“Great pasta,” he said, going back to eating as if nothing out of the ordinary had been said. “I care about you too, Alexa. You’re a good woman—even if you do flirt too much.”
Casey smiled across the table.
Alexa picked up her fork and gave Casey a look, one that usually sent people who knew her scurrying off to avoid the imminent explosion. She knew Casey was mostly unaffected by her temper, and she wished the fact didn’t turn her on so much.
“Don’t start with the insults or I will never cook for you again,” she told him.
“Flirt with me later and I might get over it,” Casey offered, trying to distract her from the seriousness he introduced by admitting he loved her. He would certainly tell her again, and he intended to keep telling her until Alexa believed him, and loved him back.
“Leave me alone and eat,” Alexa ordered, concentrating on her food and hoping the butterflies in her stomach didn’t argue much with the pasta she was now having to force herself to consume.
*** *** ***
Later that night, Casey was once again happily buried deep inside Alexa and moving to the rhythm of the new life he’d found with her. It was beyond Casey to do anything other than whisper his love over and over in Alexa’s ear while she shattered into brilliant star fragments pulsing around him.
“Casey,” Alexa whispered back brokenly, tears streaming, body shaking as he emptied himself within her depths.
“Ssssh. . .sleep honey,” Casey said eventually, his heart still pounding against hers. “I’ve got you.”
Alexa couldn’t bring herself to be irritated at his possessiveness or even the control he exercised over her. She was emotionally exhausted, blissfully sated, and at the same time, incredibly sad that she couldn’t instantly give Casey back what he wanted.
The last thought she had before sleep was Casey always seemed to be one step ahead of her in pretty much everything that happened between them.
*** *** ***
The next day Casey purposely kept things light and teasing, trying to break though the sudden reserve in Alexa’s interactions with him.
He tagged along to work with her but left, promising to return for lunch. When he returned, they opted to walk to a nearby restaurant and enjoy the unusually warm weather for autumn.
They were waiting to cross a busy street when Casey felt the little girl brushing by his leg as she passed him. She was barely a toddler. He dropped his cane to go after her as quickly as he could. His hip twisted painfully as he snatched her up in his arms, but he was glad he’d at least been able to catch her.
Alexa stepped off the curb, chasing them both into the crosswalk. Casey was reaching out with the child, passing her to Alexa, when a car hit Casey and knocked him forward in the street. He hit the pavement and lay without moving.
Alexa called his name in shock. The mother of the child rushed up and scooped the now screaming child out of Alexa’s arms.
Alexa stumbled forward to join the driver of the car, who had also rushed to Casey’s side. Blood flowed from a gash in Casey’s forehead. Acting on instinct, Alexa pulled off the sweater she was wearing, folded it, and held it firmly to the gash to try and stop the blood flow. She was shaking badly and it was hard to keep the pressure firm.
People talked around her, but she couldn’t hear them, couldn’t take anything in but how Casey looked lying in the street. How much time passed, Alexa wasn’t sure, but eventually there were several EMTs crouched beside her. Pulling herself out of her stupor as best she could, she answered questions about what had happened.
The mother of the little girl Casey had rescued was also there answering questions, filling in the gaps.
Alexa told them about Casey’s military injuries, including his hip replacement, so they stabilized his pelvic area before moving him.
Alexa watched Casey being loaded into the ambulance and then gratefully let them tuck her in beside him with relief she wasn’t going to have to leave him. At the hospital, they wheeled Casey away to the emergency room, leaving her alone in the waiting area holding a bloody sweater in her hands.
One thought kept running through Alexa’s mind over and over. Casey could die without knowing how she felt about him.
She should have tried to explain better, told him how much life he’d brought to her. The last and only man she had ever said “I love you” to had been Paul. The men she had dated in between Paul and Casey had been interesting, some even fun. But until Casey, no one had touched her heart. No man had challenged her views, much less fought her for control. And Casey Carter was the only man she’d ever shared her business with comfortably.
She hadn’t told him any of this, and now she might not get the chance. Tears streamed at the thought.
Sydney had been right about how jaded and cynical she had become. She probably wouldn’t have recognized real love if someone had handed it to her wrapped with a big bow.
Why hadn’t she told him how she felt?
She would give anything to trade places with Casey and spare him yet another huge physical setback in his life. Seeing him broken and twisted in the street, Alexa had gotten a glimpse of what Casey must have endured when he was originally injured.
She rubbed her stomach to soothe her jangled nerves. Her worry was so overwhelming, it was all she could do not to start tearing the waiting area apart.
Alexa closed her eyes and shivered. It was easy to imagine the doctor coming to tell her that Casey was dead. She raised the bloody sweater to her face and cried into it softly.
Her stubbornness had cost her dearly this time.
*** *** ***
Sydney got there first and pulled the bloody clothing from her hands before gathering Alexa into his arms. Alexa let herself rest against him, wishing it were Casey holding her instead.
Not long after, Seth and Jenna came running into the waiting area as well.
Seth went immediately to check on Casey’s status and then came over join them.
“Alexa?”
Alexa pulled out of Sydney’s arms, stood up, and walked into Seth’s arms, which came around her instinctively.
“They say Casey is still being examined,” Seth said.
“He ran into the crosswalk to save a little girl,” Alexa choked on a sob. “I couldn’t stop him. I couldn’t get to him in time. A car hit him. He was unconscious when we got here.”
Seth closed his eyes and took a deep breath to steady himself. Casey was all the family he had left in the world. He couldn’t lose him too.
“Is the little girl okay?” Seth asked tightly, needing another focus.
“I think so,” Alexa said, pulling back. “The mother was still there when we left in the ambulance.”
“It will be the first question Casey asks when wakes up,” Seth said, hugging her to comfort both of them.
“How did you all know it happened?” Alexa asked, realizing she hadn’t called anyone. She’d been too much in shock.
“Someone recognized you,” Sydney said. “A woman called the office and told me what happened and which hospital he was taken to. My instincts told me it wasn’t a prank call. I called Seth and Jenna on my way here.”
Alexa nodded. She walked back to take a seat, reaching out automatically to pick up the blood-stained sweater and clutching it to her chest. “I watched it happen and I still have trouble believing it. One minute we were laughing and going to lunch. The next I was in the street watching Casey’s head bleed.”
Alexa put her head in her hands. “How can that man be hurt again? Hasn’t he suffered enough in his life?” She left her face in her hands and wept, uncaring of what any of them thought about it.
“Mama,” Jenna put her arms around her mother. “Casey would have gone after the little girl no matter what you did. Every soldier is hero. Isn’t that what you always told me?”
Seth came over and sat next to Alexa.
“Jenna’s right.” He reached out and took Alexa’s hand in his. “Besides, I’m not too w
orried about a bleeding head injury. No one has a harder head than Casey.”
Alexa laughed a little, sniffing back as many tears as she could. “That’s the truth,” she said, studying her hands. “His leg was—I think Casey may have broken his hip again.”
“Maybe they’ll rebuild him better,” Seth said, trying to look at the bright side. “Maybe he’ll be able to move faster the next time he has the urge to be a hero.”
A doctor in a white coat walked into the waiting area. “I’m looking for the family of Casey Carter.”
Alexa and Seth both stood. “That’s us,” Seth said, putting an arm around Alexa.
“Mr. Carter has a severe concussion. We’ve not been able to bring him around yet. This is not good, but his vital signs are okay. However, the hip replacement is shattered and needs to be replaced. I’ll need one of you to grant permission for us to do the replacement surgery.”
Alexa cleared her throat. “We want him to have to best model on the market. Money is not a problem. Just fix him the best you can.”
The doctor looked at her. He knew her from somewhere but couldn’t place the woman. Seeing the bloody sweater clutched in her hands, he nodded.
“The best is a titanium model. It’s very expensive, but adjusts to the individual in a unique manner, sometimes allowing a larger range of motion than traditional replacements. Several people who have received them have walked unassisted afterward.”
“That’s what we want,” Alexa said, looking at Seth. “Are you okay with this?”
Seth nodded down into her face.
“Whatever you want to buy Casey is okay with me,” Seth told her, kissing her on the forehead. “He deserves the best.”
Alexa closed her eyes and swallowed hard, fighting the urge to cry again. “Make him bionic,” she said to the doctor and felt Seth laugh a little at her side.
The doctor smiled. “Well, I can’t promise bionic, but I’ll do what I can,” he said, walking back through the door to the treatment area.
Chapter 21
No matter what anyone said, seven hours later they still couldn’t talk Alexa into leaving the hospital. So they called a second shift of Regina and Lauren to stay with her while the rest went home to change clothes and eat.
“Casey’s going to be fine,” Regina told Alexa. “The surgery went well. There’s every reason to feel positive about this, honey.”
“I’m not worried about his leg,” Alexa said, hugging her arms. “The doctor keeps saying how well the surgery turned out.”
“Here,” Lauren pulled off her sweater and made Alexa put it on. “I have a jacket in my gym bag. Your sweater is history. Blood doesn’t come out of cashmere. You need to just throw it away.”
Alexa squeezed her eyes closed. “I used it to try to stop the bleeding,” Alexa said sadly.
Regina walked to the bloody sweater still resting beside Alexa’s leg. She picked it up and crammed it into the giant purse bag she nearly always carried. “Lauren’s right. It’s history. I’ll take care of it for you.”
“You don’t have to worry about my sanity,” Alexa said, seeing in both Regina’s and Lauren’s face how much they were worried about her.
“It’s not your sanity that concerns us, Alexa. We’re just trying to keep you looking presentable for when the press figures out you’re now dating a wounded hero,” Regina said, not for a moment doubting the situation would be exploited by the media.
“I don’t care about the publicity this time,” Alexa said. “Casey is a hero. He deserves to be recognized for it. A little girl is alive because of what he did.”
Alexa put her face in her hands again as she relived the car hitting Casey for the millionth time. “Oh God, I may never be the same, but the little girl is okay.”
Lauren knelt and put her arms around Alexa in a tight hug. “When Casey wakes up and you see he’s okay, the scariness will start to fade,” she assured Alexa, stroking her hair.
Regina came over and sat beside Alexa. “Casey loves you, Alexa.”
Alexa pulled out of Lauren’s arms and leaned back in the chair. “I know. He told me,” she said sadly.
“Why on earth would that make you sad?” Regina asked. “Casey’s sexy as hell, thinks you walk on water, and doesn’t let you have the upper hand all the time. He’s practically perfect.”
“Yes. He is practically perfect. It makes me sad because I didn’t say it back when he told me,” Alexa confessed, trying to swallow past the knot of anxiety in her throat. “I didn’t know what to say to Casey when he said he loved me. So I said nothing. Somehow that seems worse.”
Regina studied Alexa for a moment. “You’re just on the verge, honey. You’re at the edge of the love epiphany. Casey’s just a little ahead of you in understanding, that’s all.”
Regina reached over to hold Alexa’s hand. “The man knows you love him. And if he suspected otherwise, he’d probably just set about working to change your mind. Casey told me he loved you the day I met him at your house.”
Alexa looked at Regina in shock. Regina just shrugged.
“He’s so full of himself,” Alexa said, almost laughing. “I don’t know if I can love someone like that or not.”
Lauren reached out a hand and pinched Alexa.
“Ouch! What was that for? You’re as bad as Casey,” Alexa protested, laughing completely now, shocked Lauren had actually pinched her.
“Wake up, Alexa,” Lauren demanded. “You’re sitting here worried about the man so bad you won’t leave his side. You’re even willing to deal with the press for him. This is love, and you’re living it.”
Alexa sniffed and felt her eyes filling again. “Yes. I guess it is.”
“Excuse me, Ms. Ranger?” a nurse broke into their conversation.
“Yes,” Alexa answered, sniffling.
“Mr. Carter woke up briefly a couple minutes ago. He was asking for someone named Alexa,” she said.
“That’s me,” Alexa said, standing. “Can I see him now?”
The nurse looked at her kindly. “We can let you in for a few moments. He’s drifting in and out, but at least he’s beginning to wake up. It’s a good sign, and we hope he recognizes you,” she said, pointing to the doors with her hand.
“Go. We’ll be here when you come back,” Regina said lightly. Lauren nodded as well.
Alexa followed the nurse through the double-doors.
*** *** ***
Alexa thought Casey looked worse in the hospital bed than he had lying in the street. His entire left side was in traction, probably because of the surgery. There were a series of bandages on his head as well. Stitches peeked out of the largest one.
Alexa fell into the chair by his bed with relief. Her legs were barely supporting her.
She reached out and touched Casey’s hand, then lifted it gently to hold it in hers. The pulse in his wrist was more reassuring to her than anything the doctor had said.
Sitting there holding Casey’s hand, Alexa had another vision of him sitting by his wife’s bed when she was ill. Her heart hurt for him, and once again she thought how unfair it was Casey was injured once more.
Feeling more helpless than she’d ever felt in her life, Alexa could only hold his hand and pray he would make it through this, too. She leaned over the bed and kissed his hand, laying her cheek against it while the tears flowed. She felt the same need to protect Casey, to care for him, that she’d only previously felt for a handful of people in her life, most of whom had rushed to her side today.
“Well, looks like you won another one, Marine. I guess I love you after all,” Alexa announced to Casey’s unconscious form. “I’d like to think I’d have come to the same conclusion without watching you get hit by a car, damn you.”
“Alexa,” Casey moaned, trying to turn his head.
“Ssssh. . .sleep honey,” Alexa said, stroking his face the way he often did for her. “I’m here. I’ll be here when you wake up. Rest now.”
When the nurse showed up, Alexa
knew her time was up for now.
Alexa released Casey’s hand and leaned over to kiss his cheek. “I love you, Casey,” she whispered, feeling the words vibrate through her with a truth that surprised her.
Alexa walked from the room feeling hopeful for the first time in hours.
Chapter 22
They never knew who finally leaked the story to the press, but the next day there was a horde of reporters swarming the hospital.
Despite rare moments of lucidness, Casey remained mostly unconscious, so he was still in ICU being monitored for the head injury.
The hospital, now fully aware of the identities of the patient and the woman in his life, allowed Alexa to put extra guards on their newly discovered local “hero.” They also gladly helped arrange a press conference on another floor of the hospital.
While Seth sat with Casey in the ICU, Alexa went to deal with the press. Jenna had brought clothes to her mother, who was offered the doctor’s lounge to clean up and prepare. To say the hospital staff were shocked by the beautiful woman who walked out of the lounge was an understatement.
No one could stop staring at the transformation.
Jenna walked along beside her glamorous mother, more proud of her than she had ever been. She knew how hard it was for her mother to leave Casey, even for a short time.
“You look beautiful, Mama,” Jenna said when they were standing outside the conference room, knowing her mother needed reassurance.
Alexa put her arms around her daughter and kissed her cheek. “Thank you for being with me,” Alexa said, wiping the lipstick kiss away with a thumb. “Sorry. I forgot I put on the red lipstick today.”
Jenna laughed. “Now remember. Stick to the hero story. Don’t go announcing your engagement,” Jenna teased. “Casey hasn’t discussed his intentions with me yet.”
Alexa gave her daughter a grin, appreciating the teasing. “It would serve Casey Carter right if I did announce our engagement. Lord knows I owe him some embarrassment.”
Alexa took a couple deep breaths. “Okay. Let’s get this over with,” she said, pushing open the conference room door.
Dating A Cougar Page 22
