If I Loved You (Harper Falls Book 1)

by Mary J. Williams

  "We both need a bath." Edgar didn't look convinced. "Listen, fella, it will be my second of the day, so you're getting off lightly. But first I think we need to record this for posterity. Stay here."

  Rose ran to get her phone then returned to find Edgar right where she'd left him.

  "That's my good boy." She knelt down beside him. "Say big juicy bone." And then she took their picture. Rose laughed as she showed it to Edgar, deciding to take his wagging tail as a sign of his approval. "We make a pretty photogenic pair. I think we need to share this one."

  Rose typed a quick text, attached the picture and hit send.

  "That's done. No more procrastination, my friend. Bath time and you're first."

  JACK WAS GLAD to be home. The flight from Los Angeles to Spokane had been smooth and uneventful, as had the landing and subsequent drive to Harper Falls. Normally he would have gone straight home but the idea of facing an empty house wasn't terribly appealing. So he decided to stop at H&W first to check in with Drew and pick up Edgar. He didn't know if Rose had missed him, but he could count on his dog for an enthusiastic welcome.

  As he pulled up in front of the office, Jack reached inside his jacket to get his phone and check his messages. He always turned it off when he was flying and since he'd jumped right in his SUV after landing this was the first time he'd looked at it all morning. He scrolled through the list of missed calls and texts not seeing anything that was urgent. Then he saw that Rose had sent him a text about two hours ago. He got out and leaned back against the closed door. How bad could it be? Rose wouldn't end their relationship with a text. Bracing himself for the worst, he opened it.

  Under a picture of Rose and Edgar, both grinning and both very muddy, it read, "See the trouble we get into when you're not around? Come home soon." It was simply signed Edgar.

  Jack started to laugh. The heavy fog of doom and gloom that had surrounded him for the past two days lifted and he felt like he could breathe again. He looked at the picture again. What had they been up to? Feeling energized Jack grabbed the door handle and swung it open. Checking in with Drew could wait, he decided suddenly. He had someplace a lot more important to be.

  "Must be nice to have something to laugh about? Huh, Jack?"

  His mind occupied with thoughts of getting to Rose, Jack hadn't heard Craig Lowe's approach. He'd let his guard down long enough for the man to get close—too close. But he did see the knife and felt it as it sliced into his flesh.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  "WELL, I THINK you smell great. Tell him Tyler."

  Rose had finally gotten both herself and Edgar mud free and it had been easier than she'd anticipated. The dog had taken being dowsed with water from the hose and soaped up with lavender scented shampoo with amazing good grace. It was only now, after the fact that he seemed to be having second thoughts about how he smelled. Maybe she was spending too much time with him, attributing him with assets he didn't possess, but Rose got the feeling that Edgar wasn't terribly thrilled with the less than manly fragrance. Tyler and Dani had arrived just in time to keep him company while she jumped in the shower for the second time that morning. She was walking into the living room just as Dani was reassuring the dog.

  "Edgar, unlike my friends here, I don't think you care one way or the other about smelling like flowers." Tyler grinned as the dog laid his head on her knee and stared at her with soulful eyes. "You're just missing the mud. You put in all that effort and then Rose goes and washes it off. That's the indignity."

  "Was it just last week that you two were giving me a hard time about talking to Edgar? And now I find you carrying on a conversation with him. What gives?"

  Dani took one of the cups of tea that Rose had brought with her. "He asked me a question. It would have been impolite not to answer."

  "He asked you?" Handing Tyler a cup, Rose joined her on the sofa.

  "With his eyes."

  "Right. And what's your excuse?" she asked her other friend.

  "I don't know what she's talking about, do you, Edgar?" Tyler leaned down until she was almost nose to nose with the dog.

  "I wouldn't do that unless you want—"

  But Rose's warning was too late. Edgar considered Tyler's gesture to be an open invitation and he took full advantage by giving her face a big, wet swipe with his tongue.

  Tyler sat back and grimaced. "And this is what I get for being on your side." She declined the tissue Rose offered. "That's not going to cut it. I need a trip to the bathroom and some anti-bacterial soap. And before you say anything," she addressed Edgar. "I know your mouth supposedly has fewer germs than those guys I let kiss me. But I'm not buying it."

  Unconcerned, Edgar trotted over to his bed and settled in for a nap. After all, he'd had a very busy and exhausting morning.

  "So, how are things going with you?" Spit free, Tyler sat back down and turned to Rose.

  "Great, never better." Rose grinned when she saw the look Tyler and Dani gave each other. "Okay, in order of importance, here is what has happened to me since the last time we spoke. I realized that I'm in love with Jack; I finished the song for Wishes, and I finally had my long overdue confrontation with Louise."

  Before either Tyler or Dani could react to the information overload, Rose heard the ringtone she'd assigned to Jack. As she snatched up the phone she said to her friends," Hold those thoughts. I have to take this. Jack? I'm so happy you called."

  "It's not Jack, Rose."

  "Drew? Why are you calling me on Jack's phone?" Rose had a sudden sinking feeling. "What happened?" She asked the question as calmly as she could. Her heart was racing and she wanted to scream but she held it together, waiting unti Drew answered.

  "Jack's been stabbed." Rose couldn't make a sound, she just gripped the phone. She could tell that Drew was trying keep his voice the panic out of his voice. "I got him to the hospital as quickly as possible. He never lost consciousness; that's a good sign. They took him into one of the examining rooms as soon as we got here and then I called you."

  "I'll be right there." Rose hung up and jumped to her feet. Her legs felt like rubber, but sheer will kept her upright. Rushing to grab her keys there was only one thought in head—get to Jack.

  "Rose, what is it?" Dani had watched Rose's face turn an alarming stark white.

  "Hospital, Jack." Her hand was shaking so badly that she couldn't open the door to the garage. Tyler and Dani had rushed after her as soon as they heard the word hospital.

  Dani reached around her shaking friend and opened the door. She took the car keys from Rose and handed them to Tyler. "Drive her to the hospital. I'll make sure Edgar has enough food and water in case no one can get back for a while and then I'll be right behind you."

  Rose let Tyler take over. She sat in the car and watched the houses fly by her mind running in a hundred different directions. What, how, where, when? But when it came down to it only one thing mattered—Jack had to be alright. Not for her. She would walk away without a backward glance and never see him again if it meant he would live a long and healthy life. Unfortunately, she knew that wasn't how it worked. No amount of self-sacrificing promises would guarantee Jack's well-being. So she didn't waste her energy on such foolishness. Jack was not going to die. She wouldn't allow herself to think anything else.

  Rose had the door open before Tyler could bring the car to a full stop. "Jesus, Rose, the last thing we need is for you to break a leg." But she was talking to air. Rose was already through the hospital doors and running towards the reception desk.

  "Rose, over here."

  She turned at the sound of her name. Drew was waiting and he took her arm, leading her down the hallway to their right.

  "Have you heard anything yet?" She wondered if she looked as wild eyed as Drew. His white shirt had a large brownish stain on it. Was it blood? Jack's blood?

  Drew was just about to answer when a voice boomed from a nearby room.

  "Just give me a goddamned local and stitch the fucker up so I can get out
of here."

  "I guess we both heard that." He picked her up and swung her around. Relief washed over them and for a moment they just clung to each other, no words necessary.

  "You're smiling, so it must be good news."

  Drew gently transferred Rose over to Tyler. He met her eyes and for once that they weren't filled with anger.

  "If the strength of his voice is any indication I'd say he's going to be fine." Rose gave a shaky laugh. "But just to be sure let's wait and hear what the doctor has to say."

  "Hey," Tyler lifted Rose's chin. "You're crying."

  "Second time in two days." Rose wiped at her cheeks with both hands. "Dani was right, it does release a lot pressure, but I hope I don't start making a habit of it."

  They only had to wait a few more minutes for the doctor to come out and fill them in.

  "Your friend was very lucky. Another inch to the right and the knife would have sliced into his kidney. Instead, he has a relatively minor wound that should heal with no complications. We would like to keep him a while longer for observation, but he's insisting on being released. Perhaps one of you could try and convince him to stay." The doctor looked between the two women. "Rose?"

  "That's me." Rose took a step forward.

  "His biggest concern seems to be getting home to you. But since you're here he might be willing to listen to reason."

  "Not likely," Drew scoffed.

  "I'll do my best, doctor."

  Rose felt like she was floating. She would have sworn her feet never touched the ground on her way to Jack. Suddenly remembering the rush from her house to the hospital, she paused for a moment outside the door to smooth down her hair. Chiding herself for being ridiculous, she forgot about her appearance and entered the room.

  Jack looked—well, he looked like Jack. A little haggard, a bit pale, but still bristling with an impatient energy. Rose suddenly felt a little shaky again, but this time with it was with relief. She'd heard him bellowing and the doctor confirmed that he would be fine. But none of that had seemed quite real until now. Seeing him for herself finally put her fears to rest.

  "You need to be a good boy and listen to your doctor or you won't be getting your lollypop."

  "Rose." Jack sighed. When had just the sight of her become so important? He had been desperate to get to her, to let her know that he was fine, to tell her he was coming home. But now there was no more desperation. Rose was here—he was home.

  Afraid of hurting him Rose tamped down on her instinct that would have had her rushing into his arms and holding on for dear life. Instead, she let herself be satisfied with taking one of his strong hands in hers.

  "You scared me."

  Jack gave her hand a lingering kiss. "I'd like to be all manly and say it was no big deal but truthfully, I was pretty scared myself."

  Rose brought his hand up to return his kiss. "Well, at least you'll have a nice manly scar." She tried to keep the catch out of her voice but failed miserably. Everything was still too fresh. She could make snappy quips, but it was impossible to ignore the large bandage that covered his side.

  "Oh, sweetheart," Jack said gently. "All's good. Really."

  The nurse came back in to do some clean-up. "If you're feeling up to it the police would like to take your statement now, Mr. Winston."

  "Should I go?"

  "No." Jack kept hold of her hand. "I know you want to hear what happened. I'd prefer only to tell it once."

  It didn't take long. The security cameras outside H&W headquarters had recorded the entire incident, so Jack only had to fill in a few of the details.

  "I was in the parking lot just outside of our office checking the messages on my phone. I wasn't paying attention, so I didn't hear when Craig approached me. We had fired him a few weeks ago and apparently he blames me for his life going to hell. I saw the knife and was able to turn sideways, but I wasn't able to knock it away before he stabbed me. He was coming at me again, but this time I blocked his arm and punched him in the face. He fell to the ground and that's when my partner, Drew Harper, arrived and made sure Craig stayed down." Actually Drew had beaten the crap out of Craig but since the police officer didn't correct him, Jack left that part out.

  "Drew secured Craig with cable ties. Our assistant Pam had called 911, and since we could hear the sirens, we left Craig and Drew got me into his car and brought me to the hospital. That's about all I can tell you, officer."

  "You had an altercation with Craig Lowe at a local bar around the time you fired him, is that right?"

  "No, that isn't right." Rose knew the man was only doing his job but couldn’t he see that Jack was running on fumes. "Couldn't the rest of your questions wait, officer? Jack needs to get some rest."

  "And you are?"

  "Rose O'Brian." She leaned over and watched him write her name. "No, Brian is spelled ia not ie, and you should capitalize the b." It didn't really matter, but the police officer was starting to piss her off.

  Jack hid his grin. He was all for Rose standing up for him, but what he wanted was to finish and get out of here.

  "I'm fine. Rose is right, officer. There wasn't any altercation. In fact, neither Drew nor I even talked to Craig that night. He'd had too much to drink, which is a problem for him, and pretty much fell on his face. One of the men who works security for H&W saw that he got home safely. That was it. The last time I saw him was the day we fired him."

  "And how did that go?"

  "He seemed to take it well." Which was the truth. Craig hadn't even raised his voice. "I never thought there would be any trouble. Today came out of the blue."

  "Well, that should do it." The police officer closed his note book and put it away. "Lowe is in custody and we have the security tapes. We shouldn't have any more questions but if we do we'll call you."

  "I always hate when witnesses get snippy with the police on TV shows but from now on I'm going to be a lot more sympathetic."

  "Would it do any good if I pointed out the obvious?"

  Rose knew what he was going to say. "He may be doing his job, and he may be very good at it. But you were stabbed, and you've lost a lot of blood, and all I want to do is get you home and take care of you. He was stopping me."

  "Delaying," Jack pointed out. But what she wanted sounded like heaven. "I asked the nurse to have Drew to get the paper work going for my discharge so it shouldn't take much longer."

  "The doctor says you should stay a while for observation." Rose did want to get Jack home, but his health was the most important thing.

  "There is no way in hell I'm staying in this hospital any longer than necessary. Especially if you meant it when you said you wanted to take me home."

  "And take care of you." Rose planned on tucking him up in that great big bed of hers and keeping him all to herself for as long as possible. "I sort of stole your dog while you were away so if you want to see him you'll have to come home with me."

  "That's right, I got Edgar's text. He looked like he was having so much fun I don't know if he'll ever want to leave."

  The text. Jack had said he'd been checking his phone when Craig attacked him. Had the text distracted him so much that the psyco had been able to sneak up and stab him?

  "No," Jack said firmly.

  "You don't know what I was thinking."

  "You're blaming yourself for distracting me."

  Rose sighed. He didn't have to look so smug. "I thought we'd established that Edgar sent the text."

  "Well, it isn't Edgar's fault either. The mistake is that it's too easy for just anybody to drive up to the office. After that whole female invasion debacle, Drew and I should have changed the system. From now on all unauthorized visitors will have to stop at the gate. Craig never should have been there. Add to the fact that he was half drunk and had a huge chip on his shoulder. Sweetheart, it was a shit storm just waiting to happen."

  "You think it's your fault that he was drunk?" Rose was ready to argue that point.

  "No." Jack frowned. "I meant I shou
ld have been able to handle him better in the first place. I'm bigger and stronger, and my brain isn't permanently pickled."

  "But he had the knife." Rose wasn't going to forget that fact any time soon.

  Jack just looked at her. They both knew how lucky he was to be there, even the doctor had said so. There was no argument for that.

  "Look at you." Drew came in the room with what Rose assumed were the discharge papers. "I'm starting to wonder what all the fuss was about. I came in here expecting to see you all weak and helpless. Instead, you're lounging around flirting with a beautiful woman."

  Rose left the men alone and went out to the waiting area. Tyler and Dani looked up as she approached.

  "He's going to be alright?" Dani had arrived about thirty minutes behind them. By that time, Rose was in with Jack and all the drama was thankfully over.

  "Yes. Jack is insisting on being discharged. As soon as the doctor gives the final okay he should be able to leave." She hugged her friends, grateful for their support.

  "But what I want to know is," Dani said slyly, "how did Tyler get along with Drew while you were in with Jack?"

  Rose and Dani both crossed their arms and waited for an answer.

  "Rose cried." Tyler threw that little nugget onto the field hoping to turn the focus away from her. It worked, temporarily.

  "What?" Dani exclaimed. "When did this happen?"

  "When we found out Jack was going to be okay. So, yes, it appears the flood gates have opened and I will now be crying at every greeting card commercial. Have your tissues at the ready. But enough about me, Tyler hasn't answered your question. Drew wasn't limping when he came into Jack's room so it couldn't have been too bad."

  "He's ready to go now, Rose."

  Tyler gave a sigh of relief. For the first time in ten years, Tyler was glad to see Drew walk into a room.

  "Don't think you're getting out of it that easily," Rose whispered as she passed. "Something happened between you and Drew and I plan on finding out what it was. The next time we all meet at the coffee shop be prepared to spill."