A Very Married Christmas: A Silver Bell Falls Holiday Novella

by Samantha Chase

  With little more than a nod, she quickly tried calling Drew’s number but it went directly to voicemail.

  “For all you know, he’s on the line updating them at the station,” John said calmly.

  The rest of the drive was spent in silence and Melanie was relieved when her father dropped her off in front of the ER so she could go right in while he parked the car.

  Running to the front desk, she did her best to calmly ask to see Josiah.

  “Are you family?” the receptionist asked.

  “I’m his fiancée,” she said and looked around for anyone she knew who might be able to give her information faster than the staff would.

  “Miss Harper?”

  Turning, Melanie saw a deputy walking toward her. She didn’t recognize him and hoped it was Drew Maxwell. A quick glimpse at his badge confirmed it. “I just tried calling you,” she said, shaking his hand. “Any updates on Josiah?”

  He shook his head. “I’m sorry. The last update I got was that they were taking him for x-rays.”

  “Miss Harper?”

  This time she turned back to the receptionist. “Yes?”

  “You can go back now.” There was a nurse in a pair of scrubs standing behind the desk and she gave Melanie a small smile.

  When she looked at Drew, she spotted her father walking in. “They’re letting me go see Josiah. I’ll be back out as soon as I can,” she said before following the nurse back.

  They went through the first set of doors before Melanie asked, “Is he awake? Will I be able to talk to him?”

  “Dr. Cooper is waiting to talk to you,” she responded and then motioned for Melanie to go to the triage area.

  The curtain was partially pulled back and as soon as she got close, a middle-aged man stepped out to greet her. “Miss Harper? I’m Dr. Cooper.” He shook her hand.

  Melanie tried to look around him and into the area to see Josiah, but Dr. Cooper stepped farther out into the hallway and guided her to follow.

  “Your fiancé has two gunshot wounds and a mild concussion.”

  “Where?” she asked shakily. “Where was he hit?”

  “The first went through the pectoralis minor muscle—that’s the muscle in the upper arm. It avoided any bones, arteries, and nerves—which is a good thing. It appears to be a clean in-and-out gunshot wound, leaving no shrapnel within the body.”

  That made her feel mildly better.

  “And the other?”

  “The other grazed his shoulder,” he replied. “He was extremely fortunate.”

  “Can I see him now?”

  With a nod, he stepped aside.

  With a murmured thanks, she moved around him and went directly to Josiah’s bedside and then openly cried at the sight of him. His eyes were closed and he looked pale. His clothes were covered in blood. She must have whispered his name because his head turned slightly toward her and his eyes fluttered open. Never in her life had she been so thankful to see those brown eyes open.

  “Hey,” he said softly. He tried to move but immediately winced with pain.

  “No, no, no,” she said quickly, soothingly. “Don’t try to move, okay?” It was hard to stop herself from touching him everywhere just to confirm that he was all right. Her eyes scanned him from head to toe just in case the paramedics and doctors missed anything. When Melanie looked up and met Josiah’s gaze, she saw nothing but tenderness there.

  “I’m going to be okay, Mel. It was a clean shot.”

  She nodded, but couldn’t seem to make herself speak. She was shaking and overwhelmed and felt completely helpless. Her hands hovered over him—not wanting to touch him directly in case he was in any pain. Thankfully, he took pity on her and slowly reached out and guided her hand down onto his thigh and then covered it with his own.

  “It’s going to be all right,” he said softly. “I promise.”

  And then she finally felt in control of her emotions enough to speak. “I was so scared, Josiah. I had no idea what happened to you and the drive over felt like it took ten lifetimes!” She explained how her father had been the one to come and get her and bring her to the hospital. “I wish I had gotten here faster.”

  “I wish you didn’t need to be here, sweetheart,” he said gruffly. “I hate that you’re upset.”

  Her eyes went wide. “Josiah, my being upset is nothing compared to what you’re going through.”

  He chuckled and then winced. “Um…yeah. Probably should wish that I hadn’t been shot, huh?”

  “Ya think?” she teased even as tears streamed down her face.

  “Unfortunately, I can’t turn back time and this is what I have to deal with,” he said, his eyes closing slightly. “I’m fortunate this is all that happened. I’ll be uncomfortable for a while and my arm will be in a sling, but in a few weeks, I’ll be as good as new. Probably just in time for the Christmas parade, but my waving will be at a minimum.”

  With an exaggerated wink at her, Melanie couldn’t help but laugh at his attempt at humor. “Only you would be concerned about being able to wave in a parade.”

  “You were the one who once told me you thought I deserved my own fan club…”

  “No, what I said was that it was like you have your own fan club around here. That’s completely different.”

  But he ignored her and continued. “You said I should have a parade in my honor.”

  Now she laughed a little harder. “I think you have more than a mild concussion because you have a seriously warped memory of that conversation.”

  He shook his head. “Nope, I distinctly remember you saying I should have a parade in my honor.”

  “Don’t even,” she said, wiping the last of her tears away. “I believe what I said was maybe there was a parade in your honor during one of those ridiculous Christmas festivals. Then we joked about the marching band following you around and you said only on Saturdays.” Then she smiled tenderly at him. “But in light of what happened today, I think you totally deserve a parade in your honor.”

  “That’s my girl,” he whispered.

  “When can we take you home?” she asked. “Has anyone talked to you about it yet?”

  “No, but…”

  Behind them, Dr. Cooper came back into the room. “Okay, Mr. Stone, let’s see how you’re doing.”

  Melanie stepped out of the way and had to rein herself in every time she saw Josiah wince with pain when Dr. Cooper touched him. Hadn’t he been through enough? Shouldn’t they give him something for the pain?

  Clearly she’d said all of that out loud because Dr. Cooper turned to her and gave her a patient smile. “Why don’t you step out into the hall while we do this?”

  Melanie looked beyond him to Josiah who nodded. “You should go and tell your dad what’s going on and I think Drew is out there as well. Tell them all that I’m fine and I’m hoping I’ll go home later today.”

  “Tomorrow,” Dr. Cooper said as he continued to examine the wound. “We’ll keep you overnight for observation and send you home tomorrow with care instructions, antibiotics, and pain meds if you need them.”

  Josiah grinned weakly at Melanie. “One night. That’s not so bad, right?”

  She hated it, but she needed to be strong and not let him see her break down.

  Again.

  “Not bad at all,” she said. “I’ll come back in a few minutes.”

  Out in the waiting room, she did exactly as Josiah asked and gave her father and Drew an update. Drew excused himself to call the station while John guided Melanie to a seating area and encouraged her to sit and relax.

  “He’s very lucky,” John said.

  Melanie looked at her father like he was crazy. “Dad, he got shot! How is that lucky?”

  “It could have been much worse, Mel. It could have…” He stopped and shook his head. “I don’t even want to think about it. We need to be thankful that he’s going to be okay. One night in the hospital and a couple of weeks’ worth of recovery are nothing in the grand scheme of thi
ngs.”

  She knew her father was right, but this was all too hard to wrap her brain around. Just this morning they were happy and laughing and planning their wedding and in the blink of an eye, they had almost lost everything.

  She almost lost him.

  And that’s when she started to cry again.

  As if knowing exactly what she was feeling, her father wrapped her in his arms and simply held her while she cried.

  Chapter Five

  Three days later, Josiah thought he was going to go insane.

  He was home and just about everyone in Silver Bell Falls had stopped by to see him. It was a good thing—a great thing!—but he was beginning to get a little stir crazy.

  “Dude, you seriously need to relax.”

  Looking over at his friend Dean Hughes, Josiah frowned. “That’s all I’ve been doing—relaxing. I hate it. I need to be up and doing something. Anything!”

  Dean simply laughed softly. “We were all afraid of this.”

  Josiah simply arched a dark brow at the comment.

  “Look, we all know how involved you are in the community and you’re a great sheriff. And as much as I hate to say it…we’ve all been taking bets on how long you were going to stay at home before you started complaining.”

  “He was complaining three hours after he got shot,” Melanie commented as she put a plate of cookies down on the table for the men to share. Then she winked at Josiah. “The nurses at the hospital were glad to see him go.”

  Dean laughed again. “Really? Our mild-mannered sheriff upset some of the fine citizens of Silver Bell?”

  “Let’s just say there’s been a decrease in his fan club,” Melanie teased.

  “Ah-ha! So you admit I have a fan club!” Josiah quipped.

  But Melanie simply pat his cheek and gave him a serene smile. “Sure. If that will make you feel better, then yes. You have a fan club.”

  While he knew she was just saying it to make him happy, he’d still count it as a victory—something he didn’t have a lot of this week.

  “Josiah, you have to give yourself time to heal. I know it sucks and you’re anxious to get back to work but…you’re not going to be of any use to anyone if you’re in pain,” Dean said reasonably.

  And while he knew his friend was right, it wasn’t what he wanted to hear. Actually, everyone who came through their house and visited him in the hospital had all said the same thing, but he couldn’t help but feel frustrated. If just one person would agree with him—even if it didn’t lead to him going back to work any sooner—he’d still feel better.

  “It’s my left shoulder,” Josiah argued. “I’m right-handed. I can still do almost everything that I need to do. What is the big deal about going down to the station and being in my office and just…supervising?”

  “You can’t drive,” Melanie reminded him. “And Dr. Cooper said you need to give your body time to heal properly. There’s still a risk for infection. Can’t you just…?” Her words were cut off by the ringing of her cell phone. She excused herself and took the call in the other room.

  “Melanie’s right,” Dean said.

  “Then I need something to do,” he grumbled. “I can only read and watch TV for so long. Mel’s got a book she’s working on and I can’t monopolize all her time.”

  “There isn’t anything I can do or say that’s going to make you feel better,” Dean said after a minute. “I get your frustration but you have to trust that the doctors know what they’re talking about.”

  “Yeah. I know.” He went to slouch in his seat but it pulled at the wound and he hissed with pain.

  Dean leaned forward and snatched up a cookie. “And that should be an immediate reminder of why you need to take it easy.”

  “Okay, fine. Distract me. How’s Abby? How’s Maya?”

  Relaxing back in his chair, Dean smiled. “They are deep in dance mode for the big Christmas recital. Practice has already begun and there is a lot of pink tulle around my house.”

  Dean’s wife owned a dance studio in town and when he had gotten custody of his niece after his sister died, he had been introduced to Abby and the world of ballet. They had gotten married just after Christmas last year and he’d never seen his friend look so happy.

  “Isn’t there always?” Josiah teased.

  Nodding, Dean reached for another cookie. “Definitely, but whenever there’s a recital in the works, it seems to multiply.”

  “And you love every minute of it.”

  “Damn right I do.”

  “So what’s next for you guys? You know, after recital season is over.”

  Dean shrugged. “We’re looking to move into a bigger house. We want to stay close to town so Maya won’t have to change schools but…it’s time to find a place that’s ours—that all three of us have a say in.” He looked around the room. “I love what you and Melanie built here. It’s bright and open and it’s kind of what we’re thinking of.”

  “If you’re not in a hurry then you should consider building. I swear there were times when it made us crazy, but in the end, the results were worth it.”

  Another shrug. “Maybe. Although now that we’ve almost got our first year of marriage under our belts, I think we can take on the task of possibly designing our own place. I’m sure Abby would love to have dance space, Maya wants a playroom of her own, and…” He paused. “And we’re going to need a nursery.”

  It took Josiah a minute to comprehend what Dean was saying but when he did, he couldn’t help but smile and reach out a hand to him. “Really? That’s great news! Congratulations!”

  With a grin, Dean shook his hand. “Thanks. We’re just starting to tell people but Abby’s about eight weeks along. She’s feeling good and other than worrying about how she’ll teach classes when she’s further along, we’re both really excited. Maya is too.”

  And that right there was what Josiah wanted more than anything with Melanie, to be married and settled in and starting a family. He wasn’t about to add the whole starting a family thing to their plates when they had yet to decide on a wedding date, but it was there in the back of his mind.

  “So when is the…”

  “Sorry about that,” Melanie said as she breezed back into the room. She looked a little frazzled and Josiah’s attention was immediately on her.

  “Is everything okay?”

  Without making eye contact with him, she sat down and fidgeted with her hair. “Uh-huh. Everything’s fine.” Smiling at Dean, she asked, “How are your girls doing?”

  Dean must have sensed that something was up too because he glanced at Josiah before responding. He told her the news about the baby and while Melanie squealed with excitement, Josiah still felt like something was up. Who was on the phone? What was it about? It was obvious that she wasn’t going to talk about it while they had company so he had no choice but to bide his time.

  Twenty minutes later, with Dean out the door, Josiah immediately pounced. “Now can we talk about what upset you on the phone?”

  ****

  Frowning, Melanie sat down on the sofa and looked at Josiah. “It was Christine on the phone.” It wasn’t unusual for her editor to call her, but when she did it was normally to discuss edits or deadlines. She wasn’t due for either of those things.

  “What did she want? You’re on track with this book and you’re done with the edits on the last manuscript so…what’s going on?”

  If this were any other time, she wouldn’t hesitate to tell him. But with the shooting and him being so miserable…well…the timing of this call really sucked.

  “There’s been some interest in the movie rights to my first book,” she said carefully. “Actually, we’ve been in talks with a production company for a couple of months now.”

  Josiah’s eyes went wide. “What? Why haven’t you said anything?” Then he smiled. “This is amazing news!”

  Melanie could feel herself blush. “I didn’t want to get my hopes up. You hear of this sort of thing all the time and
more often than not, it doesn’t amount to anything.”

  “But still, Mel, this time it could!”

  She nodded. “That’s why Christine was calling. We have an offer and they are motivated to start filming in the spring.” With a soft sigh, she looked at him helplessly. “She wants me to go to Manhattan and meet with her and the producers to sign contracts.”

  “That’s fantastic!” He stood and walked over to her and gently pulled her to her feet with his good arm. Wrapping it around her, he said, “I’m so proud of you!”

  Mindful of his wounds, Melanie gently hugged him back. This was really good news for her—for her career—but she hated the thought of traveling right now and leaving Josiah home alone. On the few trips she’d had to make to meet with Christine, he’d never come with her. It was always easier for her to go alone and he didn’t particularly enjoy walking around the crowded city—especially when she was in meetings all day. He was quite possibly the only person who couldn’t find something to do in the city that never slept.

  Go figure.

  Together, they sat down on the sofa. “So when do you need to go?” he asked. “Is there a rush?”

  “I think if I said I couldn’t go right now, Christine would do what she could to reschedule. But as it stands right now, she’s got a meeting scheduled for Monday.”

  “Okay, wow. That’s five days away.” He looked at her expectantly. “You’re gonna go, right?”

  She hesitated ever-so-slightly and Josiah immediately jumped on it.

  “You don’t have to worry about me and I certainly don’t want you missing out on such an important meeting because of me. I’m fine, Mel. Everyone is making more of a big deal out of this than they need to. Even the doctor said he couldn’t believe what a clean wound it is—the bullet didn’t hit anything vital. I just have to baby my shoulder for a few weeks.”

  “Josiah, I know that but it doesn’t mean I want to just pick up and leave you so soon. Your arm is in a sling and there are a lot of things you still can’t do on your own. I mean…you can’t drive and you certainly can’t cook with just one hand. What if you needed help with something and I wasn’t here and…”