Unintentional

  “Hey, honey, it’s me.” She bends down to kiss his cheek. Jeremy has a pained expression as he tosses in his bed.

  He’s not fully conscious yet, and he restlessly calls for her. “Mattie, Mattie.”

  “I’m here. It’s okay,” she soothes.

  “Don’t go. Stay with me. I don’t want you to go,” he mumbles, half asleep.

  Mattie looks at me, worried.

  I tell her, “I think this is normal. Do you want me to get the nurse?” I try to calm her, hoping my instincts aren’t right. Jeremy doesn’t seem well and I’m worried.

  “Yes, can you?”

  “I’ll be back in a minute.” I rush out and find the first nurse in the hallway. I’m feeling a little anxious as I hold onto her arm, “Jeremy is waking up, but he seems distressed. Can you come and see if he’s okay?”

  The nurse give me comforting smile, pats my arm, and follows me back into the room. She takes his vital signs and tries to talk to Jeremy, but he’s fallen back asleep.

  Mattie asks, “Is it normal for a patient to be restless and upset when they first wake from a coma?”

  “Oh yes.” The nurse reassures her, “Most patients don’t know what happened and can be very agitated when first waking.”

  Mattie sits back down in the chair next to his bed, taking his hand. “Oh, Jeremy.” She stifles a sob. “I don’t want him to be upset.”

  “He won’t be, Mattie. It’ll only be until he gets his bearings again. He’s going to be all right. That’s all that matters.”

  We wait for another twenty minutes until he wakes up again.

  Laurel

  “I heard Jeremy is waking up,” Scott tells me.

  I’ve just returned to the hospital after giving my statement to the police. Hopefully, they can put whoever is responsible behind bars soon. Until then, I won’t be able to relax.

  “That’s great news! Is Cade with them? I haven’t talked to him in a few hours.”

  “Yeah, he went back with Mattie about forty-five minutes ago. Since you’re Cade’s wife,” he winks at me, “I’ll bet they’ll let you go visit for a few minutes.”

  “This is such good news. I’m so excited. Yes, I think I’ll sneak in for a visit.” I have a huge smile on my face as I make my way to Jeremy’s hospital room. I’ve visited him a few times before, so I know just where to go. I pause for a moment. I hope they haven’t moved him. I stop in front of his room, or the room I think he’s in. Good, I can hear Cade’s voice. They haven’t moved him.

  “Yes, Jeremy. I’ll take care of Mattie.”

  I pause. This is a private conversation. I shouldn’t be here, but I can’t seem to make my feet move.

  “And the new baby, yes.”

  Mattie is pregnant? I can’t hear Jeremy’s questions, but I sure hear Cade’s answers.

  “I’ll marry her and take care of her. You don’t have to worry.” The blood leaves my head. I can’t think. Did he just say that?

  After everything that’s happened in the last few days, the last shred of energy leaves my body. I can’t pass out. I need to move before that happens. Little black spots appear before my eyes. It’s like someone pushed the mute button and all the hospital sounds are now only soft murmurs. I need to get some air, but I still can’t move. I love him, I really love him. Why didn’t I listen to my instincts? Happiness wasn’t meant for me. There have been so many broken promises in my life, so many let downs. I don’t think I can bear another. I was too happy. It was too perfect. My throat starts to close up as my breathing becomes rapid.

  I feel my shoulders shaking. It’s Cade. He’s shaking me. I want to ask him why, but he’s holding me. What is he saying? All I can hear is the blood pounding through my ears.

  Cade

  Right after the words leave my mouth, I see her. Laurel is standing in the doorway. Her expression, I can’t even explain it. No, this isn’t happening. Her shocked and sad expression is twisting my insides. How could I be so stupid? It’s taken me two years to get her to trust me, and I just blew it all to hell in one sentence. She’ll never believe me. She heard me say the words with her own ears. I can’t lose her. I just can’t.

  She stands motionless, staring straight ahead, eyes dazed. It’s no surprise after what she’s been through the past couple days. She finds out someone might be trying to kill her, and now this. Her eyes fill with tears, and she looks at me, but it’s like she’s looking right through me. I shake her shoulders. I need her to listen to me. I take her in my arms and start to cry. I don’t want to lose her, but I know I just did.

  ∗∗∗

  Damn it all to hell. Why can’t things just go as planned for once? I’ve spent so much time and energy on this project, and that stupid Jeremy guy has to go mess it up for me. I’m not concerned with the police; I’ve covered my tracks well. They won’t be able to prove anything. I might have lost this round, but I’ll form another plan. I won’t give up. My dad always told me persistence pays off. Next time, I’ll make sure there aren’t any mistakes.

  Laurel

  “It was unintentional, Laurel. I didn’t mean to hurt you.” The words cut through the fog.

  “Unintentional? What does that mean?”

  Cade is crying. Why is he crying? I’m the one who’s hurt.

  “You weren’t meant to hear that. Mattie asked me to agree to anything Jeremy asked. It wasn’t true, Laurel. Any of it. Don’t let this hurt you, hurt us. Please, I need you to believe in us. Please, believe in me,” he pleads.

  I look at his face. I really look at him. All the months, all of our conversations, come back to me. I remember the funny stories, the sad stories, the slow unfolding of trust. I remember the last time I doubted him, when his sister visited. I see truth in his gaze. Cade’s honest. If he wanted to be with Mattie, he’d tell me.

  I take his face in my hands, wiping away the tears. “Okay,” I whisper.

  “What?” he asks, and his face goes still.

  “Okay. I believe you.” My entire life I’ve spent not wanting to trust the people around me. My parents lived a lifetime without love. But, does it mean I should live in an emotional bubble, guarding myself against possible pain? No. I’m done living that life, being that person. The bricks that I meticulously constructed around my heart have been secretly falling off one by one this past year without me even realizing it was happening. I know why. Cade. I look into his wide open, scared yet hopeful eyes, and I feel the last brick fall, shattering into glorious, crumbling pieces. I feel free.

  “You aren’t going to run?”

  “No, I’m done running, Cade. I finally found my home. It’s with you.”

  “Laurel,” is all he can say as he holds me.

  Cade

  Relief fills me completely. I’ve never been so scared in my life. Two years ago, when Mattie told me she was getting back together with Jeremy, it was bad. I felt awful. But if I had lost Laurel, it would have been a hundred times worse. I could never have understood the complete, soul awakening type of love before now. The type of love that grows deeper and truer as time goes on. She brings me a sense of peace, calm, and happiness I’ve never experienced before. The connection was instant, but we both tried to ignore it for too long. We wasted so much time. But never again. I’ll never waste another moment without her.

  “Thank you.” I‘m still unable to let her go yet.

  “For what?” she asks.

  “For not believing the worst. For staying with me. For trusting me. I can’t tell you how much it means to me. I’ve never loved anyone the way I love you, Laurel. I honestly don’t know if I could live without you. Life would lose its joy, its meaning. I realize now, I never felt alive before I met you. Should I continue?”

  Laurel laughs. “Yes! By all means. I’m enjoying this beyond words!” She gets serious for a moment. “You know, I feel the same way. I didn’t ever think I was capable of this much happiness.”

  “I want to tell you something else that was unintentional.”
<
br />   Laurel lifts a brow.

  “Falling in love again. I fought it, denied it, struggled, and resisted. No matter how hard I tried to shut down my feelings, you were there, pulling them out of me. This is hard for me to admit, Laurel, but I was scared. I didn’t want to feel again.”

  I cup her face, placing my forehead on hers as I whisper, “You’re worth it, Laurel. You’re worth all the ups and downs, the self-doubt, and, well, agony.” I smile, remembering everything we’ve come through to get to this point.

  Laurel takes my face in her hands and whispers back, “Oh, you are so worth it.”

  ∗∗∗

  Mattie cautiously approaches us. She places a hand over her heart, and closes her eyes briefly, “Oh, my God, Laurel. I am so sorry. This is all my fault. Will you ever forgive me? I can’t believe I made Cade do that! I was so worried about Jeremy, I didn’t realize something like this could happen. I thought he’d just help Jeremy feel better until he heals.” She looks at me. “Cade, you are such a great friend. Thank you. Jeremy seems so much calmer. I apologize for putting you in this position. If you and Laurel broke up over this, I would have never forgiven myself.” She hugs Laurel. “You’re so strong. I admire you so much. I knew the girl who captured Cade’s heart would be very special – and you are that girl. I look forward to getting to know you better. I know we’ll be great friends.”

  “Are you all done with the love fest here?” Scott asks. He’s dressed in the required scrubs.

  “How did you get back here?” I ask.

  “I’m now Laurel’s brother, who is wife to Cade, who is brother to Mattie.”

  “They let you back here with that lame excuse?”

  “I told them I had important news. First, how’s Jeremy?”

  “He’s in and out of consciousness. The doctors are hopeful he’ll regain full mental function. He’s healing, but it’s going to take a while,” I explain. “What’s the news?” Hopefully, it’s good, we could certainly use it.

  Scott shrugs. “The detectives are waiting for you. They have some developments. They wouldn’t tell me, since I’m not related to the case.

  Laurel

  The detectives are waiting for us as we enter. We exchange pleasantries.

  Cade finally breaks in. “So, what do you have for us?”

  Detective Hanson speaks first. “We have some good news and some bad news. We’ll start off with the good. We have a set of prints we lifted from the Slim Jim we found in a garbage can two doors down. It’s a good lead. The bad news is we don’t have anyone in our database that matches. Through exhaustive research, we do know the exact tool that was used to cut the brake lines. So if we can find the tool, we’ll have a good lead to a possible culprit. Cade, you use a rare, imported brake fluid, so making a match should be easy. Once we find the suspect, it shouldn’t be too hard to move in on him.” He looks back and forth between Cade and I. “We still don’t know which one of you they were after, so you both need to be careful. Do you have a secure place to stay?”

  “Not really,” we both respond.

  Cade puts his arm around my shoulder, drawing me near. “We’re already thinking alike. We’ll be finishing each other’s sentences soon.” He kisses my cheek.

  I offer him my lips.

  He looks at them hungrily. “Don’t tempt me, Laurel. You know what happens when we get started.” Ah, yes. That. In spite of everything, I feel a warm, tingling sensation, starting at my head and ending at my toes.

  Cade continues. “You don’t have to worry about anything Laurel. I’ll keep you safe.” He lightly brushes his lips against mine. He was right, now I want more. The warm tingles have turned into sparks threatening to combust at any moment.

  “Sir? I still have some questions for you.” Oops.

  Cade shifts his attention back to the detectives. “Yes?” he asks politely.

  “We interviewed Rodney, Miss Ricci’s assistant. Thank you for letting us know about him. He’s a very nervous guy, but I question whether he was the mastermind behind this. He did supply us with some interesting information though.”

  “What did he say?”

  “He’s received a few anonymous calls we’ve been able to verify. Both calls were made with disposable phones, which aren’t traceable. This is suspicious in itself. I’ll tell you about the calls. Maybe it will strike a chord with you.”

  “Cade!” calls a loud voice from the other end of the room. It’s his sister, Allix, the girl I thought had broken my heart. I’m excited to finally meet her now that I know who she is.

  She rushes to Cade, and, just like before, takes him in a huge hug. “Cade, I’m so sorry to hear about your friend. Mom called and told me about it. Is he going to make it?”

  “Hey, Allix. Thanks for coming. The doctors are optimistic he’s over the worst. We’re all still on guard though, because, with brain trauma, things can change quickly.” He glances around the room to make sure Mattie didn’t overhear.

  He takes my hand. “I’d like to introduce you to my Laurel.”

  I blush at his possessive introduction, even though I love it.

  The detectives wait patiently for the introductions.

  “This is Laurel? The famous Laurel! I’ve been wanting to apologize about the misunderstanding at the nightclub. I was so excited to have surprised him, I think I jumped all over him. I can understand why you might have gotten the wrong impression.”

  “The fact that you are one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen didn’t help matters much.” I laugh.

  Her eyes brighten up. “Oh, Cade, may I say I love her? Is that allowed?”

  We all laugh. Uh oh, we’ve forgotten about the very patient detectives.

  “Sorry, I haven’t seen my sister for a while,” Cade explains.

  “Yeah! Ever since I won that contest. It almost turned into a disaster though.”

  Did I hear that right? She won a contest. Why does that sound familiar? My brain is frantically searching, trying to sort through the events of the past few weeks. The fact that I’m sleep deprived probably isn’t helping. Finally, a memory comes back to me. Full force. The last time I recall hearing about a contest was when I was at Douglas’s house when he was talking to his boss. Was he talking to his boss? I’m starting to feel a distinct uneasiness build in my stomach. Could there possibly be a connection?

  “Allix, did you actually enter a contest?” I ask.

  Cade turns toward me. The waver of my voice has alerted him.

  “Why, I must have, right? The organizers pulled my name out of a big jar in the commons area. It was such a coincidence, with it being a trip to Seattle and all.” She notices Scott. She blushes a little and waves. “Hey, Scott. How are you?”

  “Allix, this might be important.” Cade tries to get her to focus.

  She pouts, obviously wanting to talk with Scott. “Okay, what do you need to know?” The detectives step in at this point.

  “We’ll need to know the organization that sponsored the trip.” Detective Hanson asks.

  Allix thinks about it. “I can’t remember, but I think it was some bank.”

  The uneasy feeling in my stomach starts to expand.

  “What type of calls were made to Rodney?” I ask the detectives.

  “He claims it was someone trying to help him get the band to sign with him. They would call and say things like, ‘Mattie and Cade are no longer talking,’ and a male voice would inform him he needed to make a trip to Seattle and that the door would be wide open for negotiations with the band. The last call was received right before the accident with Mr. Harkins. We’ve verified it with his cell phone company.”

  I can’t stand any longer. My legs are giving out. Cade notices me wobbling and leads me over to one of the vacant chairs. He sits me down, concern etching his face.

  “I have this horrible feeling I know who did this. I can’t believe I’m even thinking about it, but it makes sense.”

  “Who Laurel? Who would want to hurt
you?”

  “Not me, Cade. You.”

  “Me?”

  By this time, the detectives are sitting next to us, with pens and notebooks ready.

  “You’ll need to check out Douglas Kennedy. He’s an ex-boyfriend of mine. We only dated for three months over two years ago, but we’ve kept in touch.” I look down. “He wants to get back together.”

  Detective Roberts asks, “Why do you think it might be this ex-boyfriend?”

  “Allix came to the nightclub where Cade’s band was playing. I saw them together and thought they were a couple.” This is so embarrassing to admit. Now, even more so knowing that it was a possible set up.

  “I had a date with Douglas recently. He’s been so persistent about wanting to give our relationship another try. I was upset, and I went to see him. When I arrived, he was finishing up a phone conversation. He told the person on the other end that the contest was a success. I think he may have set it up to look like Cade had a girlfriend so I’d be upset and run to him. Is this crazy? I mean, who would do something like that?”

  “Someone very calculating. Did you notice him being overly obsessed with you while you were dating?”

  “No, actually the opposite. It was like he was the perfect boyfriend.” I stop, remembering. “Too perfect, even from the beginning.” I look at the detectives. “This might have been a set up from the beginning. Part of the reason I broke up with him was because he was too agreeable.” I give Cade a glance. “Sorry, Cade.”

  He laughs, knowing what I mean. Cade is strong. He stands up for himself. He isn’t the type to say yes to me if he doesn’t agree. I love our tug-of-wars. He challenges me.

  “Douglas always wanted to please. For a little while, I thought that’s what I wanted. But after three months, I broke up with him. He was very upset, but he didn’t approach me again for almost a year. By that time, I’d forgotten why I broke up with him. He was always so accommodating.”

  “Do you remember how you met?”

  “Oh, yes. He works at my bank. He’s the assistant manager. One day, he came up to introduce himself and asked me if he could help. You know how bank managers are.”