“How are you feeling?” He asked again politely.
“Awful. And I feel like I’ve been arrested for something I didn’t do,” she retorted softly, shutting her eyes as she moved her hand to place it onto her tummy. The IV wiggled, pulling the tape that held it in place, causing a pinching sensation to add to the list of things she was feeling currently.
“Actually, we’ve dropped the charges.”
“So, you believe me?”
“Well, considering your fingerprints weren’t on any of the bricks of cocaine nor the diaper bag? It would be hard to convict you in any court. Plus, the doctor said you were extremely ill with some intestinal parasite… “
“Stan.” Melanie interrupted immediately, nodding. The movement of her head made her groan in pain. She gingerly moved her hand to her head as if to stop the pain. What was wrong with the man’s breathing? Was he panting at her? Surely not!
“Excuse me?”
“I knew I’d caught something vicious and I named him Stan.”
“You named your infection?” he said chuckling in amusement. “That is a first for me and Sheba.”
“Who’s Sheba?”
Just then, as if by command, a large shiny black nose appeared beside where her hand lay. The cold nose nudged her fingers and a warm tongue snaked out to lick her hand, tickling her fingers. Sheba was beautiful when she wasn’t in attack position ready to take down a criminal. Golden, shaggy and huge she was one of the biggest German Shepard’s she’d ever seen in her life. Her large, intelligent, adoring black eyes watched every move, and right now? They started at her and the untouched food tray nearby with distinct fondness.
“Is she hungry?”
“She could eat twenty-four hours a day honestly.” She watched as the nose nudged her again and when no food was given, her head dropped down and she resumed her position lying on the floor. She heard faint huffs coming from the dog and nearly smiled at the thought of her being mad at the lack of food, it also explained the heavy breathing from a moment ago.
“I bet. She’s huge,” she said quietly. “She’s welcome to my tray. I’m not ready to eat anything yet.”
“You need to try to eat it and get your strength back.” Melanie met his eyes, confused. Why did he care if she ate her meal or got strong again? He’d done his job, actually more than what was required unless he was still investigating her? He’d said that they’d dropped the charges though, so why was he alone here with her?
“Why are you here if I’m not under arrest?”
“I felt bad.”
“Did you feel guilty too?” she asked in a peeved voice. He should feel guilty. After all she was innocent and she’d told him she was sick. Maybe she could press charges on him? I mean, it was kind of cruel to handcuff someone that could potentially lose control of their stomach or bowels at any second. She shook her head at the horrific thought and glanced at him again.
“No, not in the slightest for doing my job,” he amended firmly, his lips pressed together indicating that there was no debating that issue at all with him. “I felt bad when you were nearly unconscious and started crying uncontrollably. I asked if you had someone you wanted me to call. You said you had no one. And no one should ever be alone when they are deathly ill or hurting.”
“Was I deathly ill? I knew it was bad,” she whispered, looking at the two IV bags on the stand near the bed. There was a third hanging nearby, ready to be switched out. She didn’t remember much of what had happened since she arrived. She’d done a lot of sleeping, thankfully.
“Doctor said that if your fever had gotten higher or left untreated, you could have died.” Melanie nodded. Somehow, she’d known that deep inside. Hearing it aloud made it all the more real for her. Scared her.
“You don’t have to stay.”
“Do you have someone to call? A husband? A boyfriend? Someone to come sit with you?” he asked kindly. Bless his heart, he was trying to be nice to her and she felt like lashing out. She wasn’t in the mood for company and still hurt, even if he was beautiful to look at. She was certain that she looked nightmarish. I mean, no one ever looked gorgeous in a hospital gown.
“No, but it’s okay.”
“If you’d like the company I play a mean game of Words with Friends on my phone,” he teased. Melanie was exhausted and in no mood to play games. Reality was starting to set in for her. She was struggling to get by on her own. Teachers didn’t get paid extravagantly and her stash of cash she’d had set aside was completely gone. Depleted by the idea of having tried to have a fun time before returning back to school. Now, she was sickened by the idea of having to deal with hospital bills or anything else that would come with this. Her car was still at the airport racking up fees, if it wasn’t impounded by now.
“I’m really not feeling it right now. Did you impound my car too, officer?”
“No, is it at the airport still?”
“Yes,” she said with a heavy sigh. “I’m surprised you didn’t gut it either in your mad rush to get me arrested.”
“We weren’t singling you out. You had a bag that was full of coke.”
“It wasn’t my bag!” she stressed again, staring at him. “Look at me. I am sick and hardly look like a drug dealer, you know.”
“How were we supposed to know that?” he countered, crossing his arms over his chest defensively.
“A little thing called innocent until proven guilty?” she practically shouted and groaned aloud at the sudden sharp pain in her head that it caused. Sheba’s head popped up beside the bed warily at the tone in her voice. Her ears straightened to the point that Melanie would have thought they’d sprouted another inch in height. A deep woof escaped out from under her muzzle and it was obvious that no one talked to her owner like that around the dog.
“Miss?” she heard called out and turned away from his mulishly stubborn face to look at the nurse at the door. “Do you need to rest?” Melanie glanced back over at where the officer sat.
“Yes, I am quite tired,” she agreed, looking at him pointedly. “Officer, unless there is something else you need?” She watched as he got up silently, regret briefly flashing in his eyes as he issued a soft command. Sheba padded after him, glancing wistfully at her dinner tray one more time and uttering a faint whine. Melanie found herself fighting back a smile.
Three
Late in the afternoon the next day, she found herself being released. It was a mad flurry of paperwork and quite the bustle to get checked out of the most expensive room she’d ever stayed in. She could only imagine how horrible her portion of the copay would be once the bills started rolling in. She found herself repeatedly asking if they had her insurance information. One nightmare at a time, right?
Antibiotics prescribed and filled, the IV removed from her hand and back in the same clothing she’d arrived in, she was finally free to go. How she would leave, she didn’t know. Her cell phone was completely dead and all the phone numbers of people she knew were saved on there with no access. Nothing seemed to be going right for her.
This included her surprise visitor when she awoke yesterday, Sheba. As she’d hidden out of sight under the bed, the huffing sounds that Melanie had thought was in aggravation of not getting fed was actually something else altogether. She’d found her purse and chewed the handle thoroughly. Her purse was found in a pool of slobber and the leather handle quite mangled.
Sighing, she threw the destroyed handbag into the plastic wash bin that they’d given to her to take a sponge bath. She thought that she’d been here only one day, but instead she’d been admitted for four days total. Four expensive and exhausting days. Thankfully her wallet was intact, and her credit card was still stashed behind her driver’s license for emergencies. She’d just get a taxi to the airport and charge the parking fines to her card until she got paid.
Picking up her things, she saw the nurse waiting by the door with a wheelchair. She’d been told that they would wheel her down, regardless of how she felt, due to hospital policy. As she ap
proached the door, she saw what looked like to be a long brown feather duster near the wheelchair foot pad that awaited her. Stopping, she arched an eyebrow as the fluffy duster suddenly wiggled back and forth. It was a dog.
Sheba.
“What now?” she asked flatly before ever coming around the corner of the door of her room. This meant that the handsome police officer had returned yet again. “Can we just get this over with or do I need an attorney?”
“Hello to you too.”
Instantly contrite, she saw that he was carrying a small bouquet of flowers. It wasn’t much, just a few gerbera daisies tied with a simple ribbon. A tag that read ‘get well soon’ dangled from the knot. Looking at him, she saw that he wasn’t the cold arrogant officer she’d seen in action, but rather he looked … nice. He wore faded jeans and a simple polo shirt. Worn, faded sneakers made him seem so relaxed, informal.
“What are you doing here?”
“I knew you needed a ride to your car.”
“I can call a cab.”
“Or, you could let me apologize and drive you,” he offered simply, handing her the flowers. He had a look to his face, to his smile, that made her toes curl in delight. She wanted to believe it was genuine, but why would he do this for a perfect stranger?
“Do you do this for every mistaken felon?” Melanie accepted the flowers and looked up at him as she took her seat in the wheelchair. One eyebrow raised as she asked the question innocently. It wasn’t meant as rude or unwelcome, but simply leapt off the tip of her tongue. There had to be a catch. Handsome men simply didn’t pursue mousey, old-fashioned Melanie, or so she’d dubbed herself.
“I guess I deserved that,” he admitted quietly, looking at her. He lowered his voice and pointed to the left. “Do you think we could talk away from the Nurses’ station?”
Melanie glanced over and saw six pairs of eyes watching them. Almost immediately, the women all busied themselves or picked up the phone. Nodding, she took her seat in the wheelchair dutifully. The officer took the handles from the nurse. She lay the flowers in her lap and he slowly pushed the chair to the elevator. He rolled her in and the silver elevator doors closed. Sheba circled around them several times as if she was uncomfortable with the enclosed space moving underneath them.
“I’m not leaving the building with you,” she said obstinately. “You are a stranger and could be a serial killer for all I know.”
“My name is Jason Wild, and I’d be happy to let you call in my badge number for proof.”
“And are you?”
“Am I what?”
“Wild? Do I need to worry about you doing some stupid crazy stunts with my wheel chair or peeling out in your squad car recklessly?” Warm, rich laughter burst from his smiling façade.
“Far from it. I can say that maybe an ancestor of mine earned the name, but I am quite the opposite, Miss ….” he asked expectantly.
“Miss Strow.”
“It’s very nice to meet you.”
“I wish I could have said the same, Officer Wild, but it’s definitely something I will never forget. We’ll leave it as ‘memorable’, for sure.”
“Did Sheba do that?” he asked suddenly, pointing at her purse with a frown. At hearing her name, Sheba perked up and practically smiled at the Jason. It was obvious that the dog adored him and expected playtime soon. She circled around and took a seat next to him happily, her tail thumping wildly.
“No, it was me as I was coming down off my rampant coke binge that never happened.”
“You are a sassy little thing, Miss Strow,” he praised with a wide smile as the door slid open. He slipped the dog a treat and ruffled her ears playfully, patting his leg in a silent order. Sheba bounded forth eagerly as the handsome officer wheeled Melanie forward.
“That’s good enough,” she stopped him immediately and stood up, heading towards the empty bench near the window. There was a phone there to try to hail a cab.
“Miss Strow,” he started awkwardly, running his fingers through his hair. She was surprised to see the look of chagrin on his face.
“It’s not often that we get a chance to make things right sometimes. Look, I know you aren’t happy with me, but you’ve been sick. I’d like to help get you back on the path you were on. Let me take you to your car at the airport. It’s the Christian thing I could do, since…”
“Since you arrested an innocent woman?”
“Since I arrested an innocent, beautiful woman that I’d like to get to know a little better,” he amended with a wistful note in his voice. He extended his hand politely towards her and she stared at it warily. Sheba immediately plopped down next to Jason and stuck her paw into the air, ready to shake hands too. Melanie rolled her eyes and grinned. How was she supposed to stay angry when they both were sitting there trying to make peace and both were giving her puppy dog eyes!
“No funny stuff?” she hedged, hesitantly shaking Sheba’s paw.
“No funny stuff unless its knock-knock jokes. I adore them.”
“Maybe I should call the cab after all?”
“Sheba would be very disappointed,” he teased, using his dog to break the ice between them. His warm golden-brown eyes held hers and sparkled mischievously with merriment. Her stomach fluttered excitedly at the fact that the tall man was flirting with her. She’d always believed in finding her path in the Lord’s plan, but could it be that maybe this had all happened for a reason? How else would she have the chance to meet him?
“I wouldn’t want to disappoint her, would I?” Melanie extended her hand and placed it in his. His grin widened, causing his eyes to crinkle at the edges. She really liked his smile and the way he looked at her. It was like there was no one else around and she found her stomach flip-flopping in a good, positive way.
“No funny stuff, wild man,” she warned, wary of the attraction she felt towards him.
“No ma’am,” he pledged and held up two fingers. “Scouts honor.”
“Officer and boy scout, huh?”
“Fuddy-duddy through and through.”
“You could change your name, Officer Fuddy,” she taunted.
“But then you couldn’t call me wild man and I think I prefer it much more,” he countered, holding open the door of the cruiser. Sheba leapt inside eagerly, her tongue lolling off to the side happily. Melanie’s heart beat nervously as she sat there alone in the cruiser with Sheba. The dog’s panting echoed the fluttering in her chest.
She could use the ride to her car and it was extremely flattering to have him looking at her like she was a woman, not as a teacher or another person on the street. There was something so personal in his eyes, the way he looked at her, that made her change her mind. Any doubts she had about accepting a ride from him, disappeared the moment he sat down and smiled at her.
“Buckle up.”
Nodding, she did as he bid and stared straight ahead. She was nervous and felt like a young girl on her first date. It took everything she had not to get a mirror out and check her braces for any remnants of food or a pimple on her forehead.
“Relax.”
“I am.”
“Your hands are clenched.”
“Are you on duty? You’re not in your uniform.”
“Are you worried about me?”
“Worried that Officer Wild is supposed to be focusing his time on serving and protecting the people of this town.”
“I’m off duty now and escorting you to your car. So, you could consider it serving and protecting a citizen.” Melanie didn’t say anything; she just sat there nervously. She was fully aware of the close quarters of the car combined with the dog warm breath steaming up the back of her head. Sheba was panting directly down on her from the back seat of the car.
As they pulled in to the airport parking lot, she gave him directions to her green Kia that looked almost abandoned in the corner under the lamp post. One of her tires was low. It was the driver side front tire that had been giving her problems the last few weeks. She’d pick
ed up a nail and had it plugged, but every time she turned around it was low on air. Today was the same.
“Why don’t I drive you home?” he offered politely. Melanie wouldn’t hear of it. She already had quite a fine from the airport parking garage. She’d not leave it here for one more day; that wouldn’t change the condition of the tire.
“The car will still have a flat. It’s fine. I’ve got an air pump in the back of my car,” she explained. Inwardly, she wondered how long it would take to fill it with air. She was still fairly worn out from the whole debacle.
“Look, let me put the spare on so you don’t have to worry.”
“It’s no problem, honestly.”
“Good, then you’ll let me do it,” he said obstinately with a grin. Sighing, Melanie shook her head and shrugged her shoulders. If he wanted to put the spare on her car, so be it. It would keep her from having to do it herself when the tire actually went flat on its own again. She watched as he jacked up the car quickly and had the tire off in no time. The fact that he had returned, given her a ride and was here to change her flat tire was a true blessing. She realized it and recognized it, even if she didn’t want to admit it.
“You are pretty quiet over there,” he said suddenly, interrupting her thoughts. He had the wrench and was tightening the lugs on the spare tire on her car in no time.
“I’m thinking you’ve done this before.”
“Yep, and I have to admit that I prefer parking lots rather than the side of the highway.”
“I can only imagine.”
“What else is on your mind? Are you tired?”
“No,” she hesitated, not wanting to admit it as he got to his feet and dusted his hands off on his pants.
“There!” he said with finality. “Start it up and let’s make sure that the battery hasn’t died. I’ve had that happen to me before when it’s been a couple of days.” Nodding, she turned the key and the little Kia fired right up. She left the car running and stood up near the driver’s door.
“Thank you so much for the ride and putting on the spare.”
Lawfully Wild Page 2
