CHAPTER 79

“Take you where, sweeting?”

“To place … where we said … good-bye. Where you last … kissed me.”

He buried his face against her neck and wept.

“Please.”

Oh, God, he didn’t want her to beg. The pleading in her voice completely undid him.

“Aye, Keeley, I’ll take you. I’ll take you wherever you want to go.”

She smiled faintly and her eyes closed, as if the few words she’d spoken had completely spent her.

He gently gathered her in his arms and lifted her. He held her against his chest and pressed his lips to the top of her head. Tears slipped unchecked down his cheeks as he strode down the hall. No one tried to stop him. Mary and Rachael openly wept as he passed. Maddie wore a stricken look and Gannon bowed his head in grief. At the top of the staircase, Caleb stood, his fingers curled into tight fists at his sides.

Then slowly he put his hand out to touch Keeley’s hair and let his fingers slide over her cheek. He leaned down and brushed his lips over her forehead in a tender gesture. It wa