Chase Our Forever (Sutten Mountain #3)

50. Dean

50

DEAN

My leg bounces up and down in place as Cade turns into the hospital parking lot. We were out driving back roads in search of Liv about an hour ago when we got the call that one of my father’s friends had found Liv and taken her to the hospital.

She apparently was pretty banged up. I try to steady my breathing after imagining what’s happened to her and what injuries she might have. Mom couldn’t give me many details about how hurt she was. Eric, Dad’s friend who found her, had just mentioned that she appeared to have a pretty bad head wound and maybe some other minor injuries they wanted to get checked out.

But she’s alive. That’s all that matters.

Cade pulls up to the front doors, and I don’t even wait for the car to be fully in park before I jump out and race toward the entrance. My boots slip against the freshly fallen snow on my way there, but I don’t let it slow me down. Now that I’m so close to her, the time it takes to get into the hospital seems to take forever. This entire night seems to have gone by achingly slow as I thought of every terrible thing that could’ve happened to the woman I love.

The moment the automatic doors open, I’m running inside, my eyes searching the busy hospital floor. I run to the front desk, my hands slapping against the counter as I try to get the attention of the receptionist.

“Excuse me?” My voice comes out rough and frantic.

The woman holds up one finger as she says something into the phone she holds to her ear. A frazzled cry comes from my throat.

“My girlfriend’s here,” I explain, my voice breaking. “I need to find her.”

The receptionist gives me an apologetic smile as she continues to hold a conversation with someone else on the phone.

My hands find my head as I consider how crazy it’d be if I just started searching every room for Liv. Maybe that’ll be quicker than waiting for this woman to get off the phone and help me.

I’m seconds away from doing just that when I hear my name.

“Dean.” Mare steps forward with a soft smile. She holds a coffee cup in her hands, along with a bag of chips.

I let out a relieved breath as I close the distance to her. “Where is she?”

“Let me take you to her.”

I nod, trying to keep my emotions at bay. “Is she okay?” I ask, my tone hesitant.

Mare nods as she walks to the elevators. “Yes. She’s okay. She’s asking for you.”

My vision gets blurry as I stare at Mare. “Really?”

Her smile is reassuring as we step into the elevator. It takes forever for it to climb each floor, but each floor higher means I’m one step closer to the woman I love. The moment the doors open, I’m racing out of them. I find my loved ones in the waiting room, and as much as I want to talk to them, I have to get to Liv first.

“Which room?”

“Third room on the left,” Pippa answers as she stands up.

She might say more, but I don’t hear any of it. I race down the hallway, my boots tracking snow everywhere as I hurry to her. I get a few odd glances from hospital staff as I make my way to Liv’s room, but I don’t care. They can look at me like I’m crazy. I have to get to Liv.

I get to the room Pippa directed me to, stopping in the open doorway and finding her propped up in a hospital bed, staring out the window.

It feels like everything in my life falls into place when Liv turns her head to look at me. Her hair is pulled back into a bun, bringing attention to a bandage wrapped around the top of her head. There’s scratches and red marks all over her face. There’s exhaustion in her eyes, but they light up as they travel my body.

No matter her injuries, I focus on the fact she’s alive.

“Dean.” My name comes out like a whisper.

A sob crashes through me as I close the distance to her. I carefully climb into the hospital bed with her, making sure I don’t hurt her. I want to take her in my arms and never let her go, but I know she must be sore. I keep my shaking hands at my sides, even though every part of me wants to touch her to know she’s really here with me.

She pushes herself off the mattress a little, a smile on her face despite the absolute hell she’s been through. Her eyes track my face. “I’m so sorr?—”

“I love you,” I interrupt, unable to hold on to the words for a second longer.

Her eyes go wide. My fingers tremble as I reach out to run them along her cheek. I need to touch her, to make sure she’s actually here in front of me. It feels like I can finally relax enough to take a deep breath, knowing that the worst didn’t happen to her. That she’s right here in front of me so I can finally tell her how much she owns my heart.

“I was so fucking worried I wouldn’t be able to tell you that,” I croak. “I hated myself for not saying it back to you the moment you told me. But I love you, sunshine. I love you so fucking much that the thought of something happening to you tonight, fuck, it tore me up inside.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispers, her eyes fluttering shut as I gently caress her cheek with my thumb. She’s got what looks like burns against her cheeks, but I try not to focus on them. I don’t want her hurt at all, but I have to remind myself that she’s alive and she’ll heal. She’s in the right place to make sure whatever injuries she endured will be taken care of.

A sad laugh escapes me. “I just told you I love you, and you’re saying you’re sorry? What could you possibly be sorry for, baby?”

She grabs my coat and brings me closer to her until my body is flush with hers in the bed. I try not to focus on the way she flinches with the connection of our bodies. I don’t know if they’ve been able to run scans on her to make sure she’s okay, but she doesn’t seem to want me to leave her side. If anything, she keeps a firm grip on my coat to keep me close to her. “I’m sorry for going out in that weather. For scaring you. With everything you’ve been through, I feel so stupid that I?—”

I gently press my fingers to her chapped lips. It kills me inside that she thinks she needs to apologize to me. “You couldn’t have known.” I press my forehead to hers. I want to kiss her so bad, to pull her into my arms and never let go. “It isn’t your fault. None of that matters anymore, anyway. You’re here. You’re safe.”

“I’m right here,” she confirms, pressing her forehead to mine.

“Did you hear me say I love you?” I ask, my heart racing.

I never imagined myself falling in love again. Quite frankly, I thought it was impossible. But it was only impossible because I hadn’t met Liv yet. I should’ve known the moment she first aimed those beautiful blue eyes in my direction and gave me her perfect smile that she’d be the one to breathe life back into me.

That she’d be the one to make me want to feel again.

Her dimples appear with her radiant smile. “I think I might need to hear you say it again.”

I gently cup her face in my hands. “I love you. Loving you might be the scariest thing I ever do, but I wouldn’t change it. You came into my life and made me realize I was living in the gray. You make every single day brighter, and I want to cherish every day I’m given with you because it’s a gift to love you and be loved by you.”

When a tear runs down Liv’s face, I lean in to kiss it. She slides her hands underneath my jacket to feel my skin, to get us even closer. I love how much love reflects in her eyes with the way she stares back at me.

“I love you so much, Dean Livingston. My entire life flashed before my eyes tonight, and all I could think about was how much I wanted a life with you and Clara here in Sutten. How I wanted more time with you two. I wanted forever. Forever and always, however long that’ll be.”

“That’s all I want,” I tell her, letting my eyes close and soak in the feel of her skin against mine. Her familiar scent surrounds me as we just breathe each other in for a few moments. “I didn’t know I needed you. I fought it so hard because I didn’t want to love someone again. But it was inevitable. My love for you, it grew over time. It blossomed into something that bled right into my soul, sunshine. Nothing excites me more than the life I have ahead of me with you and Clara by my side.”

A happy sob erupts from her. She squeezes me tight and buries her face against my chest.

“Not so tight, baby. I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”

She shakes her head against me. “I don’t care. It hurts me more not to feel your touch. I wondered if I’d ever feel it again. I need this, Dean. I’m fine, I promise.”

I let my body relax a little and risk softly wrapping my arms around her. I keep my touch featherlight, trying not to inflict any pain onto her sore and tender muscles. But I need to feel her against me just as much as she needs it.

“I love you, and I’m so fucking grateful you’re okay.” I cradle the back of her head against my chest, savoring the feeling of having her in my arms. She might get sick of how much I’ll want to hold her in the coming days after being faced with the thought of losing her tonight.

“My car is totaled, and I didn’t even get a chance to see if your gifts were harmed in the crash.”

As gently as I can, I tilt her chin up so our eyes can meet. “I already have the best gifts. You and Clara.”

Her bottom lip trembles a little bit as her lips spread into a smile. “Well, if I wasn’t already in love with you, that would’ve done it.”

I smile, leaning in so our lips barely brush against one another. “Keep falling in love with me, sunshine. I know I plan on doing the same.”

She smiles and closes the distance between us until our lips meet. The kiss is slow and soft, just what she needs after what she’s been through tonight. It’s perfect. It’s a kiss that promises we have all the time in the world to do exactly this.

I savor in feeling her lips against mine. With each second that passes by, I can feel the worry leave my body. I’d been so fucking worried tonight, terrified I’d never see her again. Terrified I’d never be able to tell her how much I loved her and how she saved me.

Someone clearing their throat makes us break apart. I don’t go far, still needing to feel her touch to remind myself she’s okay as we turn and find a doctor standing in the doorway.

She looks at me with a friendly smile. “I’m Dr. Harold, and I’m in charge of Liv’s care tonight.”

I nod. “Is she okay?” The worry is evident in my voice.

Dr. Harold smiles. She looks from me to Liv. “You have quite the crew of family members that are worried about you. I was just stopped while looking over your chart at my desk by a very persistent blonde wanting to know if anything was broken.”

Liv and I share a knowing look. “My money’s on Pippa,” I tease, trying to lighten the mood a little. My hope is that the casual tone of Liv’s doctor indicates there isn’t anything majorly concerning that showed up in her scans.

The pit doesn’t fully leave my stomach as I wait for the doctor to confirm it. “It seems like you really had a guardian angel watching over you tonight,” she begins, her eyes roaming over the clipboard she holds. “With the accident you had, I thought we’d see more injuries on your scans. But luckily, there’s no sign of broken bones or internal bleeding. You do have a concussion that we need to monitor and a few stitches for the wound on your forehead, but other than that, you should be able to go home rather soon.”

My shoulders shake as I let out a breath. Seeing her alive brought so much relief, but to know she walked away from the accident about as clear as one could seems more like a miracle. “That’s incredible,” I whisper, wondering how that even happened.

The doctor nods. “It really is a miracle. We’ll monitor the concussion, and you’ll be free to go home within the next twenty-four hours.”

“Thank you,” Liv says, smiling at Dr. Harold before she leaves to attend to other patients.

With the doctor gone, I grab Liv’s face in my hands as I let it settle in that she’s going to be okay.

She’s safe. She’s here. She’s mine.

“Are you going to be okay?” a voice frantically asks from the open doorway. We both turn to find Pippa standing in the doorway. Mare stands with her, along with Cade, Camden, my dad and brothers. They all look concerned as they stare expectantly at both Liv and me.

“I’m all good,” Liv answers. “The doctor said I even get to go home tomorrow.”

Pippa places a hand to her chest as she lets out a relieved sigh. “I was so worried. I may have accidentally bullied every doctor and nurse out there to give me details on if you’d be okay.”

We all let out a laugh as our loved ones begin to filter into the small hospital room.

Dad waits in the open doorway as he pulls his phone from his pocket. “Your mom stayed home with Clara in case she were to wake up, but I’m going to give her a call to let her know Liv’s okay.”

I nod, unable to fight a smile as everyone piles around the hospital bed to speak with Liv. I hope this makes her realize how many people care about her here in Sutten. I know she’s said she didn’t grow up with a family, but hopefully, this proves to her that family doesn’t have to be blood. It can be an unlikely group of people who care about you, who drop everything to search for you in the middle of the night.

I hope she feels the love in the room. It’s not just me that loves her. It’s everyone.

She’s found a home and a family. She belongs here with all of us. And I’m so fucking thankful that the events from tonight didn’t take her from us.