John walked into Mary Kate’s room with Alex right behind him to see how she was doing. He noticed the extra bed in the room and was not surprised. He knew Alex wouldn’t leave her while she was in the hospital, and that he was probably tired of sleeping in that chair in ICU. He glanced at his patient and noticed that her color was good and she was resting comfortably. She began to stir and smile and move her left hand as if she were reaching for something. Alex moved to her side and took her hand as she settled down and went back to a relaxed sleep. John chuckled as he looked over at Alex and shook his head and left the room.
Later that evening, Mary Kate walked to the nurses’ station and back with greater ease and comfort and needing only to lean on Alex. A dinner tray was brought in and she ate every bit, and within a short time she was relaxed and fell fast asleep again. Alex checked on the ranch and got an update on all security issues, then asked Manny to take Max back to the ranch and went to bed himself. As he kissed Mary Kate good night, he prayed for her continued improvement so they could all go home the next day. He watched Mary Kate sleep for a few minutes and realized just how blessed he was. Then he lay down and went to sleep himself.
The next morning Mary Kate had a huge breakfast; she walked past the nurses’ station and back to her room, and got back in her bed by herself. She was feeling so much better and was very anxious to go back to the ranch. Alex was watching her and smiling. All at once Mary Kate started crying for no apparent reason.
Alex moved to her side and sat on the bed to be able to pull her closer to him without hurting her. “What’s wrong Amada, are you in pain?”
“Not any more than usual, I was just thinking about the baby. It seems like such a miracle. How could I not know? All of the signs were there,” Mary Kate said in between sobs. “Nausea, tiredness, dizziness, and the emotional outbursts were so unlike me.”
“I was concerned, but just thought it was from the trauma over the last few months. Especially the last week,” Alex told her as he rocked her gently, brushing her auburn tresses away from her face.
Then he told her, “When John first told me what he suspected, I was astounded. I just couldn’t believe it. My first thought was you knew and hadn’t told me.” Mary Kate pulled away from Alex and looked up at him with such hurt in her eyes. “Then I knew you loved me too much to ever do that to me or to yourself, no matter what” Alex continued. “Later, while I was watching you sleep and struggle to survive, I realized that all the symptoms were there and we both ignored the possibility. Waiting for you to wake up and talk to me almost killed me. I knew if you just talked to me you would be alright. I wanted to tell you about the baby and see your expression,” he paused a second to swallow the lump in his throat. “It was the most beautiful sight I’ve ever seen.” He shifted her to hold her tighter before continuing, “I love you Mary Kate and I am ecstatic about our baby,” Alex said with great emotion in his voice. He had to stop and pull her close again. Just as he did, John came in the room.
“Not in my hospital you don’t Mr. Chavez. Get off that bed and quit harassing my patient. If you must behave like that you will simply have to go back out to the ranch,” John chuckled as he pretended to be disgusted with their behavior.
It took a minute for what John was saying to sink in, but as soon as it did, they both breathed a sigh of relief and laughed just as Alex took Mary Kate’s lips under his and kissed her deeply.
All the arrangements were made for the return to the ranch as agreed to with John. The only thing Mary Kate argued about was the trip in the ambulance. John refused to sign her release unless she agreed; so, she finally gave in. She did insist no siren.
When she arrived at the hacienda, Maria was waiting for her and ran out to the ambulance crying and fussing. She was highly insulted that there was a nurse assigned to Mary Kate, and that she was not going to be the one to take care of her. Mary Kate assured her that she wanted Maria to be with her and spend time with her planning for the baby, and not to have to take care of her medical needs. Maria finally settled down.
The only negative drawback to her arrival home was Christina still in residence and not in any better temperament than she had been earlier. Mary Kate really didn’t want to deal with her, so she didn’t. She went straight to the suite she shared with Alex, and went right to bed.
Mary Kate could hear Christina giving orders and directions as she crossed the courtyard just inside the front doors. She glanced at Maria and saw a look on her face that spoke volumes, and couldn’t wait to find out what had been going on.
It was obvious Maria was very upset with Christina’s presence at the hacienda, and Mary Kate picked up on this immediately. Alex could tell how upset she was and as soon as he got Mary Kate settled in their suite he asked Maria to join him in the kitchen. She followed him out of the bedroom and across the courtyard to the kitchen area. Alex made sure no one else was around before he spoke to Maria.
“Maria, I know how you feel about having Christina here, but there is nothing we can do about it right now. You cannot share your concerns with Mary Kate and upset her more than she already is. The last thing we need right now is for Mary Kate to regress in her recovery and end up back in the hospital. Her emotional state is very fragile and we must do everything we possibly can to strengthen it. We have to protect her from any more stress and that means keeping Christina, and anything to do with her, away from Mary Kate,” he waited for Maria’s response to ensure she understood the importance of the situation.
“I understand Alex, but I do not like what Christina is doing. She thinks she is mistress here and gives orders to everyone. Christina talks muy mal about Mary Kate, and that is not right,” Maria stated. The more upset Maria got the stronger her accent was.
“Yes, I know, but you cannot share all of that with Mary Kate. I will talk to Christina and get this taken care of,” Alex promised. “Your job is to help me take care of Mary Kate and see that she and the baby continue to improve in their progress to a complete recovery.”
“Alex, I promise I will help you. I will be much happier when Christina is gone back to Houston.”
Shaking his head as he thought he couldn’t agree more. The sooner all of this was over and Christina back home the better it would be for all of them, especially Mary Kate. He smiled at Maria and gave her a big hug, and left the room to check on Mary Kate.
Maria was a saint, and she and Santos had grown up on the ranch. Their parents and grandparents had worked for the Chavez family. Alex’s mother died when he was ten and it was Maria that took over that role and helped Sr. Chavez raise him to the man he was today. Though Maria and Santos had worked for the ranch all their lives, they were more family members than employees.
Alex was already thinking of bringing Isa to El Lobo to help Maria with the household duties so that she could take more of an active role in caring for the baby when it arrived. He knew that Maria would love being the niñera and he couldn’t think of anyone he and Mary Kate would want more in that position. That was another thing they would need to talk about when everything settled down.
When Alex returned to the suite to check on Mary Kate, she was asleep under the watchful eye of the nurse John had sent with them. He had given the nurse a verbal list of people that could come into the suite to see Mary Kate, and Christina and Jessie were not part of that list.
Alex told the nurse he was going to the security office and gave her the number in addition to his cell. He asked her to call him when Mary Kate woke up. Alex took advantage of the time that Mary Kate was asleep to meet with the security team, and get caught up on the latest developments in the situation with the assassin.
When he reached the office, he found Manny and Peter discussing the results of the ballistics report with Sam and Michael. Alex came in and acknowledged everyone in the room, then went to the bar and poured himself a stiff bourbon, neat. He told the men to continue and he joined their meeting with his drink.
“The report confirmed that th
e bullet that hit Mary Kate matched the gun of the shooter found in the culvert yesterday. The local authorities have not been able to turn up any information on the shooter, but our database in Cancun has confirmed that he was a hit man often used by the Cartel,” Manny stated.
“Are you sure?” Alex asked.
“Yes, Jaime ran the information himself and I just got off the phone with him a few minutes ago,” replied Manny.
“Good work. At least we know all this is connected to the Cartel incident and not some new phase of turmoil,” Alex stated as he got up and walked to the window.
“How is Mary Kate?” Sam asked as he walked to stand by Alex at the window.
Alex continued to stare out of the window as he answered Sam, “She is resting comfortably and doing pretty well actually. If we can just keep Christina away from her for the next several days, we should be home free.”
“I don’t guess you can send Christina home, now that Max and Mary Kate have patched a few things up?” Sam inquired.
“I’m afraid that Christina might be a target to get to me through Max; so, we have to keep her under security as well.” Alex acknowledged even though he wanted to send her packing. “I do have some concerns about Jessie Alvarez though, even though we have checked him out thoroughly.” Alex had a quizzical expression on his face as he continued. “There’s still something about him that makes me uneasy.”
“We’ll keep an eye on him in town and keep you posted if we see anything suspicious,” Sam promised as he shook Alex’s hand while leaving the office. “I have to get back. Let me know if anything develops, or if you need me.”
“Thanks, Sam. We really appreciate all you’ve done to help us out,” Alex declared as he gripped his longtime friend’s hand.
All the men shook hands as Sam and Michael left the office, got in their cars, and went back to Cedar Creek. Alex went back to the desk and sat down. Peter and Manny joined him by sitting across the desk from him. They continued to discuss the ballistics report and how the shooter evaded the secure perimeter.
Alex decided that it was time they did something to see if they could draw the assassin out in the open, and he was going to be the bait. Manny and Peter argued with him about it, but Alex wouldn’t budge from his decision. With all the security team members in place, he would be as safe as sitting at the ranch and waiting for something to happen. Finally, they agreed to the idea and began to plan the operation.
The operation would take place at the only public bar in Cedar Creek that was located just outside of town on the Corpus Christi highway. Alex would go to the bar with someone, because it would be too suspicious for him to go alone. That would be too obvious. Sam was the most likely person to join Alex, because he could handle himself and had worked with the team before. They wouldn’t have to worry about him panicking and getting himself shot or shooting someone else, unnecessarily.
After several hours of planning, Manny answered the ringing office phone. “Ok, I’ll let him know.” After hanging up, he turned back to Alex, “It was the nurse, Mary Kate is awake and asking for you.”
Alex told the guys to continue without him, and excused himself to return to Mary Kate.
**********
Alex walked into the bedroom of the suite just as the nurse began changing the dressing on Mary Kate’s wounds. Mary Kate saw Alex close his eyes for a few seconds at the exposed chest wound as he moved around the bed to sit down by her to hold her other hand. Seeing his reaction to her wound brought tears to her eyes, but she was determined to not let them fall.
“It’s pretty grotesque, isn’t it?” Mary Kate asked with great care so as not to lose her composure. “I don’t blame you for not wanting to look.”
“Amada, I’m sorry. I just think of how it must hurt. That’s what upsets me so badly,” Alex replied. “I don’t care what it looks like. It won’t ever change how I feel.”
Mary Kate was having a hard time accepting his compassion for her. She had convinced herself that the body Alex had adored looking at was now deformed, and he’d never look at her the same way again. She had convinced herself that every time he saw the horrible line of sutures that led from the top of the rise of her right breast to her shoulder and on her back from her right shoulder blade to the top of her shoulder, he would be repulsed. She felt it was out of repulsion, not concern that he grimaced at the sight of her. With everything going on around her she was not thinking clearly.
Logically, she knew Alex couldn’t love her more no matter what she looked like, but she wasn’t seeing things logically now.
The two of them shared a quiet dinner in the suite. Mary Kate got out of bed and walked into the sitting room to have dinner at the small table. She was very quiet and subdued throughout dinner. Alex kept asking her if she was alright which worried her even more. She knew that her behavior was not normal and it must be worrying him terribly, but she couldn’t help it.
After dinner, Alex helped her back to bed and sat with her until she fell asleep. The nurse returned to the suite and Alex went back to the office.
**********
Alex came to bed and released the nurse for the evening, so that he could be alone with Mary Kate. She woke up once to take her medication from the nurse who returned to the room, and then she slept through the night.
Alex didn’t get much sleep for fear he would bump her shoulder and cause her more pain than she was already in. He spent most of the night lying awake. He watched her and thought about how much she meant to him, and how lucky he was to have her and the baby back home safe and sound. He dozed off and on throughout the night, and finally fell into a deep sleep right before dawn.
**********
Just after daybreak, there was a knock on the door and Alex got up to see who it was. It was John Maxwell and the day nurse. Alex let them in, but told them Mary Kate was still sleeping. John was content with the news, but he wanted to check on her himself. They moved from the sitting room into the bedroom, and by this time Mary Kate was awake.
John was pleased with information about her vital signs he received from the nurse, and removed the dressings to check the state of the wounds. Mary Kate watched Alex as John checked the sutures. She could tell seeing the wound upset him, and she began to wonder if he would always look at her that way.
Mary Kate’s progress since the day before pleased John. “You are progressing quite nicely Mary Kate. You need to get plenty of rest, eat regular meals, and keep up your walking.”
He finished replacing the bandages before continuing. “You should be able to do a little more each day. Behave yourself where Alex is concerned so you don’t hurt herself.” John noticed the gentle teasing didn’t get a rise out of her and that concerned him.” He decided he needed to talk to Alex and see how she’s been emotionally. When he got ready to go he asked Alex to walk him out and left Mary Kate with the day nurse.
Once they were in the sitting area of the suite, John turned to Alex before speaking. “I’m happy with Mary Kate’s progress, but she seems to have lost her sense of humor somewhere between here and the hospital,” John declared as he looked up at Alex with a raised eyebrow. “Is something going on?”
“When the nurse changed her dressing late yesterday afternoon she made a comment about it being so grotesque that I wouldn’t want to look at her anymore,” Alex replied with concern in his voice. “I get the feeling she thinks I won’t find her body beautiful anymore with the scars.”
“That’s not an uncommon reaction for anyone when they see the effects scars have on their body,” John stated.
“Mary Kate isn’t just anyone. She’s never been emotional about things like this before. As you know, she does have other scars from injuries she has received over the years,” Alex commented with great concern in his voice.
“Alex, she’s never been pregnant before, lost a husband and then had him reappear, lost her father-in-law, and almost lost her life all within a few short months.” He stopped and gathered his thought
s before continuing. “This isn’t the usual Mary Kate we are talking about. Her hormones and emotions are going to be all over the chart for some time to come. Also, don’t forget your first wife is living under the same roof. That is a lot for anyone to deal with,” John reminded Alex.
The two men visited a few more minutes and when they saw Maria and Santos bringing breakfast trays across the courtyard, John excused himself and said he would return later that afternoon. They shook hands and Alex returned to the suite to have breakfast with Mary Kate. Everyone left them alone while they ate.
*********
Mary Kate was already sitting at the table when Alex entered the sitting room. She had on a long silk mint green gown and robe with her hair tied back with a matching ribbon. She looked rested and a little more chipper than she had when John was here, but she still wasn’t herself.
Alex walked over to her and kissed her tenderly, which caused a tingling reaction she hadn’t felt in what seemed like days. Her pupils reacted visibly, so that he was aware of her arousal. He deepened the kiss and then pulled back, remembering that she was in no condition for him to continue what he’d started. The look of rejection on her face shocked him and made him realize what he’d done.
“Amada, I’m sorry but you are in no condition for me to continue this no matter how much we both want it,” Alex whispered. “It won’t be long before we will be able to return to our lovemaking.” She smiled at him, and didn’t say anything.
“Is it because of the pregnancy and the repulsive wounds that you’re turning away from me, Alex,” Mary Kate asked.
Alex reached for her and drew her up into his arms and spoke in a most endearing tone. “Oh, my God, Amada, no! If anything, the pregnancy has made you look more beautiful than ever to me, and your body will always be exquisite no matter what happens to it. Don’t ever think otherwise.”
She burst in to tears as Alex held her carefully and rocked her in his arms until she stopped crying. He sat down in the burgundy wingback chair by the fireplace and gently placed Mary Kate on his lap and held her with one arm and put his other hand on the baby. They sat in silence for a long time before going back to the table to finish their breakfast, at which time Mary Kate seemed to be in much better spirits.
Twice in a Lifetime_A love story you'll never forget! Page 9