Guarding a forbidden lov.., p.19
Guarding a Forbidden Love, page 19
“I’ll let him know.” She got up from her chair and disappeared behind a door right behind the desk.
Sam began to pace the floor, his heart beating so fast he felt short of breath. All he really needed to hear was that she was okay. He just needed to see her for a minute to assure himself she was really going to survive this horrendous night.
“The doctor said he’ll be out to speak to you when he can,” Sherry said as she returned to her desk.
“Thanks, Sherry.”
The minutes ticked by...long minutes that turned into an hour. Sam finally sat. What was taking so long? Was it a good sign that the doctor hadn’t come out to talk to him yet? Or was it a very bad sign?
Another hour passed and Dallas arrived. “Any word yet?” he asked.
“No...nothing.”
Dallas sank down in the chair next to Sam. “You were right about Joe. I found two gas cans in his car and he confessed to everything. Seems he couldn’t stand seeing Harper dating a younger man.”
“That bastard,” Sam exclaimed, rich anger taking the place of worry for just a moment.
“Wait, there’s more,” Dallas said. “He not only confessed to attacking her and setting the fire, but he also copped to killing his wife years ago and burying her in his barn. According to him, his wife was leaving him for a much younger man. The night she was leaving they got into a fight and she fell and hit her head. Harper seeing you apparently triggered him.”
“That son of a bitch,” Sam said angrily. “So, he’s now in jail?”
“Yes, and he’ll be charged with enough crimes to keep him locked up for a very long time. I’ve got men out at his place right now digging up his barn floor.” Dallas stood. “Let me go see if I can find out some information for you.” He walked up to the desk and Sherry then buzzed him in through the large double doors that said Emergency Room.
Sam tried to digest everything Dallas had just shared about Joe. He’d been...just a regular Joe, who came into the bakery for coffee and a cinnamon roll most mornings. But apparently, he hadn’t been just a regular Joe at all. He’d been a man with secrets and a twisted darkness inside him that had caused him to want Harper dead like the wife who had apparently betrayed him.
Dallas finally returned with Dr. Alex Erickson by his side. Sam jumped up from his chair. “How is she?” he immediately asked Alex.
“She’s stable,” Alex replied. Sam nearly fell to the floor in relief. “Needless to say, she’s suffered from smoke inhalation,” Alex continued. “I’ve got her on oxygen and I sedated her. We’ve run some tests and I don’t believe her lungs have been damaged but we’ll check again in another day or so.”
“Can I see her?” Sam asked.
“Sam, she’s sleeping. She won’t even know you’re there,” Alex replied.
“I... I just need to see her for a minute,” Sam replied. “Please.”
“I don’t want her disturbed in any way,” Alex said firmly. “She’s in room 105.”
“Thanks.” Sam turned and headed down the hallway that held the patient rooms.
When he reached her room, he stepped just inside the door and his heart squeezed tight. She looked so small in the hospital bed. She had an IV in her arm and an oxygen tube down her throat.
More than anything he wanted to curl up on the bed with her and draw her into his arms. He wanted to keep her from harm, from heartache for the rest of her life.
He remained in the doorway for several minutes, watching the reassuring sight of her chest rise and fall. Thank God she was okay. However, she was going to be devastated when she learned of all the damage in the bakery.
He would rebuild it for her. Whatever it took, if she allowed him, he would work hard for her to get the bakery up and running again.
Finally, he left the doorway, knowing there was nothing more he could do for her tonight. Night had fallen and finally the dark clouds had moved out, revealing a sky full of bright stars.
He remained just sitting in his truck for long moments. It was finally over. He would no longer have to play bodyguard for her anymore. He’d failed miserably at the job anyway.
Still, with Joe in jail she would now be safe to live her life to the fullest without any more fear. Without him. She didn’t want him anymore. Now that the danger to her had passed, his heartbreak roared through him harder and more painful than ever.
If she wanted, he’d work to give her a dream bakery, but he’d just be the carpenter who worked for her and nothing more. He had to face the fact, and the fact was that he and Harper weren’t going to have a future together.
Chapter 12
On the third morning in the hospital, Harper awakened before the sun came up and was grateful that she no longer had the oxygen tube in and the IV was out.
For the past two days she’d been lightly sedated and had drifted in and out of sleep. She’d had no visitors as the doctors had wanted her to rest without interruption.
But she had suffered from nightmares of smoke and fire that had often jerked her from her sleep gasping and panicked. Still, the doctors had been very protective of her rest and recovery time.
The only people she had seen during the past two days were the doctors and nurses who came in to check on her. She’d been told she’d suffered from smoke inhalation, but thankfully no long-term damage had been done.
However, she knew the bakery was probably in ruins. She hadn’t asked anyone about it, hadn’t even wanted to think about it until this morning.
She remembered the flames and the smoke, and she remembered that she’d been trapped, but she had no memory of getting out of the bakery and to the hospital.
Sam. Thoughts of him caused tears to immediately fill her eyes. She’d pushed him out of her life...her bakery was in ruins and this morning she felt utterly hopeless and more alone than she’d ever felt.
She dozed off and on until breakfast was delivered. She was grateful for the hot coffee but picked listlessly at the scrambled eggs and hash browns. She really wasn’t hungry.
Soon after her breakfast tray was taken away, Dallas walked into her room. “Hey, Harper. How are you feeling this morning?” He sank down in the chair next to her bed.
“I’m okay.” Her throat was scratchy and her voice was slightly hoarse, but the doctors had assured her this would eventually pass.
“I need to ask you some questions. Do you feel up to it?” Dallas asked.
She nodded affirmatively. “That would be fine, and then I have some questions for you.”
“Basically, I need you to tell me exactly how things went down in the bakery on the day of the fire,” Dallas said.
Harper began to tell him what had happened from the moment she’d smelled smoke. She went through her frantic efforts to shove open the door barricaded with the building supplies until she had apparently fallen unconscious from the smoke. “I don’t know how I got out of the bakery. Maybe you could answer that question for me.”
“Sam got you out. According to a few witnesses, he worked like a wild animal to move the things from in front of the door and then went in and carried you out.”
Her heart squeezed tight. Of course, Sam had saved her...her sweet Sam. Only he wasn’t hers anymore. “After you were taken away in the ambulance, Sam noticed something odd about Joe,” Dallas continued.
She looked at Dallas in surprise. “Joe... Joe Rogers?”
“Yes. Sam noticed he had some soot on his face and drew it to my attention. Upon further investigation I discovered two empty gas cans in Joe’s car. He set the fire, Harper. He was the person who was trying to kill you.”
Harper stared at him in stunned surprise. “But wh-why?”
As Dallas told her about Joe, she was utterly shocked by the news. It was so difficult to believe that the man who had been a friendly regular customer had harbored so many secrets and so much hatred toward her.
“According to what Joe told me, he had feelings for you and had just been waiting for the perfect time to ask you out, but then you started seeing Sam and that triggered him and turned his affection into hatred of you.”
“It’s all just so hard to believe. I would have never guessed that Joe was behind the attacks on me,” she replied. “So, tell me what state the bakery is in.” She steeled herself for his response. Had it burned down to the ground? Was it nothing more than charred rubble now?
“The back of the building was badly burned, but they got the fire out before it really got too far into the kitchen. However, the whole thing has been smoke-damaged,” Dallas said.
She supposed she should be glad that it was no worse than it was, but it definitely sounded fairly dismal. At least she had insurance that should take care of most of it, but it would probably be months and months before she could get it back up and running again.
To her surprise tears began to well up in her eyes once more. She released an embarrassed laugh and reached out for a tissue from the box on her bedside table. “I’m sorry, I seem to be a bit weepy today.” She swiped at her eyes with the tissue.
“Don’t apologize,” Dallas said. “You’ve been through quite an ordeal, Harper, and you’re lucky to be alive right now.”
“I’m very lucky,” she agreed faintly. But right now, she didn’t feel so lucky. Everything felt so overwhelming. She had a burned-out building with heavy smoke damage. She would have to start a cleanup and then a rebuild. And once again she was facing everything alone.
“Do you have any other questions for me?” Dallas asked.
She had a million questions. Was Sam okay? Had he even tried to come and see her? Or had his interest in her...had his love for her already waned?
Of course, she didn’t ask any of those questions. In reality she no longer had the right to ask anything about Sam, except one. And that one suddenly thundered in her chest.
“Was Sam hurt while getting me out?”
“No, not at all,” Dallas replied.
She released the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. Thank God he hadn’t been hurt. “I guess that’s all the questions I have for you right now,” she said.
Once again, she felt the press of hot tears burning her eyes. What on earth was wrong with her? She was a strong woman. She’d faced adversity before. However, everything right now felt bigger than anything she’d ever dealt with before.
“Harper, if you think of any more questions for me, don’t hesitate to call me,” Dallas said.
“Thank you, Dallas,” she replied.
Dallas left and soon after that Dr. Ralph Reeves came into her room. The older man had been Harper’s personal doctor whenever she’d needed one in the past. He was a kind, quiet man who treated his patients with kindness and respect.
“How is my patient doing today?” he asked with a warm smile as he sat in the chair Dallas had recently vacated.
“My throat is still a little scratchy, but other than that I’m feeling fine,” she replied.
“I think you’re well enough to go home today,” Dr. Reeves said. “How do you feel about that?”
“I feel good about it,” she replied.
“The only way I’ll let you go today is if you promise to rest at home for at least a couple of days,” Dr. Reeves said. “I know you’ll feel like you need to jump into things, especially considering the state of your place of business, however it’s important that you give yourself time to finish healing. So, can you promise me that you’ll take things slowly and do a lot of nothing for a while?”
“I can promise you that,” she agreed. It was actually an easy promise to make. She was exhausted...utterly drained. All she wanted to do now was go home and rest comfortably in her own bed. Anything that needed to be done at the bakery could wait for a couple of days for her to get her energy back.
“Then I’ll get your paperwork all ready and you should be set to leave within the hour.” Dr. Reeves stood and gave her a kind smile. “Please take good care of yourself, Harper.”
“I plan to. Thank you, Dr. Reeves.” It was only minutes after the doctor had left her room that she realized she had a problem. Her car wasn’t here and she had no idea who to call to take her home.
Millsville was a very small town. There were no taxis on standby or Uber services available to whisk people from place to place. The women she’d once considered her close friends were both at work and in any case, she would be reluctant to call them. She wasn’t in the mood to hear any “I told you sos” from anybody.
She scarcely had time to think as the nurse, Amber James, came into her room. She carried what appeared to be a pair of Harper’s jeans and one of her blue blouses. She also had a small paper bag and Harper’s purse in hand.
“Somebody brought in some clean clothes for you to put on. We bagged the clothing you came in wearing because of their intense smoke smell. And if you want to take a quick shower before you put on the clean clothes, I’ll wait for you.”
“Oh, I’d love a quick shower,” Harper replied. She could smell the smoke that lingered in her hair and felt it wafting from her body. She couldn’t wait to feel clean again.
“Chief Calloway also brought your purse in. He thought you might need it. We tried to wipe it down to get most of the soot and ashes off it.”
“That was very nice of him and I really appreciate you wiping it down,” Harper replied. Thank goodness Dallas had realized she’d need her purse when she was discharged and got home. Despite the wipe-down that had been done on it, the purse was still smoke-darkened. Once she got her personal items from it, it would need to be thrown away.
Minutes later she stood beneath a warm spray of water, lathering her hair with the little bottle of shampoo and washing herself with the small bar of soap that had been provided to her. It felt good to finally wash the smoke smell down the drain.
Sam had brought her the clothes. There was no other answer in her mind. He still had a key to her house and he was thoughtful enough to think about providing her something clean to go home in. Once again, her heart squeezed tight as she thought of him and new tears mingled with the shower spray.
Once her shower was finished and as she dressed, her problem returned to her head. How was she going to get home? She needed to figure something out quickly. She finished dressing and sat on the edge of her bed to await her discharge.
While she was contemplating her problem he walked in the door. Sam. For a moment her breath caught in her throat. His face appeared drawn and the bright sparkle in his eyes was dimmed, as if he was incredibly tired. But the smile he offered her was one that warmed her despite their current circumstances.
“I heard that you were going home today and I was wondering if you needed a ride,” he said.
“H-how did you know?” she asked.
“I have to confess, I’ve kind of been a pain in everyone’s butt here for the last couple of days. I’ve been hanging out and asking about you. I came earlier to see if I could visit you today, but they told me to wait until the doctor came in to see you. Dr. Reece came to the waiting room and told me that I could see you and that you were being released. So...do you need a ride home?”
“Would you mind?” Even though this felt awkward, she was grateful he’d showed up.
He smiled once again. “Of course, I wouldn’t mind.”
“I...uh... I’m just waiting for my discharge papers,” she explained.
“Then I’ll wait with you.” He sat in the chair at the foot of the bed. “How are you feeling?”
“Better than the last time you saw me.” She didn’t want to look at him. She didn’t want to let his beautiful eyes, his caring gaze into her heart.
“Does your throat hurt?” he asked curiously. “You’re definitely a bit hoarse.”
“It hurts a little bit, but not much,” she replied. She finally looked at him. “Thank you, Sam. Thank you for saving my life.”
The smile on his face fell and his eyes darkened. “God, Harper, when I saw you in the bakery that was filled with so much smoke, and you were on the floor and not moving at all, I... I thought you were gone.” His voice cracked a bit and he averted his gaze from her.
“And all I could think about was that it was all my fault. I was the one who made you promise to stay in the bakery. If I hadn’t done that, then maybe the fire wouldn’t have happened and you wouldn’t have been trapped.” His voice sounded tortured with guilt.
“Sam, look at me.” He slowly raised his gaze back up to her. “You are not responsible for what happened. Joe was. He was the one who set the fire and if it hadn’t happened when it did, then it would have happened on another day. You have no reason to feel guilty about anything that happened that night.”
He released a deep sigh. “I’m just so sorry about everything.”
Amber came back into the room with some paperwork in her hand as she pushed a wheelchair. She handed the papers to Harper, along with a bright smile. “Okay, Harper. You’re all set and you’re free to leave.”
“The bright side of all this is that it’s finally over. The bad guy is in jail and I’m still alive,” she said.
“Thank God for that,” he replied.
“And thank you for all your care, Amber,” Harper said as she stood and then sat in the wheelchair. She felt silly sitting in the chair, but knew it was protocol when leaving the hospital.
“It was my pleasure,” Amber replied.
“I’ll just go pull my truck up,” Sam said and then left the room.
Amber pushed her down the hallway and out the emergency room door where Sam had arrived at the curb. “Now, take care of yourself and remember to get plenty of rest,” Amber said.
“I will,” Harper replied. “Thanks again, Amber.”
