“Livia was grateful. Her hand had started to ache, missing the tingle Blake’s skin provided.”

“As the nurses busied themselves with other patients and statistics, Livia slid her hand over his. She needed to feel his skin. She tucked his hand under the thin blanket and held it without protection. The same tingling she’d felt when they first held hands flooded her skin. He’s still in there. They can tell me anything they want. Blake’s right here.She scooted her chair closer to his head. The deep, monotonous breaths the ventilator forced him to take sounded scary, but Livia held tight to his hand.“I love you, Blake Hartt,” she whispered. “I’ll love you forever.”

“Livia wanted to get back to Blake’s music. It had filled her dreams.”

“Livia removed her hand from Blake’s to take his ring from Cole’s palm. She kissed the ring and prepared to place it in its permanent home on his finger.”

“May I escort you inside, Mrs. Hartt?”Livia bit her lower lip and nodded.Blake scooped her up.To be carried was such a basic thing. And yet it felt…Primal? Almost. Religious? Maybe.She focused on his deep, even breaths as he maneuvered through the doorway. Livia laughed a little at herself. She was grateful for the simple act of Blake’s breathing.”

“Just being near the water makes me ache for it, makes my skin tingle with the desire to run until I am chest-deep and the water wraps around my skin like a satin ribbon, making the worries, the aches, the stress unwind. Sometimes, I wonder if this is how a recovering alcoholic would feel if someone put a beer in her hand. If her body would wage war against her mind as mine does.”