How a Dying Woman Rewrote Her Epilogue

Jarrod ignored her attempt to pull away; instead, his grip tightened, fingers fitting perfectly between hers.

"No," he said firmly.

Elodie frowned at him.

He met her gaze. "You don't have to bottle everything up. If you're upset, cry. If you want to blame someone, yell at me. I've got all the time in the world-I'll stay right here with you."

She'd only just woken up not long ago; her mind was still a bit foggy. Jarrod's attitude, though, left her dumbfounded. "This is a huge blow for me. I need time to process it. You should give me some space."

"Processing just means sitting alone, overthinking everything, right?" He looked her straight in the eyes. "If you can't have kids, then I can't either. We're both in this together, both a little unlucky. How about we just have a good cry together?"

Whatever emotion Elodie had been building up suddenly stalled out, derailed by his words.

Her beautiful eyes widened at him, but she couldn't get a word out.

Jarrod hooked her pinky with his and kept rubbing it gently, his voice unhurried. "Maybe I should just get a vasectomy, too. That way we're a matching pair, huh?" For a second, Elodie wondered if he was completely out of his mind.

"This isn't something you joke about."

"When have I ever made careless jokes with you?" His voice was calm and clear, not a hint of hesitation or mockery.

whole train of thought into chaos. She didn't even have time to

She glared at him.

edge of her bed, never taking his eyes off her. "That way, you wouldn't have to worry about me running around and fathering kids with someone else. All of me would belong to you, for good. How

Elodie a long moment to find her voice. "Jarrod,

think I have to be with you?" she shot

by her protest. He leaned back

She immediately grabbed his

не

scars. nearly kicked the bucket, you know. Don@you think you

was so shocked by his shamelessness that she just stared at

of her grasp and took her hand in his instead. "What did you think I was doing, undressing for some other reason? Is your mind really going there? Did you think I was trying

at him,

away and ignored his teasing.

this isn't something you can just laugh

meeting her gaze.

and suddenly, he asked, "Elodie, could

trembling under the weight of the emotion

1.n

I haven't stopped thinking. I've tried to imagine any kind of future without you, and just can't. Can we try again 'll admit, I've always been proud, maybe too stubborn to back down. But with you, Elodie, you