Her Mistletoe Protector

by Laura Scott

  “Good idea.” Rachel slid behind the wheel and jammed the key into the ignition. He closed his eyes in despair when he heard a click-click as she attempted to start the car.

  “I’m sorry, Nick,” Rachel lamented, and got out of the car. “Either Karl or Gerry must have done something to the engine.”

  He opened his eyes and nodded wearily. “I shouldn’t be surprised. Guess we’ll have to try and make it to the highway by walking.”

  “Nick, you’re bleeding!” Joey exclaimed.

  He glanced down and winced when he saw the dark stain of blood smeared across the palm of Joey’s hand. “Yeah, but it’s just a scratch,” he said, downplaying his injury. “I’ll be fine as soon as the ambulance gets here.”

  Joey still looked horrified, and he hated knowing he was causing the child to be afraid again. Hadn’t the poor kid been through enough? He’d never forget the way Joey went charging after Errol with the tree branch. The kid was a true hero. “Listen, Joey, can you hear the sirens? The police will be here soon. Everything’s going to be all right.”

  “Let’s go, Nick.” Rachel slid her arm around his waist, putting her shoulder under his arm to help support him. He silently prayed for strength as they made their way down the rest of the gravel driveway. The hazy smoke made it difficult to see and to breathe. The three of them coughed as they walked. He could barely see a few feet in front of his face, so he had no way of knowing if they were anywhere close to the highway.

  After about ten minutes, he could feel his strength waning, even with Rachel trying to take most of his weight. He stumbled on a large rock and knew he was going to fall. Instantly, he let go of both Rachel and Joey so he wouldn’t take them down with him. He groaned loudly when he hit the ground, hard. For a moment everything went black and he stopped fighting, stopped struggling, welcoming the darkness.

  “Nick! Are you all right?” From far away, he could feel someone shaking him and calling his name. Rachel? He didn’t have the strength to reassure her.

  Once he’d prayed for the Lord to take him so he could be with his wife and daughter again. But it hadn’t been his time. Was God going to take him now? Just when he’d found Rachel? He didn’t want to leave Rachel and Joey, but he didn’t have the strength to fight anymore.

  “Take me home, Lord,” he whispered. “I’m ready to come home.”

  * * *

  “Nick!” Rachel tried not to panic as she stripped away his coat so she could look at his arm. Not that she would be able to see much in the darkness.

  “Is Nick going to die?” Joey asked, his voice trembling with fear.

  “Not if I can help it,” she muttered. Nick’s jacket wouldn’t come off and she soon realized he’d tied a string around the upper part of his left arm in an attempt to stop the bleeding.

  “No, God wants me home....” he muttered, weakly pushing her hands away.

  Rachel couldn’t believe Nick was just going to give up. She remembered him mentioning his wife and daughter were up in heaven. Was he willing to give up his life in order to be with them again? Didn’t she and Joey mean anything to him?

  Maybe not, but that was too bad. She wasn’t ready to let him go. She untied the string and yanked the jacket sleeve off. His blood-soaked sweatshirt confirmed her worst fears.

  He was hit badly, far worse than he’d let on.

  Working quickly, she felt for the worst part of the injury, trying not to wince when her fingers sank into the open wound. Once she’d found it, she retied the string around his arm above the injured area. What else could she use to stop the bleeding? She shrugged out of her coat, took off her sweatshirt and then put her coat back on. Using the sleeve of her sweatshirt, figuring it was cleaner than the hood, she balled it up and pressed it against the gouged area across Nick’s biceps.

  “Come on, Nick. Help me out here,” she urged as she leaned all her weight against him, hoping to slow the blood loss. But Nick didn’t move, didn’t so much as flutter an eyelash.

  “Wake up, Nick,” Joey said, shaking Nick’s other arm. “You have to wake up!”

  The sounds of sirens grew louder. “Hang in there, Nick. The ambulance is almost here!”

  Still, Nick didn’t respond, not even when the ambulance and the firefighters arrived. Two paramedics came over to help Nick while the rest of the firefighters headed in with a huge water truck to the wooded area to douse the fire.

  “He’s lost a lot of blood,” Rachel cautioned, when the two paramedics nudged her aside.

  “Let’s get an IV in, stat!” the female paramedic said curtly.

  “I’ve got it,” the younger man replied. “Fluids wide open until we can get the O neg blood flowing.”

  “His blood pressure is low—I’ll get the packed red blood cells out of the ambulance,” the woman continued. She darted away and returned with a small cooler less than two minutes later. She quickly opened the cooler and took out what looked like packages of blood.

  Rachel kept Joey close to her side as they watched the two paramedics work on Nick. Once they had the blood infusing into his veins, they brought over a gurney and began to strap him securely onto it.

  “Could we go with you? Please?” Rachel asked, stepping forward. “Our car has been tampered with and we don’t have a ride out of here. There’s also a man who tried to kill us still back in the woods.”

  The two paramedics grimaced. “I’m sorry, but that’s against the rules,” the younger man said.

  “Besides, the police will want to talk to you, especially if there’s still a threat here in the area,” the female paramedic added kindly. “We’re taking him to Madison General Hospital and I’m sure one of the officers will give you a ride.”

  Her heart sank, but she also knew they were right. She had little choice but to stand there with her arm around Joey and watch as they bundled Nick into the ambulance.

  “Do you think God will listen if we pray for Nick?” Joey asked, after the paramedic jumped into the driver’s seat, started the engine and pulled out onto the highway.

  She gathered him close and nodded. “Absolutely, Joey,” she responded. “Dear Lord, we ask You to please keep Nick safe in Your care. Amen.”

  “Amen,” Joey echoed.

  Tears burned her eyes as she realized that no matter what happened moving forward, her son was going to be hurt by Nick’s leaving. Because he already cared about Nick, already saw him as some sort of surrogate father.

  And she couldn’t blame him, because if she were honest with herself, she’d admit she was falling for Nick, too. Maybe he didn’t feel the same way, but she couldn’t imagine a life without him.

  Please, Lord, let him live!

  * * *

  “What do you mean you can’t find Karl?” Rachel asked, her tone rising incredulously. With the smoke growing thicker in the woods despite the firefighters’ attempt to douse the raging flames, the police officer had stashed her and Joey in the squad car while they went searching for the scientist. “He was lying on the ground about twenty feet away from the car. You found the car, right?”

  “Yes, ma’am, we found the vehicle. And we looked all over but didn’t find any sign of the research doctor or the weapon.” The tall, dark-haired police officer had introduced himself as Sean McCarthy.

  Rachel shivered and hugged Joey. The thought of Karl Errol being out on the loose in the woods with his rifle wasn’t at all reassuring. She wished now that she had taken the gun with her. She glanced through the passenger-side window, hoping that Karl had taken the opportunity to escape rather than to seek revenge.

  She could still barely comprehend that Gerry Ashton had decided to kill her and Joey as retaliation for her father giving her the company. And because he thought she was onto him. She felt sick to her stomach, thinking about how she’d been duped by the man she’d trusted.
>
  Once again, her instincts had led her wrong.

  “You say you believe Karl Errol was secretly working for Global Pharmaceuticals?” Officer McCarthy asked.

  “That’s what he admitted to. I’m still having trouble understanding how two people hated me enough to try and kill me.”

  “Can’t say that I have much experience with corporate espionage,” McCarthy admitted.

  “Me, either,” she murmured. She didn’t want to think about greed and corruption anymore. Right now, she wanted to see Nick. To make sure he was all right.

  “Officer McCarthy, will you please take us to Madison General Hospital?” she asked, willing to beg if necessary. It seemed as if hours had passed since the ambulance had driven away with Nick. She wanted nothing more than to get far away from this place where Nick had almost died and where she and Joey had feared for their lives, too. “We’ve given you our statements. It’s not like we can’t discuss this in more detail later, right?”

  Officer McCarthy hesitated but then nodded. “All right. We’ll head over to the hospital. If Detective Butler is awake, I’ll get his statement, as well.”

  Her shoulders slumped with relief. She didn’t bother telling the officer that the likelihood of Nick answering any questions was slim to none. She wouldn’t be at all surprised to find that Nick was already in surgery, having the injury to his arm repaired. If he survived long enough to get to surgery.

  No, she refused to believe the worst. God was surely watching over Nick. He’d been a good Christian his entire life.

  She didn’t even want to consider the alternative. That God would take Nick home to be with his wife and daughter.

  The ride to the hospital didn’t take too long, although Joey was half asleep by the time they arrived. With Officer McCarthy as their escort, they made their way to the waiting area and were given a quick update about Nick’s condition.

  “Detective Butler is still in surgery,” the woman behind the desk informed them. “But he should be out soon. Now tell me what relation are you to the patient?”

  Rachel swallowed hard. “I— We’re good friends. He, uh, has sisters, but I don’t know how to get in touch with them.” She knew he had parents, although she wasn’t sure how to contact them, either. How was it that she was more familiar with the names of his dead wife and daughter than his living family members?

  Maybe calling herself a friend was stretching the truth. She was just a woman who’d needed Nick’s protection and his expertise. Nothing more, nothing less.

  The kiss they’d shared didn’t mean anything. And she’d be stupid to think it had.

  She and Joey went to sit down, and soon Joey was snuggled against her, falling asleep. She tucked Officer McCarthy’s business card in her pocket and let her head drop back against the wall.

  As soon as they found Karl Errol, this nightmare would really be over. She and Joey could go back home to their normal lives. Granted there would still be some red tape before the money was returned her, but she was convinced it would all work out.

  She wondered how long Nick would have to stay off duty as a result of his gunshot wound and hoped it wouldn’t be too long. Grimly, she realized there was no way she’d ever be able to repay him for everything he’d done for her and for Joey.

  He’d put his life and his career on the line for them. More than once. Without Nick’s help she wouldn’t have managed to get Joey back.

  Not only had he kept them both safe, but he’d also taught them to believe in God.

  Yet all she could offer in return was to pray for him to recover with the full use of his arm.

  * * *

  “Ms. Simon?” A hand shook her awake and she blinked, momentarily confused as to where she was. Then she recognized the unmistakable antiseptic smell of a hospital.

  “What?” She winced when her neck muscles tightened painfully as she turned toward the hospital employee. “Nick? Is he out of surgery?”

  “Yes. The doctor is on his way down to talk to you.”

  Joey was still asleep beside her and she tried not to wake him as she eased away. She rubbed her hands over her gritty eyes and was surprised to find that the sky outside was beginning to lighten.

  A harried surgeon wearing green scrubs came into the room. “Ms. Simon? I’m Dr. Wagner. Detective Butler’s surgery went well. We were able to save his arm, although it was touch and go for a while as his brachial artery was injured. He’s just about finished in the recovery area and then will be sent to the ICU where they can watch him more closely.” He smiled compassionately. “You’ll be able to visit him in about forty-five minutes or so.”

  Her mind was spinning with all the information he’d told her. Although she was certainly relieved that Nick had made it through the surgery, she still couldn’t help worrying. “Is there any way he could still lose his arm?” she asked.

  For a moment hesitation shadowed the doctor’s eyes. “We’re going to keep a close eye on his circulation. If there’s any change, we’ll take him back to surgery. We’ll know more after twenty-four hours or so.”

  Rachel nodded to indicate she understood. “Thank you,” she whispered.

  The doctor flashed a brief smile before he turned and left. Joey woke up, complaining that he was hungry. Unfortunately, Rachel didn’t have any money on her, not even an ID. They’d left everything they had in the cabin, which was likely burned beyond repair by now.

  “Here, these are meal passes for the cafeteria,” the woman behind the desk said, offering up two small plastic cards. “They’re worth about five dollars each.”

  “Thank you so much,” Rachel murmured, taking them gratefully. Getting something to eat would help pass the time until she and Joey could visit Nick in the ICU.

  It was closer to an hour later before the ICU called down for them. She held tightly on to Joey’s hand as they went into the critical-care area. Nick’s room was the second door on the left, so they cautiously approached.

  “He looks bad, Mom,” Joey choked out, his eyes filling with tears. “He looks like he’s going to die.”

  “Joey, listen to me. The doctor said Nick is stable. He wouldn’t lie to us. It’s just that Nick is connected to lots of machines right now.” She did her best to soothe her son, although she felt just as awful seeing Nick like this.

  Rachel stepped forward and took Nick’s uninjured hand in hers. “Nick, it’s me, Rachel. Joey is here, too. The doctor said you’re going to be fine. Do you hear me? You’re going to be just fine.”

  Nick’s eyelids fluttered for a moment and he looked directly at her. She smiled. “They said your arm should heal. I don’t want you to worry about anything, okay?”

  “Where am I?” he asked, his eyes full of confusion.

  She tried not to let her fear show. “You’re at the hospital in Madison. You just had surgery on your arm.”

  “But I—can’t feel my arm,” he whispered in agony.

  “Your arm is right here.” She patted the heavily bandaged limb gently. “The doctor said there’s a good chance you’ll make a full recovery.” She made sure her tone was encouraging.

  “I can’t—” Nick stopped, closed his eyes, and turned his head away as if shutting her out.

  Rejection seared her soul and she stepped back, keeping her expression neutral for Joey’s sake. She didn’t want to leave, but he’d made his feelings clear. Did he really think he was going to lose his arm? Where was his faith in God?

  She didn’t want to think that Nick preferred to be alone through this difficult time, but really, how much did she truly know about him? Maybe he only wanted his family here. Like his parents or his sisters.

  She was just a woman he’d gone out of his way to help. Obviously, there was nothing more for her to do here.

  She took a deep breath, trying to ease her he
artache. This was why she’d avoided becoming emotionally involved. Only this time, she wasn’t the only one who would be hurt.

  Joey’s heart would be broken, as well.

  SIXTEEN

  Nick fought the rising sense of despair. The doctor had told him that they’d saved his arm, but what was the point if he couldn’t use it? His entire career would be over.

  He shifted and groaned, and pain slashed through his left arm, robbing him of his breath. Was it a good thing to know he could feel pain? He forced his eyes open and stared at the heavily bandaged limb. His fingers were hugely swollen and no matter how much he tried, he couldn’t move them. He concentrated on feeling them move, but no luck.

  Nothing. He felt nothing.

  With a disgusted sigh, he closed his eyes again, feeling guilty for the way he’d treated Rachel and Joey. They hadn’t deserved his anger. He should be thanking God for saving his life, but instead he was focusing on the fact that his arm might never work right again.

  Shame burned the back of his throat. He’d taught Rachel and Joey about having faith but couldn’t manage to keep his own. Obviously, he owed them an apology.

  But where had they gone? Now that he was awake, the pain in his arm throbbed in conjunction with the beat of his heart. His throat was still sore, no doubt from the smoke he’d inhaled out in the woods.

  Abruptly, he wondered how Rachel and Joey were doing. After all, they’d inhaled a fair amount of smoke, too. Had they been checked out by a doctor? He shifted in the bed again, and a loud series of beeping noises brought a nurse running into his room.

  “Relax, Mr. Butler, you need to calm down.”

  He almost corrected her—he was a detective, not a mister—but didn’t want to waste his energy. “I need to know if Rachel and Joey Simon are both patients here, too,” he croaked.

  The nurse frowned down at him, as if she were worried about him. “They were here visiting you about twenty minutes ago, don’t you remember?”