“What is it?” she asked. “What do you need?”
“We’re ready to take you to X-ray now,” a nurse said. He blew out a breath of relief. He needed more time to figure out what to say. And some assurance that she felt the same way.
A short while later it was clear he’d need arthroscopic surgery because the bullet was lodged in the joint. He’d been damn lucky. It had just missed his artery. He was already scheduled for Monday afternoon with a good surgeon. They wheeled him to a private room to speak to the police. Emily was there.
“What’d they say?” she asked.
“Just a little arthroscopic surgery.” He’d have to reschedule all of his patients. He had three to four surgeries every Wednesday. “I’ll be out of commission at least a month. My patients—”
“You’re the patient now,” she said firmly. “We’ll refer the emergencies and the others will have to wait.” She pushed his hair back and kissed his forehead. “Thank you for saving my life.”
“I told you I’m the idiot always running toward danger. What happened to the guy with the gun?”
“He’s with the psychiatrist right now. I signed a restraining order to keep him from me and the hospital. He’s not in his right mind, but I can’t help but feel for him. I don’t want to press charges.”
“He’ll still pay for what he did. He put everyone at risk bringing a gun into the hospital. What if he’d hit one of the patients?”
“Why are you so calm?” she asked.
“I don’t know. Maybe it’s the blood loss. Maybe I’m just used to dealing with emergencies. I sort of live for this shit.”
“Oh, Jared,” she said on a sob.
“You’re making me feel like I’m dying.” He sent a pleading look to the police officer waiting patiently nearby.
“I’m Officer Kent, Eastman P.D. If I could have a word?”
Emily took Jared’s hand, completely ignoring the officer. “I’m going to nurse you back to health. It’s the least I can do.”
He smiled. “That sounds real good.”
Jared answered the officer’s questions, describing what happened as best he remembered it. The officer turned to Emily. “Mr. Messina stated he didn’t intend to shoot you or anyone else. He wanted you to see him kill himself. That was his plan.”
Jared clenched his jaw. The man wanted her to live with that on her conscience.
“He wanted me to suffer for not being there for Chris,” Emily said softly.
“Are you sure you don’t want to press charges?” the officer asked.
Emily hesitated and stared at the ground, her forehead crinkled like she was trying to decide.
He watched her for a moment when something occurred to him. “Are you thinking about those strange gifts?”
She lifted her gaze to his, her lips parted in surprise. “Yes.”
“What gifts?” Officer Kent asked. He was an Eastman cop, not Clover Park, so he didn’t know about Emily’s stalker.
Emily quickly filled him in.
Officer Kent nodded. “The perp often uses printed capital letters to disguise his writing. Don’t worry. We can still analyze it. Might find some fingerprints too.”
Emily nodded. “Okay, if it was Tony, I will be pressing charges. That’s above and beyond a grieving father.”
The officer thanked them both and left.
Jared thought Tony already was beyond the range of a normal grieving father—the look in his eyes was terrifying, both furious and dead calm. But Jared let it go for now because there were still other charges being brought against Tony. He was a risk both to himself and others. Right now all he cared about was Emily being at his side, exactly where she belonged.
~ ~ ~
Emily pushed Jared’s wheelchair out of the hospital exit and was met by a swarm of reporters. Her ex-husband, Michael, stood right out front wearing a suit, apparently waiting for her.
Michael rushed over and enveloped her in a hug. “Emily, thank God you’re okay.”
She fought his embrace, her heart thundering against her rib cage. “Don’t touch me!” She still didn’t know if Michael was the one responsible for the anonymous gifts and ugly note.
“Back off,” Jared growled, and Michael dropped his hands.
Emily looked around frantically for an exit. Jared looked at her over his shoulder and winced from the movement. “You okay back there?”
She moved close to his side and whispered in his ear, “What if it’s Michael who left those creepy gifts?”
Jared narrowed his eyes and turned to Michael just as her ex announced grandly for all of the news reporters to hear, “Thank you, Dr. Reynolds, for your help with my Emily. We’re both so grateful for your heroic efforts.”
Emily stepped behind Jared’s wheelchair, her hands tight on the handles in case they needed to make a fast escape.
The press closed in, their questions rapid-fire:
“Did you know the shooter?”
“Dr. Reynolds, can you tell us what happened?”
“Was this shooting over a love triangle?”
“Love triangle!” Jared barked. “Emily is with me.”
“I’ve never felt closer to Emily,” Michael said, his chest puffing up. He stood in front of Jared. “And I’m sure she’d have to agree—”
Jared shot out his foot, connecting with the back of Michael’s knee, causing him to tumble forward. All of it on film.
Emily pulled Jared’s wheelchair back as Michael bounded to his feet and whirled on Jared, rage making his cheeks a mottled red.
A surge of protective instinct rushed through Emily. “Enough!”
Everyone fell silent.
Michael straightened his tie and seemed to recover himself as he once again pasted on a pleasant face for the cameras.
Emily spoke loud and clear. “I ended my marriage two years ago, and there will never be a reconciliation. What Michael did was unforgiveable.”
“I apologized,” Michael said, looking first to her and then to the press.
Emily held up a hand. “Here’s what you need to know. Dr. Jared Reynolds is a true hero, who sacrificed himself for the safety of me, the children in the ward, and our staff.”
“Can you tell us more about the shooter?” a reporter asked.
“He was a distraught father who recently lost his son,” she said. “That’s all I will say out of respect for the family’s privacy. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to nurse this hero back to health.”
She leaned down and kissed Jared on the cheek. He grinned. Flashes went off as cameras captured the moment. Some video cameras would surely put them on the news as well. She wheeled him to her car and, though some reporters followed them, she had no further comment. If there was one good thing her scandalous past could offer her, it was this experience in dealing effectively with the press.
Michael stayed behind, watching them go.
A short drive later, Emily pulled up to Jared’s house, where a bunch of cars were already parked in the driveway and in front of the house. “Do you recognize these cars?” She feared more press were camped out at his house.
“The cavalry has arrived,” he said with a smile. “I called home earlier to tell them I was okay. I’m the second youngest, so they probably want to baby me.”
It suddenly occurred to her that he didn’t need her at all. She’d been imagining nursing him back to health. It was the least she could do after he risked his life for her.
“So, I guess I’ll just let them do their thing,” she said, pulling up behind a silver Tesla.
Jared turned to her. “Stay.”
“You sure?”
“I’m sure.”
Soon Jared was camped out on the sofa with a glass of water and some homemade Italian soup with meatballs and endive.
“A very healing recipe,” Mrs. Marino proclaimed before insisting Emily enjoy the same. She sat by Jared’s side and took her bowl of soup.
His family—his parents and all of h
is brothers and sisters-in-law—peppered him with questions, often speaking over each other and causing a loud ruckus. Jared took it in stride, seeming to enjoy being the center of attention as he told them his version of the story, which was actually pretty modest, so she had to interrupt a few times to let everyone know just how brave he really was.
“We knew you were our clutch player,” Vince boomed. “Damn, Jare, I don’t know what we’d do if...” He trailed off, wiping at his eyes. Everyone got quiet. His wife, Sophia, wrapped her arms around him, hugging him from the side.
“Nah,” Jared said, breaking the silence. “I always pull through.”
“How long are you going to be in a sling?” Luke asked.
“I’ve got surgery scheduled on Monday—”
“Surgery!” Angel exclaimed. “That sounds serious.”
“Yeah,” everyone agreed.
Jared took a spoonful of soup. “It’s arthroscopic. Small incision. Only a month recovery. Normally they’d just leave the bullet in and let the tissue grow around it, but it’s in the joint, so better to get it out.”
His family fussed over him for a while until Jared’s eyes became heavy, and he slumped back on the sofa.
“We should go,” Mrs. Marino said. “Will you be staying?” she asked Emily.
“Yes.”
“Good. I’m sure as a nurse you’ll know exactly what to do.” She hugged Emily, surprising her because she was, after all, the reason Jared had almost gotten killed.
“I’m very sorry about all of this,” Emily said.
“Not at all,” Mrs. Marino said. “None of this was your fault. You’re just a good person caught in difficult circumstances. Call me if you need anything.”
“Okay,” she managed over the lump in her throat.
Each of his brothers stopped to give her their card with their cell numbers on it. His oldest brother, Gabe, insisted she call about her legal rights. He wanted to make sure Mr. Messina couldn’t ever cause such a dangerous situation again.
After everyone left and the house was quiet, she turned to Jared. He’d fallen asleep, half slumped over. She gently guided him to a more comfortable position, fetched a blanket, and covered him with it.
Then she sat on the floor next to him and finally let herself feel all the terror—the fear for her own life and the near miss for Jared—and broke down in tears. When the tears were spent, she tucked her legs to the side and leaned her cheek against Jared’s leg, needing to be close.
She thought again of Tony. The way he wanted her to suffer for not being there for Chris. Normally she would’ve taken that to heart, but she was done blaming herself for things out of her control. She couldn’t have known Chris would end up in PICU. She had to be gentler with herself. She wasn’t an awful person. It was like Jared’s mom said, she was just a good person caught in difficult circumstances. She really wanted to believe that. She needed to believe that. Some difficult circumstances, like working with terminally ill children, she’d freely accepted on her own, some were forced upon her like with her ex and his scandal. In any case, it was time to believe that she deserved happiness.
She closed her eyes as the exhaustion of the day caught up with her and drifted off to sleep.
She woke with a start to the sound of her cell ringing and leaped up to answer it before it woke Jared. She fumbled through her purse and answered quickly. “Hello?”
“Is this Emily Maguire?” an unfamiliar male voice asked.
She gripped the phone tighter and kept her voice low. “Who is this?”
“Officer Kent. We spoke earlier.”
Relief flooded her. She hadn’t recognized him right away in her exhaustion. “Yes, hello.”
“We didn’t need to wait on fingerprints. Mr. Messina has been telling everyone all about you and the gifts he gave you. His description matches the evidence you turned in earlier.”
She bit her lip, strangely relieved and sad and heartbroken all at the same time. The cancer had broken him. Or maybe he was always broken. Either way it was disturbing.
The officer went on. “We’ll need you to sign a few papers when you can get into the station. Mr. Messina is heavily sedated and is no further danger to you.”
“Okay, thank you. I’ll stop by tomorrow.”
She hung up, and in that moment everything became clear. Life was too short, and the only thing that mattered was grabbing love with both hands when that rare, true thing unexpectedly struck, no matter the risk to your heart.
She turned to find Jared’s green eyes open and staring at her.
~ ~ ~
“What happened?” Jared asked when Emily reached his side.
She fussed with the blanket. “You want to sit up?”
“I got it.” He levered himself to a sitting position and winced as his shoulder was jostled with the movement.
“Take it easy,” she said. “Slow and steady. I’ll get your medicine.”
He grunted. He was due for more of the pain medication. Of course she’d take good care of him. She was a nurse. But who the hell was that on the phone? That better not have been her ex. He felt like pounding his face in. Even if he passed out from the pain in his shoulder, it would be worth it.
She returned, and he swallowed the pills. “Who called?” he asked.
She sat next to him on the sofa and took his hand on his uninjured side. “The police. Officer Kent confirmed it was Tony leaving those strange gifts. I’m pressing charges. Tomorrow I’ll sign the papers.”
“It’s over,” Jared said, giving her hand a squeeze. “Smooth sailing from here on out.”
She gave him a small smile. “After the day you had, I can’t believe you’re looking for the sunny side.”
“You’re my sunny side,” he said gruffly.
“Oh, Jared,” she said, her voice catching on his name. “I realized something about our relationship—”
“We have a relationship now?” He had to ask because they never did have that important feelings talk.
“If you want one. I know I do.”
“So that’s all it took, huh? Taking a bullet for you.”
She gazed up at him tenderly. “It took me realizing why you risked your life for me.”
He raised a brow. “Oh, yeah? Why do you think?”
“Because you love me.” She smiled sweetly.
“You sure about that?” And do you love me back?
“That’s why you kept bringing up Jen, the first woman you loved. That’s why you said your heart couldn’t take it when I wanted to fool around some more on our ski weekend. Your heart was involved. I’ve never been just a hookup to you.”
He grunted. “Took you long enough to catch on.”
She smiled warmly. “You weren’t the easiest person to read, especially given your rep.”
“You’re easy enough to read. You just wanted me for my body.”
She laughed and then unexpectedly cried.
“Hey, I’m sorry,” he said. “I always seem to go too far with the joking.”
“No, it’s fine. I love you for more than your body, I promise.”
“What do you love me for?” he asked, fishing for compliments.
“I love you for your good nature, for your compassion, for your willingness to do for others, for your thoughtfulness—”
“Wow. And not one mention of my biceps.”
“I love those too.” She kissed his bicep.
“I love you.” He kissed her tenderly. “And I’m glad we both lived long enough to realize that. God, Em. I couldn’t have lived with myself if anything had happened to you.”
“I feel the same way about you.”
He looked down into her beautiful face and knew deep down this was what he’d been waiting for all of his bachelor years. The woman that made him feel like he’d finally found home. “I’m going to need a lot of care after my surgery.”
She smiled, her eyes shiny with unshed tears and love. He saw that clear as day. “I’ll be there.”
He wrapped an arm around her, and they stayed like that for a long time, holding each other as well as they could with his injury. A calm settled over him. True love could do that to a guy.
Chapter Fourteen
Emily headed to the Marino-Reynolds Christmas Eve celebration at Gabe’s house the next week in a merry mood. Jared’s surgery had gone well, and he was back to his normal teasing, good-natured, sexy self. She’d planned to spend the week fussing over him, but between his family and Jared’s own insistence on keeping some work hours to follow up on patients, she hadn’t gotten much chance. At least she’d had some time to make him a Christmas gift.
After a feast of several seafood courses—clams, spaghetti with mussels, shrimp marsala, and even baked eel—the family migrated to the large kitchen for dessert. Their dog, Fred, hadn’t been tempted by the feast because he was too busy in the corner, chewing on a cow hoof he’d received as an early Christmas present.
Emily was a little surprised after all the dinner courses to find only one dessert—a huge platter of crescent cookies covered in powdered sugar. Mrs. Marino offered the cookies to Emily first because she was the guest. She took one and then watched as Mrs. Marino offered one to Jared with a big smile. He ate it in two bites.
Everyone cheered, startling Emily.
“Italian wedding cookies,” Sophia explained, though Emily had no idea why they’d be having wedding cookies on Christmas Eve. “She also got you to eat the Italian wedding soup. That’s what the healing meatball soup was at Jared’s house.”
Emily’s brows drew together. “I’m confused. Is this because Luke’s engaged?”
“Nope!” Luke said with a big grin, putting his arm around his fiancée, Kennedy.
“There’s only one thing to do,” Jared said, going down on one knee in front of her.
Emily clapped a hand over her mouth as her eyes filled with happy tears.
“Where’s the ring, Doc?” Vince asked.
Jared made a face. “I’ll get one later.”
Sophia rushed over and tried to take hers off. “It’s stuck!” she wailed. “My fingers are too swollen.” She was fifteen weeks along with her pregnancy, as Vince had informed them all earlier, and over her morning sickness.
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