Chapter 2 #2
“Well, I’m happy to be your delightful new babysitter,” Sawyer comments as he pulls the sucker from his mouth.
It’s a habit he’s taken up recently. Something I’m pretty sure has everything to do with trying to distract himself in any way, now that the woman he’s secretly in love with is in a serious relationship with an FBI agent based out of Savannah, Georgia.
“We can even braid each other’s hair. I also happen to give an amazing manicure. ”
“Fantastic,” I reply, already regretting my decision. “Maybe Cowboy is up for staying.”
Sawyer snorts. “Why do you hurt me when I show you nothing but love?” He turns to Alex. “You can count on me.” Sawyer offers a mock-salute, then drops down in a chair by the bed. The same one Katelyn was sitting in when I woke up.
I have to admit, I’d much prefer her to be there again. Even given the fact that she pepper-sprayed me in my own apartment.
“Great. Then tomorrow we’ll look you over, and as long as everything looks good, you can head home.”
“Thanks, Alex,” I say.
“You’re welcome. How’s your pain?”
“Manageable.”
“You’re sure you don’t want anything? I wouldn’t let them when you were brought in, but if you’re hurting—”
“Nah, I’m fine,” I reply, although it’s far from the truth. I hurt worse now than when the blade first pierced my skin.
“Then I’ll be back to check on you later.” He offers me a friendly smile before leaving the room.
I can feel Sawyer staring at me, so I turn toward him, only to see a bright grin on his face. “Want to tell big brother what happened?”
“First of all, we’re the same age. Second, not really. Who called you?”
“Rose. She tried Zane first, but since he and Tessa are out of pocket on their honeymoon boat trip, I was next on the list.”
I’m not surprised that Rose made the call. She’s a nurse here at the hospital and a surrogate mother to all who come into this place. Since I imagine my neighbor had no idea who to call, she took it upon herself to notify someone.
Zane Knox, a man I served under when I was a Navy SEAL, married his high-school sweetheart last week in a private ceremony right here at the hospital. Afterward, they’d taken off on a sailing trip eighteen years in the planning.
“Fantastic. Weston and Ryker weren’t available?” I ask, honestly wishing any other member of my team could have come. Weston Hayes, AKA Cowboy, and Ryker Granger, AKA Tank, are both quiet men, and neither of them would be giving me a hard time right now.
Probably.
“You know you love me,” Sawyer replies. “Seriously, though, what happened? Rose said something about you being pepper-sprayed?”
“My neighbor thought I was dead.”
“So she pepper-sprayed you?” His grin is infuriating. “That seems like a perfectly logical way to treat someone coming back to life.”
“She heard me break a glass in my apartment and came in. It was dark. She wasn’t expecting me—and, well. You know the rest.” I close my aching eyes and lean back against the pillow.
“So,” he says, trying to keep his voice steady but failing. I can hear the laugh he’s trying to hide. “You were pepper-sprayed in your own apartment. That’s got to be a first.”
“She kept apologizing. It was an accident.”
“One we will no doubt laugh about weeks from now.” Sawyer stands. “I am glad you’re okay. I need to check in with Anastasia; she was worried about you, too. I asked, and you don’t have any dietary restrictions. Want a coffee?”
“Please.”
“You’ve got it.” Sawyer pauses by the bed, his expression and tone turning serious. “Stop almost dying, Demo. You’re shaving years off my life.”
I grin up at him. Sawyer might be the most sarcastic man I’ve met, but he has a huge heart, and there are very few others I’d trust the way I trust him. “I’ll work on that.”
“Good. I’ll be back in a few.” He leaves the room, though the door remains cracked. Just as I’m closing my eyes again, a faint knock draws my attention.
“Come in.” My throat burns as I call out, but seconds later, Katelyn moves through the doorway, and my body warms for a different reason. Which, in my current predicament, makes absolutely no sense.
She’s gorgeous. The kind of understated beauty that steals my breath—a poor choice of words at this present moment, but it’s the truth.
More than once over the past few months since she moved in, I’ve lingered outside my apartment, hoping to pull her in for a conversation.
But her hours are all over the place, and I started feeling like a creeper, so I gave up and just decided that, if a conversation was meant to happen between us, it would.
Bright hazel eyes stare back at me as she comes to stand beside my bed. “An apology doesn’t make up for it, but I am so sorry.”
“It’s okay. Thanks for saving my life. Again. You’re the one who found me before, right?” That’s what they’d told me, at least. That my neighbor found me lying in a puddle of my own blood, clinging to life, and called the emergency in.
She kept pressure on my wound, unyielding despite being inches from a man I’d killed just before getting stabbed.
“I did what any normal person would do.” She takes a seat in the chair.
“The doctor told me, if you hadn’t gotten pressure on the injury when you did, I would have been dead before the paramedics arrived.
So, thank you,” I say again. “Ironically, I planned on coming by tomorrow and bringing you cookies or something. Are cookies enough for saving someone’s life these days? I forget.”
My joke earns a slight smile, and my heart leaps at the sight of it.
When her expression turns somber again, the entire room darkens as though someone took the sun out of the sky.
“It’s my fault you’re lying here again. I’m so sorry,” she says again.
“When I heard the glass break, I thought someone had come back to steal from you since—well, you were supposed to be dead.”
“So you went in armed with pepper spray to stop a robbery?”
“I had 9-1-1 dialed and ready if need be.”
The fact that she was so willing to put herself at risk makes my stomach churn. What if it hadn’t been me? What if someone else had decided to take advantage of my not being home? Stormwatch Landing is a safe place, but it’s not without its problems.
“They had to tell everyone I was dead,” I tell her. “I’m sorry for the lie. I imagine you probably wouldn’t have assumed someone was breaking in if you’d known I was alive.”
Her eyes darken slightly, and if I’m not mistaken, there’s a hint of pain hidden in them. Darkness she likely tries really hard to ignore. “I really am glad you’re okay.”
“That makes two of us.” Exhaustion is already pulling me under again, but I don’t want this conversation to end. Not when I’ve been trying to get her attention for the last few months. “Well, you’ve saved my life twice now, and we haven’t even properly met yet. I’m Garrison Holt.”
“Katelyn Ellis. And since I’m the one who nearly killed you that second time, I shouldn’t get the credit.”
“I’m giving it to you anyway,” I reply. “How did you know what to do to rinse it out, by the way? Do you have a lot of experience with pepper spray?”
She shifts in her seat, a telltale sign of discomfort. “Just intuition.” She stands. “I need to get my son home. I left my number with your nurse, so if there’s anything you need, please let me know. I want to help. It’s the least I can do.”
I hate that she’s already leaving, but I can also see her flight response in action. The fact that she is taking the blame for my being back in the hospital clearly has her spooked. “Thank you, Katelyn. Seriously, it’s no big deal at all. Just an accident.”
She smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. “You’re welcome, Garrison. I hope you feel better soon.”