“Talking to your doctors too. You scared him, Mitch. You scared all of us.”

He nodded, not wanting to think about that. Because if he had it to do all over again, he’d put his life on the line for Simone’s in the exact same way.

The door to his room pushed open, and Ryan poked his head around the curtain. “You decent?”

Mitch frowned. “As decent as I’m going to get.”

“Cool,” Ryan said, “because I got all your discharge papers. You’re set to go.”

“Thank God,” Mitch muttered.

Kate pushed to her feet, then moved around the bed to grab Mitch’s bag.

Ryan backed into the room, dragging a wheelchair with him. Mitch’s frown turned to a scowl. “I’m not using that.”

“Yes, you are,” the nurse said behind Ryan. “Hospital policy. If you want to leave, this is your flying carpet.”

Ryan grinned. “She said I could push, if that makes you feel any better.”

Joy. Bracing his hands against the mattress, Mitch grunted and finally balanced his weight on his feet. But it took several tries, and he knew he looked like a wimp. “You’ll probably run me into a wall and enjoy it.”

Ryan chuckled and helped him into the chair. While the nurse fixed the footrests for him, Ryan leaned down and muttered, “I’m hurt. I really am. Especially after that kiss we shared.”

Kate barked out a laugh, then covered her mouth with her hand.

Mitch’s face twisted in disgust. “That wasn’t a kiss, dipshit, it was CPR, which, thankfully, I don’t remember. And I’ll be washing my mouth out with Listerine for the next year, thanks to you.”

Ryan’s laugh deepened, and he steered the wheelchair toward the door. “You liked it. You were begging for more. I gotta say, though, I don’t know why the girls are always falling over you. Your sister kisses way better than you do.”

“Ryan,” Kate warned.

“What?” he said, feigning shock. “It’s true. Your kisses are hot, babe. His? Not so much.”

Resting his elbow on the armrest, Mitch rubbed his suddenly aching temples. “I’m gonna be sick. I really am.”

“Well, that’s because you’re a girly man who’s always getting hurt,” Ryan jabbed. “Cheer up, though. I’m sure we can find some pathetic woman to play nursemaid to you. There are still a few out there who like you.”

Mitch wasn’t so sure. And just any woman wasn’t going to do it for him. Not anymore. The only one he wanted obviously no longer wanted him back.

* * *

Mitch closed his eyes on the drive to Kate and Ryan’s house. A tiny part of him had held out hope Simone would show up as he was leaving, take him to her house, and nurse him back to health like she’d done after he’d suffered that head injury six months ago. But now that he was settled into the front seat of Ryan’s Mercedes, his arm resting in the sling at his chest, his head kicked back against the headrest, and his eyes closed, he knew he had to buck up to the fact that little fantasy had crashed and burned, big-time.

The car made a right-hand turn and slowed. At his side, Ryan muttered, “Is that Kendrick we just passed on a bike?”

Mitch didn’t open his eyes. The last thing he wanted to see was someone having fun.

“I think so,” Kate said from the backseat. “And there’s your daughter ahead. They are two peas in a pod, aren’t they?”

“I told him to stay away from her. The son of a bitch doesn’t listen.”

Kate sighed. “She likes him, Ryan. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“There is from the other side. He flirts with her.”

“She’s almost a teenager. Get used to it. Lots of boys are going to be flirting with her soon.”

“Not full-grown men.”

“Maybe he just likes kids.”

“Maybe it’s just wrong.”

Kate let out an exasperated sound. “Mitch, was he always like this with Julia? Overprotective and unreasonable?”

“Always,” Mitch said, his eyes still closed. “And I’m with him on this one. Kendrick’s a player. He might not be interested in Julia now, but give him eight years. Or six.”

“Do not even joke about that,” Ryan warned.

A tiny smile tugged at Mitch’s mouth. The first one he’d felt in days. But it quickly faded when he thought of Shannon and the fact he wanted to be that for her. Not exactly the domineering father Ryan was, but her dad, yeah. Worrying over her like any real dad would.

The car made another right turn, and something about the direction Ryan was heading felt off. Slowly, Mitch’s eyelids lifted, and he looked out the windshield.

He stiffened in the front seat, and the motion caused a stab of pain to slink up his side. “I thought we were going to your house?”

“Pit stop first,” Ryan said.

Unease floated through Mitch’s gut. “I’m not really in the mood to see my place.”

Shit, was Ryan trying to depress him more? The last thing he needed on top of a gunshot wound—two gunshot wounds—and a broken heart was to see his house, the house he’d remodeled with his own two hands, full of holes he didn’t have the strength to fix.

“Pull up your big-girl panties, Mathews. You might be surprised at what you find.”

Ryan made the last turn, and Mitch tensed as his house came into view. But instead of bullet holes and broken windows, what he saw sent a flutter of surprise straight through his belly.

New windows, new trim, new siding, even a fresh coat of paint. The porch that had been damaged had been rebuilt. The bushes he knew had been trampled, replaced. There was a new front door, this one black, trendy, the kind of door he’d been looking for for months but hadn’t been able to find, with three small panes of glass across the top. Someone had even mowed the lawn.

Ryan pulled to the curb and killed the engine. Shocked, Mitch looked from the contractor’s van parked in the drive to the house, unable to believe it was the same place. “How did you—?”

“Surprise,” Ryan said.

Voices echoed behind their car, but Mitch was still too focused on the house to turn and look. Laughing, Kate popped the door and hollered at Julia and Kendrick, who went whizzing by on their bikes.

“I…don’t know what to say,” Mitch said to Ryan when they were alone.

“Don’t say anything to me. I didn’t do this.”

Mitch dragged his gaze from the house and finally looked at his best friend. “My parents?”

Ryan shook his head. “Not Katie either. Though when she found out about it, it was all I could do to keep her from spilling the beans.” He pulled something from his pocket and tossed it into Mitch’s lap. “This time, don’t fuck things up, okay?”

Mitch stared down at the small, black velvet box in his hand, having trouble processing Ryan’s words. Before his brain could click into gear, Ryan opened the door and climbed out of the car.

“Oh, and one more thing, Mathews. When you go in there, cut the woman a little slack. She’s kicked some serious ass this week while you’ve been parked on yours. And she did it all spending every damn night in your hospital room, sleeping on that uncomfortable couch while you were high on painkillers. I wouldn’t have done it, even if you did kiss me. She’s a keeper. But then, I’m pretty sure you already know that.”

Ryan closed the door, shouted something at Kendrick Mitch couldn’t make out, then took off across the street. Silence settled over the inside of the car. A silence that was broken only by the sudden pounding in Mitch’s ears. Slowly, he popped the top on the small box and looked down at the engagement ring he’d bought for Simone and never given her.

His gaze shot back up to the house. And, adrenaline surging, he found a strength he was pretty sure he’d lost the last few days.

It took him longer than he liked to walk up the path, and he was sweating by the halfway mark. Pausing to catch his breath, he looked up at the house. Before he could take another step, red curls filled his vision, and a small voice exclaimed, “Mitch!”

Shannon rushed toward him, wrapped her arms around his waist, and held on tight. Her arm knocked into the bandage on his side, and he winced, but the pain was worth it. Warmth flooded his chest. He wanted to drop to his knees, take her into his arms, but he wasn’t sure he could get back up if he did. And he didn’t want to look pathetic.

He rubbed a hand over her hair and smiled down at her. “Hey, you. Miss me, did ya?”

Shannon laughed and looked up at him. “Yes. We had so much fun. We went swimming and snorkeling and got to sleep on this really cool boat. I can’t wait to tell you all about it.”

And Mitch couldn’t wait to hear it. But he needed to make it inside the house. Pulse racing, he looked back up at the open front door, not wanting to be disappointed, not wanting to hope too much. “Is your mom in there?”

“Yeah, Mom’s been bossing people around all morning. Man, your house was such a mess! Whoever broke in did all kinds of damage. It’s a good thing you weren’t home. I mean, there were holes everywhere.”

Shannon’s hurried voice echoed in Mitch’s ears, but all he could focus on was the fact Simone was here. She hadn’t left San Francisco. She hadn’t run away. She was still here, and that meant—maybe—they had a chance.

A lump formed in his throat, and he pushed his feet forward. Sweat slicked his spine when he got to porch, but excitement urged him on. Keeping his good arm wrapped around Shannon while she continued to babble on about her trip, he stepped through the open door, barely able to believe the change.

The house looked exactly the way it had before. Someone had even reframed his signed Mariner’s jersey that had fallen off the wall in the entry and crashed to the ground in a pile of glass during the attack.