Chapter 14
CHAPTER 14
Love can come at any age, and only a fool would ignore it. ~ The Lady Elks Secret Archives
The hospital smelled like wet snow and disinfectant and reminded Hawk of the days he’d spent in a hospital bed for too long. Christmas decorations covered the walls, but even a jolly cutout of Santa failed to calm him. He shoved a shiver away and finished escorting Mrs. Poppins to the exit, where a deputy waited to drive her home in the darkened blizzard.
She’d sat with Mrs. Hudson for a short time, and once Henry was pronounced to be doing all right after a mild heart attack, she’d promised to return the next day. Hawk moved to the small hallway to glance inside the room where Mrs. Hudson rocked next to Henry’s bed, his gnarled hand encased in both of hers.
Dawn stood outside the doorway and Hawk slipped an arm over her shoulders, his ears still ringing from the crash. “You okay? ”
She nodded, her gaze on the sweet scene inside the room. “Fine. How’s your face?”
It ached a little, but the bleeding had stopped. “All good.” What was one more little scar in the scheme of things? He brushed damp hair away from her face and took inventory, from her wet boots to her tired eyes. “Why don’t I get somebody to take you home?”
She turned. “I’d like to see Reese.”
Hawk drew her away from the room and toward the quiet waiting area, not having the energy to argue. “The doctor said we can’t see him for a few minutes while they do more tests, and we can’t talk to the guy who was in the car with him because he’s out from the morphine.”
“Reese had a partner?” she asked.
“Or an employee,” Hawk said.
Dawn rubbed her arms and dropped onto an orange plastic chair. “What was your phone call about earlier?”
Hawk sat next to her and took her small hand in his. “Information from Reese’s crew on what they knew, which wasn’t much. I hope to get more from him.” None of the night was making a lot of sense, and he needed answers and now. If Meyer had found Reese outside of town, then the bastard knew where Hawk lived, which might put everyone he cared about in danger. But it was just as likely that something else had happened to Reese that had nothing to do with Meyer.
Dawn shook her head. “The doctor said that Reese and the other guy were injured in a fight outside of town. I heard them talking to one of Quinn’s deputies. A fight with whom? ”
“I don’t know.” Frustration crawled like fire ants through Hawk’s gut. He couldn’t relax until he discovered who’d hurt Reese.
Doc Mooncaller ambled into the waiting room, a tablet in his hands, his white coat wrinkled.
Hawk stood. “Doc? I thought your rounds here were just once a month?”
Doc glanced up from the tablet, his aged eyes focusing. With his hair braided down his back, his weathered Native American features and worn boots, he looked like he should be out riding horses and not studying charts. “We have a couple of local doctors gone at a conference, so I’m helping out.”
Dawn stood and slipped her hand into Hawk’s. “How are Reese and his partner?”
The simple touch somehow calmed Hawk’s turmoil and let him focus. “Can I see Reese?” he asked.
Doc nodded. “They’ll both be fine, although the other guy, Lenny Zonas, is out from the morphine we gave him. Broken arm, square across the left bicep. Go see Reese. Darn, but he’s a cranky one. Almost as bad as you were, Hawk.”
Hawk cleared his throat. “Thanks.” Keeping a hold of Dawn, he maneuvered down the hallway to a room in the back. There wasn’t a chance the woman would stay in the waiting room, so he didn’t even ask.
They found Reese propped up in a hospital bed, bruises along the right side of his face and his right arm in a cast. Even in the bed, he looked tougher than ever. Long, lean, and muscled. His dark hair had been cut shorter than last time he’d been in town. “Is Zonas conscious yet?” Reese spat out, fury in his eyes.
Hawk shook his head and pulled Dawn into the room and away from the hall, just in case. “No. Is he in danger?” Maybe they should call the sheriff and get protection.
“Hell yes, he’s in danger.” Reese rubbed his bruised jaw and winced. “I’m gonna fucking kill him.” He coughed. “Begging your pardon, Dawn.”
Dawn hurried forward and pressed a kiss against his forehead. “What happened?”
Hawk narrowed his focus. Reese was injured on the right side, and Zonas on the left? He quickly calculated scenarios. “Are you kidding me?” he muttered. “You and Zonas fought with each other? In the car?”
“Yes.” Reese leaned back against the pillows, his lips pinched in what appeared to be pain. “He’s a fairly new hire, and I liked him. Turns out he’s the one who has been sending information to Meyer. That’s how the crew was able to break Meyer out.”
Hawk lifted his head. Well, at least that was one question answered. “What else has he told Meyer?”
“I don’t know.” Reese scrubbed bruised knuckles down his face. “We were in the car, almost here, and something made me suspicious. The way he was asking questions. So I pulled a gun, we fought, and both ended up here.”
Hawk breathed in slowly. “Does he know about me? That I live here?”
Reese focused intelligent eyes. “I don’t think so. All I’ve told him is that I have contacts in Montana that we needed to reach, and I’ve never used your name.”
That was good old Reese. The guy wouldn’t give his own mother unnecessary information. “You sure he doesn’t know?” Hawk asked.
“He shouldn’t, especially since all of your land holdings are currently in the Lodge-Freeze name.” Reese flexed his hand.
Hawk’s shoulders relaxed. Even so, he’d have a nice chat with Zonas first thing in the morning, just to make sure.
Dawn glanced toward Hawk. “That’s good, right?”
He forced a smile. “Yes. We’re safe.”
She smiled. “Good.” Then she turned back toward Reese. “It’s nice to see you here at home.”
An instant smile transformed Reese from a deadly operative to a goofy guy in a hospital bed. “This isn’t home. I’m just visiting.”
Dawn smoothed down the bedclothes. “Right. That’s what they all say. Everybody needs a home base and a place to relax, and you have that here. You feel it. Not only that, here you could have a great life, you know?”
“I like your point of view,” Reese whispered, his voice beginning to slur. “Sometimes you gotta take a chance at enjoying life and forget fighting death, you know?”
The words hit Hawk hard and dead center.
Reese shut his eyes. “Strong morphine.”
Dawn leaned over and patted his arm. “Go to sleep. We’ll be back tomorrow.” She straightened and headed over to Hawk to take his hand. The movement was so natural now, he felt something in his chest ease. Finally.
Maybe it was time for him to take a chance on life. A real chance.
Dawn followed Hawk from the room, well accustomed to his way of scouting any new path before moving out of her way. He’d been a soldier, and he’d been on more than one protective detail, according to Colton. So Hawk would probably always scout the area.
Worked for her.
She also hadn’t missed the expression on Hawk’s face when Reese had talked about living instead of fighting death. Shock and maybe hope? Had Reese somehow, in his drug-induced chattiness, finally gotten through to Hawk Rain?
“I want to check on Mrs. Hudson,” Dawn whispered.
Hawk led the way down to Henry’s room, where hushed voices could be heard.
“This is it, Patty. I wanna get married before I die,” Henry said, his legs moving restlessly under the blankets.
Dawn paused before entering the room. Mrs. Hudson sat facing the bed, her small form barely filling the chair but blocking Henry’s face.
“You’re not going to die, you old fool,” she murmured, leaning forward to smooth the blankets into place.
“We’re all gonna die.” Henry coughed and then settled back down. “I’ve loved you my entire life, Patty Hudson. In grade school, when I was away in the service, and even when you married my best friend.”
Hawk pulled Dawn back against his chest, and she settled in, knowing full well they should leave the older couple alone. But something about Henry’s tone and Mrs. Hudson’s posture kept Dawn in place and holding her breath.
Please say yes.
Mrs. Hudson shook her head. “Love is for younger folks.”
“Love is for us,” Henry countered. “Please Patty. For whatever time we have left, let’s share a name.”
Tears pricked Dawn’s eyes.
“Well.” Mrs. Hudson patted his hand. “I guess I’m ready to settle down. You sure you’re ready for me all the time?”
Henry chuckled. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”
Dawn bit back a laugh as Hawk turned her away from the door. She discreetly wiped her eyes. It looked like happily ever after had arrived for another couple in Maverick County. As she followed the stoic ex-soldier from the hospital, she had to wonder.
Would she get hers with Hawk?