by Kira Hillins
“We hadn’t settled on one.” Ben pressed his lips to the baby’s temple. “Until Mom wakes, I’ll just call him…wee one.” He smiled at his son. “Score one for the humans.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
Everyone told him to have faith that Zoe would wake up. Ben hoped when she did, she’d realize she wanted to move in with him. He’d whisk her away to Denver, where they’d live happily ever after.
He tried to have hope. He’d spent three full days sitting beside her in her room, staring at her, listening to the monitor’s continuous beep. He’d held her cool hand, praying she’d open her beautiful eyes. He’d told her to squeeze his hand, to let him know she could hear him, but there was always nothing.
Just like now.
“They let me hold our little guy all the time now,” he said in a low voice. “I’m comfortable with him. Getting in as much practice as I can before you come home. I also get to feed him his bottle. I’m even changing diapers, if you can believe that.”
He chuckled lightly and then drew in a breath. Being here, talking to her while she was in a coma—he’d seen this in movies. He never thought he’d be in the same situation.
The nurse had said Zoe would hear him, but it just felt weird. Frustrating. It hurt to want her response and not get it. If only her eyes would flutter open like the patient’s in the movie. If only she’d squeeze his hand.
“I splurged a little last week and bought you and the baby a new MINI Clubman. It’s at my house waiting for you to come and get it.” He blinked back tears. “I know how much you love the old car, but the Clubman’s a better, bigger version of it. It’s blue. The gray seats match our baby’s car seat. God, Zoe. I don’t even know our baby’s name.”
A sigh escaped his open mouth. “So…Sheron got him a new mobile. It’s pretty cool. Has all these colorful hot rods dangling from a gear. Not sure he’ll like it, though. Music’s a little loud.”
He shook his head, trying to find something else to say. He’d already told her everything he could think of.
“I wrote a song.” He blurted out the words he’d said yesterday. “I’ll play it for you when you get home. So, come on, pumpkin. I know you can hear me. Just open your eyes so I can take you home. Squeeze my hand and let me know you’re coming back.” Ben pressed his lips to her wrist. “Please, Zoe.”
He bowed his head, temple against her hand, concentrating on her movement. Nothing. This was ridiculous. Sitting here talking to her was useless. Maybe if he grabbed her shoulders and shook her, she’d wake. Maybe if he shouted her name in her face, it’d scare her into opening her eyes.
“I love you, Zoe.” He stood and looked down at her. “Do you hear me?” He gritted his teeth. “Wake up!” he shouted. He leaned close. “Open your eyes. Please!”
Anger turned to heartache. He was drowning in it.
He backed to the recliner along the wall and sat on the soft blue cushion. He shrugged off his jacket. The footrest wouldn’t come out, so he tossed his legs over the armrest, covered his chest with his jacket, and then leaned back.
He stared at Zoe lying still, almost lifeless on the bed. Her monitors sang the usual song, recording her heart. Saddened, Ben closed his eyes and listened until he fell asleep.
* * * *
Little voices called her name. “Zoe. Wake up.”
Children laughed and played chanting games—the ABCs. They sang a song about a boat and another about stars in the sky. As her eyes opened and light rushed in, the voices faded into the sound of a steady beep.
It was hard to focus on anything with this blinding light. Vision blurred, body immobile, she opened her mouth to call for help. Nothing came out but a puff of air.
She drew in a deeper breath. It hurt. The steady beep picked up into a series of chimes. They were loud in her ears, making the light she tried to focus on seem brighter.
“Help,” she managed to say. It was a muffled call but oddly made her feel a little stronger. “Help me.”
Her eyes focused on the lump in the chair. Ben was here. Alive. He looked better than the last time she saw him. Much better. He’d changed his clothes. Cleaned himself up. Probably for the baby.
She gasped. The baby was here! She’d given birth to him earlier and had passed out before she got a chance to see him.
She tried to sit up, but her muscles were like noodles. What the heck was wrong?
“Ben,” she called. The sound of her scratchy voice deafened her.
He stirred. He didn’t look very comfortable with his legs dangling over the armrest. Feet up and jacket covering his arms and chest, he was probably freezing. She shuddered. It was rather cold in here.
His head tilted to the side and then slowly slid down the vinyl material of the chair until it fell too far. His eyes opened and then closed again.
“Ben,” she mumbled. “I can’t sit up.”
He opened his eyes wide. “Zoe!” He leaped from the chair, dropping his jacket on the floor. He stumbled to the bed and repeatedly pressed the nurse’s Call button on the side bar. He kissed her temple as he brushed her hair back with his palm.
“Wow,” she said, her speech slow and slurred. “Happy to see me?”
“You have no idea.” He laughed as he sat at her side, hands holding hers. He pressed his lips to her fingers, eyes glittering with tears as he stared at her. “Thought I’d lost you.”
“Lost me?”
A short, stout woman in scrubs hurried through the door. Three more nurses rushed in after her. Ear-to-ear smiles spread across their rounded faces as they hovered over her, playing with wires, checking the beeping box and her IV.
“We are so glad to see you awake,” the first woman said as she pressed two fingers against Zoe’s wrist.
Zoe read the name on her badge. “Keila,” she said groggily. “What’s going on?”
“You’re in ICU, dear.”
“ICU?”
“I called for the doctor,” Keila said as she rolled a thermometer across Zoe’s forehead. “He’ll be in here soon.”
Zoe shuddered as she closed her eyes. A memory flashed in her mind. Ben had lunged into the room right before the gun went off. She cried. “Where are you, Ben?”
“I’m right here, baby.”
She looked at the foot of her bed to find him there watching her. Desperate to feel his arms around her, she pulled at the IV in her vein.
“Get me out of here!”
“Ms. Kearny.” The nurse grasped her arms above her elbows. “I’ll have to restrain you if you try to remove your IV. I’ll be right back with the doctor.”
The room spun. It felt like a heavy weight was on her chest when she breathed. As Ben walked around to her side, she ran her hand over her flattened stomach. “The baby?”
He sat on the edge of the bed. “He’s still in NICU, but he’s doing great.”
“I want to see him.”
“You will. As soon as the doctor comes in to check on you.”
Her eyes widened. “I don’t know what’s going on.”
“Honey.” He tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. “You’ve been in here for a little while.”
“What’s a little while?”
He sighed. “A week.”
She closed her eyes. A week? Last thing she remembered, she was on the table. Ben had told her to push. She’d heard the baby cry. Blood was everywhere. All over her. All over Ben. Red streamed down the walls in the bathroom and filled the garden tub at his house.
A gunshot exploded in her ears. A scream broke from her lips. When her eyes opened, she found Ben holding her in his arms.
She cried against his chest. “I thought we were going to die.”
“Shhh,” he said softly. “It’s over. He can’t hurt you anymore.” He leaned back, eyes glistening in the low light of the room. “Nobody will ever hurt you again.”
She shivered as he pulled a tissue from the box on the tray beside the bed. “What happened?”
“Don’t worry about it right now.�
� He dabbed her wet cheeks with the soft cloth. “Let’s just get you well enough so I can take you home.”
“Did they put him in jail?” She leaned back on the pillow. “He’ll just get out and come after me again.”
Ben gazed at her bandaged shoulder. “He’s dead, Zoe. I killed him.”
She remembered the second gunshot. Ben had shielded her from seeing Nicholas’s body. There must have been a lot of blood.
Thank God. Her nightmare was finally over. A wave of relief rushed over her. She breathed easier, as if the heavy weight had lifted. Now if only the pounding in her head would stop.
“My head hurts.”
Ben swept his palm across her cheek. “You have a pretty bad gash on your head.”
He disappeared behind the bathroom door. The faucet ran for a few seconds. The white noise made her eyes droop.
He came back carrying a paper towel, soaked and dripping slightly with water. His grease-stained hand brushed her hair back from her face. She closed her eyes as he pressed the cool cloth against her temple.
“Ben,” she whispered.
“Yeah, Zoe.”
She gazed up at him. “You came to visit a day early.”
A short grin spread across his shadowed face. “I wanted to surprise you, so I caught the first flight out.”
“Renji called you about Nicholas, didn’t he?”
“That too.” He sat on the edge of the bed. “I had some good news to tell you, but Renji called. He told me about Nicholas’s threat. I’m glad he did. Otherwise, you and the baby might not be here.”
A chill shimmied up her spine. She didn’t want to think about Nicholas right now. Or ever again. He was gone. She only hoped the nightmares would leave with him.
“What’s your good news?”
“I was going to tell you at dinner that I offered my share of the shop to Doogen. I put my house up for sale.”
She drew a quick breath. “You mean—”
“Yeah.” He grinned. “I’ve decided to move here.”
Another chill spread over her skin. She prayed for so long that he’d decide to take that step and move in. But now…after what happened at her apartment, she didn’t want to be here.
“I never got to see the trees bloom behind your house.”
“We can plant a tree behind our new place.”
She shook her head. “I’ve had vivid nightmares lately. Nicholas is chasing me. I’m running toward your house in Denver. I can see the trees’ blossoms falling to the ground like pink snowflakes. And I know if I can reach them, I’ll be safe. No one can hurt me. He can’t hurt me. Sometimes I make it. Sometimes I don’t. But when I’m there, I can smell the blossoms. I feel happy.”
He set the washcloth on the stand beside the bed. “Your nightmares will go away. Just give it time.”
“I don’t want to live here anymore.” Heart racing, she took hold of his hand. “I want to live with you in Denver.”
He gazed into her eyes. “Honey. You just went through a traumatizing ordeal. Maybe you need more time to think about this.”
“I’ve given it months of thought.” She shivered. “Unless you’ve sold the house.”
“No.” He grinned as he palmed her cheek. “I was going back next week to sign the shop over to Doogen and start packing.”
“Call Doogen and cancel. Let’s be together. In Denver.”
“Are you really sure? I mean, if there’s any doubt in—”
“Just say yes.”
“Yes.” He kissed her lips once. Twice. “I have something for you.” He reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out a tiny gray box. He fumbled the box in his hand and then placed it on her chest.
The hairs on her arms stood. “What’s this?”
“Open it.”
As he held the bottom of the box for her, she pulled the top open. Tears blurred the vision of the most beautiful diamond ring she’d ever seen.
“When I saw you lying on the bathroom floor, it scared the hell out of me. Put everything in perspective. I’ve been miserable without you permanently in my life. All I care about is you. Zoe, I can’t imagine my life without you.”
“Ben,” she said as he lifted the ring from the box.
He gathered her hands in his. “Zoe Kearny. Please. Say you’ll marry me.”
Tears streamed down her cheeks. “More than ever, yes, I want to marry you.”
A grin crept across his face as he slid the ring on her finger. He kissed her lips and smiled. “I love you, Mrs. Solmer.”
“And I love you too.”
Epilogue
Zoe stood in the middle of the driveway she’d parked the packed Jeep in. After two weeks of getting poked and prodded in the hospital, she’d finally made it to Denver.
Ben stepped out of the house. Zoe’s heart leaped to her throat. He looked amazing dressed in khakis and a black shirt under his navy-blue jacket. He’d shaved his face smooth. His hair, trimmed perfectly around his ears, those dark bangs stylishly sticking up, reminded her of their first meeting.
She ran to him. He caught her in his arms and held her tight before setting her on her feet again.
“Zoe.” He gazed into her eyes as he lifted his hands to her face. “Promise me this is real. That you’re really here.”
Butterflies danced in her stomach. “I’m here.”
“Zoe Solmer.” He leaned his temple against hers. “It’s about time.”
The sound of her soon-to-be name made her body tingle. He parted his mouth over hers. His cool hands cupped her face as his tongue touched hers.
“I so missed that,” he whispered against her lips. “I’m sorry you had to drive yourself up here.”
“You needed to take care of the shop.” She smiled, loving the way he caressed her face. “I’m really happy to hear Doogen and Sheron ran off to get married.”
Snow began to fall. White flakes caught in his dark brows and dusted his midnight hair. One fell against the bridge of his nose, making Zoe giggle.
“You ready to go in, Missus?” He chuckled softly. “After we get our wee one from the Jeep. I can’t wait to see him.”
A whirlwind of excitement rushed over her. She opened the back door. She picked up the baby and cradled him.
Ben gazed down at his son. Tears fell down his cheeks. “I have missed my little guy.”
Zoe smiled. “You’re going to be such a great dad.”
“So much faith in me,” he said, wiping tears with the back of his hand.
“Want to hold him?”
“Yes.” His grin spread across his handsome face.
She carefully placed the baby in his arms and then stepped back. The most beautiful thing transpired before her. Two sets of eyes met. She could see the bond between father and son, and her heart warmed.
“Hey, my little wee one.” Ben kissed his forehead. “Benjamin Chase Solmer.”
Zoe placed her palm on Ben’s arm as she straightened the blanket over their baby. “Just don’t call him Junior.”
He laid his son in the car seat and faced her. “Okay, beautiful wife. I’ve been waiting for you to get here to do this.”
He stomped out into the snow. With a jerk, he pulled up the FOR SALE sign and then tossed it across the yard. It immediately sank into the fluff and disappeared.
As he brushed his hands on his pant legs, he returned to her side. His arm went around her shoulders, and he flashed that amazing smile she loved.
“Welcome home, Mrs. Solmer.”
Loose Id Titles by Kira Hillins
Take You Away
Kira Hillins
Kira Hillins writes as a means to create a fantasy world in which to exist until she's beamed back to her home world of Oregon. Or until Superman rings her doorbell and asks her to fly away with him on an adventure that may, or may not, include the Tardis. Whichever comes first. Wherever she lands, rest assured, writing will always be her passion.
Find out more about the author at http://www.kirahillins.com/.
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