Safe With You, page 21
Rachael shook her head, the gun trembling in her hand. “I’m not leaving you or Captain.”
She held the gun on Nick as she helped Jack to his feet. The pain took Jack’s breath away, and before he could focus on her, everything went black.
Twenty-Three
Everything happened in a blur. Rachael hardly remembered when Officer Martinez took the gun out of her hand while the paramedics tended to Jack, pulling him out of her lap and onto a stretcher. Another paramedic put pressure on Jack’s shoulder. He went in and out of consciousness for a few minutes, frightening her.
By the time they brought Jack to the ambulance, he was responding, but couldn’t move.
“Make sure she’s okay,” he said, without opening his eyes.
“I’m fine, you worry about you.” She didn’t move from Jack’s side, not letting go of him even as they lifted him inside.
“I want the dog to come, too,” Jack demanded.
When the paramedic began to argue with Jack, Alex lifted Captain into his own arms. “I’ll bring him to Elizabeth right now.”
Captain licked Alex’s face as he hoisted him up and put him in the back seat of his police cruiser. She didn’t even notice that Nick had been rushed out by ambulance until the sirens flashed by them. She kept her focus on Jack who smiled at her, even as the paramedics worked on his shoulder. He’d wince, then give her a smile, then winced again.
“He’s going to be okay, right?” she asked the paramedic.
“Ma’am you’re going to have to let go,” the man said as he taped the IV to Jack’s arm.
“I’m going with him,” she said.
The man made a face, then pointed to a seat against the wall. “You should be in your own ambulance.”
The two paramedics applied pressure on his chest, and Jack let out a deep groan.
“You guys need to make sure she’s okay,” Jack moaned out. “She was hit pretty bad along the side of her face.”
“We will, sir, now just stay still.”
“He’s going to be okay,” another man said, reassuring her as he got into the driver’s seat, turning the sirens on. Just as they pulled away, Frank and David ran down Harbor Lane and saw her in the vehicle.
“You better call them and tell them I’m okay. God knows how quickly this news will spread.” Jack groaned again as the paramedics cut open his shirt.
“Stop worrying about everyone else, and stop talking,” the woman paramedic ordered.
Rachael looked back again and saw him looking up at her. He mouthed the words, I love you.
“I love you, too.”
IT DIDN’T TAKE LONG for the whole Williams clan to show up at the hospital. Even Lauren drove from Boston in record-breaking time.
“You had to have been going over ninety miles an hour,” Jack said.
“I was worried!” She leaned over and hugged him.
“Ah,” he growled through his clenched jaw. “That’s my bad side.”
“Oh, sorry.”
Rachael sat next to him in a chair beside the bed. She had seven stitches along her forehead and a concussion, but the doctors told him she’d be fine with some rest.
“I can’t believe you wanted to keep the bullet.” Elizabeth shook her head as Matt held up the plastic evidence bag his hand.
Sarah sat on Jack’s other side, with John rubbing her shoulders. “It could have been much worse.”
“What about Nick?” Matt asked.
“He’s already been charged and placed in Portland,” Alex said, taking the bullet back from Matt and stuffing it into his chest pocket.
“I talked to the judge about getting Rachael’s medical records sent up from Providence as soon as possible, which will help corroborate her story.”
“He’s not getting out, is he?” Finn asked.
Jack could feel his heart rate rising.
Alex shook his head. “No, they’ll hold him at least until they process his court date, but with him being a danger to society, I have a feeling they’ll keep him in custody.”
Matt crossed his arms and said, “What I’m most surprised about is how much that dog likes you. I mean, to attack Nick like he did. He practically ripped his arm off.”
“Captain was really only protecting Rachael,” Elizabeth teased.
Jack rolled his eyes. “You guys are busting on me even as I lie shot-up in a hospital bed.”
“You’re fine. It was only in your shoulder. No vital organs were hurt.” Elizabeth said, but she leaned over on his good side, hugged him and didn’t let go.
WHEN EVERYONE LEFT the room and the doctors told all the family to go home, Jack made Rachael promise to stay. She lay down beside him on the hospital bed, watching him as he slept. She gently traced his jaw with her fingertips and smelled his scent for the hundredth time. She had never believed in miracles, or angels, or luck, but the moment Jack came up to her the night she arrived in Camden Cove was the luckiest moment of her life.
As the night wore on, nurses came in and out, ignoring that Rachael had broken the visiting hours rule, and did their thing around them. Each time, Rachael asked what next needed to be done for Jack’s care. She stayed awake all night, making sure everything was alright, even though the nurses told her she needed just as much rest with a concussion. She didn’t care. She wanted to make sure he was okay.
From beside her, Jack moaned suddenly and grabbed his shoulder.
She jumped up, ready to call the nurses. “Do you need more medicine? Do you want me to call the doctor?”
He shushed her, placing his finger on her lips, his eyes still closed. With his good arm, he reached out to her and gently pulled her back into her former position at his side. “Now I’m good.”
He rubbed her back, and she could tell he was falling back to sleep.
“Thank you, Jack,” she whispered into his ear.
“No problem.” He let out a deep breath, his hand continuing to rub.
She looked up at him, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if something worse had happened to you.”
He shushed her again, then looked down at her. “I needed you to learn to trust me, somehow.”
She laughed at his bad joke, leaned over and kissed him. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.” He closed his eyes again.
And when Jack fell asleep, she made a promise to take care of him for the rest of her life.
The Next Chapter
Jack stayed two nights in the hospital and was finally discharged in the afternoon. Sarah fussed around him, asking a hundred questions, making sure all his vitals were okay, and annoyed the doctor about his prescriptions. Rachael sat next to him, watching and listening to it all. They wheeled Jack out to Matt’s truck and all rode to Jack’s together.
“126 Seaside Drive,” Matt said as he pulled into the driveway. “You’ve arrived.”
The sling pressed against his stomach, making him uncomfortable. He adjusted it, letting out a moan, and Matt slowly came to a very long stop. “Are you okay?”
“Just park.”
Jack rolled his eyes, wincing as he tried to grab the door.
“Let Rachael help you,” Sarah said as she got out of the truck.
Rachael gave him her new look. The one that said, let me do it.
She leaned over and pushed the door open for him, but before he got out, while they were alone for just a second, he kissed her.
Pride filled him as his family and Rachael fretted after him as he walked up to his house. It was as if everything he had ever worked for up until that moment was all worth it. And someday, he wanted nothing more than to give Rachael a beautiful home, a place where she could feel safe and loved, where some day they could raise a family and grow old together.
Elizabeth opened the front door and Captain came hobbling out, barking at Jack and Rachael. He took his time, but made it to them.
“Hey, Cap.” Jack bent down and opened up his free arm as Captain made his way to him. He embraced Captain’s neck and hugged him. “Thanks a lot, buddy.”
Rachael teared up as Captain licked Jack’s face, his tail wagging.
“He’s going to heal faster than you,” Elizabeth said. “Only got nicked by the gunshot in his back.” She pointed to the shaven spot on his rear end.
Jack walked Rachael to the front door. He kissed her on the cheek as he opened the door, then waved his hand for her to enter. “I’d pick you up...” he made a face at his arm, “but you’d probably do better carrying me.”
She laughed, but hugged him, making him wince.
“Oh, sorry!”
“It’s fine, I’m fine.”
He opened the door to the small cottage. He had done quite a bit of work to make the house work for him, but now he worried if it would work for her someday. She walked through into the kitchen, which sat in the back of the house. It was his favorite spot. He imagined sitting in the mornings as the sun rose above the water with a cup of coffee, his hand in Rachael’s.
“It’s a beautiful house.” She spun around and faced him.
He couldn’t wait to get everyone out of there.
They all congregated in the kitchen and ate the seafood lasagna the restaurant had prepared, a plate of pastries provided by Frank and David, and a twelve pack of Finn’s favorite pale ale. The whole family told embarrassing stories of Jack. Elizabeth told of the time he had broken his collarbone playing football and acted dramatically about his injury, warning Rachael of what she’d face in upcoming days. Sarah laid out all his medication and wrote notes on a pad of paper, reminding Rachael that he needed to take them every six hours.
Elizabeth suggested everyone give Jack time to rest, hugging Rachael on the way out. Shortly after, everyone else left, leaving Jack and Rachael standing in the middle of the living room. He pressed a playlist on his phone, and music started to play in the background. He grabbed her hand and walked her to the space between the kitchen and the living room. Captain lay on the mat in front of the sink. He pressed another button and the fireplace whooshed on, illuminating the room with a warm glow. Her laugh bubbled out as he drew her close to him, pressing her against his chest and beginning to dance. Swaying to the music and humming along, she rested her head upon his chest and followed his lead.
“Your uncles wanted me to tell you there’s a basket in the fridge” Her left eyebrow lifted up. “What are you all up to?”
He shrugged glad he could count on them. He had texted them earlier asking for another picnic.
“Thought we could go on a picnic.”
CAPTAIN LED THEM DOWN the trail as Rachael carried the basket in one arm and a couple of blankets in the other. The winter afternoon held a chill, but it didn’t bother her as they walked down to the beach.
“Watch it.” Rachael nervously grabbed hold of Jack’s coat as he climbed down the side of the cliff, using his good hand to guide him, but he didn’t need help. It looked like he could climb down the rock ledge with his eyes closed. Captain, half-skipped, half-waddled down to the cove’s beach. With the tide out, the waves lapped against the sand, making a soft hushing sound off in the distance as the seagulls glided above them in the wind.
Inside the cove, a stack of firewood sat perfectly, ready for a match. “How did you do this?”
Jack smiled. “I have my ways.”
Rachael spread out the blanket on top of two logs next to the fire pit and placed the basket on top, about to sit, but Jack grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the water. “Come with me.”
They walked out to the water’s edge as Captain chased the waves rolling to shore. Jack stopped and held her in his arms, facing the granite cliffs, the house beyond and the town off to the side. The afternoon sun sat on top of the trees, falling behind the bare branches. She noticed all the lights were turned on in the house, even the lights outside in the yard. It was the most beautiful house she had ever seen.
She looked back at him, and that’s when he knelt down. He held a ring in his fingertips.
“I know you aren’t even technically divorced, but I want to make you happy for the rest of your life.”
He held out a thin gold band with a shining round diamond. She reached out and took it. It was the most beautiful ring she had ever seen.
“It was my grandmother’s, but we can get you something else, if you’d like.”
“It’s perfect.”
He leaned down. “So? Will you make me the happiest man on earth, and spend the rest of my life with me?”
She wrapped her arms around Jack’s neck, as the seagulls soared above them and kissed him. “Yes.”
Merrier with You
One
Kate O’Neil didn’t want to cry. Especially not in front of all the holiday travelers in line at the car rentals. The twenty-something behind the counter had no idea why Kate would be upset at being given a minivan, but she was. Because the last thing Kate wanted to drive after her fiancé dumped her was a family vehicle.
Instead of crying, she focused on how her chest tightened as though someone had wrapped a string of tinsel around it and pulled. She might be having a heart attack. She had the signs. It wasn’t unheard of for someone in their thirties to have a heart attack was it?
The familiar heat rash crawled up her neck and perspiration curled the wisps along her forehead as tears stung her eyes. Come on, Kate, pull it together. She straightened and pushed back the minivan’s keys, trying to keep her chin from trembling, but her words still came out wobbly. “But I reserved an SUV.”
The girl looked blankly at her.
Kate’s eyes darted toward the airport’s window. The nor’easter that had threatened the flight up to the last minute made its predicted descent. At least a few inches had accumulated since baggage claim, and now large clumps of snow fell from the sky. She may have lived in Minnesota her whole life, but the Maine storm seemed more than she bargained for, especially in a minivan.
It wasn’t the girl’s fault, she reminded herself, taking in a deep breath, ignoring the irritated holiday travelers in line behind her. She had to keep it together, at least until she made it to her aunt’s beach house, but her emotions had been as unpredictable as the storm. A tear teetered on the edge of her eyelid as a look of horror flashed across the girl’s face.
She cleared her throat. “Are there any other rentals that have four-wheel drive?”
“You ordered an all-wheel drive vehicle.”
Kate focused on her nametag instead of looking the girl in the face.
Brianna pointed to a screen that faced away from Kate. “Our minivan is the only one with all-wheel drive.”
Brianna emphasized all-wheel, as though there was a big difference. Kate shook her head. “I’ll take anything other than the minivan.”
“But they won’t come with all-wheel drive.” The girl’s face contorted in confusion. How could she explain that an eight-person vehicle was too much room for a woman who was alone for Christmas?
Brianna clicked the keys of her computer as Kate’s hands tightened around the strap of her carry-on.
“You’ll love the minivan,” said a middle-aged woman behind her in line. “With the snow, an all-wheel drive vehicle is what you want for your family.”
Kate unconsciously rubbed the band of her engagement ring with her thumb, but the habit made her throat ache and tears quivered once again in her eyes. With one last ditch effort, she resorted to begging. “Please, I’ll take anything, anything, other than the minivan.”
“Sorry, ma’am, but with the holidays, we only have the vehicle your family reserved.”
“I don’t have a family!” Her voice projected more than she anticipated, grabbing the attention of others in line. “I’m traveling alone.”
The woman behind her backed away, closer to her husband.
Brianna’s eyebrows lifted, creasing her forehead. Her feigned friendly tone quickly turned to aggravation. “Look lady, do you want the rental or not?”
Kate’s head dropped in defeat. She swiped the keys in concession and signed the receipt.
She turned away and pushed through the holiday travelers, using her carry-on like a snowplow. Her overstuffed suitcases gyrated behind her and threatened to fall at any moment. It may have been ridiculous to pack the snow boots, but she’d rather be beaten with them than admit she would not use them.
She’d never give Eric the satisfaction.
“Excuse me,” she mumbled, as she worked her way through the crowd to the exit.
She groaned as she passed all the Christmas lights and garlands hanging from the ceilings while traditional Christmas music played in the background. She practically ran toward the doors, but as soon as the sliding glass doors opened, she immediately stopped. The cold slapped her face like a frozen glove. Snow whipped her hair, thrashing it against her face.
She dug in her pockets for her gloves, but remembered stuffing them somewhere inside her suitcase with her boots, and she had already forgotten where she put the rental keys. With a grunt, she dragged her bags through the cold, wet, white, mess, patting down all twenty pockets of her new ski jacket as she reached the silver minivan. When she recovered the keys, her fingers could no longer bend as she fumbled at the fob to unlock the doors. She pulled the handle, but the driver’s door wouldn’t budge. The passenger’s side door was also frozen shut. With her coat sleeve, Kate wiped the snow off the window. She could see an ice scraper on the back seat.
Of course.
As she stared inside the minivan with the snow churning around her, she had never hated her life more than in that moment.
With her credit card, she chipped away enough of the ice to get the passenger’s sliding door open. Her designer leather boots now sported a salty white mark along the top stitching.
She fell into the van, thankful for the shelter. A text chimed from the belly of her purse. She dove for her phone, digging around in each pocket.
