“We were out walking and a—” a sob breaks my explanation, and I inhale roughly, “—a guy hit Georgie with his motorized bike.”
Gabe clicks his tongue once, then turns. “Okay. Come on. Let’s take him to the emergency room. Follow me.” Striding away, he leads us down a hallway and through a set of wide doors.
“Team, we have a new patient. He was run over by a motorized bike; broken hind leg, possible spinal fracture, and suspected internal bleeding. I want x-rays and scans and prep for surgery. Move!”
The three assistants rush around the room, following Gabe’s orders. Then he turns to me, his face softening. “Let’s put him down on the table so we can see what we’re working with.”
I follow Gabe to a nearby steel table, and we lift Georgie onto it.
“I take it this was your handiwork?” Gabe asks, gesturing to the cardboard with a quick toward Garrett.
Garrett nods in response, stroking Georgie’s head softly. “Yeah. There wasn’t much around, so we kind of had to make do.”
Nodding, Gabe turns back to Georgie. “You did well. Both of you. Most owners try to lift them straight off the ground which can make things a whole lot worse.”
It’s all too much. I slump against the wall behind me, my body wracking with tremors. I wrap my arms around myself tightly, my eyes falling on Georgie one more time before I squeeze them shut, shaking my head roughly. How could I have let this happen? What if he doesn’t make it? And finally, I cry, fear and soul-shattering heartache breaking me down.
“Ellie, you did good,” Gabe looks over to me from Georgie, then to Garrett. “Why don’t you guys go and wait outside. We’ll let you know when we have updates.”
Garrett pulls me from the wall, cradling me to his chest. He tries to lead me away, but I stop and turn, grabbing Gabe’s shoulder. I look between him and Georgie. “Please—” my voice breaks. “Please save him.”
Squeezing my hand, he nods. “I’ll do what I can, Ellie. You have my word.”
With a final sniff, Garrett leads me back through the wide doors, down the hallway and to the waiting room. Pulling me closer to his chest, he takes a seat on the leather couch, adjusting me on his lap as I continue to silently cry, unable to get the image of the impact out of my head. It replays over and over, Georgie’s shriek echoing through my subconscious.
“Shh… Come on, Ellie,” he runs his thumb over the back of my neck. “Georgie is in the best of hands. If anyone can help, it’s Gabe.”
“How…?” My throat closes, choking off the rest of my sentences.
“How did Gabe come to work here?”
I nod silently, tears falling onto his shirt as I rest my head onto his shoulder.
“Gabe left high school pretty early on and joined the Navy. He spent a few years serving before training and applying to be a K9 officer. He trained with this Belgian Malinois called Scout; the best damn bomb detection and tracking dog we’d ever seen.”
The comforting circles Garrett traces over my back and the sound of his voice calm me down. I swallow and manage, “What happened?”
Garrett sighs, sinking further into the couch. “We were on a retrieval mission when we entered this crumbling building. Scout found two bombs in the first room, but what we didn’t realize until too late was that there was a third. We entered the next room, just as the bomb exploded.”
A horrified gasp leaves my lips, and I sit back to stare at Garrett.
His lips turn down in a grimace. “Scout jumped on Gabe as the blast hit, protecting him, saving his life. Unfortunately, there was nothing we could do to save Scout. He died on impact.”
“Oh my God.” So that’s how Gabe got his scars.
“After he healed enough to leave the military hospital, Gabe decided to study to become a veterinarian to honor Scout’s memory. Then he opened this place.”
Overwhelmed with pity and understanding, I curl back into Garrett’s chest, snuggling against him. “I don’t know how he moved forward. He must have been so… heartbroken.” My thoughts drift to Georgie. No. He will make it. He has to.
“It was tough. He had to deal with a lot of emotional shit afterwards, but he pulled through.” Pride tinges Garrett’s words.
My anxiety of leaving Georgie to Gabe lessens, knowing that Gabe will do everything humanly possible to save him. I tilt my head up, my eyes tracking over the face of the man who calms me when I’m scared, holds me when I’m frightened, and cares for me when I’m hurting. I love him… Tears spill from my eyes at the realization and my heart beats wildly in my chest. I never would have thought that after years of petty pranks, this is where we’d end up.
Garrett’s gaze roams over my face. “Are you okay?”
“I’m okay…” I nod gently. “Er, Garrett?”
“Yeah?”
“I just want to say thank you, and that… I lo—”
“Ellie! I’m sorry I took so long!” Paul strides over to where I’m sitting on Garrett’s lap. He picks me up in his arms and hugs me to his chest before setting me on the ground. “When I got to the cart, Roger said you were on your way here. Mia and Katie will be here shortly as well. And I think Nic is on his way.”
Rebecca, Sophie, and Betty rush in behind him, swarming me in a group hug. Gratitude and love overwhelm me.
“How is he?”
“Is he going to be okay?”
“How are you holding up, dear?”
The rush of questions leaves me dizzy. “He’s getting checked out and needs to have surgery. His leg and spine…” Tears threaten my eyes as I picture Georgie lying on the pavement.
“He’s in the best of hands. That’s all that I can hope for right now.” I shake my head with a sniff. “God, how can I still be crying right now?” I laugh, wiping my cheeks with the bottom of my t-shirt. “Thank you for coming. You didn’t have to.”
“Of course we had to! Did you honestly expect us to wait at home, twiddling our thumbs? We’d rather wait here, with you, twiddling our thumbs.” Betty winks before ushering everyone into the available chairs. She stops to talk quietly to the receptionist as I sit back down on the couch beside Garrett. I take his hand and squeeze it tightly.
“How’s Georgie? Is he going to be okay?” Rebecca holds on to Sophie’s hand, her wide eyes filled with unshed tears. They love Georgie just as much as I do.
“He’s in the best of hands. If anyone can save Georgie, it will be Gabe.” Garrett reassures the girls with a warm smile.
Nodding, they sit back on the couch across from us, Rebecca wrapping her arms around Sophie’s shoulder. I can’t help but smile as I watch them comfort each other. Even though they fight like she-wolves, their love is strong. It warms my heart to see that.
Paul sits down next to them both, pulling them into his side. I see the tension leaving their bodies as their dad envelopes them. To have such complete faith in someone, to know that they have the ability to make everything right is… unbelievable? Incredible? Everything that I want. I picture the rumpled envelope living in my handbag and everything that the contents represents. Maybe I could have that?
“What happened, Ellie? Roger said some punk was riding too fast on the sidewalk and ran into the poor boy.” Paul’s deep voice draws me from my thoughts, but his words bring up a replay of everything that happened.
“We’d stopped by the cart to get a coffee.” I take a deep-breath. “We were turning to head into the park, and then this guy comes out of nowhere, and Georgie…” I choke out the words, horror lilting my heart. God, please let him be okay. “The fucker said he was ‘just a dog’.”
Garrett’s hand moves to my back, drawing me against his side.
“If it weren’t for Garrett being there when he was, I don’t think Georgie would…” I let out a slow, steadying breath. I look into Garrett’s pained eyes. “I don’t think I said it, but thank you. So much. I’ll forever be in your debt.”
Garrett shifts uncomfortably in his seat, his hand slowing its pace on my back. “
You don’t have to thank me, Ellie. Anyone would have done the same thing if they were in my position.”
“No, they wouldn’t have.” Paul says, catching both of our eyes. His gaze is serious. “You were in the military; you had to make decisions on the fly that could affect, not only your life, but also your teams’. Your quick thinking and ability to create something out of everyday items is a real asset. And I agree with, Ellie. You gave Georgie enough time to get the help he needed. That’s not something to shrug off.”
Paul’s words fill me with pride and happiness as he nods his approval to Garrett.
“Thank you, sir.” Garrett’s reply is stiff, almost. Automatic.
Shit. Sitting up, I pull Garrett into a hug, whispering into his ear, “Are you okay? I didn’t… I should have asked with everything you’ve been through.”
“I’m okay, Ellie. Let’s just focus on the now, okay?” He kisses me on the forehead and I close my eyes, loving the feel of his lips against my skin. Drawing back, he tucks me against his side. The warmth of his body is comforting, and the heat seeps into my bones, chasing away the chill that’s buried its way into the marrow.
Resting my head against his chest, I close my eyes and focus on the steady beating of his heart. Hearing snippets of conversation, I drift in and out of a light sleep.
“Did they catch the fucker that did it?”
“Mia, calm down. You’re going to wake Ellie.”
“Fuck off, Nic.”
Opening my eyes, I rub the bleariness away, watching Nic and Mia glare at each other. Katie is sat down, far away from the arguing siblings.
“Hey guys. When did you get here?”
Mia swoops in, hugging me tightly. Pulling back, she stares into my eyes, hers filled with fury. “Who did it? Do you have a name? Where can we find this fucker?”
“Calm down, you psycho. We aren’t busting any knee caps.” Nic pulls Mia away, then takes her place and gives me a quick hug before sitting down on a plastic chair next to the couch.
“Not yet. And there is no ‘we’. Katie will back me up, right Katie?”
Katie nods her head quickly, a scowl forming on her face. “We should enlist Betty. She watches all of those crime shows. I’m sure she knows what to do. And how to hide the evidence.”
Everyone but Mia and I stare at Katie with shock. Katie has always been the nice, fun-loving member of our trio; the one who wouldn’t hurt a fly. But underneath, she is a force to be reckoned with. She may not be as vocal with her anger and threats, but underneath that sweetness she’s a Komodo dragon, quietly lying in wait until the time is right.
Mia, Katie, and I share a look before laughing, the sound slicing through the oppressive feeling in the air and gaining worried looks from our friends and family.
“You can’t be serious, Katie.” The puzzled look on Nic’s face has me snickering. The poor guy doesn’t know her as well as he thought he did.
“That’s what I love to hear. Laughter.” Betty strides over to us, her arms laden with bags. The smell of Chinese food wafts through the air.
“Ah, Betty? Is this even allowed?” Or hygienic? I look over to the receptionist.
“I asked, and they said we could eat in the breakroom. There’s enough space for all of us to fit in there and have a family lunch.”
And so I peel myself from the couch cushions, and we follow Paul and Betty into the breakroom. As we go, my eyes find their way to the emergency doors at the back of the hall. God, I hope he’s okay. Should I take a quick look? One foot in front of the other, I make my way toward the door.
“Ellie.” I stop, frozen by the voice behind me. “I know you’re scared and you want to check on him, but seeing Georgie in surgery isn’t going to help and you really don’t want to see him that way, do you?”
My imagination runs wild as I picture Georgie, bloody and cut open, his lifeless body on the steel bed while the vet team tries to save him. Vomit burns its way up my throat, my chest tightening, and my breaths coming in short gasps. No, no, no, no. More tears stream down my cheeks as I stare at the door, imagining what’s going on behind them.
Garrett comes closer and rests his hand on my back. “Come on, Ellie. Let’s go get something to eat. Gabe will come find you when he has news. He’ll keep fighting as long as Georgie does.”
God, I hope so. I spin around, wrapping my arms around his body and breathing in the smell that is uniquely him. When his arms wrap around me in return, my body droops, relaxing against him. Peace trickles through me, lighting a path through the darkness. He feels like home. Or what I want it to feel like. Warm. Peaceful. Content.
“Thank you for being here, Garrett.” Pushing away from his chest, I wipe at the dampness on his shirt created by my tears.
“You don’t have to keep thanking me, Ellie.”
“I know, but I really do appreciate you and everything you’ve done to help me. And Georgie.” Rising onto my toes, I brush my lips against his.
“Come on you two. Stop sucking face. The food is going cold!” Mia teases. I look over Garrett’s shoulder to see her poking her head out of the breakroom, her eyes not quite holding their usual snarky glint.
I return my gaze to Garrett, the heat in his eyes warming me in a delicious and entirely inappropriate way. I hold his large hand in mine as we make our way into the breakroom.
One side of the room houses the fridge, a microwave, and a small oven with a marble counter and white cupboards. In the center is a long, oval table made from metal and glass with matching chairs, and to the left is a cot and a row of lockers.
“You may want to grab a plate and get to the food quickly. It’s like watching the Discovery Channel with the way everyone is attacking it.” Paul leads us to the plates, batting hands away as we attempt to access the food.
“Stop being greedy, Mia. Your plate is already 90 percent pork—I don’t think you need any more,” Nic says through a mouthful, glaring at his sister’s arm reaching across him.
I cover my snicker with a slight cough. After all these years, you’d think Nic would be smarter than this. Garrett chuckles lightly beside me as we share a grin.
“Are you saying that I’m fat?”
“What? No! That’s not—”
“Because that was pretty damn rude, Nic. If I want to eat pork until I throw up, then that’s my business.”
Now that’s a disgusting image. Shuddering, I pop the container of pork back on the table before grabbing the vegetables. She can’t ruin this at least.
“I just meant that there are other people and you need to learn to share. And maybe eat some vegetables every once in a while.”
“I eat vegetables all the time! Ellie, give me the box.”
“What?” I look up, suddenly met with the intimidating stares of the two siblings.
“Give me the box of vegetables,” Mia repeats.
I sullenly hand over the vegetables. Mia snatches it from my hand and, using her chopsticks with deadly precision, picks up the largest piece of broccoli and shoves it into her mouth. With juice flowing down her chin, she chews the veggies, mouth open in Nic’s direction. Horror and disgust morph his usually happy face.
“Mia! That’s fucking disgusting.”
Mia swallows and grins, using a napkin to wipe her chin. “There. I ate some veggies. Now stop being such a ‘dick-tator’.”
I inhale a piece of pork as laughter bursts from me. Garrett thumps my back as I splutter and choke, dislodging it so I can swallow. I continue to giggle, wiping tears from my eyes—a mixture of old a new—and inhale deeply. “I can’t… When will you ever learn, Nic?”
“I’m glad to see you have your family here.”
Whipping around, Gabe stands at the doorway, his surgery clothes still on, his hollow eyes taking in the people around the room. My mood instantly ices over, and the room falls silent.
“Gabe?” I stand up, taking in his strangely blank expression. “Please tell me he’s okay. Tell me everything went well!”
He sighs, his gaze not leaving mine as he purses his lips.
“Gabe?” My voice quietens to barely a whisper. Tears collect in the corner of my eyes. “Tell me Georgie’s okay.”
Pain mars his expression. “Perhaps we should discuss this outside.”
14
Ellie
Georgie glares at me from within his playpen, his angry barks emphasizing his displeasure.
“If I could let you out, I would. You know that.”
The last three weeks have been pure and utter hell. When Gabe entered the breakroom, I thought my world was about to come crashing down around me. Through the dark haze of grief and heartbreak, I heard the words ‘alive’, ‘potentially paralyzed’, and ‘physical therapy’. But as long as he’s still here and can lead a happy life, that’s all that matters to me.
Unfortunately for Georgie, he can’t understand why he is now strapped to a harness with wheels, why he isn’t allowed to run around, or why he can’t cock his leg to pee.
Scratching his head, I grab a homemade dog biscuit and break it in half to give to him. He’s already had too many of these, but guilt is a bitch. I watch as he devours the biscuit, my heartstrings tugging. I give him the other half and turn back to my laptop screen, the curser blinking on the page.
Given everything that’s happened in the past three weeks, Mia’s extension on my manuscript has been a Godsend. Between caring for Georgie and all the checkups required, the rest of the time my fingers have been furiously attacking my keyboard. And it’s finally done.
A wide smile stretches across my face, as I type, “The End,” joy bursting out of me. I think this is my best novel yet. While writing, I’d imagine Garrett and myself as the main characters. I’d picture the romance, the squabbles, and the lovemaking, feeling the emotions as we would. Mia better love this.
Saving the document to my hard drive, two USB’s, and the Cloud, I lean back onto the couch. Who would have thought all it would take to change my life would be a silly scavenger hunt? I shake my head, laughing, and grab my phone, pulling up my favorite editor’s number.
(un) Broken Page 17