Rescue Me

by Rochon, Farrah

  Renee entered the room after Eli, but when she walked in, the only other occupant was a sleeping Jasmine, a square gauze bandage taped to the left side of her head.

  Renee’s chest tightened as she watched Eli lean over his niece and whisper, “Hey, Sunflower,” before placing a kiss on Jasmine’s forehead. This child was so loved.

  The door creaked opened, but it was only a nurse.

  “Hello, Dr. Holmes,” she said. She nodded at Renee.

  “Hey there, Cheryl,” Eli returned. “Have you seen my brother?”

  “The chapel,” the nurse answered. She read one of the machines and made a note on the clipboard that hung on the bottom rail of Jasmine’s bed, then left the room.

  “It’s on the bottom floor,” Eli said. “Take a left once you get off the elevators.”

  Without another word, Renee left the room. She wasn’t sure what reception she would get from Alex when she encountered him. She’d left him at the precise time that he’d needed her the most. She wouldn’t be surprised if Alex refused to speak to her. It would be no less than she deserved.

  When she arrived at the bottom floor, she debated turning right, toward the hospital entrance.

  Stop being a coward, she told herself. Whatever Alex’s reaction, she would accept it, and they would move on, but she would help him get through this whether he wanted her to or not.

  The door to the chapel was closed. Renee laid hands on the smooth wood and pushed. The room was small. It held about a dozen folding chairs, arranged in two rows of three on each side of an aisle.

  Alex sat facing the tiny altar, his elbows on his thighs, face in his hands. His broad shoulders heaved, and his back shook. Renee covered her mouth, her heart breaking as she watched the silent sobs that racked his body.

  She walked over and put a hand on his shoulder. He jerked up, his body instantly stiffening. He looked up at her with reddened, tear soaked eyes.

  The ache in her chest was almost more than she could bear. The pain coming through Alex’s eyes was so profound, it touched the very depths of her soul.

  Renee crossed her leg over his and lowered herself onto his lap. She wrapped her arms around him, and buried her face in the crook of Alex’s neck, fitting perfectly in the hollow between his jaw and shoulder. After a moment’s hesitation, Alex’s arms circled her, his uneven breathing making his chest rise and fall.

  She wanted to reassure him that everything would be okay, but it was an assurance she could not guarantee. There were too many unknowns, the span of uncertainty so vast she could hardly wrap her head around it. The only thing Renee was sure of was her vow to remain by his side through whatever he faced.

  Cocooned in his embrace, she offered the only gift she could, the silent promise that she would never leave him again.

  Locking her arms around him, Renee swallowed her own sobs as Alex cried in her arms.

  Alex didn’t know how much time had passed. He only knew he wasn’t ready to leave. He wasn’t ready to cope with the world outside the walls of this tiny chapel. A world where his daughter had been conceived by another man.

  Pain and disbelief slammed through him once again.

  He couldn’t stay hidden in this chapel, despite his body’s insistence to remain wrapped in Renee’s soothing embrace.

  “Renee?” Alex whispered in her ear.

  “I’m here,” she said.

  “I know. Thank you,” he answered.

  She lifted her head, the streaks down her cheeks somehow adding to her beauty; maybe because they had been shed for him?

  “I’m sorry I left,” she said.

  Alex shook his head. “You’re not the one who’s supposed to apologize.”

  “Yes, I am,” Renee countered. “I won’t do that again,” she said.

  “Those are supposed to be my words.” He ran a hand down her back. “I’m sorry for what happened outside. I’ve never lost it like that before.”

  “Who could blame you, Alex? After everything you’ve been through in the last few hours? Who could blame you for wanting to beat up the entire world?”

  “I never would have touched you,” he said, needing her to know that. “I may have smashed every car window in the parking lot, and punched every wall within striking distance, but I would never raise my hand to you or any other woman.”

  “I know,” she reassured him. “I knew it seconds after I left.” She ran her hands up and down his arms. “The memories just bombarded me. In that instant, all I could see was my father’s fist coming toward me.”

  Alex shut his eyes, a sick feeling gripping his stomach at the thought of her facing those memories once again. “I am so sorry for scaring you, baby.”

  Renee leaned forward and rested her forehead on his. “It’s over,” she whispered.

  Alex’s chest tightened. He was humbled and overwhelmed by her swift forgiveness.

  “What are you going to do?” Renee asked. She was talking about Jasmine. The question had entered his mind, but the thought had been fleeting, because Alex knew there was only one thing he could do.

  He took a deep, lung cleansing breath. “I’m going to sit by Jazzy’s bed and hold her hand,” he answered. “When she wakes up, I’m going to tell her how much I love her, and that she’s a princess. Same as always.”

  Alex wiped the tear that ran down Renee’s cheek.

  “She’s my little girl,” he said. “She will always be my little girl. I don’t care about the man who fathered her. God created her for me. From the minute she was born, I knew my sole purpose in life was to love that little girl. No blood test is going to change that.”

  “She is so lucky to have you for a father, Alex.” It wasn’t the first time Renee had uttered those words to him.

  “I’m just as lucky to have her as a daughter,” Alex said. He cradled Renee’s cheeks in his palms and pressed a delicate kiss to her trembling lips. “I’m lucky to have you as the woman I love, too,” he said.

  Tears ran down her cheeks in earnest. Alex used his thumbs to wipe them away, but the trail continued to flow.

  “Alex, I love you so much,” Renee choked on a sob.

  He couldn’t contain his smile. “I told Jasmine she could be there when I asked you to marry me.”

  “Then let’s go to her room,” Renee said. “Right now.”

  “Does that mean I’ll get a yes?”

  “Oh yes,” she said, holding his face in her hands and placing another kiss on his lips. “I’m dying to say yes to you.”

  Chapter Twenty six

  “That is the ugliest bunch of flowers I’ve ever seen,” Toby said.

  “Leave it alone.” Eli punched Toby on the arm before strolling over to Jasmine’s hospital bed. “I told the florist to give me one of every type of flower they had in the place. I wanted to make sure my little Petunia, Rosebud, Water Lily, Bird of Paradise had a lot of color in her room,” Eli said, pinching Jasmine’s nose.

  “You’re silly, Uncle Eli,” Jasmine laughed.

  “But you love your uncle Eli, no matter how silly, right?”

  “Yes,” Jasmine answered. She stretched her arms out and enveloped Eli in a hug, plopping a sloppy kiss on his cheek.

  “Does this mean I have to get you a bunch of flowers to get some of that sugar?” Toby asked.

  “No, you can have a kiss, too,” Jasmine said.

  “Not before I have mine,” Alex said. He pushed from the wall next to Jasmine’s bed and leaned in for a kiss. “The doctors are going to take one last look to make sure everything is okay up there.” Alex pointed to her head. “Then we get to head home. Uncle Eli and Uncle Toby will come over to the house to see you later to night, right?”

  “Oh yeah. I’m bringing back something special,” Toby said. “And it’ll be a lot better than a bunch of mismatched flowers.”

  Alex didn’t bother to remind Toby about the no gift giving rule. He’d already accepted the fact that Jasmine was destined to be spoiled rotten by the entire family for the
rest of her natural born life.

  After a rapid DNA test confirmed his baby girl was, in fact, not his biological daughter, Alex broke the news to Mama and Toby. They were both devastated, but quickly agreed that nothing would change where Jasmine was concerned. She was born a Holmes and would always be a Holmes.

  Alex still had the tough decision to make regarding whether he would tell Jasmine about the circumstances surrounding her birth, but even if he did, it would be years from now. If ever. She was his, and always would be. It was as simple as that.

  The nurse wheeled Jasmine out, leaving Alex, Renee, Toby, and Eli in the room.

  “Hey,” Toby said. “I forgot to ask if I should start looking for a flight back to St. Martin.”

  Alex draped an arm around Renee’s shoulder and pulled her in close.

  “We haven’t gotten that far yet,” she answered.

  “Well, ya’ll need to figure something out quick. I’m ready to go back.”

  “What about you and Sienna?” Eli asked. “The two of you can get married out there.”

  A smile drew across Toby’s face. “Actually, Sienna and I were married in Vegas last week.”

  “What!” Alex and Eli both yelled.

  “Don’t tell me you got married at one of those cheesy Elvis chapels,” Alex said.

  “Boy, are you crazy? Mama is going to kill you,” Eli said.

  “Yeah, well, it was either that or have Sienna walk down the aisle in a maternity wedding dress. We figured a quick wedding was better.”

  Silence reigned, until Alex and Eli swamped him, grabbing Toby in a three person bear hug.

  Eli’s grin was huge. “You’re going to be a daddy?”

  “Wait until Mama hears this,” Alex said.

  “Don’t say anything,” Toby warned them. “Sienna and I want to tell Mama together.”

  Renee walked up to Toby and wrapped her arms around him. “Congratulations.” She kissed his cheek.

  Eli’s BlackBerry went off. “That’s my cue,” he said. He held his hand out to Toby. “Congratulations again, man,” Eli said, pulling Toby in again for a one arm hug.

  “I need to head out, too,” Toby said.

  Alex brought his brother in for another hug. Knuckleheaded Toby was going to be a father. It was hard to believe, but then again, Toby had grown by leaps and bounds this past year. In a way, all three of them had. “You’re going to make a good dad,” Alex told him.

  “I had good examples.” Toby grinned. “I’m just following in yours and Pop’s footsteps. See you later, man. Tell Jazzy I’ll see her to night.”

  As Alex watched his younger brother walk out of the hospital room, pride filled every chamber of his heart. Yeah, Toby was going to do just fine. His Jazzy would soon have a cousin to play with, and Mama would finally have another grandbaby.

  “That’s some exciting news, huh?” Renee said, sidling up to him and wrapping her arms around his waist.

  “Toby’ll be a good dad,” Alex said again.

  “I can tell just by the way he interacts with Jasmine.”

  Alex dipped his head and planted a kiss on her lips. God, he loved these lips. He wanted to spend the rest of this lifetime kissing them.

  “Jasmine’s been the only grandchild for such a long time, I wonder how she’ll react to the news that there will be another kid around.”

  “I think she’ll do just fine,” Renee said. “She’s adjusted pretty well to sharing her daddy. Actually, I thought as soon as we were married we could start working on giving Jasmine a little brother or sister. You think you’re up to that challenge?”

  “I think I can handle that.”

  Renee ran her hand up his chest. “Well, we’ll probably need a few practice runs before we get it right.”

  “Just tell me the start time.” He lowered his mouth for another kiss. “I’m there.”

  Epilogue

  The rose petals Jasmine dropped from the white wicker basket floated on the wind and into the ocean a few feet away. Monica motioned for her to hurry, but Jazzy took her sweet time strolling up the aisle.

  Alex leaned over and whispered to Eli, “You sure you’re ready to deal with that?”

  Eli switched the baby girl cradled in his arms from one side to the other. “Little late to ask that question, isn’t it?” he said, tugging the lace-trimmed bonnet around his niece’s face. Zenobia, Toby and Sienna’s eight-week-old daughter, punched her tiny fist in the air. “Besides, if you and Toby can handle a baby, I sure as hell can.”

  “It’s not as easy as it looks,” Alex said.

  Toby turned. “Would ya’ll be quiet? I can’t hear what’s going on.” He reached back for his daughter, an instant smile breaking out over his face. “I missed Mama’s first wedding, I’d like to actually hear the second one.”

  Monica caught their attention and raked her finger across her neck, making a “cut it out” gesture. With two short months from delivering her and Eli’s baby girl, the maid-of-honor dress flowed over her protruding belly like a peach waterfall.

  “I don’t want to have to answer to her,” Eli said.

  “Me, neither,” Alex agreed. They sat for the rest of the short ceremony and watched as their mother was united in holy matrimony with Gerald Mitchell in the same spot Eli had married Monica a year ago.

  After the ceremony, Alex sat poolside at L’Oasis with Renee on his lap. He let his gaze roam over the people gathered at the reception. Gerald had enough dough in the bank to fly the eight members of Morning Star Baptist Church’s deaconess board, along with about a dozen of his and Mama’s mutual friends.

  “Your mother made a beautiful bride,” Renee said, dipping her head low and nuzzling the spot behind his ear.

  “Almost as beautiful as you were the day we were married,” Alex said. He pressed his lips to her smooth jaw, consuming the unique fragrance that was solely Renee. Earlier, as she’d walked down the aisle as one of his mother’s bridal attendants, his breath had caught in his throat at the sight of her. As he looked down on his wife’s stunning face, Alex experienced that same breath-robbing sensation.

  “Look at your brother.” Renee nodded toward where Toby cradled Zenobia, staring at his daughter as if she were an exquisite piece of art.

  “Oh yeah, that boy’s in love,” Alex laughed. “Little girls do that to their daddies. I was just as in awe of my princess the day she was born.” Alex sought out Jasmine, who swam laps in the villa’s pool. She still took his breath away.

  “This family is overflowing with princesses,” Renee said. “I think your mom was hoping Eli and Monica’s sonogram would show that she was having a boy.”

  “It is funny after having three sons we all would have girls.”

  Renee shrugged. She took his hand and placed it on her flat stomach, and covered it with both of hers. “Who knows?” Renee mused. “Maybe we’re the ones meant to have the first boy.”

  “Maybe,” Alex said. Then he stopped, catching the grin at the edge of Renee’s lips. Alex captured her chin in his hand and turned her to face him. He questioned her with his eyes. Renee’s grin widened and she nodded.

  “Oh my God,” he breathed into her kiss. “I love you so much, baby.”

  “I love you, too, Alex.” Renee kissed him back, fierce and strong. “So much more than I can ever put into words.”

  “I don’t need words,” he said. “You show me every single day. I didn’t know how precious love could be before you, Renee.”

  “I’m happy I could help you find love again.”

  “You did more than that. You rescued me.”

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  First and foremost, thanks be to God. Always.

  Thanks to my sister, Tamara, for being my first reader, and my aunt Cathy, for always being ready and willing to help.

  To my critique group, for reading my proposal at a moment’s notice. Where would I be without you all?

  Thanks to the many authors I’ve met online, who have also become my friends.
Thank you for sharing your wisdom.

  To the Dreadnaught husbands and that one brother-in-law with the great sense of humor. Thanks for helping with that very serious situation.

  Lastly, many thanks to Cheryl Corson, for going above and beyond the call of friendship. Needless to say, this book would not have been done in time without you.

  CRITICS PRAISE FARRAH ROCHON’S

  HOLMES FAMILY SERIES!

  DELIVER ME

  “Quirky humor and a charming hero make Rochon’s debut novel attractive reading. Colorful characters create a down-home appeal that will make readers feel the warm welcome typically indicative of the South. This novel captures the true essence of a town struggling to get back on its feet.”

  —Romantic Times BOOKreviews

  “This is a wonderful story with rich characters and tons of local history. It will definitely leave you wanting more of the hot Doctor Holmes and his equally hot brothers, who, by the way, deserve their own stories.”

  —Coffee Time Romance

  “I look forward to more from this author. I sincerely hope we get stories for both of Eli’s brothers and his niece as well; I just loved them.”

  —Romance Reviews Today

  “Elementary, my dear readers, as Farrah Rochon captures the city inside her fabulous contemporary medical romance with hopefully more Holmesian sibling tales to follow.”

  —Romance in Color, Harriet Klausner

  RELEASE ME

  “Rochon presents a stellar story that thoroughly entertains. Her writing style is consistent and easy to follow from start to finish, and all the characters are memorable…Release Me is most definitely worth the exciting journey.”

  —Romantic Times BOOKreviews

  “Release Me is written in a way that is intriguing and easy to follow. Ms. Rochon has a way with words that will hold your interest with each twist she adds at just the right time.”

  —Romance Reviews Today

  “An enjoyable contemporary romance starring likable lead characters.”