by Lee Rose
“Toby, Karissa?” he yelled, shining his flashlight until it landed on two pale sleeping faces huddled together. Karissa had dried blood on her forehead and her sandy blonde hair was wet and muddy and lying tangled around her shoulders. She had her arms wrapped protectively around Toby who was also sleeping.
He yelled to his group. “Over here, we need blankets.” He pulled Toby out first. Toby groaned weakly and opened his eyes sleepily. “Uncle Gabe? My arm hurts bad.”
“I got you, buddy. It’s going to be okay now.” He wrapped the blanket Patty handed him carefully around Toby’s little cold body and handed Toby over to one of the men to hold while he got Karissa out. She never once stirred as he picked her up and wrapped her in blankets and that worried him. He lifted her in his arms. “Patty, radio Ethan. We need an ambulance ready as soon as we get there.”
They carried them until they got to the road and put them in Gabe’s police cruiser.
Once they got to the White residence it was chaos with Ethan’s sister and husband crying over Toby and the attendants saying Karissa needed to go to the hospital immediately since she was in shock and not responding.
“Casey and Roy are meeting the ambulance at the hospital,” Ryan said to Gabe, patting him on the back. “Good job. You found them just in time.”
Kari cried all over Gabe in thanks and he patted her awkwardly on the back and mumbled about going over to the hospital.
In the hospital waiting room it was crowded with half the town waiting for news. Gabe and Logan both stood against the wall while Ethan and his family had thanked all the volunteers for their help and Ryan assured everyone finding the two men would be their top priority.
Doc, as everyone called the longtime town doctor, came out to address the anxious crowd. Doc was in his fifties and knew everyone in town. “Toby is awake and besides a broken arm, some cuts, and bruises he will be just fine. He wants his mommy and daddy.”
Kari cried happily with relief in her husband’s arms. “Can I go see him?”
Doc nodded. “They’ll be taking him to a room shortly. As for Karissa, she hasn’t woken, I’m afraid. She must have hit her head pretty hard judging from the bump and gash in her head. The cold and rain didn’t help. Dr. Nelson, a specialist in head injuries, is with her now and we’ll see what he says.”
“Oh God.” Casey cried helplessly. She looked at her husband with panic in her green eyes and he swallowed his own fear for his sister-in-law and comforted his wife. “I can’t lose my baby sister, Roy.”
Roy hugged her tightly but didn’t know what to say to make his wife feel better. The two girls had only had each other to lean on since their mom had run off when they were little and their father spent all his time at the bar. Casey had become like a mom to Karissa despite only being three years older than her. Lacy and Liz took turns holding the sleeping baby boy for Casey. Kari sat next to Casey and hugged her tightly and cried with her. They had been friends since childhood. “I’m so sorry, Casey. I’m so grateful she saved Toby but I’m sorry she got hurt in the process. If she hadn’t been there this could have been so much worse. I know she’ll be okay, she is such a strong person.”
Casey wiped her tears away and nodded. She hugged Kari back. They had gone to school together and had always stayed friends despite living miles apart. Whenever she had visited Karissa in St. Louis she had also visited with Kari. “I’m glad she was there at the right time to help Toby. Karissa would never regret helping someone, especially a child. She loves children and wanted to be here with us since I had Jonathon.”
Gabe stood silently in the corner staying quiet but feeling sick inside with worry and agony. He had no right to see Karissa. She hated him and how could he blame her? He had taken her virginity and made her believe he was ready to settle down then chose the army life over her. He’d broken her young tender heart. He had regretted not taking her with him but he couldn’t turn the clock back even if he wanted to. Everyone was busy talking to Casey so he snuck down the hallway. Since he was in his deputy’s uniform no one questioned him.
He located Karissa’s room and went in quietly. She was lying so still in a bed with her eyes closed, breathing tubes and machines beeping everywhere. Her face was pale and he grabbed her hand and kissed her palm. It was cold and lifeless and he wanted to cry like a small child. Had he been too late to save her?
“Karissa, I know you hate me. I regret the choices I made when I was young and bullheaded but I can’t go back and fix them. Go ahead and hate me and ignore me when you see me, just don’t die. I can’t imagine a world with you not in it,” he whispered softly, his voice breaking with all the anguish he felt. He wished she’d open up those beautiful green eyes of hers and glare at him with anger or tell him off for hurting her. He sat silently with her for a while then got up to leave, needing to be alone with all his mixed-up thoughts and regrets.
He stopped by the waiting room. Ryan and Lacy sat with Casey and Roy waiting for the doctor to come back and update them on Karissa’s condition. The others had gone on to see Toby. He told Ryan he was going home for the night. He was emotionally spent and needed to unwind, preferably alone.
“Okay thanks for everything, Gabe,” Ryan said looking at his friend with concern. Ryan knew Gabe had a history with Karissa. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
Gabe nodded leaving the hospital and drove home feeling so alone and hopeless.
Chapter 5
Karissa woke up and groaned, feeling stiff and sore and wondering where she was. The first thing she noticed was that she was no longer freezing or wet. Where was she? It took a few minutes before she remembered Toby and the woods. She gasped and called out while trying to move her arm. “Toby?”
“Toby is fine honey,” a voice told her. She opened her eyes and looked over to her side where her brother-in-law sat in a chair by her bed, looking tired and unshaven. He sat straight up and smiled in relief.
“Roy?” she whispered, feeling confused. Her head was throbbing and she didn’t want to move. “Where am I?”
“In a hospital. You’ve been out of it for almost two days now. You have an IV hooked to your arm, so stay still. Casey is going to be so thrilled. She’s walking with Jonathon down the hallway,” Roy said, standing up and walking toward the bed and leaning over her. He leaned down and kissed her forehead. “I’ll go get her.”
Casey came rushing in a few minutes later with an excited cry and tears in her eyes. She handed her husband the baby who was wide awake and looking around. “Rissa, you had me so worried.” She hugged her sister gently, mindful of all the wires and tubes everywhere. “You are so brave but you scared the crap out of me, sis.”
“I’m sorry I worried you, Casey.” Karissa still felt weak and tired but it felt good to have her big sister’s arms around her. She looked around the white walls and saw the sun shining through the windows and blinked at the brightness. “Have I really been here for two days?”
Casey’s expression was one of relief. “You saved Toby, remember? Gabe found you in our old fort but you were unconscious. See all the flowers and balloons people have brought you? You’re a town hero, sis.”
Karissa looked around the room filled with colorful balloons and flowers and smiled weakly and joked. “Wow, never knew I was so popular.”
“You are now, kid,” Roy replied while holding his son in his arms. “It’s good to see you awake, Rissa. You had us all worried. But Doc told us you would be okay and make a full recovery.”
“Is Toby okay?” Karissa asked, worried about the little boy. She felt bonded with him after what they had gone through together that night. “He was such a brave little guy.”
Casey nodded and patted Karissa’s hand in a comforting motion. “He has a broken arm but otherwise he is recovering at home with his family. You made quite an impression on him. You are all he’s talked about and he even drew you a picture to see when you opened your eyes.”
Casey handed her a picture of a stick figure with a c
ape on and holding the hand of a little boy. “He said that is you and him.”
Karissa was so touched by the drawing she thought she might burst into tears. Her head was pounding and she felt so tired despite having slept the last two days away.
A young nurse with a friendly smile walked in interrupting their moment, giving Karissa time to gather her emotions together. “So you’re awake, Miss Suthers? That’s great, I’ll go and get the doctor.”
Karissa looked at the nurse. “My head hurts a lot, though.”
“I’ll give you something for pain.” She nodded, leaving again to go and get the doctor.
Karissa wasn’t allowed to leave until the next day. She still felt a little weak but she was glad to be out of the hospital and back at her sister’s house. It was hard to rest with nurses coming in and out to check on her all the time.
Ethan and Gabe came to Casey’s house to talk to her once she felt rested.
Ethan thanked her for helping Toby but she brushed it off, telling him how charming she found Toby to be and was glad to help. She had been sorry to lose her car but saving the little boy had been worth it. She was uncomfortable around Gabe but tried to act indifferent around him and ignore his presence, which wasn’t easy. He had matured with age. Gone was the youthful appearance and in its place was a man with granite like features and a serious demeanor. He still had the same masculine sex appeal he’d had years ago. And why did she dream he had held her hand in the hospital and talked to her with such loving emotion?
Ethan wanted a description of the men chasing them since Toby had become too emotionally upset when asked about that night and the men he had run into. He had nightmares over that experience, Ethan told her, looking sad about his nephew’s ordeal.
“I only saw the one man that banged on my window,” Karissa told them sitting on the couch with Casey and Roy, glad they were there for moral support. She told them the story of how she had come upon Toby running in the road and the men hitting her car. “He had short brown hair and a beard. Very tall and thin, late twenties maybe. He was really close to me so I’ll recognize him if I see him again. The second man I never saw clearly or what they were driving. It was raining hard and everything happened so fast. I’m just glad that is over with and I hope you catch them soon. I don’t understand what it was all about, deputy?”
“We think they are drug smugglers, Karissa. The sheriff in St. Clair warned us to be on the lookout for them. They hide the drugs by digging them in a hole until someone picks them up,” Ethan answered solemnly. He didn’t want to scare her but she needed to be aware of what was going on. “It was a blessing you got to Toby first that night. If you see them, call us right away but don’t confront them. They are dangerous men and our priority is to get them off our streets.”
Roy looked at Ethan with worry. “Drugs in Appledale? Are Karissa and Toby safe?”
Casey gasped and grabbed her sister’s hand, as if making sure she was there and safe. “Oh my God!”
“Don’t worry too much. It’s good to be cautious but we are going to get these guys out of our town,” Ethan assured them with confidence, standing up. “They’ll soon learn they set up camp in the wrong place.”
Karissa sat on the couch watching Gabe write notes down in his notebook. He had stayed quiet the whole time, letting Ethan do the talking. He had glanced her way once but his face was hard to read. Once upon a time he had been easy to read, but the years and his time in the military had made him a hard-looking man that didn’t show his emotions.
“Thanks again for your help, Karissa. We will find these guys and put them away,” Ethan promised her, shaking her hand gently and bringing her focus back to him instead of Gabe. Gabe nodded politely at her and Casey but didn’t say anything as he and Ethan got ready to leave.
Roy walked them out, talking about what had happened and Casey sat next to her sister. “Holy cow, honey. I could feel the heat burning between you and Gabe still even though you both ignored each other fabulously.”
“No way. I haven’t even spoken to him in seven or eight years,” Karissa denied huffily, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms over her chest defiantly. “And I don’t want to either.”
Casey hid her smug smile, putting a cover over her little sister and patting her hand in a comforting motion.
Gabe sat in the car lost in thought as Ethan drove back to the station, his mind on Karissa and how she still affected him physically even after all these years apart. His palms had been sweaty while he wrote his notes, just from listening to her soft, sexy voice, but he hadn’t had the courage to look into her eyes, afraid he’d see only anger in them. Memories of how things used to be between them had flitted through his mind like an old movie, making him want to smile, but he held it in.
“Have you tried talking to her?” Ethan asked quietly as he drove back to the station, interrupting Gabe’s thoughts. He knew the story of how Gabe had broken up with Karissa and told Gabe, “I really like her and not just because she saved Toby. She and Casey had it rough as kids, yet they both grew up to be good, strong women.”
“Yeah, I know, and the moment I heard she was back in town I made sure to run into her, but she kept on walking like she never knew me. She hates me and I can’t blame her. The least I can do is stay away from her and not hurt her anymore so she can settle down here without worry. From what Roy says, her ex in St. Louis didn’t treat her well at all and she was so stressed out when she arrived back in town. She was just now getting back to normal and now this happens. We need to get these guys, Ethan,” Gabe’s voice was filled with determination. Inside he was filled with sadness and remorse over Karissa. He wanted to find these drug dealers before things escalated, as they usually did when drugs got involved. It gave him a purpose so he wouldn’t spend all his time dwelling on what once was.
Ethan changed the subject, reminding Gabe that Harrison, his ex DEA friend was arriving in town today. “He’s going to stay at Aunt Mary’s place. It’ll be nice to see him again,” Ethan said. His aunt owned the Golden House bed and breakfast, the only place to stay in town besides the campground.
“With Harrison’s help we will get these guys. He has more experience in this area and he’ll be a big help to us. Ryan wants Harrison to give us advice on how to look for signs of these things going down for future reference, too. I want Appledale to stay a safe place to raise our families,” Ethan said, trying hard not to worry about the safety of their loved ones in this town. “We need to put a stop to this now before it grows out of control.”
Gabe nodded in agreement but stayed silent on the rest of the drive.
Chapter 6
It took another day for Karissa to feel strong enough to return to work. Everyone at Thorn’s welcomed her back and had a thousand questions about what had happened and she retold the story over and over, insisting she was not a hero just a regular person who helped someone in need.
Gabe’s younger brother, Logan, stopped by Thorns to see her and say hello. Logan had turned into a charming but flirty young man. He looked like a younger version of Gabe except Logan kept his dark black hair cut short.
“They have some leads on the men involved, so you don’t have to worry, Karissa. Our goal is to keep this town the safe place it has always been,” he assured her with confidence.
Karissa nodded with relief.
That Sunday she finally had a day off and Casey insisted Karissa go with them to a barbeque that Kari and her family were having. Karissa didn’t want the chance of running into Gabe again. So far she had done a good job of avoiding him but in this small town it would be impossible to do so forever. She might as well suck it up and talk to him and move on with settling down into this town.
Toby was so excited to see Karissa when she arrived with Casey, Roy, and the baby. He left his group of boys he was playing with and ran up to her to give her a big hug with one arm. Karissa was so glad to see him smiling and looking so well. “Thanks for the picture, Toby. I have it on my wa
ll in my bedroom.”
“I saved a special spot on my cast for you to sign, Karissa. You must have been tired ’cause you slept for lots of days.” He showed her his cast while talking excitedly. He went running inside the house to get a marker. “Don’t leave yet, Karissa.”
“I won’t,” she promised and turned to Kari who was smiling fondly at her energetic son. “He is so adorable, Kari, and so brave. I’m glad I found him that night and it all turned out good.”
Kari put her arm around Karissa’s shoulder leading her into the backyard of her parents’ house where everyone gathered for the cookout. There were so many people there. Some Karissa already knew and some she didn’t know yet.
“I’m so glad you’re okay now, Karissa. Toby has done nothing but talk about how you saved him that night. I’ll never be able to thank you enough for that. I promised myself I wouldn’t cry but I can’t help it. When I think of what could have happened to my baby—” Her voice broke with tears and she swallowed hard, dabbing at her eyes with a tissue she got out of her blue jean shorts.
Karissa hugged Kari compassionately. “I really didn’t do much but I’m glad I was there at the right time. It must have been fate for me to be running late that day. Toby is so bright and such a sweet boy. You must be so proud of him.”
Nancy, Kari and Ethan’s mother, handed Karissa a glass of iced tea. She hugged Karissa gently in greeting. “Welcome back to Appledale, sweetie, never a dull moment around here. Casey must be so thrilled to have you back home. She has missed you so much over the years, we all have.”
“I hope so since she’s stuck with me for a while.” Karissa laughed, taking the glass of cold iced tea. Her car had been unsavable so now she had to save up money for a car then worry about moving out. “I had to be around for Jonathon, too. I don’t want to miss one day of his growing up.”
