by Cyndi Raye
She could not stand it if anything happened to him.
Tony was pushed to the side. His chest was now red as well. He made a hacking noise as blood bubbled out of his nose and mouth. He took a few shuddering breaths before his frame went still. His sightless eyes stared up at the ceiling then.
Callie turned her head away from him. Still clutching the candy dish, she raced to Cole. Calling his name, she slid to her knees next to him.
Sirens sounded in the distance as she tried to stem the flow of blood with the ends of the sheets. His chest puffed with short, harsh breaths and his skin was ashen, perspiring with a cold sweat.
“Cole, stay with me. Help is on the way. Just hang on.”
He touched her face as if memorizing her features. His hand was sticky with blood.
“I-I love you, Callie,” he rasped.
Her heart broke seeing him hurt like this. It was then she knew the answer to her question.
Her feelings, this all-consuming sensation that told her life would never be complete without him in it, was not something that would ever go away.
His eyes closed and did not open when she gently shook him.
“Please don’t die on me. I love you, too.”
****
Cole knew he was in the hospital before he opened his eyes.
Having been hospitalized at least five times since the start of his military career, he knew the antiseptic smell, the beep of the heart monitor and hum of the other traditional hospital equipment well. He also knew from the lack of traffic noise he was in a private room.
The events leading to his hospitalization came back to him immediately. He looked into Tony’s eyes when he shot him and knew there was no way he was walking away from a wound like that. Cole could not summon an ounce of remorse, only relief that the threat against Callie was gone. He realized too late, Tony’s gun hit him in the shoulder as well. At least it wasn’t life threatening, even if it did put him out of commission for some time.
He blinked the room into focus. Straight ahead, his feet were covered by a sheet that matched the stark white walls. There was a television mounted on the wall. It was on but muted. Texting slid across the bottom of the monitor. The date and time were displayed there.
He had been here for three days.
His shoulder throbbed. He reached for the wound and his movement was stopped by someone else’s hand in his.
It was Callie. She was sleeping in a chair next to the bed with her head next to his thigh. He looked her over to make sure she was unharmed.
Her hair was loose, a messy fan of curls. There were dark circles under her eyes and her clothes – jeans and a sweater were wrinkled. Still, she looked just as beautiful to him as the day he met her.
Gently extracting his hand from her grip, he stroked her hair away from her face and ran his finger through the silky strands.
“Cole,” she sighed and Cole smiled.
He continued to stroke her hair as a nurse came in and said, “Well, look who is finally awake.”
Callie stirred at the interruption and looked up at him. Her eyes widened and brightened with happiness as the glaze of sleep fell away. “Oh my gosh, Cole. You’re awake.”
Tears erupted from her eyes as she stood to hug him. He could not stop a wince and she pulled back. “I’m so sorry. I’m just so glad you’re awake. That you’re okay.”
She turned to the nurse with a sharp motion of her head. “He’s going to be okay, right?”
The plump elderly woman with short hair smiled kindly. “Your fiancé should be as good as new in a few weeks. Let me get the doctor to have a look at him.”
When they were alone, Cole said, “My fiancé, huh?”
She blushed and laughed, “Yeah, sorry about that. They were not going to let me stay with you unless I was family.”
He pulled her hand away from where she was nervously twisting the edge of the sheet with her fingers. She was avoiding his gaze. “Don’t apologize. I like that sound of the title. I am thinking wife would sound even better.”
She stilled and slowly looked up at him. “Wife?” she croaked.
Now that the danger had passed, he was not giving her a chance to shake him loose.
A smile suddenly bloomed on her face. “Is that a proposal?”
He returned her smile, pulling her close so that their lips almost touched.
“No,” he replied. “It’s a promise. I’m not letting you go. We’re going to have babies and grow old together. I love you.”
“Oh Cole, I love you, too, and I’m never leaving your side. I need my bodyguard, always.”
He closed the remaining inches between them and kissed her. She returned his affection, crying happy tears.
The doctor, a surprisingly young looking man, interrupted. Stethoscope and chart at the ready, he examined Cole and left with the assurance that Cole was going to be fine and would be released in a few days.
His Boot Key Harbor family filed into the room one after another, teasing him despite the worried way they looked him over. Lenny was there, too, and came over to shake Cole’s hand. “Thank you for saving her.”
Cole was thinking it was she who saved him from the darkness that was consuming his soul.
Before Lenny could pull his hand away, Cole waylaid him and said, “I’m marrying your niece.” He was stating his intentions to the man out of respect for his position in Callie’s life and as Cole’s friend but Cole was not asking his permission. Callie was his now and for always. No one was going to stop them from being together.
Lenny just smiled and said. “I know. She already told me.”
And just like that another bad boy from Boot Key Harbor was tamed by a good girl.
- Keep reading for Zach’s story -
Zach
Chapter One
The first time Caroline Nash saw Zach Cody he was walking on the beach.
Aided by crutches, his progress was painfully slow. His feet dragged, kicking up the white sand. Wearing only a pair of black and orange beach shorts, the recent damage to his body was visible.
Caroline found it remarkable that he made no effort to hide it. It was an instinctive reaction for most people to hide their flaws, especially scars.
She knew this because she hid hers well, the physical and the emotional. Even then she often felt like stranger’s eyes burnt through her clothing and saw the three marks anyway. Even when she knew it was her imagination, she thought their eyes speared her soul and saw that her heart was broken.
The scars and healing burn marks puckered the skin of Zach’s chest and arms, disappearing into his pants at his right hip.
He stumbled and she took a move towards him, her medical training urging her to make him stop. He was only out of the hospital a few days. His body was not ready for this exertion.
He righted himself. He shook from the effort. She saw that even with several feet separating them yet she stopped in her tracks.
Something in her recognized his need to continue unaided. Her instinct told her to let him be and she listened to an inner voice.
Caroline set her bag of supplies down and watched. Still, her body remained poised to help the former soldier if he needed her.
After several minutes, he stopped at the water's edge and gazed out into the endless expanse of sea and sky. It was early – only a few minutes before seven a.m. and the beach was empty except for one other occupant apart from them.
She heard a few more faraway voices. She knew they came from the condo high-rise behind them, where Zack was the owner of one of the luxury spaces. She did not move her eyes away from the lone man though, her only focus him.
Caroline was Zach’s physical therapist. She had been hired by his boss, Ben Trooper, owner of the BKH Bad Boys. Her job was to help get Zach back in tip-top shape.
BKH Bad Boys was a private company dedicated to securing underwater assets against explosives and the removal of explosive material from underwater property.
Zach
got injured five weeks prior when a job took a turn to the left. The underwater columns of a nearby overwater resort had been rigged with explosives. The dive team had not gotten to the site in time to defuse the bomb and as a result, Zach got caught in the rubble of the collapsing structure.
After weeks in intensive care and two surgeries, Zach had been released from Fisherman's Hospital two days before.
Ben had confided that Zach was an upbeat individual and even now, despite his injuries he sported a smile most of the time. Ben feared that it was just a front to keep his friends and co-workers from worrying.
There was an air of sadness and loneliness that surrounded the ex-soldier now that suggested that Ben’s worry for this man’s mental health was not unwarranted.
The air was moist and cool so early in the day. Caroline was wearing full length track pants, a tank top and a jacket. Still, she felt the chill of morning. Zach did not appear to notice it.
He dropped the crutches and limped into the lapping sea. The trek was even slower than before now that he was unsupported.
The sun was peeking out from behind the fluff of clouds that lingered from last night’s rain. It cast a glow of red across the water. The fiery surface swallowed his body as he waded deeper and deeper.
When the water reached his chest, Caroline started moving closer, a sudden panic gripping her. She had not expected him to go out that far.
He dipped beneath the water and she took off running.
Despite Ben’s worry of depression, she had not contemplated suicide. The air of sadness notwithstanding, she had sensed determination in the straight line of his back as she watched him.
She was waist deep in the water before she stopped. A native of the Midwest, Caroline had never been near a large body of water until she moved to Boot Key Harbor three and a half years ago.
Being so close to water, she wanted to enjoy the convenience but even after many lessons at a local pool hall, she was still a terrible swimmer.
“Zach!” She shouted his name.
The wind picked up the sound and threw it back in her face.
Even if she got to him, Zach still outweighed her by fifty pounds in spite of the weight loss during his stint at the hospital. Add that fact to her bad swimming abilities and this situation equaled a disaster waiting to happen.
Still, she would try.
“Zach!” she called again, going further in.
A dry sob broke past her lips when he suddenly resurfaced. He was bobbing several feet away.
She froze.
He faced her. It was too far away for her to properly see his face but the bright determination on his features could not be mistaken no matter the distance.
He dipped again and resurfaced seconds later this time, swimming in a line parallel to the horizon. His strokes were elegant and strong, reminding her of what he did for a living.
He swam a set of ten, back and forward. With every lap, he would stop and look at her.
When Caroline was sure he was not trying to drown himself, she made her way back to the shore. She sat close to the water’s edge and watched, unmindful of her wet clothing.
After the final lap, he swam back to shore.
His face was tight with pain and she knew sweat was mixed with the water streaming down his face. He fell to his knees and collapsed face first into the sand. She gathered his crutches and went to him.
Then he did something even more amazing.
He lifted his torso up, hands and toes braced by an anchor of sand. Slowly and shaking with the effort, he pushed his body up then back down.
Back heaving with harsh breaths, he stayed down for several minutes before he did another push-up.
Several minutes passed again before he repeated the process.
He did a forth push-up then another and another. Caroline mentally cheered him, touched by the valiant effort.
This was a man fighting past the obstacles life threw his way. She was honored just to witness it because in that moment she was sure he would not be defeated by the hurdles.
After the tenth push-up, Zach remained face down in the sand. His sides were bellowing in and out. His back and shoulders glistened with sweat.
She knelt before him and brushed his hair back from his brow. The sun-kissed strands were soft against her fingers.
She did not know why she gave into the urge for such a personal connection. It was very unprofessional.
When he lifted his head and looked up at her, all thoughts of propriety fell away. His eyes were as blue as the ocean itself. They were bracketed by long lashes any woman would be envious of and lines that said he laughed a lot.
The lines deepened in the next second. His jaw was clenched with lines of agony but like the sun breaking through a storm, he smiled.
The display of pearly whites was lit with victory and she smiled back to share his triumph.
"I know this sounds corny but have I died and gone to heaven? A woman as beautiful as you is surely an angel."
Her eyes widened then she snickered. "You're right. That was super cliché."
He rolled over onto his back with a grunt, eyes still sparkling. "Did it do the job, though?"
"What job is that?”
"Getting you to consider going out on a date with me tonight."
She raised an eyebrow. Even obviously recently injured, Zach was a handsome man, tall and hard-bodied with a face that could grace a magazine cover. It figures he would be a playboy.
She had plenty of practice shooting down the opposite sex. Schooling her face into bored disinterest, she replied, "Do you always flirt so shamelessly with strange women?"
"Nah, just those who try to save my life when they think I am about to do something stupid like kill myself. So, you're the first one. I am really a shy guy when it comes to the ladies, Angel."
"Uh huh," she said, the disbelief in her voice. Then, "Angel?"
"You're my guardian angel. I think the nickname is appropriate.”
"Well, I already have a name, Mr. Smooth-talker. It's Caroline. I'm your physical therapist.”
"Ah, Ben told me you were coming today. So I'm guessing you already know my name."
She nodded.
"What you don't know is that I am the man who is going to get rid of that guarded look in your eyes. We’re going to fall in love, Angel. I'm the man you're going to marry."
The grin was absent with the bold declaration. Caroline tried to hold onto her cynicism when it came to love and relationships. For a moment, her mask fell and she was transported to a time when she believed that such things were possible for her.
She knew that was a pipe dream though.
She decided a long time ago she wanted no part of this love game again.
Once bitten, twice shy.
***
Pain.
It was something every soldier was intimately familiar with. Although now out of the military, Zach was again reacquainted with the jarring sensation.
Upon waking from a three day coma, the pain of his mangled body made him wish for death.
Now as he ran along the shore, the quick pinch of pain every time his feet hit the sand made him glad that he was alive.
As an explosives extraction specialist working with the BKH Bad Boys, he thought he was prepared for the risk his job presented. Heck, after two tours in Afghanistan as part of his army career and living in enemy territory where exchanging gunfire was a regular occurrence, being part of the private explosive security company seemed rather tame.
Watching a hotel cave on him and being trapped in the wreckage for hours disproved him of that notion.
While watching the structure collapse around him and knowing that he was probably going to die, regret settled in his gut.
There was one thing he wanted most of his life but never found - having a family to call his own.
Zach came from a loving home. His parents had been married for thirty-six years. Margaret and Charles Cody could not conceive kids of t
heir own and so adopted five children.
Holidays and get-togethers were chaos but the love between the members of their dynamic family was obvious.
Zach was the third child they brought into their home. From the moment he stepped into the beach style house, he felt the warmth. He looked at the man at the head of the happy group and saw his leadership, strength and kindness and wanted to be just like Charles Cody when he grew up – a man loved by a great woman and surrounded by lots of vibrant, laughing kids.
He ran harder, welcoming the pain that ran along his right hip and thigh. It was a signal he still had time to find his dream.
His physical therapist would be pissed at him for pushing himself so hard.
He grinned at the thought of getting her all riled up.
Caroline Nash.
She would gripe and complain about his unrelenting routine but he always saw the empathy in her eyes when she caught him pushing his damaged body to the limit.
The first day they met was on this very beach. He was wading into the cold waters when thoughts about what he would do with his life surfaced.
He was a barely functional man. Even recovered, he would never return to full active duty at BKH Bad Boys. Plates and metal kept his hip from failing, so any overly strenuous job was out of the question.
Capable and strong all his life, Zach knocked on death’s door after the explosion. Death had not answered but he was left with the question - if not a fighter, what was he?
Nothing, something malicious seeped into his mind and said as he ducked beneath the water. End this pathetic life now and save everyone the headache.
Just as the destructive thought entered his mind, an unrelenting force made him look to the shore and he saw her.
She had already gotten into the water and he knew she would make the effort to save him despite them being strangers and him clearly outweighing her slight frame.
The morbid thought was squashed with that look and he was left with renewed drive to make it past the odds. He never wanted to cross that line but hopelessness can be a nasty feeling.