Hard Focus

by MariaLisa deMora

  The nurse smiled and nodded. “Yeah, Cole was cold and wet, but he’s okay. It’s what he does.” She shrugged. “He’s here way too often if you ask me.” She smiled. “Heroes, no telling them what to do, you know?”

  “What do you mean?” Connie had listened for his voice all night but hadn’t heard that distinctive deep tone.

  “He’s a fireman. When others are running away from something, he’s one of the guys running in.” Like Daddy. The nurse turned. “I’ll go call your friend.”

  “Please. Don’t scare him. Make sure he knows I’m okay,” Connie called, and the nurse grinned over her shoulder.

  “Not my first rodeo. I’ll be gentle.” Connie gave her a weak smile as the curtains swirled, and she was alone again.

  So, Audrey’s brother was a fireman. That would explain his selfless rescue. Just another day in the life, I guess, she thought. But why would he have been kind to her at first, and then cold as ice. She thought back to the chaotic moments in the ambulance. She’d been distracted by everything the EMT was working on, the shock of the accident, and she hadn’t paid a lot of attention to what Cole was doing. He had picked up the clipboard and… “He read my name.” Connie let her head sag backwards onto the thin pillow. “Once he knew who I was, he turned off like a switch.”

  It had only been a few days since she’d broken things off with Jonas. Even if it had been longer, there was no way her ex would have any reason to tell his ex’s family anything about Connie breaking up with him. Which meant in Cole Stewart’s mind, she was still associated with a man he clearly saw as the enemy.

  She folded forwards, pressing her hands against her temples. It explained the doctor’s strange words, and the way the EMT had acted, too. Whatever it was that caused Cole to hate Jonas, they had known about. I’m the only one not in the loop.

  The nurse stuck her head back through the curtains a few minutes later. In polar opposite to how warm and friendly she’d been before, her expression now was severe, brows drawn together in a stern frown. She looked angry with Connie for some reason. Christ, am I cursed or something? Brusquely she told Connie, “I contacted your friend. He’ll be here in about twenty minutes.” She paused, then swept the curtain to one side and stepped through. “I talked to the doctor. He’s working on the paperwork.” Connie nodded. Now the nurse seemed puzzled. “Everyone here knows Audrey, you know.”

  “Oh.” Connie deflated, locking her fingers together as she lay back.

  “She’s a great gal. Was a super nurse.”

  “I didn’t know she was a nurse.” Connie realized she didn’t really know anything about Audrey, other than she was the mother of Jonas’ little girl. And Cole’s sister.

  “Yeah. I worked with her before.”

  It seemed an odd statement, so Connie questioned, “Before?”

  The nurse blinked, then her expression hardened. “I’ll just go check on that paperwork.”

  Connie called out, desperate for more information. “Wait, please.” Hand on the edge of the curtain, the nurse turned and stared at her. “Look, I don’t know what happened. I…clearly it involves Jonas. But I’m not with him now. I broke up with him. He got…” She trailed off, not wanting to say anything that would get back to him. “It doesn’t matter. I broke up with him.”

  “He hurt you?” The nurse tipped her head to where Connie had begun unconsciously rubbing at the still-fading bruise on her wrist. “I thought that was from the accident. But it’s not, is it? He hurt you, didn’t he?”

  “I shouldn’t say anything.” Connie tucked her hands underneath the blankets covering her. “I just wanted someone to know that whatever happened, I wasn’t part of it, and I’m not with him.”

  “You really don’t know what happened to Audrey?” Connie shook her head. “You’re just that unlucky then? That’s hard to believe.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Connie was more confused than before. Sounds came from the hallway and Taylor’s worried voice rang out over the background noises of the hospital. “That’s my friend.”

  “I’ll go collect him. You rest.” She patted Connie’s foot. “Your luck is changing.”

  She swept out and Connie heard her saying something, then the curtain moved again and Taylor was beside her bed, Alden standing behind him, their faces etched in anxious worry. “Oh my God,” Taylor cried, his hand reaching for her face. She let him trace the edges of what must be visible bruising with his fingers as she smiled at him. “What happened, Connie? Are you okay? They said you were, but are you really?”

  “I think I’m okay.” Her eyes stung and she stared at him through the watery tears suddenly filling her vision. “I’m so glad you’re here. I was so scared, Tay.” He leaned in and pressed his forehead against hers, maintaining eye contact. “I was so scared.” She tried to stop her chin from quivering, but then the railing on the bed lowered and Taylor was seated on the edge of the thin mattress, his arms around her as Connie sobbed against his shoulder. “It was so scary. Everything happened so fast, and then the car flipped and I was trapped and then it was so cold and the river was fast.”

  “Shhhhh, honey,” he whispered.

  She felt Alden’s presence at her other side and reached out a hand. He gripped her fingers and leaned in, bracketing her with his bulk and warmth.

  “Time enough to talk it through,” Taylor murmured. “Right now, right here, you just need to know you’re safe. You’re safe and you’re going to be okay.”

  “You’re going to be okay,” Alden echoed his words. “We’re here. We’ve got you, Connie.”

  That was so close to what Cole had said, and all Connie could remember was the coldness and disgust in his voice when he’d said her name.

  ***

  Cole

  Standing at the window, he yawned and stretched, gaze angled up to where the full moon sat high on the horizon. The coffee maker gurgled and spat, and without looking, he reached for the creamer, unscrewing the lid. The moon didn’t move, didn’t change, but he watched as the edges became fuzzy, bright light becoming diffused as it filtered through a layer of clouds. It’s all about perspective, he thought and shook his head. Behind the clouds piling in ahead of a storm, the moon was exactly the same. Your view depended on where you stood in the equation, and only the moon knew the real truth of itself.

  Mug in hand, he strolled towards the living room. Feet up on the ottoman, he yawned again as he flicked the TV on. Blinking at the screen, he winced and changed the channel, only to find the same coverage on the next. Giving in to the inevitable, he watched a report on the river rescue yesterday.

  There was video of the car tumbling over the barrier. He’d been a block away on an adjoining street and had happened to look up just as the accident happened. Only chance had him in the right place at the right time. He had pulled haphazardly into a parking place and abandoned his car, racing up the street, hoping to find the vehicle on the bank below the bridge.

  Shaking his head, he changed the channel and found another report showing virtually the same view he’d had when he made it up the rise towards the structure spanning the fast-flowing river.

  The water had been cold, but he’d trained in worse conditions, climbing ladders with a full pack on while ice-cold water blasted him from the side. Her voice had pierced him, the tangible terror in it spurring him to swim faster. Once out of the vehicle, she’d trusted him when Cole had asked her to, giving herself over to him completely. Her belief had carried him through the fight to escape the river’s main current and then worked as an angel on his shoulder for the final stretch of water.

  Connie Rowe.

  Unbelievable. Why would fate do this to me? Something in this world had put him in the perfect position to save the woman he might want, but would never have. He jolted when his phone rang. “What now?” The screen showed it was the ER calling, and he felt a moment of fear before he answered.

  “Cole?” The voice on the phone was tantalizingly familiar
, and he nodded when she identified herself. “This is Judy.”

  “Hey, Judy. The local ER offering full service these days? You calling to check up on me? I wasn’t even hypothermic today.” He chuckled when she scoffed into the phone. “Yeah, I didn’t think so. What’s up?”

  “Everyone here hated what happened to Audrey.” Her blunt words struck him like a blow, turning his response into a pained grunt of acknowledgment. “I wanted to start with that.”

  “Okay.” He didn’t know why she’d be calling now to express her sympathies, years after the fact. “I’m in the ER nearly every week on a call. You have a weird sense of timing with this.” Figured she’d feel compelled to bring it up after it was Connie in the ER. It would be too much to expect the staff there hadn’t put two and two together, and Cole figured the EMT had spilled the beans about who the river rescue had been.

  “That’s why I’m calling. I talked to that Ms. Rowe and she…I thought you should know what she told me.”

  Long minutes later, he disconnected the call as the talking heads on the screen moved on to the next story and Cole lifted his coffee, making a face when he realized it was cold. What do I do with this? On the one hand it opened a door he hadn’t anticipated. But on the other hand, maybe it gave him an opportunity to learn something much more important.

  He placed the coffee back on the table and sat back, neck arched as he stared at the ceiling.

  “Why?”

  ***

  Connie

  “I’m not arguing.” Connie eased onto her side, nestling back against the couch cushions as she glared up at Taylor. “I’m just saying I don’t need a babysitter.” He turned without a word and walked towards the kitchen, not even giving her the satisfaction of a return glare. “I’m not sick,” she called after him, then winced at the sharp pain the force of her words caused in her head.

  “Let him do this.” Alden’s amusement was clear in his tone, and she turned her glare on him. “It’s only been a couple of days, Connie.”

  “It’s been four days since the accident.” The first day had been a blur beginning with the ambulance ride and ending with Taylor nearly having to carry her into her apartment as exhaustion broke over her. Through to the next day, he’d remained a sentinel in a chair beside her bed and had been ruthless in his determination to wake her every two hours.

  Not that the doctor had demanded it, but Taylor had read online somewhere that a head injury needed to be frequently checked to ensure the person wasn’t slipping into a coma. Which had been his excuse each time. The next day she’d tried to kick him out and make him go home. She’d felt successful, too, quiet settling over her apartment as she slept. It wasn’t until she’d climbed out of bed finally to take care of nature’s call that she found he hadn’t actually left the apartment but was her residential squatter, camped out in her spare bedroom.

  Once she’d gotten over her irritation, they’d spent the day lounging on the couch eating junk food and critiquing daytime TV shows.

  “He should have been back at work yesterday.” She knew Taylor must have taken vacation time to be with her, and she hated the thought of him using what should be relaxing time on taking care of her. “I can take care of myself, Alden.”

  The firm had given her a week off with pay, not docking her vacation time for it. Another indication that she’d chosen well in her place of work. Mr. Matthews had called twice, and his wife, Samantha, had sent over a huge basket of food and snacks. Patty had been texting Taylor regularly, switching back and forth between grousing about how her workload was twice what it should be and asking how Connie was doing.

  “Once your family is in town, I’ll make him go home.” Alden ducked his head as he stared her in the face, his expression severe. “You could have died, Connie. Let us worry. We’re glad you’re alive to worry about.”

  Connie shivered as she did each time the narrow margin of her survival was pointed out. There had been dozens of witnesses to the accident, beginning with the car directly behind her. The dash-mounted camera from that vehicle offered a close-up view of the logs attacking her car, shoving and pushing it up and over the railing along the bridge. The uploaded video ended with a long sequence just showing the empty space where her car had been only moments before, the driver’s expletives the only sounds audible once the tearing of metal had ceased.

  Social media had been a fertile ground for video uploads, and she’d watched her rescue from a variety of angles. They all told the same story. She’d been only moments from dying as the vehicle succumbed to the power of the water pounding against the south bridge’s footing columns.

  Once Taylor realized she’d seen the footage, they had watched some of the videos together. The various viewpoints showed a huge crowd building along the street, each face turned to track the floating wreckage of her car. A tall man breaking free from the group and plunging down the embankment, shedding shoes and a coat along the way. That man she now knew was Cole Stewart leapt into the river, strong strokes breaking the water’s surface as he swam directly towards the car. How the car sagged alarmingly the moment he touched it, then him nearly disappearing, wide shoulders shoved through the window frame until he was halfway into the car, dangerously entangled in the vehicle should it have rolled as it threatened. Cheering from the crowd as the zoomed-in recording showed him backing away from the car, dragging Connie into view.

  He’d floated on his back holding her close for a moment, and each time she watched the video, she heard him again. “I’ve got you.”

  Then the finale of the rescue, Cole fighting his way against the current and towards the shore. Dozens of men and women jumped over the barrier to make a living pathway up to the road and away from the river.

  The views had split then, with most of the recordings following her transfer hand-to-hand up to the waiting ambulance.

  The ones she’d watched repeatedly had remained focused on Cole. Taylor sleeping quietly beside her, she’d stared without blinking as he handed her over, then gripped the hand of a man who had pulled Cole out of the water. He’d collapsed onto his back, one video zoomed in far enough she could watch his chest rise and fall with fast breaths. He’d scrubbed both palms over his face before sitting up and staring out at the car still floating downriver. Then he’d pushed to his feet and lunged up the embankment, going immediately to where Connie lay on the stretcher.

  “I love both of you so much.” Connie blurted out something she’d been saying to all her friends and family over the past few days. Talking to her parents had been brutal, even with Taylor clearing the way by telling them about the accident while she slept that first day. They’d wanted to jump on the first plane out, but that would most likely have been a whirlwind trip. Reassured she was okay and healing from her injuries, her father was organizing his schedule so he could stay weeks if needed. They’d be driving in the next day, and Connie couldn’t wait to see them.

  “We love you, too,” Taylor called from the kitchen, revealing he’d heard every word of their exchange. “Even when you’re as stubborn as a mule.”

  “Eea-yah,” she brayed softly, smiling when he laughed. The doorbell rang and Connie jumped, wincing again as her head throbbed in response.

  “I got it.” Alden pushed to his feet, detouring through the kitchen to smack Taylor’s butt with the palm of one hand. “You be nice to our girl.”

  “Yes, Daddy.” Connie rolled her eyes at their teasing as she tugged her blanket higher on her shoulders. She hadn’t been able to get really warm since the accident. Something she was convinced was more mental than physical at this point.

  Alden’s voice rose in surprise. “Hey. What are you doing here?” The responding voice was a deep murmur, one Connie still heard in her dreams. She couldn’t make out the words, but the voice was unmistakable. Alden said, “No shit? I heard a fireman rescued her but didn’t know it was you. Come in.”

  Stuck in place by shock, Connie kept her eyes trained on the doorway. The deep voi
ce growled again, and it must have been a greeting for Taylor because he crowed excitedly, “Oh my God. I haven’t seen you in forever.” More growling and Taylor’s shocked voice lowered, becoming nearly inaudible as he repeated himself. “Oh my God. It was you.”

  Still staring at the doorway, Connie called out, “Hello?” Silence followed for long moments, then Alden came into view and walked to sit back in the chair he’d been using. She needed him to affirm who she thought the visitor was, so she asked, “Who is it?”

  Then Cole walked through the doorway. She locked gazes with him and stared. He stopped a couple of feet into the room and stood still. She twisted to watch as Taylor came out from behind him to edge around Cole’s form and make his way to Alden. He stood beside his partner, hand on Alden’s shoulder. Alden wasn’t looking at her but at Cole.

  There were so many things swirling through her head. A thousand possible things she could say or ask. Connie’s vision became watery and she pushed against the arm of the couch until she was seated instead of reclining. Without warning, her throat clamped shut on her breath, and all she could do was whisper the words she most wanted to say. “Thank you.” She repeated herself. And again. Cole looked at her through the first few renditions of the phrase but dropped his gaze when Taylor moved to sit beside her, pulling her close so she could once again sob into his shoulder.

  “Let’s go into the kitchen.” She heard Alden’s suggestion, surprised when Cole refused.

  “I’m good here.”

  Turning from Taylor, Connie wiped her cheeks with both hands, sweeping tears away from her lashes to look up at Cole. “You saved me.”

  He waved a hand through the air. “Not a big deal.” Staring at her, he asked, “You’re doing okay?”

  Nodding slowly, Connie told him, “I am. I’m going to be fine. I’m alive, and everything else can be replaced.”