* * *
Gerald's fisted hands fell open as he saw Lydia in the doorway of the house. Her short cap of hair was crusted with blood, her right eye swollen shut, and a large cut was fresh on her left cheek. She favored her right arm as Phillip held on to her and helped her down the two crumbled steps of the front porch.
Gerald made another lunge for the police tape, but the officers held him back, just as before, until Phillip nodded for him to cross and they let him go.
His heart raced in his chest as he ran up the walk. With an arm around Lydia, he helped Phillip guide her to the ambulance that waited for her. Her head rested on Gerald's shoulder, and he was aware that his shirt was now covered in Lydia's blood. The blood that bastard had drawn from her.
But who had they taken from the house, he wondered as they neared the ambulance while Phillip softly spoke words of encouragement to Lydia.
The paramedics helped her onto a gurney that waited for her, and immediately they tended to her cheek, and the gash on her head, which Gerald realized was what had been the source of blood on his shirt.
"She needs to go to the hospital," Phillip said, and Lydia retorted with a growl.
"Let them stick a bandage on me, and I'll be fine. I want to go home. Do you hear me?" Her voice rose, and she looked directly at Gerald. "I want to go home. Just take me home."
"Lydia, you need to go…"
"Shut up," she shouted, cutting off Phillips demands. "I want to go home. Gerald will take me home."
Phillip shifted a stern look his direction, and he took it as his opportunity to talk some sense into Lydia.
"Why don't I go with you to the hospital? Let's let them look you over and then I'll take you home."
She nodded, keeping her eyes averted from Phillip's.
"Let them tend to you a minute, and I'll let Ella know."
He walked back toward Ella and Phillip followed. "Don't you dare let her leave that hospital without them clearing her," Phillip demanded before he grabbed Gerald's shoulder and turned him around. "Don't you let anything else happen to her."
"I wouldn't dream of it. What happened in there?"
Phillip ran his hand over his hair. "I'm still getting details." He swallowed hard and wiped the back of his hand over his eyes. "She killed him. Somehow she killed the bastard. I don't have all the details yet."
"That'a girl," Gerald whispered, proud that Lydia had survived and done what needed to be done.
A smile formed on Phillip's lips and he chuckled as he wiped away more tears. "She killed the son-of-a-bitch."
"Did you have doubts?"
"Yes. I thought I lost her, but she hates me as much as she always has. So that much remains, but when she saw me, she held on to me."
"She needs to process it."
"She hates me," he joked and took a long breath. "Take care of her. Take her home with you. Her house isn't ready to go back to, and I don't want her spending time with her grandfather. Maybe with Tyson and Pearl, but not her grandfather."
"I'll take care of her."
"I'll be here for hours, maybe days."
"She's safe."
Gerald was sure Phillip wanted her to stay with him and let him nurse her back, but that wasn't an option.
"Keep her that way."
Gerald rested a hand on Phillip's shoulder. "I'll take care of her. I promise."
Chapter 26
Ella sat in the waiting room of the emergency department. It had been nearly three hours, and she hadn't had any news on Lydia nor seen Gerald.
Tyson had arrived nearly two hours earlier and disappeared to be with his sister, but still, Gerald hadn't come out to make sure she was okay or give her any information.
She'd eaten an old Twix bar and drank four cups of coffee. The last thing she could tolerate was sitting any longer.
Maybe she'd go for a walk around the building. Would Gerald even know she was missing? She could let the front desk know, she decided. They could pass on the message, after all, she was his ride home.
As she approached the desk, Gerald emerged from the back with Tyson. His eyes were dark and dried blood covered his shirt.
"How is she?" Ella asked, and Gerald looked up at her as if he'd forgotten she'd been sitting in the waiting room for hours.
"Ella," he whispered as he walked to her and pulled her into an embrace that had her knees shaking.
"You're scaring me. Is she okay?"
He pulled back and smiled through weary eyes. "She's okay. He got in quite a few licks. Her clavicle is broken, and a few ribs. They want to keep her overnight because she has a massive concussion from being slammed into a wall."
Ella lifted her hand to her mouth and covered it. "She's brave."
"Always. I'm going to stay here with her, all night," he told her before exchanging glances with Tyson. "He's going to give you a ride home."
Ella looked at Tyson. "Why aren't you staying with your sister?"
"She doesn't want me to. You're right, she's very brave, but she's as stubborn as they come. She needs some time to process what happened to her without her big brother looking over her. I'm going to get home and help Pearl get the house in order so I can take care of her in our home. My grandfather will turn this on her in some way, and she doesn't need that. Her mom is a mess, and I don't want that to feed her either. She needs to be pampered and taken care of, and that's what Pearl and I are going to do. But right now the only person she seems to be taking to is Gerald. So he's going to stay."
"Okay." Ella heard her voice crack as she spoke.
"Why don't I walk to you out to his truck while he says goodbye to Lydia?" Gerald offered and wrapped an arm around her waist as he began to lead her from the building.
"Why don't I stay too? I'm fine in the lobby," she offered as the doors opened automatically as they walked through. "It's really no problem."
"That's not what I gather from your conversations with Abe. It sounds like you have your own problems back home too."
She hadn't even considered the issues she had. Nothing much had mattered once Lydia had been taken.
When they reached Tyson's truck, she turned to him. "I just don't understand why it's you that has to stay."
"She's open to me."
"She loves you," Ella said, and quickly realized she hadn't meant to.
"Like a brother," Gerald added. "She's tight-lipped about what happened. Three different officers have been in to talk to her, and she's not ready to discuss it yet. I'm going to see if I can get her to open up to me."
"What did he do to her?" Ella asked and then shook her head. She didn't want to know, she realized. "When will you be home?"
"Tomorrow. I'll keep in touch with you. Keep my side of the bed warm. Remember I live with you now. There's no way in hell I'll go back to my place."
Ella wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his chest. "Forever, right? I mean you're not rethinking this morning are you?"
"Only that you deserved a better proposal." He kissed the top of her head and eased back. "I love you, Ella. This is a horrible thing that has happened, and somehow I got thrown into the middle of it for a lot of different reasons. But every step of the way, you had my back. You defended my honor, even when I wasn't sure you believed it. Why would I ever want anyone else?"
"Promise?"
"I promise."
Tyson cleared his throat as a signal that he was there. He then climbed into the truck and started the engine.
"I'll call you in a bit. Get things settled at the office. I'll be home tomorrow."
Ella gently kissed him before climbing into Tyson's truck. She waved as they drove away, her heart breaking for Lydia and what she'd gone through, and for herself as she watched the man she loved enter the hospital to take care of another woman.
* * *
Lydia rolled her head to see him walk back in the door. He knew she wanted to sit up more, but the pain from her ribs wouldn't allow it.
"Pain meds still wor
king?" he asked as he pulled a chair next to her bed and sat down.
"Yes. I want to go home."
"And you know they'll let you tomorrow. Be calm."
She reached her hand toward him, and he held it in his. "Is Tyson mad?"
"I think he understands. You're not one to like to be fussed over. Well, not like this."
"I have events that need attention. I have clients to book. I have…"
"Shhhh," he said standing from the chair and easing himself onto her bed next to her. "Todd was going to look in on the hall for you. Pearl and Gia and Bethany and Audrey, they all have your back too. You need to take care of you."
Lydia maneuvered until she was resting in his arms, her head against his chest. "He wanted to kill me," she said softly against his shirt. "When the sun came up this morning I was surprised. Genuinely surprised."
"Phillip knew you wouldn't let him hurt you."
"He did hurt me. I'll never get over what happened to me."
"But he knew you'd survive. That's the kind of girl you are."
"A statistic is what I am," she said, and Gerald winced. He wasn't sure how long it would take until she could say the word aloud, but the thought made him sick.
"You're more than that, and you always will be."
Lydia linked fingers with him. "I need to apologize to Phillip."
"He doesn't care. He wants you to be okay, and go on hating him like you always do."
She chuckled and then arched at the pain it caused. "It gets me through my days," she humored, and now he chuckled. "Is Ella mad that you're staying here?"
"I want to say no. She understands. But, yeah, I think it hurts."
"You should have left me and gone with her. I'd have been mad too."
"She was willing to sit in the waiting room all night."
"She was?"
Gerald nodded and brushed a stray hair from Lydia's forehead. "When people love one another they forgive, and they work their way through it. If she's still mad tomorrow, I'll make sure we work our way through it. You can't get married and not trust, right?"
"You're getting married? You're going to ask her to marry you?"
"It kind of happened this morning, very badly," he laughed thinking about it. "She deserves a better proposal, so I'll have to think that over."
"I could help you."
Gerald shifted to look down at her. "What could we do?"
"I'll think on it," she said cozying back up to him. "She's lucky, Gerald. You're a good catch."
"Do you think so?"
"Yeah. I do. You're just not my type."
"What is your type?"
Lydia sighed. "Let's not talk about it."
They were silent for a long time, long enough Gerald wasn't so sure they both hadn't fallen asleep.
"I'm going to leave town for a little bit when I'm healed," Lydia finally broke the silence.
"Where are you going to go?" Gerald whispered against her hair.
"My mom always wanted to go to Hawaii. I think maybe I'll take her, but I'm going to stay there for a while."
"What about your businesses?"
She turned so that she could look up at him. "I'm going to ask Bethany and Todd to help me there. Todd is always offering to help if I need it. Well, now I need it. And it sounds like they're already stepping up. That's how you Walkers work. You help anyone who needs it."
The compliment made him smile. "That sounds good. How long are you thinking you're going to be gone?"
"Until I can move past this. But how long do you think it takes to move past a man drugging you, beating you, threatening you, and…"
She grew silent again. "You'll find out I guess. You're not the kind to let this ruin your life. You'll survive it."
"So you keep saying. Gerald, for the first time in my life I think I'm truly broken."
"But because of you, he will never hurt another person."
"He did enough damage. Entire families will never heal. You won't even go back to your house. Gerald, I'm so sorry I introduced you to him."
"No, no. You could never have known." Again, he kissed the top of her head. "Take the time you need to heal. We're all here for you. Don't you ever, for one minute, think that you're not loved or worthy. Don't think that this defines who you are for the rest of your life. Every Walker I know loves you. And there are plenty of us to go around, so you'll never be alone. And even if you don't want to hear it, Phillip is there for you too."
He expected an argument. Instead, Lydia settled in close to him again, and this time she fell asleep.
Chapter 27
Tyson hadn't said much to her on the ride home. He'd made phone calls and plans for his sister. Ella called Nichole, who was setting up a dinner train for Lydia and put her name on the list.
Tyson had Pearl taking down a million notes, and Ella couldn't help but wonder if his wife was doing whatever he asked just to keep him calm. How did anyone see their sister, looking like Lydia had, and not have it shake them to the core?
She decided no one did. Tyson Morgan was trying everything in his power to keep himself calm. The truth was, she was sure he'd like to do something more physical to get his anger out. She knew she would.
There wasn't even an opportunity to make small talk. What would they talk about? The weather? Town gossip? A new fence that kept the Morgans and the Walkers separate? How about the fact that Ella's stomach churned at the very thought of Gerald spending the night with Lydia?
It was stupid to worry. It wasn't as if he were sleeping in Lydia's bed at home. He was going to be uncomfortable in a hospital chair all night. And indeed the best thing that could come out of it was that Lydia might talk to him and give him the answers everyone needed. But deep down inside it still twisted her up.
"How's the lawyer thing going?" Tyson finally asked her a question as if he'd run out of commands to give his wife.
"It's okay. I want to go a different way with it, but we'll see."
"What's a different way?"
"Something private. Not in a big firm like I am now. I want to do things like contracts and wills. That kind of thing. I'm finding that I don't much enjoy chasing down ex-husbands, who paid their part, and asking for more because they ex-wives are greedy."
"That sounds as if that might be a little recent."
Ella laughed as she watched the endless fields pass outside the window. "It is. It's not why I became a lawyer. I wanted to help people, but not like that."
"Lydia uses contracts and lawyers all the time. You should talk to her. She could probably use one in all her business dealings. You know there is a small office in the Bridal Mecca that doesn't hold a tenant, but a private lawyer might just fit the bill."
That twisting in her gut became lighter. "Do you think so?"
"Yeah. Think it's worth talking to Lydia about when she's ready to talk."
And then the twisting was back. "I'm not sure Lydia would want to work with me. I don't know how that's all going to play out."
"You're worried about her and Gerald?"
Ella lifted her eyes to catch his glance. "I'm that transparent?"
Tyson shrugged. "I see you have a ring on."
Ella looked down at her hand and twisted the diamond solitaire on her finger. "This morning. I proposed to him, and he came back with my ring, the one he gave me before. That almost makes it sound romantic," she said on a laugh.
"It wasn't?"
"No. Not at all. We were hungover and late for work. It was a mess of a situation, and then Phillip showed up." She let out a breath. "He came right at Gerald and punched him in the jaw. It was if he'd gone crazy."
"Was that after he found out Lydia had been taken?"
"Yes."
Tyson gripped the steering wheel. "I don't know what to think of him. It's obvious my sister doesn't want anything to do with him, but he doesn't get the picture."
"Why does she hate him so much?"
Tyson shifted in his seat. "Sometimes romances don't rekindle
, like yours and Gerald's. Sometimes they just go bad. Unfortunately, when you both run with the same people and live in the same town, there's not much you can do."
"So there was a romance? I wasn't sure if that was rumor or not."
"I think it was there longer than anyone knew, and one day it was over. Lydia up and left to clear her mind, and when she came back, she started buying up the town and putting her name on everything. Phillip has been there ever since just trying to get her attention. He'll never learn."
And wasn't that romantic? She up and left, and Gerald didn't follow. Well, she wouldn't have given him a moment of her time either. It wasn't even fair to compare their story to Lydia and Phillip's.
"So when are you two going to get married?" Tyson asked as they drove toward her house.
"We don't have plans yet. We haven't told anyone anything yet. We have a lot to think about."
"There are a lot of great venues in town. My sister and her mother own most of them. No matter what you choose to do, you'll have a good family on your side. And if you ever tell anyone I just said the entire Walker family is good people, I'll deny it," he promised with a wink.
"They are good people," she contemplated. "Not once have they treated me like an outcast, and they have every right to."
"Like I said—good people."
Tyson pulled up in front of Ella's house. "Get some sleep. Gerald's going to need your clear head when he gets home."
"I will. And if you and Pearl need anything…"
"We'll let you know."
After Tyson saw her inside and checked out her house before he left, Ella drew herself a warm bath with bath salts and slid in with a glass of wine.
The day had been long and unexpected. As she sipped her wine, she thought about what Lydia had endured while she and Gerald were getting drunk, fighting, and making up.
That man who had taken Lydia had destroyed lives—families. He had a vendetta against his ex-wife, and innocent women and a twelve-year-old girl paid for it. Lydia paid for it.
Tears rolled down her cheeks. Lydia's world had been rocked and shattered. And when she thought long and hard about it, wasn't it a blessing that Gerald could offer comfort to Lydia when no one else could—not even her brother.
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