Mosquito Chase (26 page)

Paul stepped closer as Ellie came out of the closet holding a pair of yoga pants and a long sleeved t-shirt. She handed me the pants. I pulled them on under my nightshirt, ignoring the fact that Paul was in the room.

“He’s fine. He sprained his ankle and is being treated for smoke inhalation.”

I pressed a hand against my chest and exhaled. The tension in my shoulders eased if only for a moment.

“One of the officers died. Caleb needs you.”

Paul drove me to the hospital. We left Ellie with Jordan and the kids. I still hadn’t seen Tom, but considering all I had been through over the past few days, I didn’t want to add a run-in with Tom to that list. I could only handle so much.

“Please go faster.”

Paul pressed down on the gas, ignoring any speed limit signs. My hands were clasped tight on my lap. My eyes blurred with tears as they had been all morning.

“He’s okay, Angie. He’s okay.”

“I know. I’m not okay, though. I caused this. How many more people have to die because of me?”

“You can’t think like that. This isn’t your fault. None of this is your fault.”

I tried to take a calming breath, but the air stuck in my throat along with the sob I held back. Caleb was all I had left. This monster had taken my fiancé away from me, my son away from me, and now he was trying to take the love of my life.

The trees blurred as we approached Main Street. I wanted to stay here in Olde Town. I wanted to raise my son here. I wanted to be a family. There were so many things I wanted. The only way to ensure that I could have the life I wanted was to give myself up in exchange for my son and fight my way back to my family. I was prepared for that.

Paul parked in front of the emergency room. I stepped out of the car and pulled the hood of my sweatshirt over my head. More than likely I was being followed. It wasn’t like the hood would really hide me, but I felt better about it. We walked into the emergency room. It was flooded with cops. I took the hood off and kept my head down, feeling all their eyes on me. I was the reason for all of this, regardless of what Paul said. This was all my fault. A man died because of me. I should have just bypassed North Carolina all together and continued south to Florida. I would have never found Caleb again, but I wouldn’t have put him through all of this either.

I followed Paul down a hallway and through a pair of swinging doors. He stopped in front of a partially closed curtain and nudged his head to the side, silently instructing me to go in. I stepped forward and eased the curtain back. Caleb’s head rested on a pillow, his foot elevated under another. His arm lay over his eyes to block the light. His arms and face were still covered in soot. His shirt rose and fell with the ease of his breathing. He didn’t hear me come in, and I didn’t want to wake him. I stepped over to the chair next to the bed and sat down slowly. I couldn’t help wincing at the pain in my stomach. I stared at his dark cargo pants and the dark patches of sheet where the soot had rubbed off. My eyes followed his pants downward to the foot resting on the mound of pillows at the end of the bed and the angry knot bulging on the side of his wrapped ankle. Tears began to form in my eyes. He’d just gone through hell and escaped with only a sprained ankle.

He dropped his arm onto the bed. He stared at the ceiling, his eyes red. He turned his head to the side and froze when he met my eyes.

“Baby?”

I reached for his hand as he pushed up on his elbow. “Hey,” I whispered.

“Why are you not at the farm? You shouldn’t be here. What if someone sees you?”

“That’s a risk I’m going to have to take, Caleb. I’m not going to just sit while you’re in here. This place is crawling with cops. I think I’ll be okay.”

He reached over and grabbed my hand with both of his. “You shouldn’t be here.”

“Shut up. I needed to be here.” I pulled one hand out of his grip and reached out for his face. My fingertips glided down his cheek, and I dragged my thumb across his bottom lip. He leaned across and wrapped his hand around the back of my neck, bringing my lips to his. I coddled his face in between my hands and kissed him with all of me. I tried to hold back the sob as best as I could, but when the tears came, I pulled away and rested my forehead against his.

“When Paul told me there was an accident, I thought I lost you. I thought you were taken from me.” I reached my arms around his neck and pulled him to me. “I can’t lose you, Caleb.”

“You’re not going to lose me. I swear on everything. You’re not going to lose me.”

I squeezed him tighter and made myself believe. I had nothing else to go on. I needed to believe him.

The sound of the curtain sliding against the rod pulled me away from his embrace. A doctor walked in looking at a chart.

“Okay, Caleb. You can go home. I’m telling you to keep that foot elevated for a few days, but I’m sure you won’t listen to me. So, at least rest for the day.” The doctor pointed at me and said, “Make him stay in bed.”

The doctor brought over a clipboard and Caleb signed the paper to be discharged. A nurse entered with two crutches. Caleb hobbled up to his feet, wincing when he tried to put pressure on his foot.

I stood up and grabbed his waist. “Just let me take care of you today.”

He nodded and, with the help of the crutches, swung his leg forward. I slid the curtain open. Paul went to the swinging doors and held them open as Caleb hobbled through. He stopped when he saw his father walking into the ER. Another guy entered, running through the waiting room until he found Parker and threw his arms around him. Caleb’s dad approached us.

“What happened?” he asked, looking between Paul and me.

Caleb slouched more on his crutches and shook his head. “I don’t know. We’d cleared the house. Mike Shuler opened a door in the kitchen and a small bomb exploded.”

“Did he—”

Caleb shook his head and stared at the ground. I placed my hand on his back and he raised his head up, meeting my eye.

“Let’s go,” I encouraged gently. “You need to rest your foot.”

He started forward. The cops around us stepped out of the way. No words were exchanged, no orders given. I didn’t think anyone knew what to do.

We arrived back at the McCloud farm shortly after. Paul helped Caleb up the porch steps, and then left to bring their dad to The Inn where he and Caleb’s mom were staying. I followed Caleb through the empty house to the room we’d taken over. He sat on the edge of the bed, staring off into space. I sat down next to him. I needed to be near him.

“Can I get you anything?” I asked. I didn’t know what to say or do, but I wanted him to know I was there for him.

“Would you mind maybe a glass of water?”

I kissed his cheek and stood up. The pain tightened in my stomach, but this time it felt bearable. Maybe if I’d moved around more over the past few days I wouldn’t be as sore. I walked out into the kitchen and realized I didn’t know where they kept their glasses. I opened the cabinet to the right of the sink and found it full of pink sippy cups. I continued on and found the plates and casserole dishes. I pulled open the next cabinet, overstuffed with cooking ware.

“Hey, Angela,” a deep voice said.

I startled, jerking my head and staring at the man across from me, holding an empty glass in his hand.

“We keep the glasses on the other side of the sink.”

He held it out for me to take.

“Thank you” was all I could say as I took it from him. After not saying a word to him in years, I wasn’t exactly sure what I should say. I didn’t want to say anything to him, much less a thank you.

“I’m really sorry, Angela.”

“About what, Tom?” I asked, filling the glass with water from the sink. “Where could you possibly start with apologizing?”

“I’m sorry about your son.”

“I appreciate your sympathy, but I don’t think I want it. I appreciate that you opened your home up to me, but I think that might be more of your wife’s doing than your own.”

“I’m sorry for being a dick.”

“That’s a better start.” I breathed and remembered who I was, the girl I’d forgotten amidst all the recent chaos. “I’m not going to hold grudges after all these years. You were an asshole to me. I’m not going to forgive you for it, but I don’t plan on running away either. Having you around doesn’t faze me. I’m here for Caleb now. I will always be here for Caleb for as long as he wants me. If you can handle that, then we’ll be fine. Deal?”

I held out my hand toward him. I was ready to put this ancient, petty bullshit behind me. There were way more important things going on now. 

He eased his hand inside mine and we shook. I felt nothing toward this man, and it was a good feeling. I broke from the handshake and turned away.

“Thank you for letting us stay in your home.”

“You were right, though,” he said. I turned back to him as a sly grin eased up his cheeks. “I had no say in the matter. It was all Jordan’s doing.”

“I knew I’d like her more than you.” I headed back into my room and shut the door, closing off Caleb and I from the world.

I handed him the glass of water and reclaimed my spot next to him, threading my fingers with his.

“Who was that?”

I squeezed his hand and kissed his cheek. “Just my past rearing its ugly head.”

4 days to go …

It was a struggle for Caleb to stay in bed after the hospital. I stayed beside him, never wanting to leave his side or trusting him to stay in bed without being supervised. Now I understood what he went through while I was in the hospital. I knew he wanted to do everything he could to get Simon back, but he couldn’t do it if he wasn’t healthy, and functioning on little to no sleep.

The morning sun shone through the window behind me and cast its early rays across his face. Even as he slept, there was a crease between his brows. Before Simon was born, he never seemed to hold on to so much stress and worry. He’d become an entirely different person since the night I wound up on his doorstep. I knew he’d fought the feelings as much as I had, but in the short amount of time we’d been together, he had become my family. Caleb had become the only person I could trust with my whole heart.

There were a lot of things keeping me from admitting my feelings to him. Maybe when life began to settle – when I had Simon back – I could figure out what I wanted to do about Caleb. I knew what I wanted, but it was hard to separate real emotions from the situation we were in together. I had been through so much with men and I couldn’t allow them to lead me into thinking that what they wanted was what I wanted. I knew deep, deep down that I was meant for Caleb. I just needed to be sure. I needed my son back. I needed normalcy. But for the time being, I didn’t want to be anywhere but here with Caleb. I laid my head on his chest and wrapped myself around him. His heart beat subtly against my face. I closed my eyes and breathed him in; memorized the tingle of my skin pressed against his. I didn’t know what would happen in a few days. The only comfort I had in this fucked up life was right here in my arms.

The gentle touch of his lips pressed against my head. I tilted my chin up and let it come to rest on his chest. I dragged my hand up and glided my fingers against the stubble on his cheek. He grabbed my hand and kissed my palm.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, his voice still full of sleep.

“I’m feeling better. More normal. How’s the foot?”

He pursed his lips and said, “It’s fine. I’m not staying here and feeling worthless all day.”

“You can work from here.” I pushed up on my elbow, getting closer to his face. “I don’t think you should be walking on it.”

“I’ve sprained my ankle before and could still play football.”

“Babe, that was years ago. You’re not an indestructible teenager anymore.”

“Yes, I am.” He smirked and kissed my cheek before scooting out of bed. He grunted and hobbled to the bathroom. “See? I’m fine.”

I stared at the pajama bottoms hanging low from his hips. The muscles in his back rose up to his broad shoulders.

“Yeah, the view ain’t so bad.”

He shot me a wink from over his shoulder before closing the door. It was too hard to ignore his attractive qualities, even if he was limping.