Chapter 34

GABRIEL

Why did his body hurt so much? Something was stabbing at his hand, and he kept knocking at it to stop the invasion. His right arm was on fire, his head throbbed, and his shoulder felt like it was being poked with Poseidon’s trident. He kept imagining he was back on the train.

His muscles tightened, and he heard himself cry out one name, “Rah!”

“I’m right here, Gabriel. I’m not going anywhere…” The soft words were so soothing, easing the burn in his mind and soul like rain on a dry desert. Cool hands stroked his cheeks, then tightened on his face, and soft, cool kisses peppered his forehead and then his lips. He gasped, trying to break free when he felt a sharp jab in his neck. Seconds later, the heat in his body started easing, and he heard, “I’m sorry, marshmallow. You keep fighting the nurse when she tries to put your IV back.”

“Rah…,” he murmured as the darkness enclosed him once again.

SARAH

Sarah slowly kissed away the tears that had fallen onto Gabe’s cheek while she held him still so the nurse could place a new IV port in his neck. She pressed her forehead to his and waited until his body stilled and his breathing evened out, telling her he had fallen asleep again. With a last kiss to his lips, she sank into her chair and breathed a soft sigh of relief as she held his hand.

The doctor patted Sarah’s shoulder before he left the room. “I’ll send in the orthopedic therapist to redo his arm.”

“Thank you, doctor.”

“Sar?” Indie asked as she peered around the door. Sarah quickly wiped her face and then smiled at her friend to come in.

“It’s so weird seeing him so still. Gabe is always moving, even if it’s tapping his fingers or something, he’s moving,” Indie said.

“I know, right?” Sarah smiled softly. “Even in his sleep, he’s stroking my arm or my hair.”

“Can I sit by him, Mama?”

Sarah looked down at Amelia, her green eyes wide with fear. “Sure, Elli. He’ll like that.” Sarah helped Amelia onto his bed and watched as her daughter snuggled into his side, resting her head on his shoulder after kissing his cheek. And then promptly fell asleep.

“Tracy said she’ll bring the boys around just before dinner.” Indie pulled the open chair around to Sarah’s side of the bed and lifted Connor to her shoulder before taking Sarah’s hand.

“Oh, that’s so sweet. She must miss her daddy,” a pretty woman in purple scrubs and a white lab coat entered the room, carrying a large tray with several items that she placed on the cabinet beside the bed. “I’m Claudia, the orthopedic therapist.”

Claudia didn’t give them a chance to say anything. Sarah rose to lift Amelia off the bed, but Claudia waved her off even as Gabe’s arm tightened around the little girl, saying, “She’s cozy, and I only need his right arm so she’s not in the way.”

Sarah and Indie watched the woman expertly remove the cracked cast before patiently and expertly applying a new one, her voice a constant flow of chatter. Sarah looked at her daughter sleeping so peacefully in Gabe’s arm, their faces turned to each other as though they were sharing some secret. Amelia was as blonde as Gabe was dark, her face rounded with childish innocence and his was sharp and angular, his cheeks rough with stubble. Her daughter looked like an infant curled up on his shoulder, and Sarah thought of how tiny Connor looked in his hands.

And it made her think about the way he loved all these children that had adopted him as their favorite uncle. How would Gabe be with his own kids? Images of Gabe teaching a miniature version of himself how to fish, how to pitch a tent, showing them interesting creatures when they went hiking, building a treehouse, or watching a movie together in a nest of pillows that they made.

And she knew the kind of guy he was. Gabe would be super-attentive during a pregnancy, maybe one of those annoyingly hovering dads-to-be. She could picture him singing to her rounded belly, rubbing her back and feet, and making sure she got everything she craved for.

“So…” Indie dragged out the word. “What color is my dress going to be?”

“What?” Sarah turned to her friend in confusion. “What dress?”

“My maid of honor dress. You had such a dreamy look on your face, I figured you were thinking about the wedding.”

Sarah laughed softly. “Oh, I was thinking a flouncy bronange dress should suit your coloring perfectly.”

“Bronange?” Indie wrinkled her nose adorably.

“Yeah.” Sarah nodded, trying hard to hold back her laughter. “A mixture of brown and orange.”

“What?” Indie squealed, making Sarah laugh out loud.

“Oh, man,” Seth said from the door. “I don’t even think I want to know.”

“Hey, you,” Indie greeted her fiancé, all retaliation melting into a visible puddle of love.

“Hey, you,” he greeted back as he leaned down to kiss her softly, taking Connor from her. “Why don’t you ladies go have some girl time, and Gabe and I will have a quiet catch-up?”

“Okay,” they agreed softly. Sarah went to pick up Amelia, but Seth stopped her.

“I’ll bring her home later. After we had burgers and milkshakes.”

Sarah kissed her brother on his cheek. “Grazie, fratello.” She kissed Amelia and then Gabe before hooking her arm through Indie’s and leaving the hospital, a large part of her heart staying behind.

***

“Rah…”

Sarah dropped the notebook she was using to prepare for a wedding party when she heard Gabe’s voice the next morning. It was raspy and deep, but clear of the tormented chant of his drug-induced sleep. She looked up to find his eyes, royal blue and alert, watching her. She could feel the smile of relief tearing her face in half.

She got to her feet and sat on the edge of his bed, leaning forward to kiss him softly on his lips, his hand wrapping itself around her waist. She put an ice chip between his lips as she kissed his brow, happy to have him awake. “Don’t ever scare us like that again.”

“How long have I been out?”

“Almost four days.”

“You’ve been here all the time?” He frowned as he studied her face.

“Yip. I haven’t seen daylight since they brought you in.”

“Liar,” he accused softly even as he smiled. “There’s no way you’ll ditch our girl for a guy, even me.”

She chuckled as she shook her head. “Grandma, Seth, and Indie relieved me during the evenings, and I was here while Amelia was at school.”

“The bakery?” He frowned.

“Cleve is taking charge until we know what’s happening with you, and Faith is helping him.”

“Whoa! Faith? And they are still talking to each other?”

Sarah smiled. “Surprisingly, they work well together.”

“So let’s backtrack…”

She nodded.

“What do you mean ~until you know what’s happening to me~?” he asked.

She slowly pulled away from him, clasping his hand in hers. “You were pretty banged up, Gabriel. They had to rush you into surgery to reattach the ligament in your shoulder. Fortunately, it’s the same as the broken arm. Sergeant Brady says you landed awkwardly on your arm. And then the doctors are reserving their theories on your spine until the swelling goes down.”

He bit his lip as he frowned, looking down at their clasped hands. “Everything is a bit fuzzy. I remember bits and pieces, but nothing in sequence.”

She nodded. “The doctor says the helmet saved you from severe head injuries, but you still had a hard knock. And most of the scrapes and bruises on your face are when the door exploded.”

“What about my spine?”

“There was severe swelling on your spine when you came in, and they weren’t sure what was causing it. They couldn’t see if it was broken or just seriously bruised.”

Gabe considered what she told him, his black brows drawn together as he processed the information. They both turned as the door opened and the doctor entered the room.

“Great! You’re awake!” he said enthusiastically, his narrow, tired-looking face breaking into a large smile. He checked Gabe’s vitals, the IV flow, and the chart at the end of the bed. “How are you feeling, Mr. Von Ashner?”

“Gabe, please. And like I was hit by a Mack truck and dragged down a desert road. Why does my neck hurt?” he asked suddenly.

“You spiked a fever, and we couldn’t get an IV line into your hand to get some medication into you,” the doctor explained.

“My foot?” Gabe raised an eyebrow in challenge, but the doctor shook his head.

“Not the way you were going on.” He glanced down at the chart again then looked up at Sarah. “I came by to say that we’ve scheduled an MRI to see about the back injury.”

“My back’s fine, doc.”

“How—” the doctor turned confused eyes at Gabe.

“I can wiggle my toes,” which he proceeded to do. “And I have other…urges…which I wouldn’t have had if my back was damaged. Trust me, I’ve been there.”

“You have?” Sarah stared at him in shock.

His fingers tightened on hers when he smiled at her. “Bullet chaser, remember? I cracked three vertebrae about ten years ago. This is nothing compared to the pain I had at that time. So I know it’s okay.”

“You’ll still get the MRI to be sure. If not for you, then for me,” Sarah huffed.

“Yes, ma’am,” Gabe agreed, smoothly.