Her eyes were blurred from tears as she made her way out of the hospital. Of all the outcomes possible today, the one thing she’d never considered was that Patrick would tell her he loved her and hated her at the same time.
He’d never forgive her for the loss of his family and she’d been stupid to think otherwise. There would be no promises from him, no genuine declarations of love.
And certainly no forever.
Patrick
Patrick was watching the video file of Levi’s echo again when his mom burst into his office, the door slamming hard enough against the wall that all the framed awards and diplomas rattled. She held a sheet of hot pink paper in her manicured hand.
“Why didn’t you tell me about this?”
She slapped the paper down on the desk in front of him, the ice in her tone rivaling anything he could have managed.
“Rhiann’s son has a heart problem? That’s bad enough. And they’re having a fundraiser set up for him and you don’t tell me? No, I had to hear it from Clay. Clay!”
He sighed and closed his computer, knowing this was not going to be a quick visit, after which he could get right back to work without losing his train of thought.
“Hello to you too, Mother.”
“Don’t you ‘Mother’ me. Why would you not tell me Rhiann needs help? You know how many groups I’m involved in. With only a few phone calls I can make sure this event is a success.”
She sank down across from him with a huff. Her disappointment in him seeped from her very pores and filled his office with a cloud of You should be ashamed of yourself.
He shrugged. “I didn’t think she’d want us there.”
“You there. You didn’t think she’d want you there.” She raised an eyebrow at him. “The worst thing I’ve done is allow your grievances to keep me out of her life. I chose your side in the break-up, but I’m starting to think that was a dumb move.”
“Excuse me?”
His mother waved a hand at him dismissively. “Now tell me the truth—how sick is her little boy and why is she having to hold a fundraiser?”
“HIPAA laws—”
“I’m not asking for his medical file. I understand you can’t give me specifics. But are they raising money to take care of his needs or raising money to bury him?”
“Hopefully to take care of his needs,” Patrick allowed himself to answer. He couldn’t think of the alternative—not with Levi.
“And the fundraiser is because...?”
She let the question trail off, but he knew she wouldn’t leave the topic until he gave her an answer that satisfied her.
“Pete left her high and dry. I don’t have all the details. She’d probably be okay if Levi wasn’t so seriously sick, but with all his medical bills, and everything associated with that, she’s really struggling.”
“I see.”
His mom’s face had tightened with anger. And that was an emotion he could relate to.
“Yeah, I talked to him the other night. He’s even more useless than when they were together. I don’t know what she ever saw in him.”
“She wanted someone who wasn’t you. She was trying to convince herself that you were not what she wanted. And when you came home from medical school with Mallory in tow, she clung to him, even though she knew he wasn’t good for her. Probably tried to convince herself that she loved him too.”
Patrick snorted. “I hardly think—”
“Well, I know you hardly think—or we wouldn’t be sitting here having this discussion. And you’ve always been blind to that girl’s feelings for you.”
“She named her son after me. His name’s Levi Patrick.”
His mother’s hand fluttered up to rest over her heart. “Even though you’re a first-class doofus? If that doesn’t tell you how much you mean to that girl you’re a blind idiot—and I’m suing the hospital because you were clearly switched at birth. No son of mine can be that clueless.”
“Mom!”
“So she’s unattached, you’re unattached...seems to me like there’s a situation to be rectified there.”
His mom’s eyes twinkled and she reached over and poked his arm.
“We’ve had many conversations about that girl. I know you’ve had feelings for her since high school. And now it’s time to put the blame away and move on.”
“I think I’m falling in love with her.” His voice was barely more than a whisper.
“I’ve been waiting for you to admit that for years. You sat on a stool at my kitchen island and told me all about that girl long before you even brought her around to meet me. I heard about every shade of blonde in her hair, how her green eyes sparkled, and even how perfect her dimples were. But that was puppy love—the kind no one expects to last.”
“How can I love her when to do so tarnishes the memory of Mallory and Everly?”
“Oh, baby!”
His mother moved around the desk and pulled him into her arms. The scent of her perfume wrapped around him, comforting and familiar.
“Of course it doesn’t tarnish their memories. You loved Mallory—and Everly too. I know what their deaths took out of you. But you’ve grieved their loss and now it’s time to move on with your life. Mallory wouldn’t want you to be alone forever. She loved you too much for that.”
“But Rhiann—”
“So help me—if you try to shove the blame for their deaths on Rhiann again, I’m going to turn you over my knee like an errant toddler.”
He swallowed back the protest he’d been about to voice.
She looked down at her watch. “Shoot—I’m going to be late. I don’t have much time, so you listen to me and you listen good. That fundraiser is in three days. You are going to escort me there, because your father won’t be back from his conference until Sunday morning. And I want you to spend the time between now and then in deep thought about the day we lost Mallory and Everly. Because you haven’t been thinking clearly about what happened. Son, I love you, but you’re letting your emotions overwhelm the facts. Rhiann loves you too much to have let your family die without doing everything she possibly could have done. And if you really think about it you’ll know that I’m right.”
She patted him on the cheek and left, her words weighing heavy on his heart.
He knew she was right that Mallory wouldn’t have wanted him to be alone. Mallory had said as much once. But loving Rhiann felt like an insult to his late wife. Rhiann had been the last person to see Mallory alive—the last person she’d spoken with. His pregnant wife had bled out on Rhiann’s watch and Rhiann hadn’t done enough to save them.
When he’d lost Mallory and Everly he’d shut down his heart. And even if he could find it in himself to forgive Rhiann for not saving them, she had a son—Levi, with his dangerously damaged heart.
He wasn’t sure he could risk loving and losing another child.
CHAPTER TEN
Rhiann
THE EVENING OF Levi’s fundraiser arrived and not a moment too soon. The day’s mail had come, bearing the medical bills for Levi’s cardiac catherization, surgical and nursing costs, and the associated lab work. Her insurance only covered so much.
The bills were mounting and so was the stress.
Patrick had already told her he was waiving his fees, for which she could only be incredibly grateful, but the hospital wasn’t being quite so generous.
Thinking of Patrick reminded her that he hadn’t contacted her in the week since he’d kissed her. Despite telling him to leave her alone, and that she wanted to keep things between them professional, she’d secretly hoped he would call.
Nerves and all-out anxiety swept through Rhiann now, as she hurried around the station, straightening tablecloths and making sure every table had shakers of parmesan, salt and pepper. Specks of sweat dotted her forehead. She pressed a slightly damp palm against the gr
een fabric covering her stomach and tried to calm the churning.
She sighed.
“Chin up, Mama. We got you. I put flyers on every vertical structure between here and the interstate, And Jason covered from the station south, toward the next town.”
Charlie pulled her into a big, comforting hug. Life would have been so much simpler if she could have fallen for a man like Charlie. Charlie was everything that Pete hadn’t been. Stable, caring, and loyal.
But Charlie’s touch made her feel none of the things Patrick’s did. He was a good man, but he was missing the kind of connection with her that had the power to shatter her soul.
One of the guys from the ladder truck came in, distracting her from her thoughts.
He whistled. “Whoo-wee. That line goes all the way down the block. I hope y’all have a lot of pasta ready to go. These folks look hungry!”
“Down the block?”
“Oh, yeah—clear down to the stop sign.” He smiled. “You didn’t think no one would come, did you?”
She blinked away tears. “Of course not.”
“We take care of our own.” Charlie hugged her tight once more. “Now, go open that door and let’s make you some money.”
Rhiann picked Levi up and hurried over to the door. She propped it open and waved the first batch of people in. There was a donation bucket set just inside the door, with her coworker Jason manning it for safety.
“Thank you all for coming,” she said over and over as people started filing in.
She watched as plates of spaghetti and crusty chunks of garlic bread were served and table after table filled up. Still the line continued.
It didn’t take long before Jason waved the paramedic captain over to exchange the collection bucket for an empty one. He took it into his office for counting and safekeeping, squeezing her shoulder as he walked past.
Charlie came over to where she stood by the door. He had a wide grin on his face. “We’re gonna have to wait for this batch of people to head out before we can let more in. Apparently, we’re pushing the fire regulations.”
“I can’t believe this...” Rhiann said.
And she couldn’t. She’d hoped for a good turnout, but the amount of people filling the room was more than she could ever have imagined.
“I told you—we got you.”
Charlie winked at her and walked over to a small podium they’d set up.
“Hello, everybody!” His voice carried through the speakers. “To the folks still outside: we’ll be getting you in to get your spaghetti as soon as some of these tables free up. We’ve got more pasta cooking, more garlic bread getting toasted up and browned to absolute perfection, and we have more money to raise for that adorable little boy right there and his super-sweet mama.”
He pointed over to Rhiann and Levi.
The crowd broke into applause.
Charlie had to wait for them to simmer down a bit before he could finish his speech. “While most of you are still stuffing your face, maybe someone would like to come up here and tell the rest of us just how much Rhiann means to you personally. I’ve only known her for a few years myself, but already she’s wormed her way right into my heart and I’m not ashamed to say that she’s like family.”
Rhiann mouthed I love you, to her partner. Then she swallowed hard as a line of people made their way up to the podium next to him.
A young woman with an aura of fragility took the microphone. She waved at Rhiann.
“I met Rhiann when I had a car accident two summers ago.” Her voice was soft, even with the microphone. “A kid on a skateboard rolled out in front of me over on Sycamore Street and I swerved to miss him and took on a tree instead. She held my hand while we waited for them to come cut me out of my car. I’ll never forget her kindness that day. As you might imagine, I was a barrel of nerves, and she kept me from panicking. When I heard her little boy needed surgery, I thought, This is my chance to come repay her, if only a little bit.”
A hot tear slipped from Rhiann’s eye, burning its way down her cheek. “Thank you...” she murmured, but doubted the woman could hear her over the crowd.
The next to take the podium was an elderly gentleman whose voice wavered when he spoke.
“I’m ashamed to say I wasn’t very nice to that young woman over there on the day we met, but I hope she’s forgiven me. My late wife had just passed away, and...well, I wasn’t handling her loss very well. Losing your best friend after close to sixty years together changes your whole attitude. Anyway, Miss Rhiann came by my place to check on me, because my daughter had called and asked for someone to. But then she came back every night for a week, because she said I was a cantankerous old man and she found me entertaining. Our visits aren’t every night anymore, and I don’t need them to be, but she gave me a reason to get through the day during a time I had no other reason to. And I want to thank you.”
He nodded over at Rhiann.
She blew him a kiss.
Two preteen boys stepped up to the mike next.
“Uh... Miss Rhiann saved us last year when we did some things we shouldn’t have.” One nudged the other. “I know,” said the one talking, with a glare at his silent friend. “She...uh...she literally saved our lives. We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for her.”
She remembered them. They’d been playing with matches and had set something on fire in their closet. One of the boys’ shirts had caught alight and she’d put him out before the fire truck had even arrived.
The tables emptied, new people trickled in, and the stories continued—car accidents, home injuries, elderly people who’d taken a fall. All of them had a story to tell. But the ones that touched her the most were those that told a story of despair and how she’d given them hope and brought them back to the light. How she’d bolstered them not just by fixing their physical ailments, but their emotional ones as well.
And, even if they didn’t realize it, she knew that was what they were doing for her in return.
Patrick
Patrick and his mom slipped in while Rhiann had her back turned and was talking to someone else. His mom had dropped a folded check in the collection bucket, hiding the amount from easy view, but he was sure it was a nice amount.
He had the distinct impression that any check he put into the donation bin with his name on it would never be cashed, though, so he’d pulled out cash and made his contribution in five crisp hundreds.
The paramedic taking the money had widened his eyes at the amount, grinning when Patrick made the shh sign with his finger over his lips.
They grabbed their plates of spaghetti and he guided his mother to a couple empty seats at a table in the back. By the time they’d settled down to eat, the circle of people around Rhiann had grown.
The dress she wore was in an ideal shade for her. Even from across the room he knew it was a perfect match for her emerald-green irises. Her smile was bright and wide, but a hint of tears sparkled in her eyes, visible even from across the large room.
Patrick wanted to take her in his arms and wipe all evidence of tears away. To tell her that a fundraiser wasn’t necessary, because he was willing and able to provide for all of Levi’s needs. Even if wanting to do that, wanting her and Levi, stabbed like a white-hot knife in betrayal to his wife and daughter.
When Rhiann turned in his direction he lowered his head and avoided her gaze. Twirling spaghetti with a plastic fork, he glanced up quickly to make sure Rhiann wasn’t coming over to their table.
“You’re trying to avoid her,” his mother stated, accusation high in her voice. She swatted his arm and her glare could have boiled water. “John Patrick Scott—what have you done now?”
“Shh...” He took a bite of spaghetti and waved a hand toward the woman currently with the microphone. “I wanna hear this.”
“We will talk about whatever stupid thing you’ve done th
is time.”
He was glad he was surrounded by firefighters and paramedics in case his mother decided to act on the anger in her eyes. At least here, if she tried to kill him, someone should have the skill to bring him back.
He lowered his gaze again and pushed the pasta around on his paper plate. But he wasn’t really seeing the food. His attention was focused on the outpouring of love surrounding Rhiann.
A steady chain of people were coming through the door, dropping money in the collection bucket and showing how much Rhiann meant to them with their presence. Men, women, even children were walking up to a makeshift podium and saying their piece. Each one shared a personal emotional story of just how much Rhiann had positively affected their very existence.
Rhiann wasn’t just someone who flitted briefly into people’s lives and then out on the next breeze. She made a difference to them. A life-changing difference.
Patrick listened to memory after memory crossing their lips as they recounted the day when she’d saved a life or rescued a loved one. They spoke of her bravery and compassion. Of her dedication to the job. All of which warred with his three-year belief in her wrongdoing when it came to his own family’s tragedy.
Each time someone spoke of how she’d saved them, or their loved ones, his heart squeezed so tight he thought it would never beat again. His lungs couldn’t draw air as a young couple showed off a chubby smiling baby whom Rhiann had rescued from choking.
She’d saved so many people in this community.
How could a woman who was so committed to saving strangers have allowed her close friend to die?
The angry burn of tears scorched his eyes. He pushed the rest of the pasta away. “I need to get out of here.”
With one sculpted eyebrow raised, his mother looked him up and down. “Only if you’re going to finally get out of your own way when it comes to this girl.”
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