Mine to Hold

Chapter 14

Emmerson held Rumor’s hand, rubbing his thumb over the back side. Machines beeped in the background. An IV drip pumped medication and fluids into her system.

The sounds of people shuffling their feet in the hallway were a distant murmur.

“Hey, son.” His mother strolled into the room and set a coffee and something that smelled like bacon and a fried egg on the table next to Rumor’s bed. “Did you sleep here all night?”

“I’m not sure I’d call it sleep, but yeah.”

“I figured you might.” She pointed to the bag. “You need to eat if you’re going to heal.”

“I will.” He lifted the coffee to his lips and sipped. “Any word on the other men helping Tom and Tony?”

“Picked up a few hours ago and I was there when State took their statements. All part of setting her up to take the fall for the murders. They wanted her to pay for sending Tony to prison, but they picked the wrong town to do it in,” his mom said. “Has she woken up?”

He shook his head. It had been touch and go for a while. They had to stabilize her before operating, and then it was a six-hour surgery to remove the bullet and repair the damage. Thank God no internal organs had been hit. She’d been lucky. “The doctors can’t give me a reason why she hasn’t come to and they said they wouldn’t really try anything until this morning. Something about her body needing rest.”

“They’re right.” She squeezed his good shoulder. The other arm was completely useless. While the bullet had gone in and out clean and all he needed was a good flush and stitches, he was in a sling for three weeks. Then physical therapy. It would be two months before he was back in business. “How are you feeling?”

“Like shit,” he admitted.

“At least they didn’t hit your shooting arm or writing hand.”

He glared.

“What?” His mother shrugged. “After you take some time off to help Rumor recover, you’re going to be on desk duty pushing papers.”

“What if she doesn’t wake up?” That thought had been weighing on his brain for hours. He’d been talking to her, telling her of all the dates he planned on taking her on. Long walks on the beach. Boat rides. Romantic dinners. He told her stories about his past. His childhood. Things he was afraid of. Things he never told anyone. Anything he could think of that might get her to peek open even a single eye.

But he got nothing.

“Don’t talk like that,” his mom said. “She needs you to be strong and she’s going to need a lot of help for the first couple of weeks. You need to be her rock.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Jameson, Rhett, and Miles are at your place now. It’s cleaned up. You can’t tell anything happened.”

“Except I’ve got no sliders,” he mumbled.

“Jameson called in a few favors and found your doors. They are installing them as we speak. It will take a couple of days, but the doors will be fixed before you take her home.”

Home.

God, how he wanted to make a home with Rumor. He wanted to jump into the deep end, but he didn’t want to scare her away.

“Now, eat that damn breakfast sandwich I brought you. I have to go to the station. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

He rubbed his clean-shaven face. After he’d been taken care of and while she was in surgery, his family forced him to go home and take a shower. His stomach growled. He dug his hand into the bag and pulled out the food. Lucy Ann made the best bacon, egg, and bagel sandwiches he’d ever tasted. Better than his own.

His mother hovered, waiting for him to dig in.

He took a big bite and his taste buds went wild, while his guilt ate him alive. If only he’d been able to buy a little more time, Rumor wouldn’t have been shot. Maybe if he’d stayed in the bedroom a few minutes longer.

Fuck. He could do this to himself all day, but it wouldn’t change a damn thing.

“I love you, Emmerson.” His mom leaned over and kissed his temple like she’d done a thousand times when he’d been a small boy. “Call me when she wakes up.”

“I will. I promise.” He leaned back in his chair and finished his sandwich. He took a few more big gulps of his coffee, letting the caffeine hit his brain before taking her hand again and giving it a good squeeze. “Come on, babe. All your vitals are strong. Pulse is solid. Blood pressure is normal. You’re breathing on your own. You don’t even need oxygen, so please, open your eyes for me, Rumor.”

Her finger twitched.

His heart went into overdrive. He stood, leaning closer, pressing his mouth over her dry lips. “That’s it, honey. Wake up.”

A tiny moan escaped her lips. Her eyes blinked. A groan. Then a gasp and her eyes opened wide. “Emmerson?”

“I’m right here, sweetheart.”

“Where am I?” She turned her head left, then right. Fear filled her beautiful eyes. “What happened? Where’s Tony? Tom?”

“Shhhh, babe. They can’t hurt you anymore.” He ran his hand over her forehead and down the side of her face. “You’re in the hospital and you’re safe.”

She tried to shift and winced in pain.

“Try not to move,” he whispered. “You were shot. The doctors had to remove the bullet. You’re going to be sore for a bit.”

“That’s not sore. That fucking hurts.”

He chuckled. “That’s the Rumor I know.”

She reached out and tentatively touched his arm in the sling. “I remember seeing you get shot. All that blood spewing from your body. I thought for sure they had killed you.”

“Nothing but a flesh wound. I’ll heal up nice and quick. Nothing for you to worry your pretty little head about.” He reached for the call button and pressed it.

“What are you doing?”

“The doctors are going to want to know you’re awake.” Carefully, he sat on the edge of the bed. “You gave everyone quite the scare. You’ve been asleep since your surgery and that was yesterday.”

She palmed his face. “You shaved.”

“I didn’t want you to see me looking like a bum.”

She cracked a half smile, but it quickly went away. “I remember lots of gunfire. What happened to Tony and Tom?”

“They’re both dead.”

She inhaled sharply. “Am I a bad person for not feeling horrible about that?”

“While I take no pleasure in ending anyone’s life, including theirs, they were going to kill us. So, no, you’re not a bad person. Far from it.” He traced her jawline. “Are you thirsty? I don’t know if you’re allowed to eat, but I do know you can have some water.”

“I am thirsty.”

He snagged the cup of water with the straw the nurses had left. “Here you go.” He held it to her mouth. His pulse had finally started to calm.

She was alive.

And awake.

Now all he had to do was convince her to stay.

“You called… oh. The patient is awake.” The morning nurse, a woman by the name of Janet, strolled to the side of the bed. “How are you feeling?” Janet touched Rumor’s arm.

“Like I was shot in the gut.”

“A sense of humor is always a good sign.” Janet nodded. “I’ll let the doctor know and he’ll want to come in and examine you.”

“How long am I going to have to stay here?” Rumor asked.

“Already itching to get out. Another good sign. Only the doctor can answer that, but I would gather at least a few more days.” Janet patted Rumor’s arm. “He’ll be in shortly.”

“Thank you, Janet,” Emmerson said.

“Anything for you and your family.” Janet smiled. “Especially after what you did for me a few years ago.” She waggled her finger. “And don’t go popping those stitches. I don’t want to see you back in my ER like when you were shot in the thigh.”

“No, ma’am.”

Janet marched her ass out of the room.

“You’ve been shot before? And you’re on a first-name basis with my nurse, Mr. Saucy.”

He laughed. It felt so good to laugh. “For the record, I’ve known Janet my entire life. We graduated high school together.”

“Have you dated her too?”

“Why, Rumor, are you jealous?”

“No. Curious is more like it.”

“She actually went to Emmett’s senior formal. So, me dating her would have been weird, especially because I think they had sex.”

“Think or know?” she asked, reaching for the water.

“He’s never confessed and neither has she.” Emmerson took a napkin and wiped the few drops of water that dribbled down her chin.

“So, tell me, how did you get shot in the thigh?”

Everything was so easy with Rumor. Here she was, lying in a hospital bed after major surgery, sleeping for hours, and she was chatting away like it was nothing.

He loved that about her.

He loved everything about her.

But this wasn’t the right moment to tell her.

It had to be perfect.

“I got called to a domestic disturbance call about eight years ago. It happened to be Janet. I got between her and her ex-husband and he shot me.”

“You took a bullet for another woman?”

“Oh my, someone is jealous.” He batted her nose.

“No. I’m just wondering if this is a thing.”

“I try not to, but my job is to protect and serve. It’s a hazard of the job, which is mostly boring and I’m hoping to never get shot at again. Or have to see my girlfriend crumpled on the floor with a gunshot wound to her abdomen. I can’t say that I liked that very much.” He ran his thumb over her lower lip. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t prevent that from happening. I tried. I really did. If I could have taken that bullet, I would have.”

A tear rolled down her cheek.

He wiped it away.

“You did everything you could to save us both.” She cleared her throat. “I want to go back to this girlfriend thing you managed to slip in.”

“Ah. That,” he said. “I thought it was a given. Have I misread something?”

“As long as you keep shaving, I’ll consider you my boyfriend.”

“I’ll do it twice a day if that’s what it takes.” Maybe it was the right time. But before he could get the words out, the doctor pulled back the curtain.

It would have to wait.