Chapter 14
Reese
G loria’s baby girl was born with a few gentle pushes and about fifteen seconds before the paramedics arrived.
I was relieved to see some equipment and to get their assistance.
We all completed the rest of the things that needed to be done together, and I was so grateful when there were no signs of post-delivery complications.
Once Gloria and the baby were bundled up on the gurney one of the paramedics asked, “Do you want to ride with us, Reese? You’re a much higher license than we are.”
I shook my head regretfully. “I’m not licensed in the state of Montana. I was just helping because it was an emergency. I’m technically just a good Samaritan.”
“You’re one hell of a good Samaritan,” the medic joked. “And you’re still welcome to come along.”
I nodded at the father of the baby. “I think you’d better take Tim. He still looks pretty anxious.”
“I have two kids,” he said with a chuckle. “It took me days to get over the deliveries, and I’m in the medical field. It’s different when the patient is your family. The wife handled it better than I did.”
I handed the paramedic the phone number I’d written on a piece of paper. “If anyone has questions about the delivery, please tell them to feel free to give me a call. And if you wouldn’t mind, can you text me to let me know that all went well on the transport and that Gloria is at the hospital? I might not be licensed here, but I’d just like to know that she’s where she needs to be to get checked over.”
He nodded. “You got it.”
I stood and watched as the ambulance drove out of the park.
“That was a little scary, right?” Hannah said from behind me. “You were amazing, Reese.”
I turned to look at her. “I’m so sorry, Hannah. I know I have some explaining to do, but I’d like to go home and clean up first.”
“We’re taking you,” Anna said as she joined Hannah. “Once you’re done, we’re all meeting at Millie’s place. She’s worried. I think the family needs to be in on this discussion.”
“Where’s Devon?” I asked. “I came here with him.”
“He’s helping Kaleb and Tanner with cleanup. They’ll meet us at Millie’s place. We told him we were taking you home for a shower and a stiff drink. Ralph insisted on being at the meeting, too.”
I nodded solemnly. “I think he should be there.”
I still couldn’t believe that I’d blown my cover, but I could hardly risk the life of a mother and child if I could help in some way.
I’d rather risk my own life than the lives of a mother and child.
The delivery had gone well for a precipitous delivery, but the cord had been wrapped around the baby’s neck, and that could have gotten ugly if no one was around with enough experience to fix it.
I’d make the same decision all over again.
However, I was about to face the consequences of my actions, and it wasn’t going to be pleasant.
The ladies talked about the delivery while I was showering and putting on clean clothing, but they didn’t ask me any questions.
Hannah simply handed me a shot of something that looked like hard liquor before we left my apartment, and I tossed it back without a single hesitation.
I knew it was false courage…but it was something.
I wasn’t quite sure how I was going to look at the faces of the people who meant the most to me in this town and explain to them why I’d been lying to them since the moment I’d set foot in Crystal Fork.
“It looks like the gang is all here,” Anna commented as she surveyed all of the vehicles in front of Millie’s house. “I hope you don’t mind, Reese, but Lauren is here, too.”
I turned and sent her a weak smile. “She’s family. She deserves to know.”
Anna hopped out of the back seat as soon as the vehicle stopped and headed toward the house, but Hannah put a gentle hand on my arm before I could exit.
“Wait, Reese,” she entreated, not making a single move to get out of her car. “I don’t know what’s going on, but I want you to know that I’ll never stop being your friend. I know you. If you were hiding who you really are, there’s a reason for it.”
“There is,” I told her as tears filled my eyes. “But that doesn’t change the fact that I’ve been lying to everyone.”
“And it’s been eating you alive,” Hannah commented. “I suspected something wasn’t right, but I didn’t want to invade your privacy. I knew you’d tell me when you were ready.”
I swiped a tear from my cheek. “You’ll probably never know how hard it’s been not to share everything with the people I care about here.”
“Just tell me one thing,” she requested. “Was your life in danger?”
I nodded slowly.
“Then I really don’t give a shit if you told me a thousand lies, Reese,” she said adamantly. “Your safety comes first.”
“I really do have a business degree,” I blurted out. “I minored in business in college. I just don’t have the experience in business that’s on my resume.”
“You’ve saved my ass many times at Glam Anywhere. Do you really think I care about that piece of paper or your experience,” Hannah scolded. “You’ve help me a lot, Reese. Now let me help you. Let’s get the truth out, and then you’ll tell me how I can help. Shesh! No wonder you were an expert on pregnancy. I not only had a talented, creative manager, but a healthcare expert at my disposal. You’ve helped me a lot during this pregnancy.”
I shrugged. “It’s what I do.”
“This isn’t going to be an inquisition, Reese. I want you to know that. We just want to know how we can help. Let’s go before you make this out to be worse than it really is.”
As soon as we exited the vehicle, Hannah came to me and put her arms around me in a very reassuring, caring hug.
I hugged her back, closing my eyes as I savored the warmth of her friendship.
I felt so damn lucky to have a friend like Hannah in my life.
No questions asked about my situation, she trusted me, even though I’d given her no reason to do so.
When we entered the house, everyone was already seated around Millie’s large dining room table that she rarely used unless she had company.
My gaze locked with Devon’s almost immediately, but his expression was guarded, so I couldn’t read a single thing he was thinking at the moment.
Hannah plopped into a chair next to Tanner, and I took the only seat left between Millie and Devon.
Ralph, who was sitting directly across from me commented, “The first thing I’m going to request is that none of the information shared here goes outside of this group. I’ve already contacted Tim and told him that Reese’s life depends on him not sharing the information he got today. He’s grateful to Reese, and he promised they’d never say a word.”
I relaxed a little as I realized that Ralph was going to direct and lead the conversation so I didn’t have to do it.
He continued. “I’m going to tell you the situation, but I’m going to leave it up to Reese about how much she wants to share about her personal life with all of you. The two of us met in Spokane a year ago. I was the lead detective on the murder of her business partner and her own attempted murder. The perpetrator was a disgruntled patient who had lost his wife and child during a delivery. Reese was a labor and delivery nurse at the time, and her partner, an OB physician, was the delivering doctor. It was a tragedy, but they did everything they could do to save those lives during that delivery. The perp lost his mind over a year later, entered the medical office they were working in, and shot both Reese and the physician. Reese’s partner and friend didn’t survive the shooting. Apparently, when the disgruntled husband found out that Reese was still alive, he came to the hospital and tried to make sure she died. Luckily, she had around-the-clock protection in the hospital, and the man fled and hasn’t been seen since. Once she recovered, she needed to be protected and hidden until he was apprehended, but US Marshall’s are still searching for him. I’d already taken this job in Crystal Fork, so I suggested to a friend at the US Marshall’s office that this town would be a good place for her to lay low for a while. She’s not officially in the WITSEC program, but it wasn’t difficult to get her a new identity. We never imagined it would take us this long to find this asshole.”
“Has he made contact with her since he tried to kill her at the hospital?” Kaleb asked gruffly.
“He’s attempted to contact her several times via her old identity. We monitor all of her old digital information, and this asshole wants her dead. She needs to stay hidden. If he finds out her new identity, he’d kill her in a heartbeat. He’s out of his mind. We’ve gotten close to apprehending him, but he gets tipped off somehow and leaves right before we get to his location.”
“How badly was she injured?” Hannah asked in a tearful tone.
Ralph looked at me and I nodded. I had no hesitation about answering any of the questions people wanted to ask.
Now that the truth was out, there wasn’t going to be any further lies or evading questions for me.
“The bullet barely missed her heart,” Ralph answered. “She needed emergency surgery to save her life, and she was in the hospital for a while. She can tell you any of the details she chooses to share. I will say this…I’ve grown fond of Reese, and I’ll do anything I can to protect her. She’s been through hell and is still going through hell. She lost a friend and a partner and almost lost her own life. She was tossed into this situation through no fault of her own. If you have a problem with her lying to all of you, put yourself in her place. She left everyone and everything she loved to come to this place with nobody but me to talk to about it. The agreement when her new identity was created was that she tells absolutely no one the truth. If anyone has a problem with that, you come to me. Reese has been through enough.”
“Nobody is going to give her any grief,” Tanner rumbled. “They’d have to go through me first.”
Ralph sent Tanner a satisfied smile. “Glad you see it my way.”
“I know we all do,” Millie commented. “I don’t think anyone can imagine being in her situation, but all of the Remingtons will be here for her. And not a single one of us will ever reveal her secret. We understand how important that is now.”
“That’s about all of the facts I’m going to give you,” Ralph said in a firm tone. “You know what you need to know. It’s up to Reese how much she wants to share about her real life.”
“It’s really all we need to know,” Tanner agreed. “We’ll all be there to protect her whenever she needs it. Is she safe in her apartment alone?”
“As safe as she can be,” Ralph replied. “She has nosy neighbors that always have their eyes out for trouble of any kind.”
“She can stay with us,” Hannah said adamantly.
I almost jumped out of my chair when Devon slammed his fist down on the table. “Fuck that! She’s staying with me. Nobody has to protect her. If that asshole wants her dead, he’d have to kill me first, and that’s not going to happen.”
He stood, took my hand, and pulled me to my feet.
“We’re leaving,” he announced. “Reese has had enough for one day. You can ask all of the rest of your questions later.”
Without another word, he pulled me by my hand toward the door and never looked back.
And because I was shocked, I let him lead me out the door without a single protest.
If he’d stopped for just a single second and turned around, he would have seen all of the approving faces of his family still sitting around the dining room table.