Beyond the Shadow (Above & Beyond Book 1)

by Julee Baker

His eyes were already closed when he mumbled, “Mmm-nnight . . . love you . . .”

  Then he was out of it again.

  Lake blinked—straightened—then stared. his eyes were closed—hers were opened.

  She sat there for a few more minutes, her thumb rubbing the back of the capable hand. The strongest man she’d ever known, now completely relying on other’s strengths. She searched his face. The “shhome shhtrong” stuff they gave him must have really sent him for a loop.

  Or, had it freed feelings already inside him, to come out, now, that his defenses were down?

  The nurse’s hand on her shoulder broke through her thoughts. She whispered to Lake that Hawk would probably sleep for six hours or so, then, if all signs were good, he would be moved up to a room. It was imperative the leg wound not open. Lake asked the nurse to write her name down on the list of people allowed to see Hawk when he was moved. The nurse smiled and assured her she would, adding a conciliatory rub to Lake’s shoulder.

  Lake leaned over Hawk and searched for an unbruised spot on his unshaven cheek to place a heartfelt kiss before she left. How close had she come to losing him? At times like this, the fragility of life made everything so clear. Opened you to truth. Lake’s became clear.

  The circus in the front lobby barely garnered any of her attention as she made her way slowly out of the hospital, oblivious to everything except thoughts of the man who had uttered what she herself had been afraid, or felt it was too young a thing, to put voice to yet.

  Did he even realize what he had said?

  She needed sleep. There would be no figuring this out tonight. Just thankfulness they would have time to do so.

  THIRTEEN

  The New Ranch Hands

  F

  ran stayed. She insisted on driving River off to school, even though Lake was home before five a.m.

  “Get some sleep, hon. I’ll get River up and send him in to see you before he leaves for school.”

  Exhaustion hit Lake like a freight train. She was too tired to say much except, “Thanks, Fran.” Then it was down the hall to her bed, where she grabbed the fuzzy pink robe and pulled it over her still fully-dressed self, falling asleep as soon as she hit the pillow.

  She woke up briefly when River hugged her, before he left for school. River couldn’t have been in a better mood. He knew Hawk was going to be all right and all the people were okay. Good thing he couldn’t see Hawk in person right now, he might have a different reaction.

  “Fran or I will pick you up after school today. Wait right by the door. And remember what we talked about - about not talking to people you don’t know.”

  “Aw, Lake, I told you, I’m six now, I’m not a baby. Zach and I are gonna walk home together.”

  “Zach can ride with us. I’ll call his mom. Maybe you guys can get together this evening. I might pick up a pizza to celebrate summer vacation. How would that be?”

  “Cool. I’ll tell Zach. He can ask his mom.”

  “Okay you. Have a good last day of first grade bro.”

  They kissed cheeks and he bounded out the door to Fran’s car.

  Lake set her phone alarm for ten-thirty and fell back asleep. It seemed like an instant later the strains of Fur Elise were floating about her room.

  Concern for Hawk’s condition this morning, drove her from the bed. In the kitchen, she scrounged up a plastic bag to cover her bandaged foot, then rummaged through the junk drawer, coming up with some green duct-tape left over from one of River’s school projects, to secure the top around her calf.

  The warm shower rejuvenated and relaxed her, but she forgot how well duct tape stuck.

  “Ye-ow.” That pretty much cancelled out the relaxed part of it, but, at least she felt ready to rejoin the human race. After dressing quickly, a glass of orange juice and a slice of dry toast, she was out the door. She’d grab a cup of hospital coffee when she got there.

  A little after eleven a.m., and the area around the hospital was still a circus—although there were only half as many clowns as the day before. Good news didn’t sell as well as bad, she snorted to herself, remembering a different plane crash.

  There had certainly been plenty of drama yesterday afternoon. When Hawk was well enough to tell it, she wanted . . . no, she needed . . . to hear the whole story.

  Her foot felt better this morning after some time off it—well that, and a couple stiff doses of ibuprofen. It still needed favoring though. Those heel-less slip-ons she’d debated about buying last month were paying for themselves now.

  Hawk had been moved to a regular room. A good sign. That meant no complications. She wound through the hallways. There—255. She gave the half-open door a tentative knock and peeked inside.

  A nurse was just leaving the room, chuckling to herself and shaking her head. She smiled at Lake as they passed.

  “Lake. Come in. Sit.” Hawk patted on the right side of his bed, toward the chair. His voice sounded about normal. A little craggy, but a big difference since last night.

  “Hi. You seem chipper this morning. How are you doing?” She sat down in the bedside chair.

  He frowned and nodded to a spot beside him on the bed. “No. I meant sit here.” He patted the bed again.

  “You are feeling better.” Lake gave him a sidelong look. “The "shhhtrong shhtuff" must have worn off.” She teased. “But they said you’re not supposed to move around today, and I promised Sam I’d be on my best behavior. He thinks we make each other, in his words, ‘lose our cool’.”

  “He does, huh . . . Well, he’s right about that.” And winked at her. “Did I really say ‘shhhtrong shhtuff’?” he shook his head.

  “I think it was more like, ‘shhhome shhhhtrong . . . shhhtuf’,” Lake watched the topaz eyes carefully.

  Hawk smiled, but the frown stuck to his brow. “Anything else?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, I mean . . . did I say anything else? Last night’s kind of fuzzy around the edges.”

  What should she say? Oh, yeah. There was the part where you said, “Love you . . .” No way. She was not going to let him know he said that.

  He was searching his fuzzy memory, you could read it on his face. Did he remember?

  He’d have to come up with that one again, on his own—when he was off the drugs. She wasn’t going to touch that comment with a ten-foot pole.

  Lake decided to fade and evade, “It was kind of fuzzy for me too. That four in the morning ‘shhhtuff’ is for the birds—hard to tell the wakey from the sleepy.”

  She quickly changed the topic with a tilt of her head and a big sigh, she said, “You had me worried. Seriously. But hey—great job on the rescue, by the way.”

  Hawk’s frown lingered and he hesitated. He searched her face and she thought for a moment he was going to call her out on the evasive tactics, but the change of topic worked.

  He beamed. “I have to tell you. That felt so good. Everyone out okay. What a tangled mess. The team really needed that. We’ve had some disappointments recently.” His eyebrows raised and he sighed. “But all good today.” He relaxed against the pillows and slipped his hand over hers.

  She helped adjust the pillows a bit more, adding, with a wry smile, “Well, be warned. River’s looking for a full report—probably several times over.”

  “He’ll have it—several times over, if it makes him happy.” He surveyed the room. “As soon as I can get out of this place. They tell me I’m going to be stuck in here till Monday. And that’s only if I can find somebody to give me a hand with things at my place for a while.”

  The offer popped out of her mouth without a second thought. “I can help. I’d be happy to help. Just let me know what you want done. Meals . . . whatever . . . River’s on summer vacation after today. He could help too. Feed and water Elle, and Myron. He loves animals. Well, I’d help him with Myron. He hasn’t had any experience with horses yet. The book is wrapped up. It’s a good time for me and h
im to do something different anyway . . .”

  “Like babysit me?” His mouth stretched in a sideways line. “I dunno— You sure? Your foot—”

  “Positive. Your place is beautiful. River would love spending time out there and my foot’s a lot better today. By Sunday, the doctor said I should be able to walk on it pretty much normally.”

  “Well, then—if you’re sure. That’d be great. For me, I mean. I don’t know about you two though. You can move in the guest room, or River could stay up in the loft. He’d might get a kick out of that.”

  “Move . . . in?”

  “Well, sure. For the week or whatever. Makes sense. I’ve got plenty of room. Save gas . . . and time.”

  Lake hadn’t considered this when she offered.

  Hawk gave her a hooded look, tinged with a teasing smile. “You have nothing to worry about, Lake. I’m in no shape to ravish you.” Pain flickered across the bruised face as he shifted his weight in the bed, “unfortunately, probably not anytime soon.” He grimaced, “These ribs—uhh,” as he shifted again and forced his lips back into a smile.

  “I’m glad your sense of humor wasn’t injured in the fall. But you’d better be careful,” Lake pointed to a monitor with a spaghetti pot of wires around it, “I think that little machine over there just started to beep a little faster.”

  Hawk frowned at it. “Huh—nothing important.” Then turned back to her. “Well?”

  She couldn’t refuse him. Didn’t want to anyway. “Okay. Why not?”

  “Great. Sam has a key to my place in his office. You can get it from him and move your stuff up this weekend if you like.” His brows creased. “Check the fridge though. I don’t know how well I’m stocked for company.” He looked around the room. “They hid my wallet from me.” He grumbled.

  Lake was worried he was moving too much.

  “Hawk. Stop trying to move. Don’t worry about a little food. I can manage it for a bit. You can make it up to me.” She winked this time, surprising herself.

  Hawk flashed a grin back at her and opened his mouth for what she was sure was a devilish response, when a no-nonsense looking nurse came in.

  “Time to check your vitals, Mr. Matthews.

  Lake scooted off the side of the bed.

  “Wonderful.” Hawk pulled a face at Lake’s move.

  “Quiet for a bit,” the nurse instructed.

  Hawk did as he was told. The nurse checked his BP, temp and everything that had beeped and lit up. “Hmm. Your blood pressure is a little elevated.” She gave him an analyzing look. “Are you sick?” The nurse considered him, then Lake, raised her eyebrows and smiled, “Or just healthy?”

  Hawk produced a wicked smile, winked at Lake with a chuckle, then winced. “Oooo. It only hurts when I laugh.”

  Pink from the nurse’s comment, Lake was also concerned about Hawk’s pain level. She was disturbing his rest.

  “I’m going now, so you can rest again.”

  “No. Lake. Stay.”

  “The sooner you recuperate, the sooner you can get out of here.”

  He sighed. “When you put it like that—”

  She said her goodbye. From his expression, it wasn’t exactly the goodbye he would have wished for, but the nurse was still there, fidgeting with all the hanging, beeping monitors.

  “Rest,” she said quietly. “River and I will take care of everything. “Lake wiggled her fingers in a little wave and rounded the door out the room.

  ***

  Yes, he should rest so he could get out of there. Lake’s reaction to his injury had been weighing on his mind, but she had fared better than he expected. He recognized real concern in her eyes, behind the smiles. Last night’s, or he should say her early morning visit remained frustratingly fuzzy. She evidently could handle some anxiety. But how much would she want to? Although he hadn’t had any hospitalizations previously, his work with GRRR placed him in a fair amount of ‘iffy’ situations. Did he have the right to ask her to deal with that? Not to mention her little brother . . .

  Hawk lay there contemplating the pros and cons.

  Lake and River staying at his place. The thought gave him a surprising feeling of satisfaction. He mentally patted himself on the back. Even that hurt right now, he smirked. But the spur of the moment plan to have them stay at the ranch, well—sheer genius on his part—though he couldn’t be much of a host for a while. Rest. Concentrate on getting out of here. The sooner he could get to the ranch with them, the better. Get his strength back. Let Lake get to know him—and the ranch. Could she fit into his world?

  Could he fit into her world?

  He was beginning to think it—as in they—could work. Wanted it to work.

  Hawk fell asleep with his mind wandering to his veranda and one of the big Adirondack chairs, envisioning Lake sitting in his lap, watching the sunset . . .

  The nurse observed the softly smiling, now sleeping patient when she re-entered the room, satisfied that the elevated temp had been caused by his recent female visitor. Yes, he was injured, but aside from that, he was healthy. She looked back in appreciation at his sleeping figure.

  Make that a very healthy man.

  ***

  Between visiting Hawk at the hospital and getting things lined up for their stay at the ranch, the weekend flew by. River went to the hospital with Lake on Sunday, peppering Hawk with questions about the rescues, the downed plane and his injuries. Hawk, good-naturedly, must have answered all his questions—and they were many—at least three times, until Lake reined River in, worried he might be over-tiring the patient patient.

  Lake sat quietly during this exchange—listening, learning and enjoying—impressed by Hawk’s tolerance with her little brother. Only, it was more than just patience. She could tell he enjoyed River’s curiosity by the amber winks he sneaked her way every so often.

  This caused a warm feeling, different from anything she had experienced before. Lake hesitated to name it officially, remnants of her previous relationship failure still lingering—though she rarely thought of Jeremy any more. It wasn’t fair to Hawk. He was a different kind of man. There was a selfless quality to him. Her heart told her it was safe to love him, but her head still interfered. It was the brain’s job after all, to protect the foolish heart.

  Lake sighed. Her brain was finding out just how stubborn her heart could be.

  ***

  After much ado with release papers and doctor’s instructions Monday morning, Hawk was finally freed from the hospital. Sam and Randy Stewart, aka “Ranger Randy” came to help, much to River’s delight.

  Lake took the opportunity to pull Sam aside in the lobby. With all that had been going on after the plane crash and Hawk’s injury, she still hadn’t dealt with the issue of her threatening visitor. It gnawed at her constantly. She had kept River, either in her, or Fran’s sight since school had let out. Hawk would need to recuperate a little further before she told him.

  “My uninvited visitor told me to keep it, ‘Out little secret’.”

  “Of course, he did. That’s what creeps like that count on.” They sat in a waiting room and he peppered her with questions about the incident.

  She spilled everything she could remember to the sheriff. Unfortunately, it wasn’t much. The thug’s threat would loom in Lake’s mind forever. If anything happened to River—

  “I didn’t know what to do at first, Sam. Then I cut my foot . . . then the plane . . . and Hawk got hurt . . . I need help.” She put her hand on his arm. “I’m in over my head. I’m petrified for River.”

  Notoriously hard to rattle, Sam’s steely expression was new to her. Total sheriff.

  “More than likely it was a scare tactic. All the same, I want you to keep your guard up at Hawk’s.” He considered for a moment. “His ranch might be the best place for River and you until I have a chance to check into this. It’d be hard for someone to sneak up there, with the terrain—and Elle around.” He pushed his Stetson bac
k and rubbed his forehead. “It’d be better if Hawk weren’t off his feet right now . . .” He adjusted his hat to its normal position and frowned. “But you’ve got to let him know.”

  “I know. I was going to, but then . . . this accident . . .”

  “He’s tough. Tell him.”

  “Right. I will—just as soon as he gets settled in back at the ranch.”

  He smiled. “You still might need to tie him down. Hawk’s pretty easy going, but something like this’ll stir the fire.” He shook his head. “After those photos—Colter’s still beating that dead horse—now this—I’ve had my fill of it.” He rubbed his forehead again. “And, be sure to tell Hawk you told me about this.” His look turned even more serious. “Today, Lake. I’m calling him later tonight.”

  “Don’t worry, I will.

  Sam considered her with a frown, “Seriously, today.” Then produced one of his million-dollar smiles. “Okay then. I’m sure Hawk’s climbing the walls in there. Let’s get him home before he drives everyone nuts.”

  ***

  Sam drove Hawk in the squad car. The jeep was rougher riding and his truck was too hard to climb into at this point in his recovery.

  Sam got a call on his radio as they pulled into Hawk’s lane, so he basically dropped him off and tore out.

  “Home sweet home.” Lake smiled at Hawk as she stood beside him in front of the cabin.

  “Amen to that.” Hawk agreed wholeheartedly.

  She helped him negotiate the steps. River did his part holding the door and carrying Hawk’s bag from the hospital. Elle was ecstatic at his return and vocalized some meaningful ‘roooww-wows’, from which they all got a good chuckle.

  “You must be tired. Head for the couch.” The color had drained from his face.

  He did as Lake suggested. “Yes ma’am.”

  Lake went over to help with his crutches and get him settled.

  “Where do you want these?” She held the crutches.

  “That big stack of firewood outside would be good. But, I guess you can set them there for now.” He motioned to a spot by the edge of the coffee table, his tone less chipper.