I shouldn’t get so upset, but I miss him so much, we were extremely close.”More tears, she was now sobbing heavily, visibly distraught. I go to th... kitchen drawer and return with a handful of tissues. Her crying had now ceased, but the tears still visible had made a mess of her eye make up. I hand her the tissues and sit down next to her.“I can’t apologise enough, Ross. I come into your home and turn into a blubbering mess, and I bet I look a right state now as well don’t I?”I look at her. “Lane eleven—way out there on the edge—Jacob leads. He’ll be running just like he does in workouts at six minutes a mile. I want five guys who can run six-minute miles lined up behind him and matching stride for stride. He’ll bring you in ahead of most of the pack. If you’ve got kick left, bring it in the last quarter mile. Don’t start accelerating too soon or you’ll die before the bridge. Everybody got it?”“Are we running five or ten?” One of the guys lined up behind me asked.“This first race. ’ I couldn’t help the smile that shot across my face. I knew it was going to cause trouble in one way or another, but I couldn’t stop it. ‘Alright smart ass, get up here.’ Samantha pulled me up and looked deep into my eyes, like she was reading my very soul. Without warning she leaned in and kissed me again. She kissed me like it was the last time she would ever get to do it and she wanted me to remember it forever. She pulled me close to her and rolled me over onto my back. She stopped. “She will sleep tonight. I can ease the fever of her heart but, only you and your other mate can heal her. If you are willing to pay the price.”“What price?”Bear kept going.Brett met Melody as he left his office. She hugged him. “You’re amazing.”“What’s that for?”“Freya heard you drumming and asked what it was.”No way, she couldn’t have heard that. Bear’s laughter filled his mind.“I told her you were praying for her. She put her head on my shoulder. A few minutes later, she was asleep. I was.