Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 105398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 527(@200wpm)___ 422(@250wpm)___ 351(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 527(@200wpm)___ 422(@250wpm)___ 351(@300wpm)
“I checked in with Luke. He was outside when I got to the ER. The little bitch tried to get you in contempt of court when you didn’t show. Your lawyer was off site for lunch, so when he got back he didn’t know what happened. The freakin court reporter and half the courtroom started yelling at the same time, all trying to tell what happened. The dumbass thought she could get away with it, too. They also have her in custody for child endangerment. They think it’ll stick, too. Luke was a fountain of information, not that he was telling me this. He was talking to another officer. So he may have more, I just don’t know what it is yet.” Cheyenne supplied cheekily.
All the men stared at her as if she’d grown a second head. I was impressed myself. Sneaking up on a man of Luke’s caliber was freakin’ awesome!
“I’m fucking dead on my feet. My vagina bone feels like it’s been pummeled to death. Can we go sit down?” Cheyenne asked Gabe.
Nodding my head in understanding, I untangled myself from Gabe and walked into Cora’s room. She was hooked up to multiple wires, and machines. Her body looked swallowed in the large hospital bed. The monitors beeped with each beat of her heart. The lights were turned down low for her comfort. Her hair was a beautiful riot of curls, and her little body was covered under mounds of blankets. One of Cora’s arms was thrown up above her head, and it reminded me of Gabe. This was the sweetest thing I’d ever seen.
Reaching forward, I ran my fingers lightly through her hair. It was so soft. Gabe came up behind me and wrapped me up in his arms.
“I feel like a failure. She could have killed her.” He said.
I stretched my arm up and cupped his face with the palm of my hand, patting it consolingly. I let my hand drop and then reached into my pocket for my phone. I had a lot of stuff to tell him, and since I couldn’t speak, this was the next best thing. Sitting down in the chair that was next to the bed, I started explaining about what I thought of Gabe, and how he was a wonderful person.
Gabriel,
You are the most wonderful person in the world. You have a tender heart, whether you choose to acknowledge it or not. You care about others. You save people’s lives. Never once have I feared what would happen to me since I met you, I feel safe and loved. You are the type of person that your father would be proud of. It breaks my heart that Cora wasn’t with you for the last year, but she has you now. You will always have her, and she will always have you. Don’t beat yourself up over this. Everything will be okay. I love you.
Once I had it all typed out, I handed him my phone. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, holding Cora’s hand. He took the phone in his other hand, and started reading. Once he was finished, he let out a breath and hung his head. A few minutes passed like this, until finally he raised his head. His eyes were shimmering with emotion. Taking the phone back, I started a new note. This one was simple.
I need ice cream.
I turned the phone around so he could read it, and he busted out with a deep belly laugh.
Smiling, I rested my head on the back of the chair and let myself drift off to sleep. This had been one hell of a day.
Ω
Gabe
It’d been two days now. Cora still wasn’t awake. They stopped giving her the meds that kept her from waking up nearly twenty four hours ago. Everyone had been here on and off for the past two days, hoping to lend a supporting hand. There was food brought every time someone entered the door. Blaine visited quite often with Justin since he didn’t move much. Cheyenne dropped in during her clinical shifts. Sam and the rest of the guys came in after work, or during lunch. All were hoping to see Cora open her eyes, but it hadn’t happened yet. They’d removed her intubation tube, now all we were doing was playing the waiting game.
Ember was laying down next to Cora on the hospital bed, running her fingers through her springy curls. I could tell when she fell asleep. Her passes through Cora’s hair got slower and slower until it stopped completely resting with her palm curling around the apple of her cheek. She was cradling Cora’s head to her chest, and their breathing seemed to be in harmony. Turning my attention to the Ranger’s game, I watched another three innings before I noticed something different.
Slowly turning my head in Cora and Ember’s direction, cerulean blue eyes met mine. They watched me carefully. My heart started beating a mile a minute. Joy surged through my heart.
“Hey, sweet girl.” I whispered to her.
She continued to study me. Reaching out, I took her small hand in mine and rubbed it with my thumb. Her hand with the IV in it had a death grip on Ember’s braid, and she brought it up to her mouth and started sucking on it.
“Uh oh, big girl. Better stop doing that before she finds out.” I said to her.
“Too late. She’s already found out, but she doesn’t really care.” Ember said sleepily.
I flicked up my eyes to find Ember’s on mine. Tears were shimmering in her eyes, threatening to spill over. I gave her a huge smile, and continued to talk to Cora.
The doctor came in a short time later to give her a thorough exam. He was very optimistic that since she was responding well to us, and interacting, that she would recover fully. He ensured us that if all went well the next day or so, that we should be home by the weekend.
Sidney was officially charged with child endangerment, and the custody case was thrown out. The judge officially gave me full custody of Cora, and didn’t approve supervised visits with Sidney. He would maintain full custody until the trial was over and her sentence was served.