Where I Found You (Heart's Compass Book 1)

by Brooke O'Brien

“I’m sorry, Sahls?” I ask, cutting her off. Are you fucking kidding me? I knew he was a doctor, but I’ve never given a shit to pay attention about the details. “Don’t you have someone else she can see?”

  She must sense my anger as she holds up her hand defensively as if she is silently asking me to calm down. Ellie wraps her hand around my forearm, pulling me back to her.

  “Callum, what’s wrong with the doctor?” I look down at where Ellie’s hand is on my arm, turning my head back to her seeing the concern on her face before turning back to the nurse.

  “I’ll be damned if I will have that asshole anywhere near my girl. So, you’ll have to find someone else,” I demand, not taking any other option.

  I look up at the nurse to find her eyes nearly bugging out of her head. She probably thinks I’m going to lose my mind. I certainly don’t want them to throw my ass out of here. It’s not her fault I hate that sorry son of a bitch.

  Letting out a deep sigh, I will myself to calm down and try this again.

  “Listen, I’m sorry. I just don’t like him nor do I want him around. Alright? Is there anyone else you could have look her over?” I ask, my patience wearing thin. If I wasn’t so worried about Ellie and making sure she was okay, I would wrap her in my arms and walk her straight out of this fucking hospital.

  “I’m sorry, sir. We are a small hospital, and he is the only doctor on call. If you want her to be seen here today, it must be by Dr. Sahls,” she says apologetically.

  “Alright, alright!” I say, holding up my hands, taking a step back to sit on the chair next to Ellie. I’m not leaving this room but if I don’t get my anger under control, I may not have a choice.

  “I’ll let the doctor know you’re ready. He should be back in just a few minutes,” she murmurs, forcing a smile as she opens the door exiting the room.

  “What the hell was that about?” Ellie asks as soon the door closes, anger and concern laced through her soft tone. She clearly didn’t like how I reacted, but this is the first time she’s seen this side of me.

  The side that would love nothing more than to knock that fucker out.

  Looking up, her eyebrows are bunched together as her fingers are wrapped around her injured wrist tightly. Seeing her in pain brings it all crashing down around me, remembering why we are here in the first place.

  “It’s nothing, baby. I’m sorry,” I say, standing and moving close to her. Running my fingers over her wrist, I try to steer the conversation away from what happened, not wanting to start an argument.

  “How does it feel?” She moves her fingers away so I can inspect her wrist. It’s swollen and clearly sore, but hasn’t changed colors, which I take as a good sign.

  “It’s sore, but I’m fine.”

  Looking up at her, I run my hand along her cheek. I know she is worried about why I blew up and was so upset. Brushing Ellie’s hair back, I press my lips against her forehead as I lean back, searching her eyes for the way to explain it to her. She deserves an explanation as to why I reacted the way I did.

  The sound of knocking, followed by the door opening has us both turning our heads as Jeff walks in.

  “Knock, knock. Ellie, how ya doin’?” he says, a smug grin taking over his face, at least until he sees me standing here next to her. Clearly the nurse didn’t give him a heads up because he looks a little taken off, but recovers quickly. His eyes roam over to me, taking in my hand still resting along the side of Ellie’s face.

  I can’t hide the shit-eating grin taking over my face as I move to stand next to Ellie, running my hand along her back. I’m guessing Ellie has an idea of why I was pissed off as her back tenses, recognizing him as the guy from the bar.

  The guy she was talking to in an attempt to ignore me, only pissing me off.

  Yeah, baby, he isn’t coming anywhere near you now.

  “I’m okay,” she says, her voice is low and hesitant.

  “I hear you had a fall, we will get you checked out,” he says, turning his attention to me. “Callum,” he greets, tipping his head and narrowing his eyes, acknowledging me. There is a challenging look in his eye, that has me moving my neck to the side, loosening up, as if encouraging him to test me.

  With a smirk on his face, he turns back to Ellie asking her what happened. Standing here with my arms crossed, I hear her replay what happened leading up to her fall. When she gets to the part of the story where she explains that I came in, I want to flash a smug-as-fuck grin right back at him.

  “Well, I’m glad you came in to get checked out. It’s better to be safe,” he says, looking at her with a smile. “First, let me check out your head, I just want to rule out a possible concussion. How are you feeling? Anything abnormal since you bumped your head?” he asks, moving to stand in front of Ellie.

  “No, just a headache. At first, I thought my skull was splitting in half. Now it just feels like a throbbing pain,” she grumbles as I run my hand up her back, doing my best to comfort her.

  Nodding his head in understanding, “What about sensitivity to light and sound, as well as any nausea?” he questions.

  “I’m not feeling nauseous, but the sunlight and sound definitely doesn’t help with the headache,” she tells him, as he holds up a light to check her pupils. His closeness to Ellie, even though I know he is just checking her over, has me riding on the edge.

  “It looks like your pupils are responding so that’s a good sign. It doesn’t appear to be a concussion although you do have some of the symptoms,” he says, looking at both of us. “I would recommend getting some rest and taking it easy for the next couple of days, okay?”

  Ellie nods her head in understanding.

  “Now let me check out your wrist.”

  Ellie holds out her hand to him as Jeff wraps his fingers around her wrist. Watching him feel along her soft skin has me wound tight. The tension in this room is so thick you could cut it with a knife. Ellie must sense how I feel, as she peers up at me. Careful of the tenderness on her head, I lean in close and press a small kiss to the side of her head.

  I can see the subtle tic of Jeff’s jaw as he continues to run his fingers along Ellie’s wrist.

  “I don’t think it is broken but definitely appears to be a sprain. I think some rest and taking it easy will do you a lot of good. Icing it will help reduce some of the swelling you’re seeing,” he says as he continues to run over a series of instructions.

  “I’ll write down my number in case anything comes up or if your symptoms change.” As soon as the words leave his mouth, I can’t control the growl that emanates from deep in my chest. The nerve of this prick.

  “That won’t be necessary,” I say, interrupting him. “Thanks for your concern but I’ll make sure she is well taken care of.”

  Stepping in front of Ellie, I cross my arms blocking him from her. I know it’s a move that’s likely going to piss her off, but I don’t care.

  “Callum, are you fucking kidding?” she retorts. Ahh, there’s my girl. “I’ll take care of myself, thank you very much.”

  Turning and looking at Ellie, I lock my jaw not wanting to do this with her right now either. Ellie slides down from the table, turning to look at Jeff.

  “Thank you for your help. If that’s all, I think I’ll be going now,” she announces, taking the discharge papers from his hand. Without even looking to see if I’m behind her, she opens the door and makes her way out of the room and down the hall. It isn’t until we are outside in the parking lot that she finally acknowledges me behind her.

  “I can’t fucking believe you,” she mumbles under her breath, knowing I’m right behind her and can hear her. Reaching my hand out in front of her, I grab the handle of my pick-up truck, stopping her from opening it.

  I know she doesn’t feel well and I don’t want to fight with her right now, but we need to put this to rest.

  “You can be pissed off all you want, sweetheart, but it’s the truth. We can talk about this later, once you are feeling better,” I say, stepping in fro
nt of her. Grabbing the keys out of my pocket, I click the unlock button and open the door, holding out a hand to help her in.

  With her arms crossed, she props her hip out in defiance.

  “The way you behaved back there was uncalled for. He was being respectful and you were practically pissing on me, marking your territory. How many times do I have to tell you I can take care of myself?” she chides, ignoring my offered hand and climbs up on the foot step seating herself.

  I swear this woman can push my ever-loving buttons sometimes.

  Stepping up on the footrest, I grab the seat belt and move to buckle her in as she holds up her hand halting my movement.

  “I can do that too you know. I’m not going anywhere,” she affirms, rolling her eyes as she takes the strap out of my hand.

  Once the buckle clicks in place, I lean back looking over her face.

  “I think you like it when I’m chasing after you, sweetheart. Just so you know, I wasn’t marking my territory back there. I was just clearing something up for him. I’m yours and you’re mine, which means I will do whatever I need to do to take care of you.

  “By the looks of it, you could use a reminder, too. So, let me remind you, Ellie Ryan. You’re mine, which means this sass, that smile, that laugh I fucking love so much, the place on your neck I want to kiss every second of every day, that’s mine. You can push me away, but you need to remember, I’m not going anywhere.”

  Leaning forward, I press a small kiss on her forehead, against her cheek, and ending with a kiss on my favorite spot where her neck and shoulder meet. I don’t miss the way her breath catches as her chest heaves, struggling to catch a breath.

  “You’re mine, Ellie,” I whisper in her ear before I step down, closing the door behind me.

  After sleeping off the headache from yesterday, I wake up the next morning feeling well rested. It’s a perfect day to be outside so I make it a point to do just that. I spend most of the morning, and if I’m honest, the early afternoon, too, sitting on the rocking chair on my front porch reading a book. It’s something I’ve gotten in the habit of doing when I have a lot on my mind and with Callum coming around more, saying I have a lot on my mind is an understatement.

  On the way home from the hospital last night, he brought up the subject of me not having a cell phone again. As he has mentioned a couple of times, he is concerned about me not being able to reach someone, especially knowing I am walking around town, even sometimes after dark. When that didn’t seem to work, he used the fact he would be heading out of town for almost a week for work.

  Not having a way to talk to him for a week seemed like forever.

  Realizing it was a battle I wasn’t going to win, I told him I would get a phone but only under one condition - it must be a prepaid phone. I sold it as I didn’t want him to be bothered by adding me to his account. I didn’t tell him the truth, that the thought of having my name on something, a way to tie me back to Arbor Creek, scared me.

  I earned a grunt, but in the end, he was getting what he wanted, so he agreed. Callum promised he would stop by and take me into town to get it squared away when he got off work tonight. He can be a little overprotective, okay well maybe a lot protective, but I know he means well.

  It’s early afternoon when I finally realize the time and force myself to get up and do something with my day. I still have plenty of homemade cookies left over after all the baking I did yesterday. With not much to do, I decide to put together a plate of goodies and head down the road to the Hudson’s.

  Hudson and his wife, June, are two people in Arbor Creek I’ve gotten to know quite well. A couple of months after I moved here, Hudson invited me over to his house one Sunday afternoon for their family lunch. Kinsley was standing next to me as we were locking up after work the night before.

  “If you thought the banana bread was good, you don’t want to miss out on Nana’s peach cobbler.”

  Ms. June is quite possibly one of the best bakers in the state of Iowa. The first day I met her, I shared with her how one of my favorite memories growing up was spending time in the kitchen with both my father and Grams. Ever since then, she’s been sending me home with recipes or leftovers after family dinner. Sometimes, she’ll even send me a treat with Hudson on days she knows I’ll be working at the store. It seems only right that I stop by and bring her some of the homemade cookies she had given me the recipe for.

  We spend most of the early afternoon sitting in her kitchen. She told me about memories of Kinsley and Kolton growing up, how she and Hudson met and what led them to building their house here. The land was originally owned by Hudson’s parents. After they both had passed, his mother left the property, including the house I was staying in, to him.

  I couldn’t help but think about my Grams sitting at her dining room table, listening to all the stories she told me. It reminded me of the times she would tell me about my father and his two brothers growing up.

  Checking the time, I knew I was cutting it close. If I didn’t leave soon, I wouldn’t have much time to get ready before Callum arrived. With a hug and a wave goodbye, I headed back to my house. Deciding to take the quick route, I cut across the property through the trees that separated our houses, offering some seclusion from the rest of the Hudson Ranch.

  Walking along the trees near the back side of my house, I bend down picking up a large tree branch that appears to have fallen after the last thunderstorm, being mindful of my injured wrist. What I see on the ground before me has me halting firmly in place, feeling as if the wind was knocked right out of me. Dropping the branch on the ground, I take a step back and focus on what I’m seeing.

  Sitting on the ground near my bedroom window is a tree stump. A ceramic pot appears to have tipped over, littering the ground with cigarette butts. Immediately, my thoughts are brought back to him as memories plague me. Pressing my hand against my throat, I feel as though I’m suffocating as my vision starts to fade and the tears start to form in my eyes.

  You’re going to regret this one day.

  Rubbing my palms over my eyes, I wipe away the tears staining my eyes and mixing with the sweat on my face.

  “You’re okay, Ellie, he’s not here. You’re okay,” I reassure myself out loud, forcing air into my lungs.

  “He’s not here,” I repeat over and over.

  Not bothering to move the branch, I race to the front of the house and up the porch steps, slamming the front door shut behind me. Locking it behind me, I slide down the front of the wooden door. As soon as my butt hits the floor, all my emotions escape me. The tears flowing down my face are for the scared, broken girl who is still locked up inside because of him.

  I cry because, even though he is locked up in prison, he still has a hold on me.

  I don’t know how long I stay here before I convince myself to get up. It won’t be long before Callum is here, and I know if he were to show up with me like this, he’d be worried. My thoughts continue to replay what I’ve seen, over and over like a photo reel. My mind is swirling, but I keep coming back to the thought that it’s not possible.

  He is still locked up for what he did for another two years.

  My heart beats out of control, thinking of him being released and finding me here in Arbor Creek. The sudden realization I may have to leave Callum, Kinsley, Hudson, Halle… hell, even Kolton, and the guys, breaks my heart. I feel like I have a family here and it would kill me to have to leave them behind.

  Thinking of Kinsley and her family has a thought clicking into my head. Since I’ve moved here, Kolton often helps Hudson out doing yard work on the property. Resigning myself to the fact no one from back home knows where I am, I let myself consider the cigarette butts were left there by Kolton. He was just here last week mowing the lawn. The property is so big. I know he occasionally takes a break, heck there are times he’ll come inside for a glass of lemonade.

  The grandfather clock in the living room dings, breaking through my reverie and drawing my attention to the time. It�
��s a little after four o’clock which means I don’t have long before Callum will be here. Turning around, I look in the mirror in the entry way, and for a moment, I just stare at my reflection.

  I make a promise to myself that as of today, I will no longer be the scared little girl he once brought out in me. I don’t have to hide anymore; I have people here who care about me. Starting today, I’m going to take back my happiness.

  I’m ready to live my life for me.

  I feel a lot better after I get out of the shower, washing away all the tears focusing on the hope of what the future could bring. I have been standing in front of the closet for a solid ten minutes with a towel wrapped around me when I hear Callum’s truck pull into the driveway. Looking down, the feeling of panic take over when I realize how little I have done with myself only to freeze at the sound of him knocking on the front door.

  “Shit. Shit. Shit.” I swear to myself as I tighten the towel wrapped around my body.

  I do a quick double check in the mirror, confirming all the important parts are covered as the sound of Callum shouting my name spurs me forward. I know he will be concerned if I don’t answer the door after the accident I had yesterday.

  “I’m coming!” I shout as my bare feet pad down the hall.

  Unlocking both the deadbolt and lock, I swing open the door before wrapping my arms around my chest, suddenly feeling self-conscious, wanting to make sure the towel stays secure.

  A look of concern is written all over Callum’s face as he stares at the locks before drawing his attention back to me. I can feel the heat of his stare as his eyes draw a line from my feet up to my face, causing my body to tremble from the desire I see shining back at me.

  As if he doesn’t already look sexy as it is, I just can’t seem to get enough of him in his work clothes. The way his button up shirt and worn denim blue jeans fit him so perfectly, as if they were made for him alone. Something about the thought of him working outside with sweat dripping from his brow down the column of his neck has me wanting to run my tongue along the same path.