Matt needed to call and check up on Ava. But if he called to get an update on her, she would want one on Kim. A lump grew in his throat as he envisioned having to share this news with her. She would be crushed.
Matt stroked his face, debating on the best plan of action. He wasn’t needed here. There wasn’t much more he could add that someone else wasn’t doing. He would just be in the way. Plus, his procrastination wasn’t going to make the blow any less painful for Ava. Making his way outside, he took a few minutes to regroup with the officer that had taken the neighbor’s statement. An alert had gone out for the arrest of Ray as a suspect. The search for him was already set in motion.
As he climbed into his car he decided to run to the hospital to get an update on Kim before he faced the dreaded task of telling Ava what horror had befallen her friend.
Matt and Ava walked the halls at the hospital, waiting to hear a report about Kim’s surgery. The ER had been unexpectedly busy for the early morning hours and Ava jumped at the chance to get some space and finally move to a private waiting room near the surgical floor.
When Matt had told her about Kim, she’d broken down and cried while he held her. In his line of work he oftentimes had to be the bearer of bad news to people, but to give it to someone he loved and cherished was an emotion he had yet to encounter.
When her door swung open he had tried to ignore how vulnerable Ava looked, engulfed in an oversized robe with fuzzy slippers peeking out from underneath. Being the first time he’d seen her without makeup or her hair done, she was still a breath of fresh air.
Over the last couple of hours determination had replaced Ava’s earlier sadness. A new strength sprouted from her as she prepared to support her new friend.
They passed a coffee stand just outside the cafeteria. “Can I get you another cup of coffee?” Matt asked while he wrapped his hand around her icy fingers.
“Sure. My first cup is wearing off.” He caught her yawning as he filled her cup. The coffee had a burnt aftertaste, but the caffeine would do its job and bring her back to life. The steam whirled from the top as he handed her the Styrofoam cup filled with rejuvenation.
“How are you holding up?” Matt rubbed her arm, fighting the urge to wrap her in his arms, but this was not the place or time.
“I just can’t believe this is happening, Matt. Kim was finally getting her life together.”
“I know.” They stepped to the side to allow two nurses to pass through the hallway. He still wore his uniform and picked up on the looks it created.
“Any news on Ray yet?” With Ray still on the run, yet to be caught, Matt felt unsettled by the fact that he could be anywhere. Especially since he had already gone after Ava once.
“Not yet. Will you please reconsider getting a restraining order and lying low until he is caught? It would keep a few gray hairs away from me.”
She smirked while running her fingers through his hair. “I don’t think Ray cares about me. He just wanted to scare me. He is probably more concerned about getting out of town than coming after me.”
“Ava, that man is crazy. We can’t predict what he will do.”
She blew lightly across the top of her coffee and took a small sip. She took a deep breath, taking her time to answer. He couldn’t tell if her delay came as a good sign or not. Ava had a stubborn streak in her.
“Okay, I will file the restraining order, keep a low profile, and see if one of my brothers will move in to my apartment with me until Ray is found.”
He breathed his first sigh of relief since the moment he heard what Ray had done to her. “Thank you.”
“I figure that’s the advice I would give Kim, so I should probably take it myself.” Her eyes began to mist at the mention of Kim’s name.
“Hey.” He lifted her chin with his finger, careful not to touch the bruise staring back at him, reminding him, haunting him, that he hadn’t been there to protect her. “Kim is a strong woman and she can still turn this around.” He threw all caution to the wind and leaned into her, invading her space. “I happen to know an incredible woman who took the broken pieces of her life and built a stronger one in its place.”
He kissed her with a gentle touch and yet long enough for her to get the point. Ava cleared her throat. “This woman must have had an amazing, good looking, and supportive man to help her along the way.”
“Ah, he was just along for the ride.”
“You’re being very modest, Sergeant Thompson.” Her eyes sparkled while they flirted. She traced her fingers over the detail in his uniform.
“No, I’m just in love.”
“Oh Matthew.” She spoke his name with a tenderness that gripped his heart. He had so much he wanted to share with her, but a sterile hallway with an audience didn’t seem very romantic. He put his arm around her shoulder and kissed her head while leading them down toward the elevators. “Come on, let’s go check on Kim.”
They arrived at the waiting room and met Kim’s sister, Stephanie, who had just gotten into town and informed them that she was taking Tessa back with her until Ray was caught. Once things settled down she would bring Tessa back and help out while Kim recuperated.
The doctor walked in briskly after 4:00 a.m. and said the surgery went well and that they were able to stop the internal bleeding. Kim would be in pain for a while because of her broken ribs, arm and leg, and until the swelling went down around her right eye, they wouldn’t know how much vision she’d lost from the blows. The doctor seemed optimistic about sending her home in the next few days. They had Kim in recovery and a nurse said she’d come and get them when she was awake and ready for visitors.
That time came just before the sun started to rise. They stood outside Kim’s door while Stephanie took the first visit so she could get back to Kim’s house and clean up the remains of the horrendous night before Tessa got home.
Now that Kim was out of surgery and coherent, they were able to get her statement to confirm what they already knew. Ray had attacked her. An officer took up post guarding the door until Ray was in custody. They would not take any chances of Ray coming back to finish the job. He hoped that Ava understood the precautions they took for Kim and wouldn’t give him grief when he encouraged those precautions for her also. She seemed on board … for now.
Ava looked up at Matt through bloodshot eyes. Exhaustion laced her movements. She would need a day to recuperate from being up all night. He didn’t weather as rough from sleepless nights like she did. It wasn’t uncommon for him to miss a night of sleep. And he wouldn’t sleep well until they found Ray and had him locked away.
“Would it be okay if I went in by myself to talk with Kim?” Ava asked. Her determination had returned and he wasn’t up for an argument. The sight of Kim would be terrible, but it wasn’t his decision as to whether Ava could handle the sight alone.
“Sure. I need to make a few calls anyway. I’ll be down at the end of the hall if you need me.” He brushed his thumb along her cheek and reluctantly left her side.
Ava watched Matt walk away and wondered if she was crazy to do this alone. Stephanie came out of the room and stopped her from calling Matt back. Kim was awake and asking for her. With a final glance at Matt, deep in discussion on his cell phone, she made her way into the room and took the empty chair by the bed.
Kim’s right eye was matted shut by the swelling. Her face was also swollen with bruises and cuts, concealing the beauty she once held. A blanket covered her battered body. Ava sighed in relief. It was hard enough to see her face. She couldn’t imagine what her body looked like.
“Ava?” Kim mumbled, only able to open her swollen mouth a small amount from the left side. She opened her good eye with effort and fixed her gaze on Ava.
“Right here, Kim.”
“I’m sorry Ray came after you. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.”
“I do. This is all my fault.” Her voice caught.
“I would do it all over again to help
you, Kim. Please don’t blame yourself.”
“I’ve made a horrible mess of my life. Is God punishing me?”
“Oh Kim, that’s not how God works. He loves you and out of that love gives us all the freedom to make our own choices. Sometimes bad consequences come from poor choices and sometimes bad things happen to make us work at becoming a better person.”
“I’ve made so many bad choices in my life and it seems even my good choices turn against me.” A monitor went off which sent a nurse rushing in to check her vitals. Ava took the moment to collect her thoughts.
Ava waited until the nurse left to keep their conversation private. “You’re a strong woman, Kim, you can turn your life around.” Matt’s words echoed in her thoughts.
“Where do I go from here?” She coughed and groaned from the pain. Ava fed her ice chips to help with her dry mouth.
“You take time to heal and then face one day at a time. You no longer have to live in fear, and that’s a great place to start.”
Rebuilding her life would not be easy and many obstacles would be in her way, but Matt told her that once they found Ray he would be locked up for a long time. Without him around, Kim would be able to rest and get back on her feet quickly. She was finally free from a life of bondage.
“Can I still come to the abuse support group at your church?”
“Yes, that would be great. You can continue your counseling that will help you through this transition and they will work with you to find a new job.”
The group had a good success rate for helping woman rebuild their lives. It took a lot of work, but watching the women walk away with their heads held high made it all worthwhile.
Ava already expected to spend some time with Tessa, working through these last few months and helping her cope with the fear she experienced.
Kim turned her head away from Ava. Her soft sobs caused her body to shake under the blanket. The tortured woman was in pain, physically and emotionally.
“Will I ever find someone that will truly love me for me? My father left me, my husband left me, and now I can add Ray to my pile of pitiful men,” Kim cried out miserably.
Ava’s heart ached for Kim. On a much lesser scale, she understood her pain of rejection. Thankfully she had her family and friends to help her through the darkest time of her life. She also served a God of comfort who loved her without end. She wished Kim could understand how much the Lord really loved her.
“Kim, you’re going to find a great man someday who will deserve all you have to offer. There is someone, however, that already loves you unconditionally until the end of time, without any strings attached.”
Ava wasn’t swift on her feet with witnessing. She usually took the path of becoming a friend first and then sharing who God was to her. Someday she would share about her journey with Tim and how God had given her another chance at love with Matt, but that day was not today.
“God?”
“Yes.”
“You really think He could love someone like me?”
“Absolutely, and if you allow Him, He will show you how wonderful you are. He made you, Kim, and He’s a very proud Father of His children.”
God’s love was hard to fathom at times and Ava had to work through a lot in the last two years to understand herself how much worth she really held.
“Can you tell me a little more about God?”
Kim’s interest in God excited Ava. This was the best path she could take to turn her life around. She set her purse down on the floor and settled back against the chair for the long haul. She’d spend all day here if that’s what it took.
The first day of the new school year approached like an express train without brakes. Classes started in less than two weeks and Ava began to feel the pressure to set up her room. Past years she would have been done by now because she had nothing better to do during the summer than spend it in preparation for the new school year. This summer was completely different from her lonely past and she didn’t even think about her room until now.
Ava already had the list of students who would be in her class. She and the other kindergarten teachers had decided to wait until school approached to have their kindergarten “meet and greet.” They had the date set for the end of this week for all the kids to come and be introduced to their teacher, see their room, and meet all the other children in their class.
This special time for the kids also came as a great opportunity for her to meet each of the parents. She planned to have the parents fill out paper work about their child so she had a little heads-up about their home life, their likes and dislikes, and where they improved in their learning journey since their first assessment earlier in the year at kindergarten roundup.
She had spent all day yesterday at the hospital keeping Kim company, not leaving once since Matt had brought her. Ava returned home late last night to see that Jake had set up camp in her spare bedroom. After countless hours of tossing and turning, despite already missing a night of sleep she decided that today was as good as any to begin. She got up before the sun did to get ready for the day. She debated whether or not to wear makeup but then remembered she would have to go to the store to buy supplies and she still sported a pretty ugly bruise. She applied a thick layer of foundation and went a little heavier on her eye makeup to hopefully camouflage her still-darkened cheek. She chose her favorite pair of comfortable jeans, flip-flops, and her new white tank top and headed to the kitchen.
Sitting down at her table while sipping her much-needed coffee, she organized the list of projects she wanted to accomplish today. Ava personally required her room to be uplifting and bright with a lot of color. Decorating was always her favorite part of the preparation, but it also took the most time. During the summer break the teachers had to keep their rooms to a bare minimum so that the janitors could come in and clean. She kept a few things up on the walls, but she had a long road ahead of her to get the room to where it needed to be for the open house. Her plan started with going to the school first to set up what she had and then head to the store to get the finishing touches.
Ava had breakfast ready for Jake by the time he came out of his room, prepared to leave for work. She went all out and made him instant oatmeal from an individual package. Only the best for her guests.
Walking into her classroom gave Ava the spark of excitement that she needed. She set to work right away pulling charts and signs out of the storage closet. She put the alphabet above the chalkboard and made a handy helper chart to hang next to the door. Each day she would draw a student’s name to be her special helper for activities. They would also get to be the leader in the lines to lunch and recess and choose the book for story time. Along with the privileges of being the helper, they also had the responsibilities to feed the class goldfish and turtle. The pet store knew Ava by name last year. A bad turnover of goldfish plagued her classroom for a few months but luckily, goldfish were cheap.
Ava came to a good breaking point around lunchtime. She made a list of items she needed to buy at the store. An idea came to mind and she checked the time to see if it would work.
She hadn’t seen Matt since he left the hospital early the previous morning. She had ditched him to spend time with Julia on Friday, Saturday was the attack, and yesterday he stayed busy keeping up with Kim’s case. They talked last night after she got home but kept it short so she could spend some quality time with Jake. Matt mentioned he didn’t look forward to the paper work that needed to get done at his desk. Chances seemed good she’d find him easily.
Ava snatched up her purse and headed to the police station to see if she could take her man out for lunch.
Ava had been to the station a couple of times to see Matt, but it still made her squeamish with unease. As she walked in, she saw Matt’s partner, Derek, right away, relieved to see a familiar face. Ava could easily see why the two friends got along so well. They each had a good sense of humor, were full of spunk, and easily made people comfortable with their outgoing personal
ity. Derek was her favorite of all of Matt’s friends. He looked as if he could be a surfer from California with his blond hair, blue eyes, and dark tan. Besides being nice and friendly, he had a good heart and was an encourager for Matt in their relationship. Ava desperately wanted to set him up with Jules but unfortunately he was casually dating someone at the moment. She would keep her ears open for any talk about him being single again.
“Hey, Ava,” he strutted up toward her, “you didn’t have to go out of your way to come see me. I’m flattered.”
“Hi, Derek.” The man loved to joke around and she couldn’t help deliver the response he worked for. She giggled while rolling her eyes at his teasing. “Sorry to disappoint you, but I’m here for your partner.”
He snapped his fingers while performing a fake pout that etched his features. He stepped forward to examine her face. “I heard about your attack. I’m glad you’re okay.” He squeezed her shoulder to show support. “I think Matt is down in the evidence room. I’ll go get him for you.”
“Thanks,” she said while he turned and walked away down the hallway. Ava waited in the lobby area. To help ease the awkwardness, she made herself busy by looking at the new pictures displayed on the wall from the cookout earlier in the summer. She searched the pictures, picking out the officers she had met. Doing her best to try and remember their names. She heard Matt’s voice echo down the hallway before she saw him.
He quickened his step when he noticed her. By the look of surprise, Derek must not have told him she was here. She observed the two friends as Derek grinned and skirted out of the reach of Matt’s fist approaching his shoulder with force.
A Rescued Heart (Rescued Heart Romance) Page 16
