He cleared his throat. “That’s quite a story. I gather you sat with him until help arrived?”
“Of course. I know CPR. But that’s about the limits of my nursing abilities. He was breathing, and his heart was beating. But he wouldn’t open his eyes. I didn’t know what to do. All I could think of was to apply pressure to the wounds, even though they didn’t seem to be bleeding all that much. I had no idea he was bleeding internally.”
She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment and let out a shuddering breath. “Thank goodness the fire department and police arrived so quickly. I heard the sirens and ran to the clearing. They were amazing, ran with me around back, noquestions asked. They immediately started an IV and got him on a gurney. I think they flew him out in a helicopter within a couple of minutes. They saved his life.”
He slowly shook his head. “No, Ms. Ray. I think that distinction belongs to you. If you hadn’t been stubborn enough and brave enough to go back into that shack to check on him, he’d be dead right now.” His voice sounded oddly hoarse, and he cleared his throat before continuing. “Thank you. On behalf of all the Justice Seekers, thank you for saving our dear friend and coworker.”
She was about to argue that he wouldn’t have even been in danger in the first place if it wasn’t for her, but his phone vibrated against the table.
He picked it up, then stood.
She shoved out of her chair. “Bryson’s awake?”
He shook his head. “Not yet. But I’ll go check on him right now. Meanwhile, you have visitors.”
“Visitors?” She frowned. “The police are back?”
He hesitated at the door. “When you called me to help Bryson, I took the liberty of calling someone to help you. But I asked them to give me time to interview you first. They’ve been very accommodating. But they’re out in the hall now, demanding to see you.” He smiled his first real smile. “You’re an incredibly brave and smart young woman. Thank you again for everything you did.” Without waiting for her reply, he left the room.
A moment later, two people rounded the corner and paused in the doorway.
She let out a shriek and ran around the table, tears flowing again.
Her mother and father gathered her to them in a bone-crushing hug.
Chapter Nineteen
Teagan sighed deeply and shifted positions in the plastic chair a few feet from Bryson’s hospital bed as he slept the morning away. Three days. It had been three days since she’d cried all over him in the recovery room after he woke up from surgery, only to have him gruffly tell her that he needed his sleep. Since then, he’d hardly spoken a word to her. He was acting just like the surly bear she’d encountered the first time they’d met. But they’d moved beyond that. Far beyond it. So why was he acting like they were strangers and he was the grouchy hermit again?
She’d asked him that very thing.
His answers were many. He had a headache. He was feeling fuzzy from the concussion. The pain from his surgery had him feeling bad and he just needed to sleep. All of that was probably true. But he was a strong man, and had overcome far worse to save both their lives. And he’d been at his kindest in the past when he was in tremendous pain, because he’d risen above it to save them. So none of his actions now made sense.
Thankfully, his boss—Mason Ford—didn’t seem worried about Bryson’s less than friendly attitude that seemed to extend to anyone unfortunate enough to be in his vicinity. He simply ignored Bryson’s gruff responses and went about his business. And he kept Teagan up to date on everything going on with the investigation.
Which, unfortunately, wasn’t much.
Even with half the Justice Seekers working the case here in Jacksonville, none of them seemed to be making any moreheadway than JSO. No one had discovered the identity yet of the man who’d abducted them and killed three innocent people. But Mason assured her they were doing everything they could and weren’t giving up. And he did something else—he gave her a company credit card to use for all of her and Bryson’s needs. He told her the card had no limit and to use it for anything at all, no questions asked.
He’d also ordered Bryson to let her make all the arrangements to get him set up at a local hotel after being discharged so he could get strong enough for the trip back to Gatlinburg. Teagan decided that she liked Mason Ford very much, especially since he made no secret that he was rooting for her to win this little cold war between her and Bryson.
She crossed her arms and waited another half hour before the doctor’s morning rounds finally brought him to Bryson’s room to perform a final evaluation before giving him discharge papers. Miraculously, he woke up just as the doctor stepped into the room. Teagan snorted and looked out the window, pretending indifference, when she was fuming inside.
The hurt had long ago faded. Or, at least, it was buried down deep. No more crying in front of him. She had her pride after all. And no crying on her mama’s shoulder either, given that her mother now thought—along with the hospital staff—that she and Bryson were engaged. That was going to be a huge disappointment for her parents once he went back to Gatlinburg and she told them the “engagement” was off. They’d half fallen in love with him when he’d had dinner at their home. They fell the rest of the way after hearing everything he’d done to protect their only child.
But they wouldn’t be the only ones nursing a broken heart.
She kept her face averted, pretending interest in something out the window while she wiped the wetness from her eyes. How could she still have all these inconvenient feelings for aman who didn’t return them? She took a few deep breaths and reached down for her anger again, wrapping it around her other emotions like a shield, to keep her safe.
“All in all, you’re an incredibly lucky man,” the doctor said behind her as he apparently finished his exam. “Any one of your injuries—the blow to the head, the gunshot, the half-dozen pieces of wood that the explosion drove into your back—could have killed you. You might not feel lucky right now, but once the pain fades and you’re back on your feet, I think you’ll begin to realize just how fortunate you are. Someone was looking out for you.”
She turned around, but steadfastly looked at the floor while he thanked the doctor and discussed the discharge instructions. Her anger had evaporated beneath the shock of what she’d just heard. She hadn’t known about the wood driven into his back. On top of everything else that he’d endured, he’d basically been stabbed,six times, as the remnants of the shack rained down on them. But not one of those pieces of lethally sharp wood had hit her—because he’d protected her. Again. She had no right to be angry with him. And he had every right to be angry with her. He’d be sitting on his dock enjoying a cold beer right now, listening to the rippling water of the stream behind his house if it wasn’t for her. Healthy, content, his only worry the ache in his hip when the tequila and scotch weren’t enough to dull the pain.
What a selfish immature idiot she’d been, thinking only of herself.
The squeak of metal had her glancing up to see him struggling to lower the railing. The doctor must have left while she was consumed with her own thoughts.
She rushed over to him. “Here, let me.” She gently pushed his hands away and lowered the railing. “Just, please, don’t try to get out of bed on your own. I know you don’t want my help, so I’ll get the nurse to help you get dressed.”
