Chapter 260

"I can't lose you! I can't!"

Sobbing, she scanned the darkness around her. And then she saw it—a figure, moving slowly toward her.

Penelope froze, watching as the person drew closer, his features becoming clearer.

His white shirt was caked in mud, his hair was a mess, and blood was trickling from a cut on his forehead. But when he saw her, he stopped and opened his arms.

She stumbled forward, then launched herself into his embrace.

"You're alive, you're really alive..."

Theodore held her tight. "I'm alive.”

"You scared me to death!"

"I'm sorry."

"I thought I was going to lose you!"

"Never."

"Theodore...Theodore?"

"I'm here."

"I can't believe it..."

Theodore gently set her down and tilted her chin up, kissing her deeply.

"I'm here, baby."

A raw sob escaped her, a flood of fear, terror, and relief crashing over her all at once. She pounded her fists against his chest, venting all her pent-up emotion.

He pulled her into his arms again. "My life is yours, okay?"

"What am I supposed to do with your life?" she cried.

"It's yours. If you want me to live, I'll live. If you want me to die, I'll die."

"I'm not the grim reaper! Can't you offer something a little more practical?"

Her crying was a mess, but as she wiped her eyes, she caught a glimpse of something behind him. A small drenched child stood there, his face pale and his eyes staring blankly at her.

She swallowed hard. "I think I just saw..."

"What?"

"A ghost."

An hour later, the child's grandparents arrived, having been contacted by the rescuers. Seeing their grandson was safe, they hugged him and burst into tears.

It turned out that after the car went into the water, Theodore had

managed to escape. He was being swept downstream and could have gotten to shore, but then he saw the

boy. He'd been carried much farther when

downriver while saw him

they finally managed to crawl onto the bank, they were in the middle of nowhere. He had to carry the boy on his back, searching for a way out.

He'd actually spotted a rescue team before the storm hit, but they were too far away to hear his calls. Still they gave him a direction to follow. He carried the boy over two more mountains in the pouring rain. The child was running a high fever from hypothermia, and Theodore himself was growing disoriented. Just when he was losing his bearings, he saw a light-the high beams from Penelope's car. He had followed it back.

"The boy was on a bus with his parents," Harold explained quietly to them. "The rescuers said his parents were severely injured... they didn't make it."

Theodore's expression sobered. Matters of life and death were beyond anyone's control.

Back in their room, Theodore took a hot shower. When he came out, Penelope carefully examined the cut on his forehead. It wasn't deep; a simple bandage would

do.

"Are you hurt anywhere else?" she asked, trying to pull his shirt open.

He stopped her, gently pushing her back onto the bed.

"You were worried about me, weren't you?"

"Afraid of losing me?"

"You cried for me?"

His gaze was so intense it felt like it could pull her in, and for a moment, Penelope wanted to run.

But he trapped her there, leaning down to kiss her. It was a deep, searing kiss, their bodies tangled together.

After a long moment, just as she felt herself melting, he pulled back.

“Tell me, darling. What is it you want?”

"You..." she managed, her voice hoarse.

"Just me? Or my heart? Or do you want it all?"

A jolt went through her. Did he just ask if she wanted his heart?