“Hang in there, Buddy,” Anthony, his brother said. “You’re gonna be fine, I swear.”
“Anthony?”
“Yeah, kid.”
“I thought you were dead.”
His brother laughed with the old full-bellied guffaw he remembered well. “That’s the thing, Buddy,” he said. “I am, but you’re not, and you’re not gonna be. You came close, though. If it wasn’t for your gal and Pop, who knows what would’ve happened? I gotta go now, kiddo, but you be tough, okay?”
If Anthony was here, he had to see so Callahan forced his eyes open. A confusing array of medical equipment surrounded him, and an EMT stood over him. He realized the wail he’d heard had to be the siren and that he rested in the back of an ambulance. What the hell happened to me? I don’t remember, not this minute, but I hurt like hell.
Callahan struggled and recalled a few stray scraps, enough to remember Snake and the danger they had faced. I’m alive, but where’s Raine? She’s all that matters to me.
“Raine?” he croaked.
The EMT glanced down at him. “What? No, it’s not raining. Chill out. We’ll be at Lenox Hill in about two minutes.”
Lenox Hill, he thought. Hospital. So this is an ambulance.
Darkness engulfed him again, and he sank into it.
He wove in and out of consciousness for a while. Snatches of a busy ER, the sound of Raine’s voice, and he thought the lower rumble of his grandfather’s, pain, and surcease from pain all drifted through his mind. When Callahan came out of it, he felt disoriented and strange. He still hurt but it wasn’t as bad, probably due to medication. His awareness crept back in stages, but eventually he knew he was in a hospital room, in bed, and he thought it must be night. The lights had been dimmed, and through a slit in the curtains he saw nothing but darkness. When he turned his head, pain shot through his skull with force, but he noticed another bed between his and the door. His arm hurt and he saw that he had tubes inserted into his veins.
I still don’t remember much, but where’s Raine?
Callahan didn’t know if he passed out or fell asleep but the next he knew, a nurse stood beside his bed. She smiled. “Hi, I’m just getting your vitals, and then I’ll get out of your way.”
It took effort but he managed to say, “Raine?”
“She’s asleep in the chair,” the nurse said. “You kept asking for her, and the staff thought you were worried about the weather until we figured it out. She’s been at your side every minute they would allow it since you arrived and here in the room since we brought you up after surgery.”
He tried to raise his head so he could see her. Then he would know she was all right, but the effort took too much and he couldn’t. The nurse put the bed control into his hand. “You can lift up easier this way, hon,” she told him. “Try to get some more sleep if you can. It’s two o’clock in the morning.”
It took a few tries, but he managed to elevate the bed and it was worth the effort. The sight of Raine in the worn-out hospital recliner, feet up, with a blanket over her brought a deep peace. He loved the way her hair sprawled out across the blanket and down her back. Callahan longed for her to wake, but he wanted her to sleep. He watched her as long as he could, until he drifted into drowsy oblivion.
When he woke again, Raine sat on the edge of his bed facing him. Her fingers brushed his hair away from his forehead, and before he had his eyes fully open, she bent to kiss his lips. Her mouth barely brushed his but he savored it. He stretched out his hand to touch her and opened his eyes in time to watch her smile.
“Hey, doll,” he said.
“Callahan, it’s about time. You had me worried sick.”
“I told you I’m tough.” He thought he was, anyway.
“I know, but four days is a long time.”
Say what? He must have heard her wrong. “How long have I been here?”
“Four days. It’s Tuesday evening, Cal. They kept you sedated most of the time after the surgery so you would rest and heal. You look a lot better. How do you feel?”
He considered it for a moment. “Woozy, a little weak,” he told her. “I don’t hurt much but I bet if I move, I will.”
Raine laughed. “You will. Besides, they’ve been giving you some pretty heavy-duty pain meds.”
The one thing he needed to know was the extent of his injuries so Callahan asked, “What’s the damage?”
She grasped his hand tight in hers, and her eyes glittered with tears. “You’ve got a concussion, a fairly minor one, from the gash on your head, two cracked ribs, a knife wound in your thigh that nicked your femoral artery, and you had some internal bleeding. They did surgery to stop it.”
Callahan grimaced. “Aw, that’s not so bad,” he said.
“That’s what you think,” Raine said. “You need to rest and maybe try to eat something light later.”
Weariness washed over him in a pervasive tide. “Yeah, you’re probably right. I’m getting tired. But I want to ask you something. How’d you get me out? There’s a lot I don’t remember yet.”
Raine grinned as another voice spoke from the corner, one he knew well.
“She didn’t get you out, Buddy,” his grandfather said. “I did.”
That stunned Callahan. “How in the hell?”
The old man shrugged. “I’m the one called the cops, told them you were in trouble, that’s all. I just had a feeling. If you want the details, then I’ll tell you later when you’re feeling better.”
He would rather know now but he could wait. “Whaddya doin’ here anyway? You’d better watch out or they’ll make up a bed for you down the hall or something.”
Pop laughed. “Where in the hell do you think you inherited being tough from, kid? I’m good, just old. I had to see how you got along, Buddy. You’re the last grandson I got left and my namesake at that.”
Touched, Callahan’s throat tightened with unshed tears. I must’ve been hurt bad to get so emotional. “You got three great-grandsons, too. Don’t forget them.”
“I ain’t, and neither are you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Callahan looked from Raine to Pop and back.
She lifted his hand, the one she still held, and kissed it, then touched it to her cheek. “I think he’s trying to tell you that Shay called. The boys were scared when they heard about what happened to you, and they want to come see you as soon as you’re up to it.”
Dumbfounded, he asked, “Who told them?”
“No one,” Raine said. “They saw it on the news.”
He had one eloquent word for that. “Shit.”
Pop grinned. “Exactly.”
Raine shook her head. “Talk about it later. You need to be quiet and rest, Callahan.”
“I don’t wanna,” he said. He knew, though, he should and would soon. If he didn’t, he’d probably pass out.
“I’ll be here when you wake up again,” she told him.
From the armchair in the corner, Pop nodded. “And I’ll be here, too. You’re surrounded, so just surrender.”
Callahan laughed. “All right, all right already.”
Then he shut his eyes and let weakness combined with fatigue take him back to sleep.
Chapter Nineteen
Callahan remained pale, and he moved slower than his aged grandfather did when he came home from the hospital after another week. Raine had endured his grouchy moments with a reserve of patience she hadn’t known she possessed. He’d been a difficult patient, always wanting to push his recovery, ready to run before he could walk. When he had balked at thin broth and gelatin, she coaxed him to try it, and when he graduated to solid food he swore he couldn’t stomach, Raine took pity on him. She made the long subway ride to Brooklyn to bring him back a burger from the Shake Shack.
Pop went home to Jersey but returned to see his grandson safely home. He arrived in a vintage brown suit wearing a Fedora hat. Callahan teased the old man about it.
“You look like you should be working with Eliot Ne
ss and The Untouchables,” he said. “Or starring on Dragnet or something.”
“It’s a good suit, a classic that never goes out of style,” Pop replied with a big grin.
In the taxi, Pop rode shotgun with the driver while Raine sat in the curve of Callahan’s arm. He had improved, but she still fussed and worried. When she considered how close she’d come to losing him, her heart hiccoughed. Raine had a secret, too, something she hadn’t shared yet because she wasn’t sure what he’d think. When the moment seemed right, she planned to tell him, but for now she held back.
At their building, Pop didn’t come up. He would ride the cab on to Penn Station to catch a train, but he grasped Callahan’s hand tight. “Take care, buddy, you hear?”
“Yeah, I will.”
Raine hovered as Callahan limped into the building and to the elevator. She toted his bag with all his stuff from the hospital, including his meds. Once the doors shut and they ascended, he slumped against the back wall for a moment. “Are you all right?” she asked.
“Yeah, I’m good,” he said. “I’m still weaker than I want to be, that’s all.”
She shook her head and smiled. “It’s a good thing you’re stubborn.”
He laughed a little and Raine loved seeing his mirth. Her Callahan was coming back, growing stronger every day, and she loved him more than ever.
After spending a few hours the previous day cleaning, the apartment sparkled and shone. Raine had the bed made up with fresh, crisp sheets and a warm comforter. She had stocked the fridge with bottled water, tea, and a few sodas, along with as many of Callahan’s favorites as she could fit. His friends from the firehouse down the street had delivered a pot of chili to be warmed and she had bought the fixings for chicken and dumplings, too.
Raine settled Callahan in bed, propped against a bank of pillows, wearing the sweatpants and white T-shirt he’d left the hospital wearing. She untied his shoes and pulled them from his feet.
“I could’ve done that, doll,” he said. “I’m not an invalid here.”
“You don’t want to open your thigh wound and start it bleeding,” she told him.
Callahan rolled his eyes. “Baby, that thing is stitched tighter than a miser’s purse.”
She laughed at the expression. “All right, point taken. If you want to rest for a while, I’ll figure out what to have for supper. What would you like?”
“Whatever,” he said. “I don’t know what there is available, and I don’t want you to have to run to the store.”
“I can roast a chicken or make chicken and dumplings or meatloaf,” Raine said. “Jim sent over a pot of chili, too. And I bought canned soups, deli meat, bacon, and snack stuff.”
His grin radiated warmth. “Chicken and dumplings would be nice.”
“Then I’ll make some,” she promised. “Do you need anything else?”
Callahan patted the bed beside him. “Come lay down with me for a while.”
Raine kicked off her shoes and cuddled next to his right side. He shifted position so she could rest her head on his shoulder. She slowed her breathing to match his and listened to the steady beat of his heart. “If I fall asleep, I can’t cook,” she said.
“There’s always takeout,” Callahan said. “I like this.”
“Me, too.”
“You’re gonna have me so spoiled I won’t be able to manage when you go back to work,” he told her. “I’ll miss you, but I can’t expect you to miss many more days. I won’t be cleared for duty until after Thanksgiving, and only then if the doctor gives his okay.”
Some of her contentment curdled. This is the moment to tell him.
She sighed. “I’ll be here, Callahan.”
His fingers teased through her hair. “I know you want to be, doll, but I don’t want to cost you your job.”
After a moment, Raine decided to just say it. “I quit.”
“What?”
“I quit my job.”
He stilled. “Why?”
Her words tumbled out in a rush. “After what happened, I decided I couldn’t take any more stress, going to three or four different places every day, from one borough to another, riding subways and buses, and always looking over my shoulder.”
Callahan said nothing. Raine waited but when he still hadn’t responded, she turned her head to look over at him. He wore a sad expression, mouth compressed into a tight line. Alarmed, she said, “What’s the matter?”
“I thought you liked it enough here now to stay,” he said. His voice crackled. “I thought you loved me enough to be here, but if you want to go home, then I’ll figure out how to be a small town law enforcement officer or something. Whaddya call them—deputies? I would hate leaving Pop and my nephews, but if you gotta go, I’ll follow, unless you don’t want me anymore.”
The misunderstanding loomed large between them. In her haste to tell him, she had forgotten he remained weak in body and more than a little emotionally fragile. Raine sat up and changed position to face him. “Callahan, you’re taking this wrong. I’m not planning to go anywhere, and I want to be here with you. I don’t want to go back to Missouri. I resigned this job so I could apply for a permanent position at one of the high schools. There’s four hundred, I think, so hopefully somebody needs a teacher. I want a classroom to call my own and to report to the same place every day. New York is home, honey, and wherever you are is where I want to be.”
When she began talking, Callahan shut his eyes as if he didn’t want to hear what she said. Already paler than normal, his complexion had whitened even more. As Raine spoke, a faint hint of color came back into his cheeks and he blinked. He cocked his head the way he did when he was intent on something, and when she finished, Callahan reached out his hand. She took it.
“Doll, you can’t imagine how glad I am to hear that,” he said. “I was gonna wait but since we’re talking about it, I got something for you, if you want it. Let me go get it.”
“I can find whatever it is.”
He shot her a sharp look and shook his head. “Not this time, baby. I want to do it myself, and I got to start walking around to get my strength back. Where’d you put that bag we brought my stuff home in?”
“It’s on the kitchen table.”
Raine watched as he swung his legs over the edge of the bed. He rested for a moment, then stood up, and with his slow gait, Callahan walked to the kitchen. She ached to help him, to put her arm around his waist for support, but she respected what he’d said and knew he was right. So she waited, wondering what he could possibly have in the bag for her. Maybe he’d bought her some trinket in the gift shop, she thought, or purchased a stuffed animal.
“I’m going to brush my hair,” she told him. She needed to pee, too, so she ducked into the bathroom. When she emerged, Callahan stood there with something behind his back. He had a funny expression, sober yet tender, and looked like he might grin any moment.
“What is it?” she asked.
“I hope I don’t fall on my ass when I do this,” he said. “Come stand over here by the window, would you?”
“Sure, but what are you doing?”
“Sh!” Callahan bent his knees and lowered himself onto the floor, kneeling. He rocked a little but remained upright. He brought his hands around and opened them to show her a small, vintage ring box. Her heart sped up and she caught her breath, then held it. “I love you, and I want more than anything to make you my wife. I’d like to get married before New Year’s, so will you?”
Tears filled her eyes and overflowed down her cheeks as joy rushed through her body like a flooding river. “Yes,” she told him. “Oh, yes, Callahan.”
“Gimme me your left hand please.”
She held it out for him, and he opened the box to reveal a beautiful ring set. Callahan removed the solitaire diamond ring with clumsy fingers and held it out toward her. “This belonged to my grandmother,” he said. “Pop brought it to me early this morning, before you got to the hospital. He thought I might have a need for it
and I told him, sure, I do. They were engaged in 1942, right before he shipped out to the Philippines and the Pacific theater of the war, World War Two. I don’t remember her—she died when I was about two—but I could always tell how much he loved her. I’d like you to wear it to continue the tradition, but if you’d rather have something new…”
“No,” she interrupted. “It’s perfect.”
Callahan slid the ring onto her finger and it fit. Raine tilted her hand to catch the light and watched the diamond sparkle. The way the ring had been designed, the Art Deco style offered an illusion of other diamonds, but there was just one. She didn’t know a lot about gems, but this one glittered with white clarity. “Now give me a hand before I fall over,” he said.
Raine grasped both his hands as he pulled himself upright. He grasped her in his arms and kissed her hard, yet with a gentle, lingering caress. Desire kindled deep within but she resisted. It’s too soon, she thought, he won’t be able to or be strong enough.
Moments later, he debunked the thought. “Love me, Raine,” he said. “You be on top, doll, and let’s mark the occasion, whaddya say?”
“Yes,” she whispered. “Oh, yes.”
Somehow they managed to sprawl across the bed, Callahan on the bottom. Raine removed his pants and her own. Without taking off anything else, she scooted into position and grinned to see his cock had come to full attention. She mounted it, easing onto it with a gasp of pleasure as his stick filled her box. He grabbed her hands and held tight as she rocked back and forth.
“Harder,” he said. “Deeper.”
She obliged him, picking up speed until she bucked like a rodeo cowboy riding a crazy bull. Callahan made a low groan of pleasure and encouraged her to keep on. Raine wanted to kiss him but she couldn’t reach, and right now the release just ahead mattered more. They could snuggle and kiss later, she thought, as she worked it. Her pussy melted within from the building heat, and every time she bounced her ass, delightful, intense spasms of pleasure expanded through it. Her nipples beneath her sweater hardened but she ignored it, building the intensity until the sensual pleasure spiraled to almost unbearable levels.
Callahan's Fate Page 17
