Twenty-five
Blaze
“Only two at a time.”
Those had been the words the doctor said before escorting Harlow’s parents out of the waiting room to where their daughter was lying in a hospital bed.
She was alive.
She’d survived.
And she was expected to make a full recovery.
As it turned out, Harlow had suffered those two gunshot wounds. The one to her leg was, surprisingly, the one that was likely to cause her the most trouble in her rehabilitation. Fortunately, no major arteries or veins had been hit.
By some miracle, the gunshot wound to the head was the best-case scenario. The bullet had glanced off her skull. It resulted in a significant amount of blood loss, and it was likely Harlow was going to experience a colossal headache, but no other significant damage had been done.
She was resting now, and we could visit with her, but only two people could be there at one time.
So, her parents went first.
And more waiting was akin to torture.
God, I just wanted to see her. To hold her and kiss her and promise to do better in everything for her.
But since I had to wait, I couldn’t have been more grateful than to see Huck and Greyson walk in. Forrest and I moved in their direction.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“How’s Harlow?” Huck returned.
“Her parents just went back to see her,” I shared. “She’s alive. She was lucky.”
Nodding, Huck said, “That’s good news. We wanted to update you on everything. We waited at the salon for the police and told them what we knew. Someone is going to have to head over there to deal with locking up the place and working out the details of entry, since it’s technically a crime scene.”
“I don’t trust myself to leave here right now, but I’ll talk to her brothers about it,” I said. “Where do we stand with this Laura woman? Have you talked to Royce?”
Greyson didn’t hesitate to ease the concerns I had. “He’s already on top of it. I got a call from him when we pulled into the lot here. He’s working closely with the Steel Ridge PD, and they’re set to make an arrest before the night is over. They want to move quickly, working on the presumption that this woman believed her attempt to kill Harlow was successful and nobody knows yet that she’s the one responsible.”
Some of the tension that had been coursing through my body eased a bit. While Laura hadn’t been caught just yet, I could rest assured it wouldn’t be long before she was. I trusted Royce and everyone else involved in would do whatever was necessary to find the woman who needed to be held accountable.
“I don’t think I’ll be leaving here anytime soon, so will one of you make sure someone keeps me updated on what’s happening?” I asked.
“Of course, Blaze. You know that without having to ask,” Huck returned.
I gave him a nod in return, and a few minutes later, Harlow’s parents entered the room again. Everyone’s eyes went to them, but I didn’t stop there. My feet carried me across the room and over to them, just as Kevin and Austin got there, too.
“How is she?”
If I thought I’d been carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders earlier, it didn’t compare to what I was seeing with Gary and Kim. Their expressions had me bracing for the worst.
“She just looks like she’s sleeping, but the bandages around her head and tubes going into her body tell a different story,” Gary returned. “I know she’s in there and that they expect her to recover, but I don’t think I’ll be able to rest until she wakes up.”
I would have told Gary that he and I shared the same sentiment, but I didn’t think it was necessary. I believed he knew I felt exactly as he did.
Not wanting to delay being able to see her, I turned to her brothers and asked, “Do you two want to go see her next?”
Kevin and Austin looked at one another before returning their attention to me. That’s when Austin said, “We’ll split up, so you can go in to see her now. I’ll go in with you first, then I’ll swap out with Kev.”
“Are you sure?”
He nodded. “Yeah. That’s what Harlow would want anyway.”
With that, Austin and I took off out of the room and made our way to Harlow’s room. We didn’t talk as we went there. I couldn’t speak for him, but I was entirely too worked up about what I’d see once we walked in that room. I didn’t trust myself to say anything.
Before too long, we made it to Harlow’s room, and at the sight of her in that bed, I fully understood the looks I’d seen on her parents’ faces only minutes earlier.
There was a mix of emotions I felt. Somehow, there was a sense of peace lingering there, which I assumed was attributed to not only the fact Harlow was expected to make a full recovery, but also that she wasn’t covered or surrounded by blood.
But there was also one wave of regret after another that pounded into me. I should have done things differently. If only I hadn’t been so selfish, she wouldn’t be here like this now.
After taking her in, I moved toward her. Austin moved to the opposite side of the bed. Maybe I was supposed to be mindful of how he intended for his visit with her to go, but I couldn’t think about anything other than my need to touch her.
I curled fingers around her hand, felt the warmth there that had been missing at the salon, and bent down to kiss her knuckles. My lips lingered there. “I’m so sorry, baby,” I whispered.
Harlow didn’t respond.
And throughout the remainder of the time Austin was in the room with me and even when Kevin came in, she still didn’t wake up. An announcement was eventually made about visiting hours being over, and Harlow’s father walked in.
“Blaze, son, would you mind giving us a moment?” Gary asked.
I didn’t want to leave her, but I realized I had no right to keep her parents from spending some time with her, either.
So, I gave him a nod, kissed her once more, and walked out of the room. As Gary and Kim walked back in to see their daughter, I waited outside for them. Kevin and Austin did the same. There was still so much heaviness in the air, something I believed would remain until we officially had her back.
When her parents finally emerged from the room and her brothers went in, I thought it was important to tell them where I stood.
“She won’t be alone,” I said.
“Pardon?”
“I’m not leaving her here alone,” I clarified. “I’ll be spending the night with her.”
Something moved through their features, and I had all but two seconds to see it before Kim stepped forward and wrapped her arms around me. “Thank you, Blaze. She’s so lucky to have you.”
“I’m the reason she’s here, so I think we’ll have to agree to disagree on that,” I returned quietly.
She loosened her hold on me and stepped back. After allowing her eyes to roam over my face, she asked, “Did you tell her what was happening with work?”
I nodded.
“Did you give her the opportunity to steer clear of you?”
“Yes.”
“And are you going to see to it that the person responsible for doing this to her is apprehended?”
“It’s already being taken care of,” I assured her.
“Then you need to let go of the guilt you feel about this. She’s here, and she’s alive. Focus on that, and focus on how things are going to be when she opens her eyes again,” Kim demanded.
As soon as she said those words, I turned my attention to Gary. Before I could stop myself, I said, “I’m going to marry your daughter, sir. Weeks ago, I realized how much she changed my life, and I knew I didn’t want to ever live without her. I wanted to give us some time to just be together like we’ve been. What happened tonight changes everything for me, so I hope you’ll know that I mean no disrespect when I say I intend to propose to her in the very near future, and I’d appreciate your blessing.”
Gary stared at me for several long moments. He studied me, his expression never once revealing what was going through his mind. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he said, “We’ll be honored to welcome you to our family.”
I let out a sigh of relief, and a few seconds later, Austin and Kevin exited Harlow’s room.
After saying goodbye to her family, I walked back into the room, pulled up a chair, and held Harlow’s hand. And for the first time since I’d realized just how much trouble she was in, I finally allowed myself to succumb to the emotions that had threatened to fall all day long.
Harlow
“That’s some good news. I’m relieved to hear it.”
I heard the deep voice before I saw the face I loved so much that went with it. At the same time, I felt the warm, protective hold of his hand on mine.
Unable to deny myself the privilege of seeing him, I forced my eyes open.
It was everything I could do not to burst into tears. If I thought it would have been physically possible to do it, I would have jumped out of the bed and into his arms.
Something squeezed in my chest at the sight of Blaze sitting beside my bed, holding my hand in his while he attempted to speak quietly on the phone.
I took some time to just let it settle.
I never thought I’d have this again. I never thought I’d get the opportunity to see him, to feel his touch, to tell him how much I loved him.
It had to be by some miracle or divine intervention that I was still alive. Whatever the reason, I was beyond grateful.
Maybe it was the result of all that I was feeling, or perhaps I just wanted him to know I was awake, but I eventually squeezed my fingers around his.
Blaze’s eyes came to mine, something warm and sweet immediately washing over him.
“I’ve got to go,” he said to whoever was on the phone. There was a brief pause before he spoke again. “Yeah. Thanks for the update. Later.”
Blaze pulled the phone from his ear, turned fully to face me, and seemed to need to take the same time to look at me as I had done to look at him.
“Jesus, baby, it’s so good to see you awake,” he croaked.
Tears filled my eyes. “I didn’t think I was ever going to see you again.”
Blaze stood, bent over the side of the bed, and touched his lips to mine. “I love you, Harlow. Fuck, I thought I lost you.”
“I’m here,” I assured him, even though I couldn’t quite believe I was saying those words.
He kissed me once more, sat back down, and asked, “How do you feel? Are you in any pain?”
I took a second to consider his question. “My leg is throbbing a bit. I might have a headache, too.”
Nodding, he said, “The doctor said that was a strong possibility. We’ll call someone in here to see if they can give you something.”
“Not yet. Can you tell me what’s going on? How long have I been out?”
“It’s early Sunday morning,” he confirmed. “Your brothers went to your salon and called your appointments for the next week to let them know you were in the hospital. You were in surgery for a few hours on Friday when you got here, and you were in and out of it yesterday, only opening your eyes a handful of times for a few seconds. Your parents were here all day yesterday, kicking me out at one point and forcing me to go home, grab a shower, and get something to eat. I’ve been spending my nights here by your side.”
“Do you know who did this to me?” I asked him.
He nodded. “You told me when I found you in the salon.”
“You were the one who found me?”
“Yeah,” he murmured, shaking his head. “I’ll never forget that day for the rest of my life. God, I thought I was never going to hear your voice again.”
I knew it.
I knew he was going to go there to make sure I was okay. And I knew it was going to kill him if something happened to me.
Luckily, he didn’t have to face that horror.
“I’m sorry,” I lamented.
“Baby, you didn’t do anything wrong. This was my fault. I’m sorry. I should have done things differently. I should have… fuck, it kills me to say this, but I should have pulled back from you until I managed to get this case solved. You never should have been in the position you were in.”
Blaze’s voice was ragged. He blamed himself for the actions of someone else.
I pulled my hand from his and touched his cheek. “It’s just as much your fault as it is mine, Blaze. I was merely apologizing because I hate to think about what you went through these last couple of days. But you aren’t responsible for what happened to me. That woman is the only one responsible.”
He nodded slowly and shared, “She’s been arrested. They took her in that night, and once they told her you specifically named her and had survived, she confessed to everything. Of course, she didn’t feel any remorse and wholeheartedly believes she did the right thing to avenge her father. I’m not going to get into the details of what he did right now, but just know that he deserved the punishment that was handed to him. His actions impacted a lot of people.”
“I believed that was the case when she told me why she was doing what she was doing,” I said. “I’m glad she’s been arrested. How did you know something was wrong?”
“We got a note at the office, and I just had this gut feeling. But let’s not worry about all those details right now. Let’s just focus on you getting healed up so I can take you home.”
I held his gaze and felt the corners of my mouth tip up. “Am I going to be okay?”
“They expect you to make a full recovery,” he said proudly.
A full recovery.
I thought I was going to have some permanent damage that I’d have to learn to live with.
But I was going to be fine.
“I love you, Blaze.”
His fingers tightened around mine, his eyes getting wet. “I love you, too, Harlow.”
“Will you call the nurse in, so we can ask about pain medications? And while we wait for her, will you kiss me and try to make it all feel better?”
Blaze let out a laugh as he reached for the call button. “There isn’t anything you could ask me right now that I wouldn’t do for you.”
“That’s good to know.”
“For now, I’m going to kiss you until the nurse comes in. And once she does, I’m going to give your parents a call to let them know how you’re doing. I suspect they’ll be here within the next hour anyway.”
I closed my eyes and nodded my head slowly. “You should stop talking now.”
Blaze’s laughter filled the air again.
Then he touched his mouth to mine and kissed me until the nurse came in.
And sure enough, Blaze had been right.
My parents arrived within the hour, my brothers following shortly afterward.
Later that afternoon, because the doctor was happy with the progress I was making, I was transferred to a new room in the hospital.
I knew there was still likely to be a long road ahead of me, but I wasn’t afraid. I had the most supportive and loving family in the world. And I didn’t doubt the man I loved would be right by my side, walking that road with me.