Uniform Desires (Make Mine Military Romance)

by Sharon Hamilton

  Chapter 11

  Grif frowned at the unfamiliar number on the caller ID.

  “Parks.”

  “Is this Grafton Parks, emergency contact for Kendall Herrington?”

  The bottom fell out of his stomach. He veered to the berm of the road as the woman on the other end of the line shattered his world. Kendall had been in a rollover crash and he needed to get to Vail as soon as possible. When he asked her about the baby, she either didn’t know or didn’t want to tell him, because she ignored the question. “We are doing everything we can for her and the baby, but you should be here.”

  He floored the truck, spitting gravel before it caught on the pavement. The next hour passed in a blur and he honestly didn’t know how he escaped the notice of the state patrol, flying the way he did toward the resort town. Duncan called him just outside city limits to tell him that Ortiz, Frank and the driver had been in the vehicle as well and all were being treated at Vail Valley Medical Center.

  Pulling into a space, he shoved the truck into park and ran for the door.

  The woman at the reception desk smiled at him calmly before requesting the name of the patient. When he told her, her smile dimmed just a bit as she looked up the information on the computer. “Looks like she’s still being seen. Have a seat and I’ll see what I can find out.”

  Grif dropped his ass to the chair, not knowing what else to do. When he looked down, he realized his hand was shaking, and his leg was bouncing a million miles a minute. The clock on the wall across from him read three forty-five.

  At four oh seven, he got up to pace. The woman had returned, promising that somebody would be out momentarily to take him back to his wife, but nobody showed.

  He stopped at the desk again.

  “Can you check on three other names? Frank Herrington, my father-in-law, Diego Ortiz, one of the men I work with and Charles. Not sure about his last name. He works for Mr. Herrington though.”

  “Because you are a relative, I can tell you that Mr. Herrington has a concussion, a badly broken leg and is being taken to surgery. I cannot release information about the other two men, though, I’m sorry.”

  Grif gritted his teeth in frustration, but it was more information than he had minutes ago. “And when will he be able to have visitors?”

  “Probably as soon as he gets settled into a room after recovery, although it is up to his doctor.”

  Grif continued to pace the waiting room until a harried looking doctor came through the automatic doors. “Mr. Parks?”

  “Yes.”

  “Follow me, please. I’ll take you to your wife.”

  Grif fell in beside the older man, waiting.

  “We get rollover crashes fairly often, but this one is a little different. Apparently your wife’s vehicle was T-boned by another vehicle, knocking it over a small embankment. Your wife was on the side of the vehicle not struck, but we still have some issues.” He stopped beside a bustling nurses’ station, reaching for a binder. “She has a pretty serious concussion, and she has yet to regain consciousness. Several scrapes and bruises-”

  “And the baby?” he demanded.

  The doctor gave him a reassuring smile. “Your son appears to be fine. No signs of bleeding or contractions, and the heartbeat is strong, although it was a little erratic when they first brought them in.”

  “Son,” he said softly. His son. It sounded right to him.

  “I’m sorry, you didn’t know?”

  He shook his head. “As long as he’s okay, it doesn’t matter.”

  The doctor held up a cautioning hand. “As of right now he’s okay, but your wife concerns me more. The concussion can cause issues if we don’t watch her carefully.”

  Grif nodded, understanding that everything could go to hell in a heartbeat. “Can you tell me about the others in the car with her? Her father?”

  The doctor reached for another binder. “Mr. Herrington is going into surgery now to repair his left leg, which took the brunt of the crash. It’s broken in three separate places. He has a broken clavicle and a concussion as well, though his is not as serious as your wife’s. The Herringtons’ driver has already been released with only minor bumps and bruises. But the third man, Mr. Ortiz, is also going into surgery. He did not have his seatbelt on at the time of the crash and was ejected from the vehicle. He has several cracked vertebrae in his neck, broken ribs, ruptured spleen, his left ankle is shattered and too many cuts and bruises to count.”

  “Fuck.”

  “Uh, yes. Does he have family? The only name we could find was a contact card for a Duncan Wilde.”

  “That’s our boss. I believe he does have family, although I couldn’t give you names or anything. Duncan should be able to though.”

  The doctor made a note in the folder. Something else occurred to Grif.

  “You should know, though, that Ortiz is a disabled veteran and struggles with PTSD.”

  “Oh, good to know. I’ll contact the VA to get his records.”

  “Can I go see my wife now?”

  The doctor nodded, but warned him to be prepared.

  Grif shoved the curtain aside, sure that he could take anything he saw, but Kendall lying so pale and lifeless took his breath away. Easing to her side, he reached for her hand, then hesitated because of the IV. Instead, he rested his hand on her arm, stroking lightly.

  Somebody had tried to clean her up, but her pale skin still had a few streaks of blood on it. Her long blond hair was mussed around her head and she had an oxygen cannula beneath her nose.

  The sheet draped over her stomach and she looked more pregnant than only six months.

  They were having a son.

  Too many emotions bounced around in his body to separate them, but fear and gratitude were the strongest. Fear that Kendall wouldn’t wake up, fear that something would happen to the pregnancy…hell, fear, that he wasn’t up to raising a son.

  And even though the doctor was cautious, he was thankful that the crash hadn’t been worse.

  Grif paced the small confines of the curtained off area. When a nurse came to ready Kendall to move from the emergency department to a private room, he was glad for the distraction.

  As the nurse wheeled her down the hallway, he stayed at her side, watching for any hint that she would wake. But her face stayed calm and quiet.

  “I won’t tell you not to worry, but I do think she’ll be okay. The body knows how to protect itself, and that’s what it’s doing right now.”

  He nodded, appreciating the nurse’s words, but he wouldn’t be satisfied until she opened her pretty green eyes and smiled at him.

  The room they walked into would have been good enough for any socialite in the world. And probably had been.

  The nurse plugged all the machines in, then a few more, adjusted the fetal monitor around Kendall’s belly and tidied the sheets around her.

  “Mr. Herrington will be right next door once he’s through recovery. If you need anything or if she starts to rouse, call us.”

  Grif nodded, then dragged a chair close enough to the bed that he could reach over and hold Kendall’s hand. Satisfied that he was finally alone with her, he rested his head against their joined hands on the bed. “You need to wake up, woman.”

  And she did, just a few hours later.

  Her hand tightened on his.

  “Is the baby okay?” she whispered. A tear slipped out of the corner of her eye.

  “The baby is perfect,” he told her, his own throat tight with emotion.

  She blinked her eyes open. “Are you sure?”

  He nodded, leaning down to press a kiss to her forehead. “I would tell you if he wasn’t. I promise.”

  She sank back into the bed, her eyes falling shut again.

  Grif pressed the nurse button. When he told her what had happened, she smiled and promised to let the doctor know.

  A woman doctor took over her care, and an OB also checked her over. Both were very encouraged when Kendall opened her eyes and spo
ke with them. The baby doctor checked the readouts from the monitor.

  “Considering what you went through, and the damage to the vehicle, you are a remarkably lucky young woman. And so is that baby.”

  Kendall seemed more reassured every time she talked to the doctors, until she asked about the men in the vehicle. The doctor, though tiny, had a very strong personality, and she seemed positive that Kendall’s dad and Ortiz would be fine.

  “Your father has a long road ahead of him, I won’t lie. He’ll be laid up with that leg for a good while, possibly months, but I expect him to make a full recovery.” She smiled. “Not a great way to start a retirement, but you have to roll with the punches.”

  Her smile lost some of its brightness.

  “Mr. Ortiz, on the other hand, is going to be here for a good while, until he’s stable enough to transfer to the VA. His injuries are substantial. We’re keeping him heavily sedated right now, but his extremity reactions are good, so there doesn’t appear to be any long term paralysis.”

  Relief flowed through her. She’d been so worried when she’d heard about his neck. “He had turned around to look to make sure my seatbelt was on, then when he turned back toward the front, he yelled out. I’m not sure what he saw.”

  Grif and the doctor shared a look.

  “What? Tell me.”

  Grif sighed. “He probably saw the SUV coming toward him that struck you.”

  Kendall felt her mouth drop open. “Somebody hit us? And then what? I know we rolled.”

  He nodded. “They struck the driver’s side but toward the rear. I think she was aiming at your father.”

  “She?”

  Kendall knew before he said her name.

  “Deedra.”

  It took a while for it all to sink in.

  “And how is she?”

  They shared another look, but Grif let the doctor take the lead. “Well, she didn’t make it. She died from her injuries.”

  Shock pushed Kendall back in the bed. “No way. We saw her just a little while before. She confronted Dad in the restaurant.”

  Grif nodded. “We know about that. The police talked to the manager of the restaurant. They’ll probably want to talk to you later, as well.”

  Nodding, she rested her head on the pillow. Tiredness dragged at her and her body had begun to ache from the beating it had taken. “So, how long will I be stuck in here?”

  The doctor’s face turned cautious. “Let’s take it a day at a time, okay? I at least want to keep you for a couple of days, just to make sure the baby doesn’t go into distress.”

  She was right. The baby needed to come first. “Okay. I’ll try to be good.”

  Grif stood up.

  “She will. I’ll make sure of it.”

  The doctor scribbled something in the chart and left the room.

  Kendall felt strangely numb. So much had happened that she didn’t know what to think about first. “I can’t believe Deedra did that. She tried to kill us.”

  Grif made a motion with his shoulders. “I think she wanted to kill Frank for humiliating her. You were not her intended target. Although who knows what she was thinking when she rammed you and pushed you off the road.”

  “I guess I’m glad she did it so close to the restaurant. She would have gotten her wish if she’d hit us on the mountain.”

  Grif’s eyes went cold. “If she had, I would have chased her down to hell and brought her back just so I could kill her again.”

  Kendall choked on a laugh and reached for his hand. She tugged against him until he leaned down to press a kiss to her lips. “Thank you. I would do the same for you.”

  Chapter 12

  Duncan arrived later that night. Kendall had just fallen asleep when there was a light tap at the door.

  Grif opened the door and stepped out with his buddy, giving him a shake with his good hand. “Glad you made it.”

  “Of course. How’s your wife and baby?”

  “Good, I think.” He rubbed his hand over his face, more tired than he could remember being in a long time. “She had a concussion and some scrapes, but the baby seems fine. More than I would have ever thought possible after seeing the truck they were in.”

  Duncan smiled and slapped him on the back. “She’s a tough girl. Has to be to put up with your ass.”

  Grif snorted and nodded. “Agreed.”

  He made a motion to a couple of rooms down from Kendall’s and Duncan fell into step beside him, black cane swinging. “They put all three on the same floor just to make it easier. Ortiz hasn’t roused since they brought him out of surgery. Did you get hold of his family?”

  Duncan nodded, but didn’t seem optimistic. “Diego’s mother isn’t doing well, so I doubt she’ll be able to come. I told her I would make sure he was taken care of.”

  They pushed through the door and Grif caught his breath. Again. Poor guy was strung up like a side of beef. The soft neck brace had been replaced by a Halo, a wire contraption screwed into his skull and braced against his shoulders to keep his neck immobile. His face was black and blue, giving his Hispanic complexion an odd cast. The eye patch over his right eye was the only part that seemed normal.

  Duncan didn’t flinch at all, but then Grif hadn’t expected him to. The man had seen more in his forty-odd years than any man should. That experience made him as solid as a rock.

  When he crossed to Ortiz’s side and rested a hand on his shoulder, Grif’s throat tightened with emotion. They’d all been in and out of hospitals over and over again. It was just wrong that Ortiz would be here for possibly months because he had turned around to check on Kendall’s safety.

  Grif would be ready if his fellow Marine needed anything.

  As soon as she was allowed to get to her feet, she wanted to see her father. The doctors and nurses had told her he was okay, even Grif and Emily, but she needed to see for herself. So, hand clutching the silk robe Grif had brought her from home, she headed down the hallway to see him.

  Grif glared at her the entire trip and held his hands out as if to catch her if she fell.

  “I’m fine, damn it. Just let me walk.”

  Her father’s face crumpled into relief when he saw her and they both battled tears as she leaned over to hug him, carefully. She shook her head at him when she pulled away, because his entire left side was a mass of bruises and casts. His leg was suspended to a frame over the bed and the cast reached all the way up his thigh. There was also an incision over his clavicle.

  Frank followed her gaze. “They put a pin in here, to help it heal.”

  “You’ll be setting off airport scanners wherever you go.”

  Her father grinned at her, though he seemed a bit weak.

  Grif brought a chair over for her to sit in and she sank down. She gave him a smile, feeling bad that she’d snapped at him earlier. He’d only been looking out for her.

  “Grif tell you what’s been going on?”

  Frank nodded, frowning. “I never would have suspected she’d do something so crazy. I can’t tell you how sorry I am for bringing her into our lives.”

  “No need, Dad. It’s done.”

  They visited for a while before they both began to tire. Emily came in just as he fell asleep.

  She didn’t seem surprised when she saw Kendall at her father’s bedside. “He asks about you all the time. I’m glad you were able to come over.”

  Dropping her bag to the chair, she turned to give Kendall a careful hug.

  The housekeeper’s arms were so comforting, she let herself sag into them for a moment. Emily seemed to need the connection just as much, because it was a long minute before she released her and stepped back.

  Before she went back to her room, she wanted to see Ortiz. Grif told her reluctantly where his room was, so she headed down there. He followed close on her heels. Then held her as she cried for the wounded Marine.

  They released her the next day.

  Kendall had never been so glad to see the outside of a building.
June in Vail was truly spectacular and she’d missed being able to get out.

  Though she was cautioned to take it easy for at least a week and to come in for anything at all, they didn’t think there was any risk for the baby. She was to follow up with her regular OB next week.

  She thought for sure they’d have to wade through reporters, but there didn’t seem to be any around.

  “They think you’re at Herrington House.”

  She didn’t know how he’d managed that, but it made her happy.

  Grif drove her home as slowly as the law allowed. Kendall thought she’d be a little freaked getting into a big SUV, so similar to the one she’d crashed in, but it didn’t bother her. Pulling the seatbelt across her lap bothered her more, because she had bruises from the crash.

  She smiled as Grif looked across at her again. “I’m fine. Just drive. You’re watching me more than the road and it’s freaking me out.”

  Tightening his jaw, his head swung forward and he kept it there for the most part.

  She watched the evergreen scenery flash by and wished she had sunglasses. There was still a bit of an ache on the right side of her head, but she’d been assured it would go away within the week.

  The baby dragged something across the inside of her right belly and she rested her hand there. One of the ultrasound techs had told her it was a foot, but it felt bigger than that. She rubbed it a bit and was rewarded with a bump. Okay, maybe it is a foot.

  When Grif walked her off the elevator on her floor, Brian Calvert, the blond bodyguard, already stood outside her condo door.

  He smiled when they reached him.

  “Mrs. Parks, can I just say how very glad I am that you and the baby are okay.”

  She smiled as he brought out a small bouquet. Kendall was unaccountably touched. She didn’t know Mr. Calvert very well at all, but he seemed to be a really nice guy. “Thank you very much. I appreciate that.”