29. Nora
Chapter Twenty-Nine
NORA
“How much longer will it be?”
The nurse at the desk glanced up with a patient smile. I’d lost count of how many times I’d come up to the circular desk and asked that very question. “He’s out of surgery, and everything went well. As soon as he’s cleared for visitors, I promise I’ll come find you.”
Curling my arms around my waist, I murmured, “Thank you.”
I was restless, and it was hard to sit in the waiting room.
Cat was texting with her friends to pass the time.
While Daphne, ever efficient, had somehow remembered to bring her computer tablet and was planning menus for the resort.
Flynn seemed content to lounge in a chair flipping through channels on the wall-mounted television.
Nothing was helping me calm my internal state.
I felt raw and split open by this event.
It wasn’t helping to know that Gabriel was okay.
I needed to see him, to touch him, to tell him that I’d been stupid.
Again . I was terrified, and all of it was tangling together in a messy knot in my chest. Unable to shake the restlessness revving through me, I started walking down the hall.
The hallways created a giant square around the nursing station.
I figured I might as well treat it like exercise.
I’d completed three laps around the grid when I heard someone call, “Hey, Nora!”
Turning, I saw Violet Hamilton walking briskly toward me. She was wearing neon green scrubs with a matching hair tie holding up her glossy dark hair. Her ponytail swung as she approached me in the hallway.
I stopped, offering a simple, “Hey.” I couldn’t seem to summon more than that.
“What are you doing here?” she asked when she reached me.
“We’re waiting for Gabriel. He was in the boat.”
Before I even finished speaking, Violet lightly smacked her palm on her forehead. “Of course! He was with Nathan. They’re fine. I’ve already talked to Nathan. He’s hanging out in my lab with Sawyer. Come on, you can get the update.”
She started to slide her hand through my elbow, but I shook my head. “I want to stay near the nurses’ station,” I explained when she raised a quizzical brow.
“As soon as we get to the lab, I’ll call and tell them to let me know right away when he can have visitors.”
She didn’t wait and towed me along with her.
Violet was a force of nature. I did want to talk to Nathan.
He had actually seen Gabriel since it happened.
Violet was a phlebotomist and the manager at the hospital lab.
When we stepped into the lab's waiting area, I saw Nathan Winters sitting on a chair with Sawyer Hamilton, Violet’s husband, nearby.
As soon as he noticed me, Nathan straightened. “Gabriel’s fine, Nora. I have a message for you.”
“What’s that?” I asked, trepidation sliding through me.
“Gabriel wanted me to make sure you knew he loved you.” Nathan, with his almost black curls and rich blue eyes, looked so earnest when he spoke that a peculiar ache thumped in my heart.
He was typically lighthearted and carefree and always quick with a joke.
Just now, though, he was somber as he watched me.
The next thing I knew, Sawyer stood and grabbed a box of tissues off the table and all but shoved a few into my hands.
Violet curled her arm around my shoulders and squeezed. “Gabriel’s going to be okay. I just called over to the nurses’ station. They said it shouldn’t be long before he’s cleared for visitors.”
I sniffled and blew my nose. “Why is it taking so long? Did something go wrong?”
Violet shook her head quickly. “No, no. They said he’s doing well. I’m sure it won’t be long.”
I sat down in one of the chairs, slowly glancing amongst them and offering, “I’m sorry. I’m not usually such a mess.”
“No need to apologize,” Sawyer said with an easy shrug.
At that moment, the sound of footsteps coming down the inner hallway behind Violet’s desk reached me. I glanced over to see their young son making his way down the hallway, dragging his fingertips on the wall.
“All done, Mama,” he called. “I washed my hands!” He held up his small hands as he entered the waiting area, looking curiously at me and then his parents, a twitch of worry appearing between his brows.
Their son, Alec, probably had no idea why I was sitting in the waiting room crying.
Violet knelt beside him, lifting her hand and giving her son a high five.
My heart squeezed, almost painfully. Sawyer and Violet were another one of those couples—in love and happy.
Every happy couple made me think of Gabriel.
I only hoped I hadn’t screwed things up too much with him.
“Good job, buddy.” When Alec looked back toward me, Violet added, “Nora’s okay. Do you remember Gabriel?”
Alec peered over at me, replying, “She’s not Gabriel.”
I laughed and dabbed at my nose again. “No, I’m not Gabriel. Remember me? I’m Nora. I think I saw you last time at the grocery store.”
“She works out at that cool building,” Sawyer offered as Alec walked away from his mother over toward his father. Sawyer scooped him onto his lap.
“The octagon!” Alec announced.
“That’s the one,” I offered with a smile.
Sawyer stood when Alec wiggled on his lap.
He crossed to Violet’s side as he lowered his son to the floor and held his hand.
He leaned down to press a kiss to her temple before he glanced at Nathan and then me.
“I’m sure you could use a few minutes to get caught up.
” Looking back toward Violet, he added, “I’ll wait for you outside. Good to see you, Nora.”
As soon as Sawyer and Alec had disappeared down the hallway, Nathan looked toward me and asked, “Would you like an update?”
It occurred to me then that he probably hadn’t wanted to explain everything that happened in front of a child who would likely have tons of questions.
Violet paused beside me. “I’m closing down for the evening, so you two can chat away. Nobody will be stopping by. I’ll hear the phone ring when the nursing station calls. I promise.”
She squeezed my shoulder lightly before spinning away and circling behind the desk again.
She began tapping away on a laptop while Nathan explained what happened.
“Long story short, we responded to a mayday call for a boat taking on water. After we got the majority of the passengers to safety, we had to pull closer because two passengers hadn’t made it to the lifeboat.
That’s when Gabriel dived in to help a woman struggling to reach the throw ring.
Some debris struck his leg and cut him.”
I absorbed the information and took a breath. “How bad is the cut?”
“He’s got a pretty big gash. The EMTs told me they were worried about cleaning it.
Then he was freezing after being in the water.
It was a series of events that went from not that bad to bordering on hypothermia.
But he’s fine. I promise. He was really worried about talking to you.
I didn’t want to call you before because he didn’t sound good, and I was concerned it would scare you. ”
“Scare me? How would that scare me?” I sputtered.
Nathan’s smile was gentle. “His teeth were chattering, and he could hardly talk. I figured I would see you here.”
I leaned back in the chair, letting out a tattered sigh. It helped to know what had happened, but now I just wanted to make sure Gabriel was okay and warm. What if they weren’t checking on that?
“Stop catastrophizing,” Violet called from where she was.
I looked over at her. “What do you mean?”
“You’ve got a look on your face, the kind where you’re imagining every single horrible scenario. I promise he’s in good hands.” Just then, the phone on her desk rang, and she lifted the receiver swiftly.
I leaped from my chair. My knees were so wobbly they gave way, and I plunked down just as Nathan had stood to steady me.
Violet hung up the phone. “Go to the waiting room. The doctor’s headed down there to give you all an update.”
“I’m walking with you,” Nathan announced, curling his hand around my elbow when I stood again.
I hurried down the hallway, feeling shaky and unsettled.
I almost plowed an elderly woman over because I wasn’t even paying attention.
I might’ve been annoyed at Nathan’s offer to walk with me, but it turned out to be a good thing because he pulled me out of the way before I knocked the poor woman to the floor.
“I’m so sorry,” I blurted out.
Her eyes blinked in her weathered face as she cast a warm smile, clearly unperturbed. “You’re obviously in a rush, so you’d best get there.”
Seconds later, I practically skidded into the waiting area to find the doctor, Quinn, standing with Daphne and Flynn. Cat was sitting nearby, leaning forward in her chair as she listened.
“How is he?” I demanded when I stopped beside Quinn.
“Gabriel’s stable,” he said simply. Quinn’s steady presence soothed me.
“We’ll probably never know what kind of debris slammed into his leg, but it was sharp enough to give him a nice gash.
He’ll have a scar as a souvenir. Otherwise, he’s doing well, and his body temperature has returned to normal.
He didn’t need anesthesia, but I used a local anesthetic and sedated him while I cleaned and stitched his wound. ”
I’d known Quinn for years. He ran the family medical clinic in town, and he and his wife also ran a small guiding outfit in Alaska. We occasionally coordinated with them to send customers their way and vice versa.
Quinn smiled at me when all I managed to do was bob my head up and down in response. “He’s resting. Let’s start with one visitor at a time. I presume you’d like to go first.”
I glanced at Flynn, and he nodded. “Of course. Go. We’ll wait.”
It seemed like everyone considered Gabriel and me a couple, and I wasn’t sure how to handle that.
Quinn walked with me to the recovery room, placing his hand on my shoulder at the door.
“He’s tired, so don’t expect him to be functioning at full force.
He should be ready to discharge in about an hour or two.
The admin team will take care of the paperwork, and Gabriel will need to schedule with me to get the stitches removed. ”
I nodded impatiently, and then Quinn finally opened the door. I thought he was going to come in with me, but he gave me a light push between my shoulder blades. “Go on in. You can have some privacy.”
The sound of the door closing with a whisper and a soft click behind me was unnaturally loud in the quiet room. Gabriel’s auburn hair was bright against the white pillows. His eyes were closed as I approached the bed. My pulse tapped out a rapid and unsteady beat when I stopped beside him.
I couldn’t resist touching him, reaching for the hand that rested beside his hip. It was warm, and the moment I touched him, his fingers curled around mine. He rolled his head toward me and opened his eyes.
I promptly burst into tears. His eyes widened, and he moved to sit up, at which point I realized that was a bad thing. I pressed my palm to his chest. “I’m fine,” I insisted as I swiped at my tears. “I love you, and I’m sorry I screwed things up again.”
When he tried yet again to sit up, I shook my head. “Stop it. You need to rest.”
“Sit,” he said.
He shifted over, and I slid my hips on the side of the bed, keeping a hold of his hand and pulling it into my lap.
“I’m fine,” I repeated. I tried to take a breath and hiccupped instead. “I’m so glad you’re okay.” My words were a ragged whisper, and my emotions felt stretched beyond their limit. “I thought you were going to die.”
“I wasn’t even close to dying,” he said flatly.
He tugged his hand out of mine and pulled me into his arms. I clumsily shifted to rest against his side and breathe him in.
He smelled sterile, almost not like himself.
The antiseptic scent overlaid his usual crisp, masculine scent.
But it was there underneath, and I buried my head against his neck and took several deep breaths.
I could feel the steady thump of his heart under my palm where it rested on his chest, and a deep sense of relief washed through me.
Gabriel was alive, and he was okay, and that was all I really needed to know.
His palm circled in the center of my back, and he murmured into my hair, “You didn’t screw things up. We’re fine. We’re just not all that great at this.”
With a laugh, I sniffled against his neck before lifting my head. His mossy-green gaze was waiting for mine, and the love I saw there snatched my breath out of my lungs.
My laughter faded, and I lifted my hand to smooth one of his brows, explaining, “It was messy.”
His lips twitched at the corners, and I felt his fingers sifting through my hair. “Okay.” He stared at me somberly for a moment before adding, “I got defensive when you asked about my mom. I get tired of talking about her.” He lifted a shoulder in a slight shrug.
“Gabriel, you don’t have to talk about this now. I’m sorry I pressured you and then got upset.”
“You had a point. I know I love you, but I’m not used to what love means, and I’d rather just say it now.
We can talk more later. To clarify, I don’t talk about her much because it’s an old story.
At least to me. You know the basics, but you don’t know that the only reason she ever calls me is for money. I find I can’t tell her no.”
I leaned over and pressed a kiss on the underside of his jaw. Lifting my head again, I said, “No wonder it’s frustrating. I’m sorry.”
His lips twisted to one side. “It’s okay. I’ve accepted that I can’t change the situation, but I think I would hate myself if I didn’t help her when she needed it.”
“You really didn’t have to talk about this now,” I said softly.
“I know, but I wanted to,” he insisted.
I rested my head on his shoulder again, tracing the muscled planes of his chest through the thin sheet.
Because it was Gabriel and me, and we were plastered together in a bed, the familiar hum of desire shimmered in the air around us, a light net of sparks.
Because it was Gabriel, and he was that kind of man, he even tried to make a move on me, sliding his palm down my back, over the curve of my bottom, and giving me a light squeeze.
I rose up on an elbow. “Are you insane? For starters, we’re in a hospital, and someone could walk in at any time. Also, not now.” I scrambled away, resting my hips on the edge of the bed and keeping my hand curled around his. “You need to rest until you feel better.”
He rolled his eyes. “It’s just my calf. I can’t feel a thing right now.”
I couldn’t help my smile this time. Tears rolled down my cheeks, and I was laughing as joy was spinning in little pinwheels through my body.
“Any idea when they’re gonna let me get the hell out of here?”
“Soon, I hope. Quinn said in an hour or two.”