Winds Of Fortune Part 8

CHAPTER SEVEN.

Thanks, Nita," Pia said, lingering in the hall outside the procedure room.

"No problem." Nita smiled at Pia, but her gaze followed Deo and Joey as they disappeared through the door into the reception area. "He's really a sweetie."

"He's the baby and everyone spoiled him. Sometimes he still thinks all it takes is a smile, and most of the time he's right."

"I imagine he's going to break a few hearts," Nita murmured, but she wasn't thinking of Joey. His wasn't the only smile that was irresistible. When she'd returned to the procedure room to discuss Joey's physical therapy regimen with Pia, she'd been aware of Deo's eyes on her the entire time. Part of her, the mindless id that ruled her body and some irrational part of her mind, reveled in the attention even as she chastised herself for responding. "Your family is captivating."

Pia's eyes widened in surprise. "I've got a couple of other brothers besides Joey who are still single if that's your inclination."

"Afraid not," Nita said with a laugh. "Although if a beautiful face was my only criterion, I could be tempted."

"Well, if it's a beautiful face you want, Deo-"

"Deo's gorgeous," Nita said before she could catch back the words. She felt her face warm and added quickly, "But I'm sure she's got a line outside her door already."

"Not as long as you might think," Pia said seriously.

"I'm not actually looking for anyone," Nita said, hoping to derail the uncomfortable conversation.

"Left a girl back home? Providence, right?"

"Nope." Nita struggled not to hear Sylvia's laughter or see her taunting smile. Struggled and failed. Come on, honey, you know you want me. Why are you fi ghting me? "I'm just getting settled into this * 67 *

RADCLY fFE job and I'll be starting the house renovations soon. Not much time for socializing."

"Once in a while a girl has to have company." Pia squeezed Nita's arm. "It's good for the disposition."

Nita laughed. "Thanks. I'll remember that."

With a secret sigh of relief, Nita waved to Pia and returned to her patients. If she wanted company, it would not be for a casual night in bed with a woman who wouldn't remember her name a week later.

y "I'll be right back, sweetie," Tory said, leaning down to kiss Bri on the cheek.

"Okay," Bri said hoa.r.s.ely, her eyes dry and hot.

Tory ached to scoop her into her arms and cradle her, but as Bri had proven when Reese had been missing, she was strong and brave.

And Caroline, who hadn't let go of Bri's hand for the last three hours, would provide all the comfort and support Bri needed.

"You want something? Coffee? c.o.ke?"

Bri shook her head.

"c.o.ke," Caroline said immediately, countering Bri's response.

"And some kind of sandwich."

"I'm not hungry," Bri insisted.

"I know you're not, baby," Caroline said, caressing Bri's cheek.

"But you haven't eaten anything all day. Don't argue."

Bri leaned her head against Caroline's shoulder and shut her eyes.

"I'll get you both something," Tory said.

Not wanting to be gone too long lest she miss the cardiologist when he came out to report on Nelson's status, she hurried to the elevators.

Once in the main lobby, she crossed quickly to the exit and scanned the circular drive that fronted the emergency entrance where Reese had parked her patrol car. Reese leaned against the front of the car, talking on her cell phone.

Tory waited. Watching her while she talked was no hardship. She had always loved to look at her. All too often the demands of daily living prevented them from eating dinner together or even going to sleep at the same time, but she had never been able to look at Reese * 68 *

Winds of Fortune without being grateful and just a little bit amazed to have her in her life.

She never felt it more acutely than now, after Reese had returned from duty overseas.

Reese hung up the phone and held out her hand to Tory. "Any word?"

"Not yet." Tory pulled Reese's arm around her and leaned into her for a quick kiss. Then she stepped back, mindful of emergency personnel coming and going through the ambulance bay doors. "It shouldn't be long now. Is everything all right at the station?"

"Allie and Smith have things under control." Reese hooked one hand around her gun belt. Her face was grim. "Is Nelson going to make it?"

"I don't know," Tory admitted. "He wouldn't have any chance at all if you hadn't been there. If you hadn't-"

"d.a.m.n it, Tory. This must have been coming on for a while. He's been complaining of stomach problems for months and I never gave it a thought. He wasn't having indigestion, he was having chest pain."

"Reese, you're not a doctor. I see him practically as much as you do and I never paid any attention either."

Reese's jaw clenched and she looked away. She appreciated Tory trying to make her feel better, but she couldn't help thinking that she was partly responsible. She'd been preoccupied ever since the war started, knowing that she'd be called up to serve in Iraq. And since she'd been back, she'd lost her focus and couldn't concentrate. She saw Nelson every single day, and she should have known something was wrong.

"Nelson could have said something," Tory said gently. "I'm not blaming him, but it's certainly not your fault. You saved his life."

"If he's able to come back to work, how long do you think it will be?"

"G.o.d." Tory brushed a hand through her hair, frustrated by Reese's stubborn insistence on taking responsibility for things that couldn't possibly be her fault. "At least six weeks, possibly more. Once he's stabilized, the cardiologist will need to evaluate the extent of the cardiac damage."

"I've talked to the mayor and the district commander. I'll be acting chief until Nelson comes back to work."

Tory took a slow breath. "Of course." She chose her next words as * 69 *

RADCLY fFE carefully as she could. "Are you okay with that?"

Reese shrugged and smiled ruefully. "Paperwork. I hate it. I'd rather be in a patrol car, but there's no one else with the experience to do it and bringing in someone new would disrupt the entire department during the busiest time of the year. It's my responsibility. I'm fi ne."

It wasn't the boredom of administrative work that concerned Tory.

Reese would be in a command position-not that she wasn't already, every day of her working life. But this would be slightly different, and she couldn't imagine Reese being content sitting behind a desk. What it meant, she imagined, was that Reese would simply be doing two jobs when she was barely recovered enough to do one.

"I know you're the only one for the job." Tory skimmed her fi ngertips across the ridge of Reese's collarbone. The irregularity from the healing fracture was still palpable. "You're not quite a hundred percent yet, darling. You'll be careful, won't you?"

"Sure," Reese said automatically. "We should get back upstairs, don't you think?"

"Yes," Tory said with a sigh, aware that Reese was naturally most comfortable doing something. Anything. Now more than ever, Reese used work as a panacea, or an escape. And once again, it wasn't the time to deal with it. Certainly not today, not when Nelson was fi ghting for his life. "We should get back."

When Reese took her hand, Tory laced her fi ngers through Reese's, grateful for the brief connection. It wasn't enough, but it was everything.

y Bri jumped up when the cardiologist, still wearing rumpled scrubs, walked into the family waiting room. Other than the four of them- Reese, Tory, Bri, and Carre-only one elderly man occupied the s.p.a.ce, sitting off in one corner with a distant expression on his face.

Caroline scooted her arm around Bri's waist and Tory slid close to her other side. Reese stood a few feet away, her expression impa.s.sive and her body emanating tightly coiled energy.

"Dr. King," the cardiologist said, looking from Tory to Bri and then back to Tory. "Sheriff Parker is stable. We stented both the anterior descending and the left main."

* 70 *

Winds of Fortune "That's great," Tory said.

Bri's legs started to shake and she gripped Carre's shoulders tightly, embarra.s.sed to let anyone see how scared she was. She swallowed before speaking. Her throat felt so dry she was afraid her voice would crack. "Does that mean he's going to be okay?"

"The most important thing right now," the cardiologist said kindly, "is that the blockage has been relieved and his heart muscle is getting the oxygen it needs to heal."

"Does that mean you don't know if he's going to be okay?" Bri persisted.

The cardiologist shot a glance at Tory, who said, "Go ahead, Steve, you don't need to soft-pedal it."

"The fi rst twenty-four hours following a myocardial incident are tricky," Steve Olson said. "The heart muscle is irritable because it's been damaged, so arrhythmias-that's an irregular heartbeat-are common, and can be dangerous. Your father's being monitored carefully and we're giving him medication to control cardiac irritability. This time tomorrow, I'll be able to give you a much better a.s.sessment."

"When can I see him?"

"The nurses have a few things to do and then you can visit. He's sedated and won't be responsive."

"Okay. I understand," Bri said. "Thanks."

When the cardiologist turned to Tory and began explaining something Bri couldn't understand, Bri whispered to Carre, "I need to talk to Reese."

"Okay, baby." Carre kissed her cheek and let her go.

Bri joined Reese. "I want to thank you for what you did today, for my dad."

"No need," Reese said gently.

"I'm sorry I didn't handle it so well. I-"

Reese shook her head, slung an arm around Bri's slender frame, and pulled her close. She cupped the back of her head as Bri trembled against her. "It's okay. You did fi ne. I'm proud of you."

Bri's eyes stung and she blinked back tears. It wasn't that she was ashamed to cry in front of Reese. h.e.l.l, Reese had seen her when she was messed up and p.i.s.sed off at everybody. Crying wasn't so bad, although she'd rather only Carre knew that she did it sometimes. Just now, though, she wanted to be as together as Reese was when things got * 71 *

RADCLY fFE tough. She wanted to be the one everyone believed in. She raised her head and grinned a little crookedly. "I forgot my training."

"Understandable," Reese said gruffl y. She loosened her hold and let Bri ease away. "That's the reason there's a chain of command, Bri.

It takes practice. Your time will come."

"I want to be ready."

Reese skimmed her knuckles along the edge of Bri's jaw. "You will be."

y From across the room, Tory recognized Bri's look of hero worship and was both warmed and worried by it. She knew that Bri could have no better role model than Reese, but she was just coming to understand what a burden that must be for Reese. Not just with Bri, but with the other offi cers in the department and the young marines she had commanded. What was it like living up to that kind of faith while you were trying to keep death away?

Thinking of the tremendous responsibility of making life and death decisions while faced with the imminent possibility of annihilation, she was reminded of KT and the swaggering self-confi dence she always displayed in the trauma unit. When they'd been together, she had allowed herself to forget that KT was not invulnerable or invincible, but rather a woman who suffered every death that she could not prevent and agonized over every decision that might have been made differently.

Tory knew some of that soul-shattering responsibility herself when she made decisions, as she had earlier that day regarding Nelson's treatment. Usually, though, she had a moment or two to collect her thoughts and weigh pros and cons, unlike a soldier in battle or a surgeon faced with exsanguinating hemorrhage. KT had relieved the inexorable stress by reaffi rming her prowess in the arms of other women. Reese would never devastate her that way, but Tory did not intend to let her destroy herself, either.

"Sweetheart," Tory said quietly to Reese. "I'm going to stay here for a few more hours. Do you need to get back?"

Reese waited until Bri rejoined Caroline. "I should check in at the station. I need to rearrange the shifts and get some idea of what Nelson * 72 *

Winds of Fortune had pending." She looked over at Bri. "One of us should be here in case there's a problem, don't you think?"

"I don't want her to be alone if anything should happen," Tory agreed.

"Then I'll come back up tonight in the Jeep and you can take it home. I'll get an offi cer to take me back in the morning."

"I may stay the night. Call me later and I'll let you know if you should come back out tonight."

Reese frowned and stroked Tory's arm. "You sure you'll be okay?

You look beat."

Tory covered Reese's hand with hers. "I'm all right. Tell Reggie I said hi when you see her."

"I will. I'll be back soon." Reese kissed her quickly. "I love you."

"I love you. Be careful."

As soon as Reese disappeared, Tory immediately felt uneasy. It wasn't just that she missed her, which she did, but whenever Reese was out of sight, she was plagued by a pervasive expectation of danger. At moments like this she was forced to admit that Reese's tour of duty in Iraq had made casualties of them both.

y "So what do you think of the Doc?"