Chapter Twelve #2
“Good morning,” the gray-haired woman greeted them. “I’ve got some scrambled eggs and bacon for our patient. There’s also coffee and orange juice.” She pulled a table across Angelique’s lap and then placed the tray of food on top of it. “Sorry, Chief LeCroix, I’ve got nothing for you.”
“That’s okay,” he replied. “I ate before I came.”
“Enjoy, honey,” she said to Angelique, and then she left the room.
“Eat it while it’s warm,” he urged her.
“I’m really not overly hungry,” she said.
“At least try to eat a little,” he replied.
Dutifully she picked up a piece of toast and took a bite. “Eat some of those eggs. Don’t make me play the airplane game with you,” he said and was rewarded by her laughter.
“You’re still such a goof,” she said.
“I’m only a goof with you,” he replied. “Angelique…”
George Trahan strode into the room. “Angelique…oh God, Angelique, I’m so sorry.” He walked to the opposite side of her bed and pulled up a chair next to her. “Angelique, I had no idea… I didn’t know what she was planning to do to you.”
The man looked utterly miserable as he raked a hand through his hair and gazed at her. “I still can’t believe what she did. I can’t believe I was sleeping with a monster.”
“It’s okay, George. I don’t blame you for what happened,” Angelique replied.
“But I should have seen something… I should have somehow stopped it before it even started,” he replied. “I’m just so damned sorry.” He appeared to be on the verge of tears.
“George, really it’s okay. You have nothing to apologize for,” she said.
“I just wanted to stop by to make sure you’re going to be okay and to tell you I had no idea what she was up to. I still just can’t believe this happened. I thought I knew Desiree, but I sure didn’t know she was capable of something like this.”
He got up from the chair. “I just… I needed to see you and now I’ll just leave you to your breakfast.”
As he left the room, Dominique and Monique came in. Daniel had come to the hospital hoping to declare his undying love for Angelique, but there was too much traffic and the mood wasn’t right. He stayed another few minutes, and then he left to head to work.
One case was solved, but he still had a murder investigation to get back to. It was six o’clock when he left the police station and headed back to the hospital.
As always, he was eager to see her. He whirled into the room and stopped in his tracks. She was a sleeping beauty in the bed. Her hair was a cloud of darkness against the white pillowcase and her features were relaxed in slumber.
The last thing he wanted to do was wake her up. He slowly backed out of the room. Maybe a hospital wasn’t the right place to have a romantic interlude. Hopefully the right time would come very soon, but for now he decided the best thing to do was wait.
ANGELIQUE AWAKENED EARLY on her third day in the hospital. She felt well rested and much better than she had since the night she’d been brought in. She still had pain, but that was to be expected. It was going to take her some time to completely heal from Desiree’s attack.
It was finally over. She no longer had to look over her shoulder or be afraid to leave her shanty again. The person who had wanted her dead was now behind bars and according to Daniel she would be there for a very long time. There was no more reason for Angelique to be afraid.
She stared out the nearby window, where the sun was bright, promising another hot and humid day. She was hoping she would be released today. She felt as if she’d been granted a new life and she was eager now to go out and live it.
She was also eager to see Daniel again. She hadn’t seen him since the morning he had taken her report. Her heart squeezed tight as she thought of him. At least he no longer had to be concerned about the attacks on her.
All he had to deal with now was her mother’s murder.
Would he still be willing to meet with her to keep her updated on the case?
Would he still want to spend evenings with her just visiting and enjoying each other’s company?
Did he still believe himself in love with her or had he realized it wasn’t love after all.
It was just after noon when the doctor came in to see her. “The good news is you’re healing up quite nicely,” he told her.
“And what’s the bad news?” she asked.
“The bad news is it looks like we’ll have to do without your presence here because I’m releasing you to go home today,” he said with a smile.
“That’s wonderful news,” she replied. “I’m so ready to get back to my life.”
“I’m releasing you with the instructions that you get plenty of rest and don’t push yourself. Your body is still healing, and if you don’t behave yourself you’ll be right back here with me,” he said.
“I promise I’ll take care of myself,” she replied. “When can I leave?”
“All I need to do is write up the orders, and then I’ll send the nurse in and we’ll get you on your way.”
“Thank you, Dr. Harmon.” The moment he left the room, she got on the landline on the stand next to her bed and called Dominique to get a ride home.
Her cell phone was in her purse, but it was dead.
She also asked that Dominique bring her some clean clothes to put on.
The blouse she’d worn on the night of the attack was ruined.
Thank goodness the two sisters wore the same size.
It was forty-five minutes later when she walked out of the hospital doors with Dominique at her side. She’d had a quick shower and was now clad in a pair of Dominique’s jeans and a button-up sleeveless red blouse.
“I’ll bet you’re eager to get home,” Dominique said.
“I am. I have a lot of things to do to get the shop up and running,” Angelique replied.
“Don’t overwork yourself, sis. You’re not back to one hundred percent yet and won’t be for a while. You’ve been through a terrible trauma.”
“I know, but thank God I’m here to talk about it,” Angelique replied. As she thought of those moments of fighting with Desiree, even now a residual fear worried through her.
They reached Dominique’s car and got inside, then headed toward the swamp entrance. “Are you off work today?” Angelique asked.
“No, I’m working the evening shift. Isn’t it nice that you don’t have to be afraid anymore?”
“That is nice,” Angelique replied. “I still can’t believe it was Desiree who was after me. In a million years I would have never guessed she was the one behind the attack. Thank God it’s all finally over.”
As they continued on, Angelique told her sister about the people who had come to visit her. “George came in and was absolutely distraught about what had happened. I felt sorry for him.”
“He had no clue what Desiree was up to?”
“He said he didn’t, and I believe him. Nola came in to visit me, too. She’s hoping that now that my attacker is in jail, the police will focus on solving Mama’s murder.”
“We all want that,” Dominique replied. By then they had reached the swamp’s entrance. Dominique parked and they both headed in.
“Thanks for coming to get me,” Angelique said when they reached Dominique’s shanty.
“No problem, and you’ll call me if you need anything?” Dominique asked.
“I will, but I’m sure I’ll be fine.” The two parted ways and Angelique continued on to her shanty.
When she reached it, she went inside and looked around. There was no sign of the life-or-death battle that had occurred in here. She sank down on the sofa.
She had consciously not thought about Daniel the whole time she’d been in the hospital, but now her thoughts were filled with him.
The last time he’d been here, he had saved her life. Had he not come in the front door when he had, there was no doubt in her mind that she would have been killed.
She frowned. And why had he shown up on that night? They hadn’t set up a check-in for that night. There had been no reason for his impromptu visit. So, why had he come? And why had it taken her so long to ask him?
It was a question she intended to ask him the next time she saw him. At thoughts of seeing him again, her heart squeezed tight.
She was in love with him. She hadn’t wanted to be, she had absolutely fought against it but it had happened. She had fallen deeply in love with him, but her love for him scared her to death.
She got up and went outside and turned on her generator.
She needed to make several orders today of items for the store.
Then, a week before opening she would go out into the swamp and gather the flowers and foliage she needed to make the all-natural poultices and tinctures she wanted to offer to her patrons.
It was an exciting time for her…the realization of a long-held dream. Hopefully it would fill up the empty hours of the evenings when she’d become so accustomed to sharing time with Daniel.
As if summoned by her thoughts alone, a knock fell on her door and it was the very man she had been thinking about.
“Daniel,” she greeted him and her heart expanded with warmth. As usual, he looked ridiculously handsome in his official blue uniform.
“Hi, Angelique.” He greeted her with a wide smile that only increased the warmth inside her. “The doctor told me you’d been released today, so I thought I’d come by to see you.”
“Come on in.” She held the door open wider so he could enter. His familiar scent wrapped around her as he sank down on the sofa. “Would you like something to drink?”
“No, I’m fine. How are you feeling?” His gaze held hers and she wanted to fall into the beautiful blue depths of his eyes.
She sat next to him. “I feel okay…maybe just a little bit tired and my wounds still hurt, but that’s to be expected. I was just getting ready to order some things I intend to sell in the store.”
“That must be exciting for you.”
“It is,” she replied. “I’m hoping to have the grand opening in about two weeks.”
“Wow, that’s a real fast track. Make sure you don’t overdo things.” There was a deep caring in his gaze.
“I won’t.”
“You do realize I’m going to continue to do everything in my power to find your mother’s killer,” he said.
“I know that, but Daniel, I do have a question for you. I was thinking about the night of the attack and I wondered why you showed up here that night? We hadn’t made any plans to meet.”
“True, we hadn’t made plans, but I needed to talk to you that night.”
She looked at him in confusion. “Talk to me about what?”
“About how much I love you.” His words hung in the air for a long moment, and then he reached for her hand. “Angelique, I’m deeply in love with you. I want to marry you. I want you to have my children and I want to build a future with you.”
“Daniel… I…” She started to pull her hand from his, but he held on tight.
“Look me in the eyes, Angelique. Look me in the eyes and tell me you don’t love me.”
She held his gaze for a long moment and then looked away. She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t deny her love for him any longer. “Daniel, I am in love with you.” The words fell from her on a soft whisper. “But you know how I feel about these things. I don’t trust in love.”
“Dammit, Angelique, then trust in me.” He dropped her hand and instead stood and began to pace in front of her. “There is nothing for you to be afraid of with me. I will love and honor you for as long as we both live, and then I’ll continue loving you through eternity.”
He paced in front of her as he continued. “Fear is facing a killer who is holding a knife over your chest. Fear is not knowing when an attacker might strike again. But there’s no place for fear in love…not in the love I offer to you.”
He stopped pacing and fell to a knee in front of her. His eyes shimmered with a wealth of emotion that stole her breath away.
“If you love me, then believe in me,” he said softly. “If you really love me, then let your fears go. Make me the happiest man on earth…marry me, Angelique.”
“Okay,” she replied.
He stared at her for a long moment. “For real?”
She laughed as a rush of sheer happiness winged through her. “Yes, for real.”
He grabbed her hands and pulled her up and into his arms. “What made you change your mind?” he asked.
“I lived with fear the whole time Desiree was after me, and when you saved me that night it was like I was gifted a whole new life. I don’t want to live in fear anymore. I want to live with you and be your wife. I want to have your babies and…”
His mouth took hers in a kiss that spoke of desire and an everlasting love. When the kiss ended, he held her gaze. “Do you promise to keep me safe from dancing deer in pink bikinis?”
She laughed. “I promise,” she replied. “You are such a goof.”
“I’m your goof,” he replied and then claimed her lips once again. She kissed him with all the love she had in her heart. She trusted in him. More than anything she trusted in them. Together they were going to have a marvelous life together, and she couldn’t wait for it to begin.