Epilogue
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Burton sat outside the hospital ward, where he’d been for the bulk of the last week. When Sammy walked up once again, he looked up and smiled. “Hey.”
“You’re still here?” she asked, with a smile. “I figured you would be gone by now.”
“Nope. We’re not sure she’s out of danger yet.”
She frowned at him. “I thought they caught the husband. Timothy, wasn’t it?”
“They did, but he’s just a pawn and not the drug cartel boss. The bad guys don’t have their money yet, so there is still work to be done.”
“Right, which means that you’ll still be here for a bit,” she guessed, frowning.
“Maybe, … I’m not sure. Why? Am I in the way?”
She looked at him, then shook her head. “No, it’s just … you’ve become a mainstay. I’m not really sure what I’ll do when you’re gone.”
He smiled. “You could always go out with me, maybe for coffee or something.”
She stared at him and then flushed bright red. “Maybe,” she muttered, then darted into Talia’s curtained-off room. When she came back out, she was a little more composed.
“How is she doing?” Burton asked, holding back a grin.
“She’s coming along nicely. I hear they’re hoping to make arrangements for her to go home before long. She’ll need help with the babies, of course, and she’ll also need an aide to help her.”
“I know.” He snorted. “That’s what everybody keeps talking about. She’ll need help. I can attest to that.”
“She will. It’s a fact of life. Those babies won’t be easy to look after, particularly when she’s still got so much going on to heal her body, to get through rehab.”
“I hear you. I was just hoping that she could leave sooner.”
“I don’t think so yet, but I can’t be sure.” She patted him on the shoulder. “Anyway I’ll see you next time.” She looked back and asked, “Do you want a coffee or something?”
“I would love a coffee,” he said, with a smile. “I haven’t been able to get up and do much, so everything’s on hold while I keep an eye on her. Even coffee.”
“I really appreciate the fact that you’re doing that.” Then she stopped and asked, “Where do you work anyway? In security?”
He laughed. “No, I’m military, but I’m taking time off to help my buddy.” He nodded toward the room where Talia was in bed and added, “There’s just the two of them, brother and sister, and when my brother-in-arms put out the call, I came running.”
She smiled, her tone softening. “That’s good to hear. We need more people who are willing to do that.”
“We do, and sometimes you get to be that person, and, other times, it’s just hard,” he noted. “How long have you worked here?”
She smiled. “About three years now. I keep thinking there are other ways I could use my profession, but, for the moment, I’m here, and I’m happy to be working,” she shared. “Hang on tight, and I’ll be back with your coffee.”
He smiled and watched her sashay down the hallway.
She was one of those women who had that little hip check that went vroom-vroom.
It was natural, and, when she was in a rush, it really kicked into high gear.
He’d been watching it all week, telling himself not to be an idiot, that he had no time for this, but seeing how it appeared that Anderson had finally decided that he and Pamela would take it to the next level, maybe it wouldn’t be wrong for Burton to consider somebody himself.
It had been a while since his last relationship.
Quite a while, if he were honest. Mostly because a few times back it ended up being quite the shit show, and he’d been avoiding anything serious ever since.
But something about the triplets and seeing Anderson come together with Pamela made Burton realize that maybe, just maybe, it was time to try again.
As he watched Sammy come toward him with a cup of coffee, he realized it absolutely was time.
The trouble was, he was on duty, and so was she, and, in his case, it wasn’t something that would be resolved very quickly.
When she handed him the coffee, she smiled. “There you go, just for you.”
He called back as she walked away, “Thanks, I appreciate it.”
She lifted a hand, and then she stopped, turned to face him, and added, “So, if it’s not over, are we still supposed to be concerned about visitors who come and ask about her or who we see up here?”
He put the coffee down, turned, and eyed her with intensity. “Yes. Have you seen anybody?”
She frowned and nodded. “Yeah, I thought it was all over, and you would be leaving now,” she began, “so I didn’t really give it much credence. But somebody was here this morning. You were seated there, and he came, saw you, and then suddenly decided he was on the wrong floor.”
“Did he say that? Or you assumed that?”
“I have no idea why but I felt it. He might have really been on the wrong floor, but I don’t know that for sure.”
“What did he look like?”
She frowned and shared, “He looked really similar to her husband, but it couldn’t be him since he’s in jail, right?”