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I’d been in such a daze, stopping frequently to take breaks and try the

phone. The pain coursing through my body had been blinding. My only

focus had been climbing upward, guessing at the direction by the feel of the

incline as I stumbled along. It had felt like a decade before I’d finally heard

the phone ringing at my ear followed by Hudson’s voice.

“I wasn’t sure if I really spoke to you or if it was some sort of dying

mirage,” I admitted. “Though, seeing as how I wasn’t actually dying…”

“You talked to me,” he confirmed. “You called, and when I heard

you…”

He choked up, a reaction I’d never seen from him before. His eyes had

gotten teary on our wedding day and at the birth of each of the babies, but

he’d never lost the ability to speak, and seeing him do so now made my

heart squeeze and brought tears to my eyes.

He cleared his throat, which only helped mildly. “Then when you were

saying your goodbyes...I can’t tell you what that did to me, precious. I was

destroyed.”

“I know,” I sai