by Lane Hart
“Unfortunately,” he mutters. “So, you better fix things with her. Look, I’m not going to lie to you. I love Isobel, and I’ve told her as much.”
Seeing my face darken in anger, he holds up his hands in surrender before I explode. “We grew up together; we’ve worked together. She sees me like a brother. I respect that, and I’m not like her father. I’m not going to push something on her that she doesn’t want.”
I sink down into one of the nearby chairs while Danny makes this confession, my anger slowly fading away. “I’m sorry,” I tell him. “I had this idea in my head that you were a vulture, circling the carcass of our relationship just waiting to swoop down for a feast. After meeting her father and seeing how much he liked you, it just never occurred to me that you might actually be a good friend to her.”
“Don’t feel bad,” Danny snorts as he moves around his desk. He sits down and pulls a notepad out of a drawer to begin to scribble down some notes. “I haven’t held you in the highest esteem either, you know. You looked like a drunken fling, or even worse, just a tool to infuriate her father. She’s talked a lot about you since she’s been back, though, and now I know that none of that is true. You make her happy, and that’s enough for me. Here,” he adds, tearing a piece of paper off the notepad and sliding it across his desk. “This is the address of the health department where the nursing licensing board is located. She’s supposed to be meeting them at two o’clock.”
“Thanks, man,” I sigh as I get to my feet. “What do you say we start over the next time we run into each other and put all this behind us?” I ask him as I pick up the paper from the desk and slip it into my cut.
“You treat Isobel well, and you and I will never have a problem,” Danny says. Getting to his feet, he walks to his office door, holding it open for me in invitation. “Go take care of her, Sax. I’ll send her a message later to ask her how things went with the Board, and make sure she knows you’re in town.”
I give him a nod and then leave the office. I have to suppress the urge to break into a jog and force myself to walk calmly to my bike outside, even though it feels like anxiety is crushing my heart. Even if she loves me, can she ever forgive me for the betrayal her father forced on us?
Before I crank up my bike, I run the address Danny gave me through my personal phone, glancing at the directions on my app. The health department is only a few blocks away, so I recite the street names in my head to settle my nerves as I roar through town. It’s not even one o’clock yet when I pull into the huge parking lot leading to the three-story stone building that houses the health department, but I still cruise through each aisle of the lot, looking for Isobel’s white Lexus.
When I don’t immediately spot her car, I rumble up to the front entrance of the building and find a place to park my bike. I notice while I’m taking off my helmet that almost a dozen people are outside staring at me after my tour of the parking lot, and there are even faces in the windows glaring down at me. Before I kill the engine on my Harley, I twist the throttle while I’m sitting in neutral, the roar from my custom-made straight pipes damned near rattling the glass in the cars surrounding me.
With a grin and a wave to everyone watching, I kill the engine and then walk up to the main entrance, prepared to stake it out the rest of the day, if necessary. Fortunately, after only half an hour of watching people come and go, I spot a pristine, white Lexus pulling into the lot. It’s only one-thirty, so I’m hopeful she’ll have time to talk to me before she has to rush inside. I go stand right in the middle of the walkway, making sure that I don’t catch her by surprise.
Unfortunately, despite my attempts to make myself obvious, Isobel approaches me while looking down at a folder in her hands and doesn’t acknowledge my presence until she almost bumps into me. Raising her eyes briefly, she mutters, “Excuse me,” before starting to step around me.
“Isobel,” I call her name softly, bringing her to an abrupt halt. She slowly turns towards me, closing the folder and squaring her shoulders as her gaze rises to mine.
“Sax,” she exhales my name in a whisper. “What are you…how did you know I was here?”
“I had to come for you,” I shrug. “I talked to your dad and then to Danny over at his office. They resisted a little at first, but they both eventually gave me their blessing and told me I could find you here.”
“They gave you their blessing?” Isobel scoffs. “What does that even mean, Sax? What did you think was going to happen if you came here? That I’d swoon over your grand gesture and forgive you for what happened? That I’d run off back to the coast with you and be your…what did your friends call it, your ‘old lady’?”
“No, Isobel, please, it’s not like that,” I protest. I can feel people stopping to stare at the two of us, but I press on, not caring who hears me or what they think. “When I drove up here, I couldn’t even think. I had no idea what I was going to do or say. I only knew that I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t rest, I couldn’t do anything without seeing you again. I went to your dad’s house, because it was the only place I knew to start. I was prepared to beat him half to death to find out where you were, and for what he had done to you…to us,” I pause for breath and see the faintest hint of a smile flash on Isobel’s lips.
“I told him that I knew about your Huntington’s, and about what he had done to your mother. He told me some things, things that he needs to talk to you about himself; but ultimately, I told him…I told him I want to be yours, Izzie. I want to be the person you can rely on, the person who stands by you all the days of your life and helps you through whatever comes. I want him to keep all his bullshit to himself, and just let you and I have a real chance. That’s what he gave his blessing to.”
“Do you really think my father’s blessing is the kind of ringing endorsement that’s going to impress me?” Isobel teases me, the small smile still playing around her lips. Her eyes narrow and her face turns stern as she continues, “Besides, Sax, what are you even hoping for? That I’ll run off with you, hop on your boat and sail into the sunset? I’m done running. I’m going to try and get my nursing license back. I’m going to use the time I have left to try to help people, to give something back.”
“What made you change your mind?” I ask her, at a loss for anything else to say.
“A lot of things. Like helping Cooper, having someone depend on me. How is he doing, anyway?”
“He’s fine,” I start to defer with a wave of my hand, but abruptly stop myself with a sigh. “He’s not fine. I just didn’t want to change the subject,” I admit. “He’s still deaf, and he’s hell-bent on finding that girl Jenna’s family, especially her child. He feels personally responsible for what happened, and it’s tearing him apart.”
“I understand the feeling,” Isobel says. “That’s another reason I want to get back to doing something that matters, rather than just follow my own selfish whims. What my father did to you, to your friends, that was at least partly on me and the decisions I’d made. I’ve tried to make that right, at least.”
“If that’s what you really want, you know I’ll support you all the way,” I tell her as I move a step closer. She doesn’t withdraw, so I tentatively reach out my hand and lay it on her arm. “I want to be here for you, whatever you decide, and wherever life takes you.”
“Sax…” Isobel breathes deeply, then blinks up at me, obviously fighting back tears. “I want to believe you, but how would you even make that work? You’ve got your family, the Savage Kings. You’ve got some crazy bomb-terrorist after you, and you said the jobs you do keep you out on your boat most of the time. They need you, and I don’t want to rip you away from your life.”
“I want you to be my life,” I tell her, without even thinking of how cheesy I must sound. “I mean it. Look,” I add, turning my back to her so she can see my cut.
“I mean, it’s a nice ass, Sax, but I’m not sure…oh, your patches are different!” Isobel realizes. “You changed the bottom one. Why does it say Noma
d? Does that mean something in biker lingo?”
I let out a mirthless laugh as I turn back to face her. “Yeah, I suppose it means I’m unemployed.” When Isobel just stares at me unblinking, I try to explain it in a bit more detail. “It means I’m still a member of the club, but I’ve resigned from my official charter, my ‘group’ down at Emerald Isle. I can work for any charter, but I only get paid by the job, not a percentage of the earnings. It means I’m free to go wherever I want to go and do whatever I want to do. It means nothing is holding me back from following you anywhere, everywhere, for as long as you will let me.”
Isobel stares at me in silence before suddenly shivering, breaking our eye contact. “I have to get inside for my interview,” she says as she turns away.
“Isobel, please!” I call, starting to follow her into the building.
“If you really mean it,” she says over her shoulder as she opens the door to the health department. “Then stay here while I talk to the Board. Once I’m done…if you’re going to follow me anyway, I suppose I should show you the hotel I’m staying at until I get an apartment lined up.”
“I’ll be here,” I promise her as I steal a quick kiss that she deepens, telling me that I’m actually making some progress. When I finally make myself pull away because I know she has to get to her appointment, I tell her, “As long as you’ll have me, I’ll always be here.”
Epilogue
Sax
Six months later…
As soon as I get off the elevator on the pediatric floor of the hospital, I can hear Isobel strumming a tune on her guitar. I follow the melody down the hall past the nurses’ station, pausing for a moment to hide the present I brought for her before heading down to the community room. The entire area is decorated with strings of colored lights and tinsel, hiding the normally sterile walls of the hospital and filling the floor with Christmas cheer.
When I walk in the room, a dozen children are gathered around the love of my life sitting by a small tree. Her hair is back to the same turquoise and purple it was when we met, which I love, although she enjoys changing it to various bright colors every few weeks to surprise the kids.
“All right, everyone,” Isobel tells the children when she spots me and puts her guitar back into its case. “It’s almost time for me to go, so I need all of my good little boys and girls to head back to their rooms!”
A chorus of good-natured groans greet her announcement, but the children all stand and begin to file out past me. “Hi, Sax!” a few greet me from behind the surgical masks they’re wearing. I bend down and scoop up one of the tiny forms, five-year-old Sara, who begins giggling immediately.
“No tickles, Sax!” she manages to squeak out before I place a kiss on top of the pink and white scarf she wears to keep her scalp warm. I put her down, and still giggling, she races off down the hall.
“No tickles for me either, please,” Isobel grins as she picks up her guitar case and comes over to me. “I will take the kiss, though,” she adds, leaning up to brush lips with me. “I need to put in some notes, and then I’ll be ready to go!”
“There’s no rush. I’ve got your car all packed up,” I tell her. Over the two-week Christmas break we’re going on a cruise to the Lofoten Islands of Norway to see the Northern Lights, another item to check off of her bucket list. “We just have to go pick up Willy at the apartment, and then we can head out.”
“You didn’t bring her with you?” Isobel asks.
“Hell no,” I begin, before a friendly scowl from Isobel reminds me to watch my language around the kids. “You know I can’t get that hairy fiend into the carrier without you!”
With a laugh, Isobel sits down at the computer terminal. “I still don’t understand how your cat can be so difficult for you to handle. She’s an absolute sweetheart when I pick her up.”
“You’ve seen yourself what happens when I try!” I protest. “She’s not ‘my’ cat. She just started hanging around my boat because I would leave food out for her, and one day I woke up with her sleeping on me! I don’t think I’ve had a peaceful night since she decided I was her favorite pillow.”
“I didn’t know how bad it was until we brought her up here,” Isobel grins. “She is pushy about bedtime, if you and I spend too much time…ahem,” she clears her throat as she looks around the nurses’ station at her co-workers. “Well, you can tell she’s the jealous type.”
Another nurse sits down beside Isobel with a chart, then glances over at the two of us. “Hey, guys, how are things going?” she asks us. “You still enjoying peds, Izzie?”
“I love it,” Isobel gushes to her co-worker. “I mean, in a lot of ways, this has been the most heartbreaking, devastating place I’ve ever worked. But seeing these kids fight, their bravery and their triumphs…it’s hard to explain, but I love it here.”
“You were born for this,” the nurse says to her. “There are days that will almost break you, but you’re right, it’s all about the triumphs. You always keep that in mind, and you’ll be fine. Enjoy your vacation, you two!” she adds as she gets up and walks down the hall.
“These kids help you as much as you help them, don’t they?” I ask her.
“They do,” Isobel agrees. “Seeing how they have to fight when they’re so young, how well they handle everything, it really gives me perspective, you know? It makes me realize just how blessed I am to have these good years.”
“Oh, there’s going to be a lot of good years,” I reassure her. “Hey, before we leave, do you think we can get the kids back together for a few minutes? I wanted to get here a little earlier, and hear you play.”
“Sax, you know shift change is busy…” Isobel begins to protest, trailing off as she sees another one of her co-workers leading the children back into the community room. “Marie, are you doing something with the kids?” Isobel asks the nurse.
“Your man there called a little earlier and asked us if we could get them together for a few songs out here in the lobby,” Marie replies, shaking a finger at me. “He said he had a surprise for you!”
“Sax, what are you up to?” Isobel turns to me to ask as I reach behind the filing cabinet to produce the present I hid earlier.
“Ta-Da!” I grin as I show her the guitar case I brought in with me. “I bought you something.”
Isobel looks down at her own guitar case, then stares at me in shock. “You bought me a guitar? Sax, that’s crazy, you know how much I love mine!”
“I suppose I should say I bought ‘us’ a present, then. I bought a guitar so that you can teach me to play. I know how much you worry about your hands, and what may happen one day if, you know…”
“You want me to teach you to play, so if my tremors get too bad, you can do it for me,” she whispers.
“You’ll be able to sing,” I tell her as I reach down to give her a one-armed hug. “And I can be your hands. I’ll sing along, of course, as long as it doesn’t scare the kids.”
“You will not,” she laughs. “You’ve got gravel in your throat, I swear.”
“Will you do it, though?” I ask her. “Teach me, let me be a part of your music?”
“Of course I will,” Isobel says as she leans up to kiss my cheek. “It will take a long time for you to be as good as me, but…”
“We’ve got time, baby,” I reassure her. “I’ll be with you every step of the way. Come on, let’s show it to the kids, and maybe we can pick out a simple song together.”
“Okay,” she agrees as she picks up her own guitar. “Let’s take a look at this thing and see if you got ripped off or not,” she laughs as she walks into the lobby and sits down inside the circle of children. I linger behind for a moment, surreptitiously sending a text from my phone, before I walk in and sit down beside her, laying my guitar case down in front of her.
“Open it up and take a look,” I tell her.
Isobel leans over to flip open the clasps on the new guitar case. When she opens it up; however, her body freezes before she slowl
y raises her hand, holding the small box that I had placed inside the case.
“Open it up and take a look,” I repeat with a smile, as the children gasp and some begin to clap.
Isobel opens the jewelry box to reveal the sparkling princess cut diamond ring I had made especially for her. Before she can say anything, I move to squat on one knee in front of her. “I wanted to bring it upstairs and do this with all of your friends,” I tell her as I turn to wink at the children gathered around us. “Isobel Washington, meeting you has been the greatest joy in my life. The only thing that could surpass it would be living with you forever as my wife. Will you marry me?”
Isobel’s cheeks had taken on a flaming blush as she had gazed at the ring, and when she reaches over to throw her arms around my neck, I can barely hear her “Yes!” over the cheers of the children.
“Yes, yes,” she laughs as she kisses me and then lets me go so that I can take the ring and slip it on her finger. When I abruptly stand up, she asks, “Wait, where are you going?”
“I’ve got one more surprise for you and all of our best buddies,” I tell her as I spread my arms towards all the children. “I’m not sure, but I think I heard some great big reindeer rumble up outside!”
I had timed it almost perfectly, and a moment later the clomp of heavy boots filled the hall, where the nurses had all gathered. A burly, red-suited figure that I recognized as my brother, War, stomps into the lobby, gently dropping a huge bag onto the floor.
“HO-HO-HO!” War bellows with his hands on his hips, while the rest of the Savage Kings from Emerald Isle gather in the hall behind him. They smile and wave as the kids leap to their feet, rushing to gather around the giant Santa biker.
“Tone it down, there, Santa,” I call to War. “Don’t worry, kids, I talked to him and I made sure he brought everything you guys wished for!”
Turning back to Isobel, I offer her a hand and pull her to her feet. “Merry Christmas, baby!” I tell her as I wrap her in my arms and kiss her.