by Jill Sanders
“Get me to the sofa. Then I’ll need some ice.”
“You need a doctor.” She frowned at him as she helped him sit down.
“What I need is a couple aspirin and an ice pack.” He looked at her until she sighed and walked toward the back to find what he wanted.
When she came back with a frozen blue ice bag and a small bottle of aspirin, he was asleep on the sofa. Setting the ice on his ankle carefully, she covered him with a blanket that had been thrown over the back of a chair, and she lay next to him.
She must have fallen asleep, since the next time she surfaced, it was to Aiden’s moans. Her back was covered in sweat and when she reached around, she realized he was burning up.
Pulling the blanket off him, she gasped when she felt his fevered skin.
“Aiden?” She shook his shoulders. He just moaned a little in reply. “Aiden?” She shook him again. When he didn’t wake, she rushed over and grabbed her cell phone from her jacket pocket.
She called her father first, but since she didn’t know the address of the place, she couldn’t tell him where they were.
He tried to talk her down from her hysteria, but it was no use. She was having a full-blown panic attack.
“Look around the place. There’s bound to be something with the address on it. A magazine, a newspaper?” her father said.
She’d seen a few magazines in the downstairs bathroom and rushed in there to look.
She read off the address from the back of the woman’s magazine. “Dad, he’s burning up.”
“Get a cold washcloth on him. I’ll be there in a shake.” Her father hung up as she rushed back out to sit by Aiden.
When she placed the cold washcloth on his head, he started shaking and tried to push her hand away from him.
“No, Aiden. I’ve got to cool you off.” She felt tears sliding down her face.
“Krissy.” His eyes opened a little. “I’m sorry, babe.” He reached for her. “I should have told you everything.”
She sighed and held him close. “Hush now, it’s all over.” She felt him shivering in her arms.
“No, I almost lost you. I don’t want to ever lose you,” he mumbled next to her skin. “I was going to give it to you tonight.” His body jerked.
“What?” she said, placing a kiss on his heated forehead.
“The ring.” He moaned. “We were going to have dinner under the stars on the patio. I was going to ask you then.” When she looked down at him, his eyes were still closed and his face had turned bright red.
“Aiden?” She shook him, trying to rouse him.
“I’m sorry,” he kept saying over and over again.
There was a quick knock on the door, then her father and mother rushed in. Her father had a small first-aid bag under his arm that he always kept in the trunk of his car.
“What happened?” he asked as he sat next to Aiden’s warm body. Her mother wrapped her arms around Kristen. She felt herself start to shake.
She told them about their walk and how he’d stepped in a hole and twisted his ankle.
When her father pulled up his jeans and exposed his ankle, she almost passed out. Instead of a small bruise, his leg was dark purplish-black. There were long red streaks that ran down his foot.
“Kate, call 911.” Her father looked over to her mother.
“Dad?” She dropped her arms and rushed to Aiden’s side.
“It looks like a small snakebite. It must have been a snake hole he stepped in. It could be a rattlesnake bite. We won’t know until we get him to the hospital.”
She felt her heart stop and everything started to go white before her father pushed her down to the chair and shoved her head between her legs.
“Damn it, Kristen, I don’t need you passing out just now.”
She took a few deep breaths and then glanced up at Aiden.
“How long ago did he get bit?” he asked.
She glanced at the clock on the wall. “An hour.”
“It’s not acting like a rattlesnake bite, then. We might be out of the woods.” He propped Aiden’s chest up by piling the throw pillows behind him. “Has he been sick?” he asked as he leaned down to listen to him breath.
“N-n-no. Just feverish. His ankle hurt at first. But he came in and fell asleep.” She closed her eyes and wished she’d looked at his leg more closely. “I put some ice on it.” She nodded to the melted pack.
It seemed to take forever for the ambulance to get there. In that time, she’d called his parents and told them what was going on. They told her they would meet her at the hospital in Golden.
Finally, the ambulance arrived. She watched as they loaded Aiden into the back. He had yet to wake up, which only worried her more.
Her mother had rushed upstairs and grabbed their bags and thrown them in the back of their car. Kristen rode in the backseat as her parents followed the ambulance down the hills into Golden.
She’d been to the hospital several times growing up but had never expected to be there with him. Not like this.
When they walked into the ER, Aiden’s family was already there waiting.
“Kristen.” Amber rushed over to her and hugged her. “We saw them cart him in.” She nodded to the large glass window. “Mom and Dad were going to see if they could find out anything more, but they told us we had to wait.”
She let Amber lead her over to a row of chairs.
“Hi, I’m Amber.” She waved at Kristen’s parents. “Aiden’s sister. This is Ashley and my parents, Ann and Eric.”
Her parents introduced themselves and everyone shook hands.
“Dad’s an MD. Family medicine,” Kristen said in between taking big gulps of air.
“I’ve got some pull around here. I’ll see if I can find anything out.” Her father walked toward the nurses’ station.
“I should have called sooner,” she said to herself.
“Honey, it’s okay. You didn’t know.” Ann sat next to her and wrapped an arm around her. Kristen could see the tears falling down her face through her own watery eyes.
“Good news and bad news.” Her father walked over a few minutes later. “It’s not a snakebite.”
“What’s the bad news?” She stood up.
“Looks like a black widow bite. They’re treating him now with antivenin. They say he’s lucky it wasn’t a brown recluse bite.”
She shivered. “How can they tell?”
“They have their ways.” Her father shook his head. “Hate those damn things. Pardon.” He nodded his head to Aiden’s mother. “We should know something soon. They say two people can go back to his room now.”
“Kristen, why don’t you and I head back first,” Ann said, taking her arm.
She followed Aiden’s mother through several doors. When they walked into the small glass room where Aiden was, she was surprised to see him sitting up, eyes wide, looking worried.
“Hey.” He reached for her, and when she rushed into his arms, he held her while she cried. “It’s okay. I’m okay,” he kept saying over and over again into her hair.
“I was just so scared of losing you,” she said against his skin. Just feeling his strong arms around her helped the fear subside. She never wanted to feel that scared about losing him again. For a moment, she thought about blaming her bad luck once again, then squared her shoulders and remembered that she was making her own luck now.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Aiden was trying to keep it together for Kristen’s sake. His foot and ankle stung like they were on fire, but when he was holding Kristen, he could only think about her.
He wanted to tell Kristen how he felt, what his plans were, but since his mother was there alongside her, he settled for letting Kristen sit beside him on the bed.
“They gave me a shot of something that broke the fever”—he snapped his finger
s—“like that.” He smiled. “Now they’re shoving some antivenin in me. I guess I should have let you call the doctor.” He chuckled and then frowned when he noticed the joke hadn’t cheered Kristen up. “Mom, can you give us a minute?”
“Sure, honey.” She leaned down and placed a kiss on his forehead. “We’re all just outside if you need us.”
“Thanks.” His eyes didn’t leave Kristen’s.
When Ann left, Kristen burst into tears and leaned her head against his chest. He held on to her as she cried it out.
“Hey, it’s okay.” He brushed her hair with his hand. When a nurse popped her head in the doorway, he waved her in.
Kristen heard her and tried to sit up, but he held her still.
“This is Nurse . . .” he started.
“Kelly,” she supplied. “I’m just checking Mr. Scott’s vitals and drawing some blood really quick.” He looked down at Kristen, who used the tissue Kelly handed her.
They sat in silence as the nurse got everything done. When the woman finally walked out, Kristen’s eyes had dried up and she was no longer pale and pasty looking.
“I was so scared,” she whispered once they were alone again.
“So was I there for a while. I couldn’t make sense of anything. I couldn’t surface from the heat. I heard you . . .” He pulled her closer. “And knew I had to fight the darkness for you.”
Tears fell down her cheeks again.
“Don’t cry.” He wiped them with his fingers. “Look.” He pointed to his ankle. “The swelling is already going down and I can feel my toes again.”
“Next time you ask me to go walking, you’d better mean to the coffee shop and back,” she teased.
“That’s a deal.”
Just then there was a knock on the door.
“Hello?” A short Asian man walked in. “I’m Dr. Yee.” The man glanced down at a chart. “I hear we had a fight with a spider.”
“Looks that way.” He nodded to his foot.
“Oh yeah. You’re lucky.” The older man smiled at them. “Some people can’t take the venom. For others”—he shrugged—“it’s no big deal.” He held up his finger. “I’ve been bitten three times. On the same finger.” He held up his hand. “Only gave me a headache.” He chuckled. “We’ll want to keep an eye on you for a little while, make sure the antivenin is working. Most likely you can leave within the hour.” He tapped Aiden on his other leg. “Any questions?” He looked between the two of them.
“Um.” Kristen sniffled a little. “If this happens again, what should I do next time?”
“Well, since he’s proven that he doesn’t like black widow venom, I’d say get him to a doctor or hospital as soon as you can. Most cases, you’ll see fever, nausea, pain, headaches. In worse cases, you can have shock, high blood pressure. It’s a good thing you brought him in when you did.”
He walked over and took a closer look at the bite, making sure not to touch the swollen area. “You’ll want to keep this area clean. If the swelling doesn’t go away completely in a few days, come back in and we will lance the rest of the poison out of it.”
Aiden felt Kristen shiver.
“Thanks,” he said and shook the man’s hand. “I’ll be sure to keep an eye on it.”
“You do that. You two have a nice day, and don’t let this spoil your weekend.” He waved. “Gorgeous day out there.”
“Yes, yes, it is,” Aiden said as the man left.
Just then his mother walked back in. “Was that the doctor?” She walked over and stood next to his bed.
“I’ll go fill everyone in outside.” Kristen stood up quickly, but he tugged on her hand and pulled her back down for a quick kiss.
“Don’t go anywhere. Okay?” he said.
“Just try and get rid of me.”
He smiled as she walked out.
“I like her,” his mother said as she sat next to him. “Did you get a chance to pop the question?”
He frowned and shook his head. “No, I was going to do it tonight.” He leaned back and sighed. His energy was quickly fading. “I guess this ruined everything.”
“It doesn’t have to.” She patted his hand. “Eric proposed to me on our flight back from Phoenix.”
He smiled, remembering it. “That’s different.”
“Oh?” Her blonde eyebrows shot up. “I suppose you’re more in love with her than Eric is with me?” She put her hands on her hips.
He laughed. “No, I just have more couth than Eric.”
She slapped his arm and giggled. He knew he’d blown his first chance at making the most romantic move ever, but at least he still had time to fix it.
Kristen sat in the back of her parents’ car next to Aiden as they drove them toward his place.
“I’m sorry our time in the cabin was ruined.” He played with her hand, rubbing his fingers next to hers. The friction was driving her nuts, and she wanted nothing more than to be alone with him.
“It’s okay.” She shrugged. “At least for once it wasn’t me in distress.”
“I told you, we make our own luck,” he replied.
She nodded. “I’m beginning to believe that.”
They sat in silence as they hit afternoon traffic.
“Your family seems very nice,” her father said, glancing back at them.
“Thanks. It’s not the first meeting I’d hoped for, but I guess it worked.” He smiled.
“Your sisters are beautiful. Is it true that Amber is going to play Glinda in Wicked next month?”
“Yes. I can get you a deal on tickets, if you want. Kristen and I have front-row seats, opening night.”
“We do?” She glanced at him and saw him wince.
“It was going to be a surprise.” He shrugged. “Surprise.”
“It’s a wonderful surprise.” She leaned over and kissed him. When she noticed him flinch a little, she leaned back and looked down at his foot, which was propped across her lap with an ice pack over the wrappings.
“We’d love to go, wouldn’t we, Hank?” Her mother slapped at her father’s arm and smiled at him.
“Love to.” He looked over at his wife. “I’ll see about getting us tickets for our anniversary.”
Her mother blushed and smiled at him. It was funny—a month ago, she would have been embarrassed by how her parents acted like love-struck teenagers, but now, it just seemed right.
Her parents helped them up to his condo. Her mother carried their bags as Kristen and her father helped Aiden walk the short distance to the elevator.
When the doors shut, no sense of panic came over her. Instead, she stayed focused on Aiden and got through the long ride up to his floor without so much as a hitch.
Once Aiden was settled on his sofa with a fresh ice pack on his foot, her parents left them alone.
“Could you hand me my bag?” he asked after he’d swallowed his pills.
She nodded and then stopped and sat next to him. “I have something I want to say first.” She took his hands in hers. “You scared me today,” she said against his skin, holding him tight. “I know I said the words to you, but something kept fighting inside of me, causing me not to believe in myself. In my feelings. Not until I saw you . . .” She closed her eyes. “I hadn’t realized how much I loved you. Not until then. Aiden Scott, I love you with every ounce of my being.”
“I love you too,” he said.
“You may not remember, but while you were feverish, you said some things.” She smiled when she saw the frown form on his lips. She knew exactly why he wanted his bag and what was hiding in the side pocket. “And I’ve had some time to think about my answer.” She could see him holding his breath. “And it’s yes.”
He blinked a few times and then pulled her closer. “This isn’t how I wanted to do this.”
“I know, you told me.” She
reached down and moved his bag closer, then pulled out the silver box from the side pocket that he’d talked about during his fever. “Here.” She handed it to him. “Ask me.”
He looked down at his leg, which was propped up with three pillows. “Well, so much for getting down on one knee.” He took her hand in his.
She felt her knees go weak. If she hadn’t been sitting beside him, she would have fallen to the floor.
“Kristen, I’ve never met a woman like you before. You have the legs of a goddess, the brain of a surgeon, the humor of a world-class comedian.” He smiled. “The lips of . . .”
She chuckled. “I get the point.”
His eyes went soft. “You’re the love of my life. My best friend. I can’t imagine spending a day or night without you. Will you marry me?” She knew he was waiting for her answer.
Deciding that it was time, she forced her life to take a turn toward good luck and answered.
“I thought you’d never ask. Yes, of course I’ll marry you.”
EPILOGUE
A few months later, Kristen stood at the large windows and watched the first snow slowly fall over the city. She wrapped her arms tighter around herself, happy to be warm in her yoga pants and a thick sweater.
When Aiden’s arms came around her, she sighed and rested her head back against his chest.
“Happy?” His rich voice sounded next to her ear.
She nodded lightly. “More than I ever dreamed I’d be.”
He pulled her closer. “Tomorrow’s the first day in the new building.”
She turned toward him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. “Nervous?” she asked. He looked comfortable in an old pair of jeans and a worn sweatshirt.
He shook his head slightly. “Excited is more like it.”
She took his face into her hands. “That makes two of us.”
He smiled and brushed a finger down her cheek. “You aren’t nervous about impressing your new boss?”
She laughed. “Not in the least.” Reaching up, she placed her lips on his and felt her entire body relax.
“I know he’s going to love me, more than I’d ever dreamed possible.”