Mama Said
Page 26
Shane’s voice ratcheted up to match Enrique’s. “If you know your sister, you know how strong she is. You’d know she does what she wants when she wants and nobody, not even you, can stop her.” Maybe their talk had worked. He sounded convincing.
But she hated that they were doing their macho posturing within earshot, especially since both were doing their own version of the ‘control Gabriella’ dance. But when she opened her mouth to speak, only a tiny squeak came out. When she remembered Stu’s hands around her neck squeezing until she couldn’t breathe.
“She could have died.”
“Don’t you think I know that? Don’t you think the idea scares me to death even still?” Shane bit off a stream of curses she hadn’t heard before.
“You have no business being around my sister if you can’t protect her.”
Gabriella finally found her voice, although it was barely above a whisper. “All right, that’s it. Do I have to drag my broken body out of this bed to kick both your asses?”
Both men stopped their yammering and stalked to the side of the bed. She couldn’t help smiling. They were so much alike it was scary, even to her.
“Gabriella, you’re awake?” Shane kissed her lightly on the lips, impervious to her brother’s death stare from the other side of the bed.
Enrique bent down to place a kiss on her cheek. “You look like hell, little sister.” He smiled right before he went back to giving Shane the death stare.
To his credit, Shane didn’t back down. Not even an inch. Then again, she wouldn’t have expected him to.
She glanced between the two of them and smiled again. “I’ll survive. But I’m not sure about you two. You look like you’re going to kill each other any minute now.”
Ignoring her comment, Enrique spoke. “You shouldn’t talk too much. The doctor said you should rest your vocal cords…”
Shane laughed as he eased into position at the head of her bed, taking the hand unencumbered by the IV in his. “Gabriella not talk? I don’t think that’s possible.”
“How do you get off talking about my sister like that?” Enrique folded his arms across his chest and glared.
“Do you have any idea how ludicrous you sound? Where’s Sammie? She needs to come here and reel you in.”
Enrique’s face flushed and he shrugged, an iota of the tension easing out of him. “While they were waiting for you to come out of surgery, they decided to go shopping. Water Tower is just around the corner.” He turned his wrist to look at his watch. “I imagine they’ll be here any minute.”
“They?” She barely got the word out of her mouth before ‘they’ trouped in: Enrique’s wife, Sammie; her sisters, Juliana and Francesca; her niece, Santana; her mother, Marguerite; even her little brother, Joaquin. “Am I dying or something?”
After she received the usual round of hugs and kisses from the group, they gathered in a semi-circle around the bed. To his credit, Shane stayed right where he was, but she could tell he was feeling overwhelmed when his fingers tightened in hers.
Her mother spoke first. “We were worried sick about you.” She tsked as she took in her injuries with a motherly perusal. “That guy really did a number on you.”
Enrique and Shane exchanged looks, but neither said anything, even though she could tell her brother was itching to. Instead, Juliana spoke. She could have predicted the lawyer in her would dig into the specifics of what happened. “I spoke with the State’s Attorney and the Internal Affairs Department. As far as they can tell, they’ll be indicting about ten officers. You probably won’t have to testify for at least a couple of months.”
She knew what she was implying in her comment. She could come home as soon as the hospital released her. That way, they all could keep a collective eye on her and hover incessantly.
“Once the doctor releases you, we’ll put you on a plane to Florida so I can take care of you,” her mother said.
She’d known her mother would bring that up sooner or later. They weren’t going to like what she had to say, but someway, somehow they’d learn to live with it. “Actually, I thought I’d stay in Chicago for a while.”
Enrique gave Shane an accusatory stare. “That’s not going to work.”
“Why’s that, Enrique?” She’d always let Enrique come to her rescue, but she didn’t need him any more. It had taken a near death experience to convince her she could handle herself quite nicely.
“You know why.” He folded his arms across his chest, as did Joaquin, which was more than a little embarrassing.
“Why? Because I’m a screw-up? Is that what you’re saying?” She stopped to take a gulp of water. “Guess what I learned over the last month on my own? That I’m pretty darn good at taking care of myself, even when you’re not around to bail me out.”
His face softened. Obviously, he was being nice to her or he would have shouted right back. Instead, his voice was soft when he spoke. “You almost died.”
“But I didn’t. And you know why I didn’t? It was because I saved myself. I did what I had to do and came out of it relatively unscathed.” She drew in a deep breath. “I’m a lot stronger than any of you give me credit for.”
“We know that, dear.” Her mother’s voice was warm, in contrast to the hard edge of Enrique’s. “But physically you won’t be able to do much for yourself with a broken ankle.”
“I’m going to take care of her. It’s the least I can do after she saved my life.” Shane twisted his fingers in hers.
Joaquin spoke this time, taking over for Enrique. “What do you mean?”
Shane moved in closer to her on the bed. “Gabriella found me close to dead in an alley. She didn’t abandon me like she should have to save herself. Somehow she got me to safety and kept us both alive.” He squeezed her hand tightly. “She’s the strongest woman I know, both emotionally and physically. Is it any wonder I fell in love with her?”
She didn’t think Shane had ever said so many words at once since she’d known him. Which mirrored the fact that she didn’t think her family had ever been silent for that long, let alone allow someone else to speak.
But knock her over with a feather. He couldn’t profess his love when they were alone, but could announce it to her family. Still, she couldn’t suppress the smile. She knew he loved her.
She felt so elated she thought she might burst. And she was pretty sure it had nothing to do with the pain medication.
“Now that all that nonsense is out of the way, show me what you bought at Water Tower Place. And let me feel your tummy, Sammie. I can’t believe I’m finally going to be an aunt again.”
It was probably close to two hours before her family took their leave. If Santana hadn’t wanted something to eat they might have stayed into the night. None of them relished the idea of hospital food when a plethora of great restaurants were all within a couple of blocks.
Shane seemed shocked at first, but then accepted it as her female family members hugged and kissed him goodbye. She knew it signaled he was officially part of the Santos clan, like it or not.
“How’s Patrick? I thought for sure he’d stop in to see me.”
“He’s doing good. We made peace with each other, just like we should have a long time ago.”
“No kidding. But how about your stepdad?”
“Near as I can tell, he really did come to warn me off the case. Who would have thought? And Carissa sends her love, by the way.”
She tsked in an I-told-you-so way. “How’s she doing?”
“Great. She’s got a lot of rehab in her future, but she’s already talking about coming into the office.”
“And Vince?”
“Recovering, but it’s a little slower than they expected, probably due to his age.”
“Hmmm, now that I’ve got the update on everybody, I have to tell you I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately.”
“I should be afraid. Very afraid.”
She rolled her eyes. “Since I won’t be able to do much singing fo
r a while, I could probably help out in the office. I’m not so good at computers, but I’m awesome at detective stuff.”
Shane rolled his eyes. “What have I gotten myself into?” His smile belied his words.
“How does O’Neil, Ryan & Santos sound?”
“Very scary.”
“Deal with it. Life around me is usually pretty darn scary.” She kissed him long and hard, loving every second of it. She couldn’t wait to get home to be alone with him. “But you’ll get used to it.”
“Doubt it. But then again, what fun would that be?” He stretched out next to her in the hospital bed.
Somehow she’d known this was how things would always be between them. Which was just about as perfect as it could get.
2012 eBook Titles
January
Blow by Blow*
Keith Thomas Walker
ISBN-13: 978-1-58571-626-5
ISBN-10: 1-58571-626-X
The Art of Love
Celya Bowers
ISBN-13: 978-1-58571-463-6
ISBN-10: 1-58571-463-1
February
A First Class Act
Mildred Riley
ISBN-13: 978-1-58571-464-3
ISBN-10: 1-58571-464-X
So Different
Ruthie Robinson
ISBN-13: 978-1-58571-466-7
ISBN-10: 1-58571-466-6
March
Believe in Me
Regena Bryant
ISBN-13: 978-1-58571-465-0
ISBN-10: 1-58571-465-8
Straight from the Heart
Sean Young
ISBN-13: 978-1-58571-469-8
ISBN-10: 1-58571-469-0
April
Mind Games
Bernice Layton
ISBN-13: 978-1-58571-468-1
ISBN-10: 1-58571-468-2
Mama Said
Wendy Byrne
ISBN-13: 978-1-58571-474-2
ISBN-10: 1-58571-474-7
May
Liar’s Web
Sandra Bell Calhoune
ISBN-13: 978-1-58571-475-9
ISBN-10: 1-58571-475-5
Shadows of the Past
Alysha Adams
ISBN-13: 978-1-58571-476-6
ISBN-10: 1-58571-476-3
June
Harlot
Keith Thomas Walker
ISBN-13: 978-1-58571-477-3
ISBN-10: 1-58571-477-1
Three Chords, One Song
Beatrice Hogg
ISBN-13: 978-1-58571-478-0
ISBN-10: 1-58571-478-X
*also available in print from Genesis Press
July
Painted Passion
Latisha Brandon
ISBN-13: 978-1-58571-479-7
ISBN-10: 1-58571-479-8
Seasoned Just Right
Renee Wynn
ISBN-13: 978-1-58571-480-3
ISBN-10: 1-58571-480-1
August
Mulligan’s Math
Chamein Canton
ISBN-13: 978-1-58571-467-4
ISBN-10: 1-58571-467-4
September
October
November
December
Other Genesis Press eBooks*
*Starred titles are coming soon…
2 Good*
Celya Bowers
A Dangerous Woman*
J.M. Jeffries
A Dead Man Speaks
Lisa Jones Johnson
A Good Dude
Keith Thomas Walker
A Love Built to Last
L.S. Childers
A Lover’s Legacy
Veronica Parker
A Perfect Place to Pray
I.L. Goodwin
A Place Like Home*
Alicia Wiggins
A Taste of Temptation*
Reneé Alexis
A Voice Behind Thunder
Carrie Elizabeth Greene
Against the Wind
Gwynne Forster
All I’ll Ever Need
Mildred Riley
Allegro
Bennett, Adora
Always You
Crystal Hubbard
An Unfinished Love Affair
Barbara Keaton
Another Memory*
Pamela Ridley
Anything but Love*
Celya Bowers
Best Foot Forward
Michele Sudler
Best Friends Better Lovers*
Celya Bowers
Best of Luck Elsewhere*
Trisha Haddad
Between Tears
Pamela Ridley
Blame It on Paradise*
Crystal Hubbard
Blindsided
Tammy Williams
Bliss, Inc.*
Chamein Canton
Blood Seduction
J.M. Jeffries
Blue Interlude*
Keisha Mennefee
Burn
Crystal Hubbard
Caress
Grayson Cole
Caught Up*
Deatri King-Bey
Caught Up in the Rapture
Lisa G. Riley
Checks and Balances*
Elaine Sims
Choices*
Tammy Williams
Corporate Seduction
A.C. Arthur
Crossing the Line*
Bernice Layton
Crush*
Crystal Hubbard
Cupid
Barbara Keaton
Dawn’s Harbor*
Kymberly Hunt
Do Over
Celya Bowers
Dream Keeper*
Gail McFarland
Dream Runner*
Gail McFarland
Ebony Angel
Deatri King-Bey
Ebony Eyes
Kei Swanson
Enchanted Desire*
Wanda Y. Thomas
Everything In Between
Crystal Hubbard
Except on Sunday
Regena Bryant
Fireflies*
Joan Early
Fixin’ Tyrone
Keith Thomas Walker
Fractured
Wendy Byrne
Friends in Need*
Joan Early
From This Moment
Young, Sean D.
Frost on My Window*
Angela Weaver
Havana Sunrise
Kymberly Hunt
Heart of the Phoenix
A.C. Arthur
Holding Her Breath
Nicole Green
How to Kill Your Husband*
Keith Walker
I Take This Woman
Chamein Canton
I’m Gonna Make You Love Me
Gwyneth Bolton
If I Were Your Woman*
La Connie Taylor-Jones
Inside Out
Grayson Cole
Ironic
Pamela Leigh Starr
It’s in the Rhythm*
Sammie Ward
It’s Not Over Yet
J.J. Michael
Lady Preacher
K. T. Richey
Let’s Get It On
Dyanne Davis
Lies in Disguise
Bernice Layton
Lies Too Long*
Pamela Ridley