Silent tears fled my eyes and drifted down my cheeks. “Where’s Rosie, Shane? Does she know about her grams?”
He shook his head, no. “I can’t do that to her. Not yet. She’s been through too much already, Em.” His entire body shuddered as he tried to stifle his sobs.
“She’ll pull through, Shane,” I tried to reassure him as much as myself. “She just has to. Nora is too stubborn to give up.”
“They said she’d been lying there unconscious for a while, Em.”
“Some people have been through worse, Shane. I need you…Rosie needs you to be positive on this one. I just found my family. I’m not losing anyone just yet and that includes your mother.” My voice had gotten stronger with each word, taking my breath and a whole lot more energy along with it, but it had needed to be said.
“Okay, sweetheart.”
“Knock, knock!” Cade peeked his head through the crack in the door. “Someone would like to make sure a certain special someone is okay.”
“Please.” I forced a smile, taking back my hand and wiping at the tear streaks on my face. I needed to be strong too.
As soon as I was done, Shane claimed my hand in his tight grip. “Send our baby in, Cade.”
The man nodded, then disappeared.
“Ember!” Lana Rose exclaimed as she came in. I could see the excitement in her eyes, but her composure was one filled with hesitancy.
“Come here, Sweets,” I gave her a reassuring smile.
She came to perch herself on Shane’s knee, reaching out with both hands, enveloping both of ours in them.
“I was so worried,” she whispered, tears welling in her eyes.
“Me too, Rosie, me too.” I gave her a solemn look. “I’m sorry you had to go through what happened today; but I’m so very proud of how tough you were.”
She looked at her father, smiling a grin of pride. “I was tough. Just like Daddy.”
“And smart too,” I added. “I don’t think I would have thought to find a phone and call someone for help. That took a lot of guts. You’re so brave, my girl.”
She simply nodded, then cuddled into Shane. “When can we all go home?” she yawned, the day clearly leaving its mark on the tiny spitfire’s energy reserves.
Shane’s eyes met mine, as though telling me he wasn’t leaving my side until I was released from the hospital.
“You need to take her home, Shane.”
Lana Rose lifted her head from her father’s shoulder and looked at me questioningly. “Aren’t you coming?”
“I can’t, Sweets. I’ll be in here for at least a couple of days, I think. I’m not sure, really, because I haven’t seen the doctor yet,” I told her.
“Then I’m not leaving.” Crossing her arms over her chest, she jutted her chin out in classic stubbornness, as though that was the end of the conversation.
Shane
Mom had made it through surgery, but they’d had to induce a coma for at least the next week due to the substantial amount of swelling she suffered on her brain.
The doctor had warned me that she wasn’t quite out of the woods yet. Due to the complications she’d suffered from lack of immediate treatment, it was quite possible that she could have secondary bleeds. There was also the fact that once they ceased using the barbiturates that kept her under, that she may not wake up on her own. Basically, despite the surgeon’s optimism, it was a waiting game.
Returning to Emberlyn’s room, my heart stilled when I took in the sight that greeted me.
“You shouldn’t be up there, baby girl,” I whispered, seeing as the woman presently cuddling my daughter was sleeping.
“If it makes you feel better, she actually told me no, until I told her that I wasn’t sure if I wouldn’t have a nightmare,” Emberlyn surprised us all.
I smirked. “Sweetheart…”
She never opened her eyes, but a small smile spread itself onto her face. “I need the cuddles, Shane, and you’re too big for this bed. Besides, she’s on the side I have nothing on, so we’re safe.”
“I’d give you anything, you know that, right?” I whispered, running my fingers gingerly over the hair at the top of her head in a soothing manner.
Her eyes crept open slightly. “Mmm. Tempting me, Detective Peters? If you’re not careful, I’ll make you break us out of this place. This bed is hard as a rock.”
I chuckled. “I’d do anything, but that, sweetheart. You’re here until the doc says you can go.”
She sighed, squeezing Rosie’s shoulder. “Fine.”
“Okay,” I said.
“Sleep, now, Mommy,” Lana Rose whispered.
Third was definitely a charm. I watched as a peaceful smile spread on Emberlyn’s face, a single tear escaping the corner of her eye.
Christ, my girls undid me.
Chapter 42
Shane
It took another day and night in the hospital before Emberlyn was finally released. That day had been a joyful one, because normalcy was slowly reintegrating itself into our everyday lives. Unfortunately, my mother was still in her induced coma; but healing well, according to the health professionals I spoke with.
With everything that had happened, I’d put in for a sabbatical from the JPD—one Captain Dodge was all too willing to provide. Despite having a murderer for a son, he still had a hard time digesting the fact that his one and only child was now dead.
That first night in Emberlyn’s house had been a dream. With Lana Rose upstairs in the guest bedroom she’d started personalizing with my woman’s permission, we found ourselves in bed early, cuddled with one another as we watched mindless television.
“I know it hasn’t been that long, but I missed this,” she whispered against my bare chest, her breath tickling as it slid over my skin.
“I missed this too, sweetheart.” I kissed the crown of her head. “Are you comfortable?”
She lifted her head slightly to look up at me. “Are you kidding me? Anything better than this would be a cloud. That hospital bed did more harm than good, honey.”
I chuckled. “I’ll see about straightening out those kinks when the time is right, how’s that?”
“Mmm…I’ll look forward to it.”
The next morning, I woke up to profuse swearing. Upon opening my eyes, I saw a sprawled out Emberlyn on the floor.
“Fucking men!” she uttered.
“Hey now, you just woke me up, so what could I have possibly done wrong already?” I smirked.
Apparently that was a bad move.
“Clean up your fucking shit!” she stated. “I just tripped on your shoes, jerk.”
Worry hit me immediately and I jumped out of bed. “Shit, Em! Are you okay?”
“Aside from having an already bummed toe, and stitches holding my insides together, I’m just peachy,” she growled. “What’s another few more bruises, right?”
“Sweetheart, I’m sorry,” I came to crouch low beside her, helping her up to her feet. That’s when I saw the small stain of blood on the side of her shirt. “Shit.”
“What now?” she grumped.
I hurriedly pulled at her shirt, lifting it clean off of her, to reveal a fully nude upper torso. “I need to look at your stitches. I think you might have torn them open.” I all but dragged her toward the bathroom adjoining her room. “Sit.”
I turned to the cabinet and grabbed the stack of facecloths I had yet to put away from my stint of laundry yesterday afternoon. Wetting one, I turned to find Emberlyn inspecting her side.
“Let me,” I said, kneeling in front of her and gently removing the gauze that covered her wound.
Dabbing at her side, I inspected the wound closely. “Looks okay,” I whispered. “The stitches are fine. I think you might have just opened up the wound a bit. Let me get some of that ointment and a new bandage, and I’ll finish patching you up.”
She nodded, all the while following each and every one of my movements.
When I was done, I bent closer and kissed the top o
f her bandage lightly. “There, all better.”
Emberlyn’s hand reached up to cup my cheek, and our eyes met and held. “Move in with me,” she whispered.
“What?”
“This morning proves you’re all but officially living here, and you’re clearly feeling at home if you’re doing laundry, cooking, and cleaning. Hell, you leave your stuff lying around everywhere. You might as well have all of your stuff here,” she all but blurted.
I swallowed hard. “Are you sure?”
“Does that mean you want to?”
I grinned. “Sweetheart, I’m a thirty-seven-year-old widower with a nine-year-old kid. I wasn’t exactly looking to keep living with my mother for the rest of my life.”
Her grin matched mine. “Is that a yes?”
“Fuck, yeah that’s a yes.” Cupping her face in my hands, I pressed our foreheads together. “In case you missed it—and I’m sure you didn’t—Rosie thinks of you as her mother. So long as she’s okay with it, then it’s a go.”
“Good,” she smiled, “now kiss me to seal the deal, then go and clean up your fucking clothes.”
Laughing that hard first thing in the morning was a foreign thing for me. It fucking felt awesome.
Emberlyn
“Would you just stop it already? It’s not like the Queen of England is coming for breakfast, Em, you’re feeding my daughter…something you’ve done countless times already.” Shane laughed.
“I can’t help it,” I whisper-whined. “I want her to say yes.”
“Sweetheart.” He came to a stop behind me, confiscating my spatula and wrapping his extra arm around my stomach, careful not to put pressure on my wound. “She loves you, of course she’ll say yes.”
I let go of the large breath I’d been holding onto. “I love you.”
“I love you too, Em.”
“And I love the smell of pancakes in the morning!” Lana Rose called out as she bounced into the kitchen.
“Have a seat, baby girl, we need to talk to you.” Shane sure as hell wasn’t going to beat around the bush by the looks of things. “Em, sit down. I’ll serve us up.” With a quick peck to my lips, he patted my butt in a playful manner, urging me toward the breakfast table.
“Sweets,” I began, “how would you feel about you and your dad moving in here?”
The girl looked confused. “Is Grams coming too?”
I smiled, but Shane took over. “No, honey.” He grabbed my hand. “After everything we’ve been through, Em and I would like to make us a whole family. I thought we’d have our own house by now, but it was so much easier to just stay with Grams, all of these years, and help each other out.”
“I want you to be my little girl, Rosie,” I told her. “I love you, and I love your daddy, and nothing would make me happier than if you both came to live here with me, so we can be a real family.”
“Does that mean you two will get married?” she asked, throwing us both for a loop. “Can I be the flower girl? Do I get to wear a white dress too? Oh! And I want pretty white ribbons in my hair. Will you let me wear makeup? Can–”
Shane broke out in a full belly laugh that had my heart lifting, whereas I was still stuck on the topic of marriage. Would he want to get married some day?
“Rosie, hold on,” Shane started. “We’re talking about moving in, right now. If this thing between all of us is going where I know it is, one day you’ll get to be the most beautiful flower girl Jacksonville’s ever seen.”
Lana Rose bit her lip, a sign I had grown to recognize that she had something else she wanted to say.
“What is it, Sweets?” I urged her.
“Does that make you my new mommy?” she practically whispered. “I-I know I called you that before, but saying it doesn’t make it real.”
My eyes welled up and I got up to go to her. Pulling a chair next to hers, I turned her toward me, then cupped her face between my hands.
“Lana Rose Peters, it would be an honor to be your mother. You are by far the best little girl anyone could ever hope for.” I kissed her forehead.
Letting her go, she turned her chair to face her plate once more, grabbed her fork, and dug into her pancake. “Okay then,” she said over her first mouthful of breakfast. “When do we move in?”
Chapter 43
Emberlyn
It took a week and two days before Nora was fully weaned off of the barbiturates that kept her in the induced coma; another few days before she began to show signs that she might wake up. To say I was relieved would be an understatement. Shane had been edgy, waiting for results. It didn’t help that Lana Rose had to be told about what was going on and asked at every turn when her grams would be coming back home.
My side was healing nicely, but the tough part was the breathing exercises. The deep breaths I had to take every hour, and hold for a few seconds, stretched things out and were painful. However, within days of being home, I was noticing that I could walk more than a few steps without feeling like I was being deprived of air.
Two weeks had gone by since a murderer lost his life, an innocent woman almost losing hers, and I’d found my life changing for the better.
Despite the fact that Trevor had somehow managed to escape Rex, Cade, and Brycen at the garage, I found myself embracing my new family life. Every morning I woke with a smile on my face, wondering what the day would bring.
A knock at the door had me beaming with excitement. Mr. Carter was coming over for a visit with Mommy Devolin, while Dalton was at work.
“Rosie!” I called out as I headed for the entrance, taking care of the alarm, then the locks. Rushed footsteps announced her impending barrel down of the stairs.
“Coming!”
Opening the door, I greeted our guests with a smile—which fell promptly when I saw who stood there.
Seconds later, I was pushed back as Trevor made his way inside, slamming the door behind him.
“I’m done waiting,” he growled.
“Rosie, get back upstairs!” I shouted out just as Trevor’s fist connected with the side of my face, sending stars swimming in my vision.
“But–”
“Now, Sweets, and lock your door!”
Shane
My cell rang just as I was about to sit down with Captain Dodge for my exit interview.
“Hello?”
“Daddy, something’s wrong,” Lana Rose announced. “Mommy yelled at me to get upstairs and lock my door.”
That was the sign that my daughter was given in case there ever was any danger. If one of us wasn’t in the house with her, she was to listen to the other, lock her door, and call the person that wasn’t at home. We’d practiced this process numerous times over the last week, what with the fact that Sykes was still on the lam. It also went a long way to boost her courage.
“Calm down, honey,” I told her. “I’m on my way. Do you know what’s going on?”
“I heard the door slam, but that’s it,” she hiccupped. “What if it’s that bad man again, Daddy?”
“It’ll be okay, baby girl. Daddy’s coming to help. Are Devolin and Carter there?”
“No. I thought that’s who it was, because Mommy called me down, then yelled to get back upstairs.”
“Okay. Stay in your room, keep the door locked, and I’ll be there really soon.” At that moment, I heard the crash of broken glass and a roar in the background. “Shit,” I muttered. “Leaving the station right now, baby girl.”
“O-okay, Daddy,” she sniffled.
Emberlyn
Who knew that homemade pottery vases came in handy as weapons when yours was locked away in your bedside table?
The large vase flew swiftly, deflected by Trevor’s arm, only for it to shatter onto the wall next to his head, exploding in shards all over the place. Grabbing onto the next one to the same collection—this one bigger—I chucked it at him as hard as I could. This one he didn’t have the chance to block. It made solid contact with his head, sending him down hard to the floor, where I wa
tched his eyes roll back and close with a single hard bounce of his noggin on the tile flooring.
“I finally one-upped you, asshole,” I spat, then made a mad dash up the stairs to my bedroom.
Grabbing the cordless phone by the bedside table, I fished my key out of my jewelry box, then unlocked the drawer. My Glock 26 sat in its case, loaded and ready to go. Slamming the drawer shut, I rushed out of my bedroom to Lana Rose’s as I dialed.
“911, what is your emergency?”
“Intruder at…” I rattled off my address. “He’s my ex-husband, who’s just out of jail. He’s already struck me, and I’m not sure how long he’ll be out for. I-I hit him over the head with a vase.”
“Okay, ma’am, someone’s on their way. Can you keep the line open?”
“I-I…I have to check on my child. She’s locked away in her room.”
“Ma’am, I assure you she’s safe there. The police are fifteen minutes out. Get yourself somewhere safe and hide out until they get there.”
“But my daughter,” I protested.
“Get somewhere safe,” the woman ordered, just as I began to hear heavy footsteps climbing the stairs.
“Emmie, you shouldn’t have done that,” Trevor growled.
“I-I…gotta go,” I called out and hung up just after hearing the dispatcher say, “Ma’am.”
Dropping the phone to the floor, I took the same wide-legged stance Shane had shown me, blocking Trevor’s access to Lana Rose’s bedroom door. Taking aim at the top of the stairwell, I waited.
“Don’t move!” I ordered my ex-husband as he reached the landing.
The man’s face was bloody and swollen from my earlier hit, but his eyes indicated that his faculties had returned and he was beyond pissed off.
No more. Stand your ground, Em, this is ending right here, right now.
Trevor laughed. “Are you going to shoot me, baby?”
I cringed. “If that’s what it takes to make sure you leave me alone, once and for all, then yes.”
Night Shift (Nightshade Book 2) Page 16
