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smiled. She was pleased to see that his color had returned. He glanced at her with a sparkle in his marvelous gray eyes, though their lids drooped in exhaustion. The hollows in his cheeks had deepened. |
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When the doctor left, Abby sat on the bed, her head nestled against Mike's uninjured shoulder, his good arm holding her close. |
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"I'm sorry, Mike," she said against his chest. "If only I could have prevented this, but I" |
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His laugh was weak but hearty, rumbling through him and gently bouncing her head. "You sound like me. I thought I should've been able to prevent Dixie from dying, that I had no right to take someone else's life even if that person frustrated the hell out of me. After she was killed, I dragged that thick chain around my neck no matter where I went, even when common sense told me her death wasn't my fault." |
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"It wasn't," Abby stated, sitting up to look him directly in the eye. "Even if it had been an accident instead of Lowell's treachery." |
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"You're right, of course," he agreed. "And so I told myselfas I let myself sink deeper into the morass of guilt. So don't you do that. I'm all right, thanks to you. If you hadn't come, Lowell would have shot me there in the garage, maybe before I'd even regained consciousness. He was setting it up to look like a random robbery." |
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"But you were shot nonetheless. Had I devised a better plan" |
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She was abruptly and thoroughly silenced by |
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