(Ridge)
I sat beside Mira's bed and watched her sleep.
They'd given her something for the pain and she'd gone under fast. Her hand was still in mine even in sleep.
The baby's heartbeat was still there.
That was the only thing keeping me from coming apart at every seam.
I'd heard it. Tiny and fast and impossible to mistake for anything else. The doctor had said it was a good sign and I'd held onto those words the way I didn't hold onto much. A good sign. The baby was still there. Mira was stable. Those were the facts and I kept returning to them every time my mind tried to go somewhere else.
She'd cried herself out before the medication pulled her under. Not loud. Just the kind of crying that came from being terrified and trying not to show it and failing because the body had its own
