Dylan has never believed in God and heaven
and shit like that, but for just a moment… just
one
moment,
he hopes. He hopes that somewhere in a beautiful, happy place,
hidden way beyond the stars, Mel is looking down at him at this
very moment.
I love you son,
he mouths as he continues to
look up and tears slip down his cheeks. Myra sobs and he looks down
at her, quickly wiping his eyes. He nods at her reassuringly and
scoots closer.

I love you,
he mouths to her, unable
to get the words out.

Her lips quiver as the tears fall.
I love
you, too,
she mouths back.

“Well, the heartbeat sounds perfect,” the
nurse says as she begins cleaning up and putting the equipment
away. “The doctor will come in later and talk to you more, but
everything looks really good so far.”

The nurse pats Myra on the leg. “I’ll just
let you get dressed now. The doctor will be with you shortly.” She
smiles before leaving the room.

Dylan roughly rubs at his cheeks as Myra
sits up. He holds her hand, helping her down from the exam table
before he pulls her into his arms, hugging her close and burying
his nose in her hair. They simply cling to each other. Words aren’t
necessary. Words are meaningless. There are no words capable of
describing this moment.

* * *

Myra feels Dylan tugging on her hand as he
pulls her away from the nurse’s station. “Do you want to go give
our statements and get that shit over with before we go see Porter
and Sabrina?” he asks.

“Yeah,” she says as she nods, thankful that
Officer Garcia already told them that Porter and Sabrina would both
be okay. “That sounds like a good idea.”

“Okay.” His brows crease. “Do you mind if I
go in with you?”

“Of course I don’t mind… I want you in
there. But are you sure? There’s going to be a lot of stuff you’re
not going to want to hear.”

“I know,” he says, taking in a deep breath,
“but I need to hear it. I need to know everything. Forgive me in
advance because I’ll probably get really fucking pissed, but I’ll
try to control myself.”

Myra can’t help but smile because she knows
his temper all too well. “Okay. Just remember, you can always leave
if you need a break or something, all right?”

He grins. “Are you giving me permission to
go out in the hallway and punch the shit out of something?”

“Yeah,” she says with a smile, “something
like that. Just don’t hit anything expensive.”

He laughs. “I can’t make any promises.”

They walk to the waiting room and find
Officer Garcia. He arranges to take their statements in a hospital
conference room.

Myra bites back a smile when Dylan positions
his chair touching hers. He holds her hand firmly as she begins
retelling the ordeal of what happened with Rhonda. She stops
talking when she feels him stiffen next to her. Her eyes drop to
his other hand clenched on his knee which he rapidly bounces up and
down.

“You okay?” she asks. She studies his face
and rubs his hand between both of hers. The tops of his cheekbones
are pink, and his lips are pressed into a grim line. His eyes find
hers before giving her a curt nod.

“Are you sure? Do you need a break?” she
asks again.

He shakes his head. She watches him
carefully for a minute or two before she finally continues on with
the story.

Dylan then explains how he happened to see
Sabrina, brought her with him to Myra’s house, and everything that
happened after that.

“All right,” Officer Garcia says turning off
the small recording device and tucking it into his pocket. “We
should be good. Once Rhonda recovers from her physical injuries,
she’ll be given a psych evaluation, and there will be a sanity
hearing to determine whether she’s fit to stand trial.” He looks at
Myra. “If she doesn’t pass, she’ll be put in a hospital for the
rest of her life where she can get the treatment that she needs.
I’ll be in contact and keep you updated on how things progress,
okay?”

They shake hands and Officer Garcia leaves
the room. Myra turns to look at Dylan, but he surprises her by
sweeping her into his arms, his lips moving heatedly all over her
face. “I could have lost you,” he whispers, his voice husky. “That
bitch could have taken away everything that’s important to me.”

She reaches up and grabs his face in her
hands. “But she didn’t. I’m fine and I’m here and I love you.”

“I love
you
. That’s why I’m so
fucking angry right now. You’re the goddamn bravest woman I
know.”

Myra smiles proudly. “I told you I could
take care of myself.”

“I know. I’m sorry I doubted you.” Dylan
sighs and looks at the door. “I need to call my mom to check on
Natalie before we go see Porter and Sabrina.”

“Of course…”

“Jesus, I need a fucking cigarette,” he
mumbles as he digs his fingers deep into his hair.

“Go ahead,” she tells him. “I’ll stay here
and wait on you.”

“Nah… fuck it. I’m not leaving you.” He
pulls his phone out of his pocket and sits down at the table again.
“Come here,” he says, tugging on Myra’s hand and pulling her into
his lap. He quickly hits speed dial.

“I’m gonna put this on speaker so you can
hear too, all right?”

Myra nods.

“Dylan?” Sherri says, answering.

“Hey, mom, Myra’s here with me. I’ve got you
on speaker.”

“Oh. Hi, Myra,” Sherri says. “How are
you?”

“I’m good,” Myra tells her. Dylan cocks an
eyebrow at her, and she smiles and shrugs lightly.

“That’s great to hear.”

“How’s Natalie?” Dylan asks.

“The bleeding still hasn’t stopped so
they’re prepping her right now for a hysterectomy.”

Myra’s mouth drops open as her eyes shoot to
Dylan’s. Frowning, his eyes meet hers. He audibly swallows before
roughly clearing his throat. “How’s the baby?” he asks.

“She’s doing well. They put in a temporary
feeding tube. They said it’s tiring for her to try to eat, breathe,
and grow all at the same time. So the tube will help her focus on
just breathing and growing right now.”

Dylan hums in agreement. “I’ll let you know
when I can come, but it may not be tonight. Some things have
happened here. Just… tell everyone I love them, okay?”

“I sure will. Is everything all right?”

“Yeah...” He smirks and gives Myra a shrug.
“Everything’s good now.”

“Okay. I’ll talk to you soon. Bye, Dylan.
Bye, Myra.”

They both murmur their goodbyes, and Dylan
closes his phone. Myra starts to get up, but he holds her on his
lap. “What are we going to do tonight?” he asks. “You don’t want to
stay at your house, do you?”

Myra eyes widen as she shakes her head
vigorously. No way does she want to stay at that house right now…
maybe even never.

“Good because I kind of want to kidnap you
and just disappear.”

“I like the sound of that.”

He looks off to the side for a moment, his
brows furrowed before looking back at her. “What if we go to Boise
and just stay there for a while? I think we both need to get the
fuck away from this town.”

She smiles. “I’d love that… and that way we
could visit Natalie and the baby and be close to your family.”

“We could get a room and just relax and
spend some time together.”

She eagerly nods.

His smile dims until he’s frowning. “But,
are you up for leaving tonight? It’s late and you’ve been through
so much today…”

“I’m fine… as long as I’m with you.”

Dylan stares deep into her eyes before his
gaze drops to her lips. Her mouth opens slightly when his hand
tangles in her hair, bringing her closer. He stares into her eyes
and back down again at her lips again before he pulls her to him
and covers her mouth with his. They’re so warm and soft, moving
gently against hers, the scruff of his beard biting deliciously
into her skin. But within moments, he pulls back his eyes still
focused on her lips for a moment as he runs his thumb lightly over
them, causing her to shiver. “We’d better go see Porter before I
lose control of myself,” he says, his voice a little raspy.

She grins and slips off his lap. “Do you
remember the room number?” she asks.

“Yeah…”

He holds her hand while they walk down the
hallway. When they get to Porter’s room, Dylan knocks on the open
door and calls out “Hello?” before they step inside.

“Come in,” Porter says in a hoarse
voice.

Myra’s brows crease as she steps up next to
him lying in the hospital bed. “How are you feeling?” she asks
softly. Dylan wraps his arm around her waist, keeping her
close.

“A little like Rip van Winkle,” he says with
a frown, touching his forehead. “My head’s still a bit cloudy.”

“I can only imagine,” Myra says,
nodding.

“Garcia came in and told me everything,”
Porter says. “I’m really sorry, Myra. I’ve known Rhonda Neil for
many years.” His thick eyebrows pull together as he shakes his
head. “She came by the station at least a couple times a week
always bringing the staff something she’d baked. I knew she had a
hard time after her husband died,” he says before pulling in a
shaky breath, “but I had no idea how sick she’d become.”

“I was watching the game when she knocked on
the door. She said she was driving by, saw my car and thought she’d
drop off some cookies. I honestly didn’t think a thing about
it.”

He reaches for her hand. “Your dad would be
so disappointed in me. I really let you down. I was supposed to
protect you, and I completely failed.”

Myra’s eyes tear up. “No, you didn’t. Dad
would be so proud of you. You’ve been there for me over the years
when he couldn’t be.” Dylan’s hand squeezes her waist as she tries
to bite back tears. “There’s no way you could have known about her.
I’m alive and well so no guilt, okay?”

Porter stares at her for a moment before
smiling and squeezing her hand. “Okay.”

* * *

Dylan stops in front of the closed door of
Sabrina’s room and looks down at Myra. “You sure you wanna do this?
You don’t have to.”

“Yes, I do,” she says.

He stares at her face for a moment before he
finally nods. Tapping lightly on the door, he opens it.
“Sabrina?”

“Come in,” she says.

They step into the room and Dylan frowns at
how pale Sabrina’s face looks. It’s almost as white as the
pillowcase her dark hair is splayed out on. Sabrina’s gaze drops to
their clasped hands before her eyes lift to meet his. “How are you
feeling?” he asks stepping up next to her bed.