“Everything okay?” Jaelyn asked as I set my fork down and leaned back on the chair, exhaustion heavy after a long day. “I was surprised you had surgery so late.”
“I didn’t,” I admitted, rubbing my temples as I finished off my eggnog.
Rather than ask more questions, Jaelyn stood and cleaned up our dinner, then took my hand and walked with me into the living room. Without a word, she pulled me down to the couch and wrapped me in a hug. I grabbed her and held her to me, her warmth the balm I needed after the day I’d had. The scent of apples, cinnamon, and evergreen filled my senses, and peace washed over me again for just a moment as I held her in my arms.
“Something bad happened?” she asked, to which I nodded against the top of her head.
“I did have surgery today, but the last three hours were spent meeting with the lawyer and admin about a case that didn’t go as planned. It was the first case of the day, but I had to continue with the rest of the scheduled surgeries, so there was no choice but to postpone the meeting until I’d finished.”
“Is the hospital in trouble?” she asked, gazing up at me.
“Thank you for not asking if I was in trouble,” I said, trailing a finger down her cheek.
“It would never cross my mind,” she promised. “You’re a good man and a good doctor. If something bad happened, it was out of your control.”
“It sure was,” I agreed. “To a degree, anyway. I should have insisted they do a better preoperative evaluation, but I didn’t, and the patient died on my table in the middle of a knee replacement.”
“Major, I’m sorry,” she whispered, cupping my cheek tenderly. “Heart attack?”
“Blood disorder that we didn’t know about,” I said. “I can’t say more than that.”
“Understood,” she said. “But if it was a condition the patient didn’t know they had and wasn’t detected on common tests, then even a more extensive evaluation may not have produced the result.”
“I agree, as does the admin, but I still feel horrible. I’ll be adding some other bloodwork to my surgical requirements now. Had I known, there were things we could have done to protect the patient.”
“With knowledge comes power,” she whispered, and I nodded. “Now you know, so you can use it to empower.”
“Empower, yes. That’s a better word than power. I love you.” I dipped my head for a kiss that instantly made me feel better. That’s what she did for me every time, and I’d be a lucky man to have the opportunity to kiss her until the day I took my last breath.
“How was your day?” I asked, rubbing her arm as she snuggled into my side. “Busy?”
“As always,” she chuckled. “Ran into Gabe at the diner, and they have the name of the guy who robbed us.”
“What?” I asked, leaning back to meet her gaze. She was serious. “Why didn’t you mention it sooner?”
“You looked like you needed dinner and a drink without any drama, so I bided my time,” she answered with a shrug. “You’re going to hear about it at the hospital tomorrow, so I was planning to tell you before bed.”
“Tell me now,” I ordered as she sat up and ran her hands through her hair to straighten it. Now, when she wasn’t working, she left her hair down because she knew how much I loved to run my fingers through it. I hadn’t asked her to do that and never would, but she told me it made her feel sexy and powerful when my fingers wound into her hair on a moan.
Now is not the time for those kinds of thoughts, dude.
“He brought in a photo of the guy to see if I recognized his weight and height, but instead, I recognized a tattoo on his hand that was visible in the photo.”
“The guy had a tattoo?” I asked, shocked. “You never mentioned it.”
“I guess it was a repressed memory that was jogged when I saw the photo. That or having my brain a bit scrambled affected what I remembered. Either way, I was able to assure him it was indeed our guy. Luke West. He was released on probation from serving time for armed robbery. They put him in a halfway house in Lakewood, but he ditched quickly and hasn’t returned.”
“Does Gabe think we’re in danger? I don’t want you out and about alone until this guy is caught.”
Gently, she grasped my arm and squeezed, reassuring me that it was okay and I didn’t need to worry. “Gabe did his research and knows Luke isn’t in Bells Pass anymore. Everyone in the state is looking for him, so he said it’s only a matter of time before he’s caught. To be on the safe side, he’s asking businesses not to send their people out alone late at night. He’ll talk to the hospital about having security escort people to their vehicles out of an abundance of caution.”
“The guy sounds like trouble,” I said with a shake of my head. “Suddenly, I feel like we got lucky.”
“I think so too, but I’m not worried. Gabe has done the legwork to know the guy isn’t holed up in Bells Pass, so there’s nothing to worry about.”
“Unless he comes back through Bells Pass,” I pointed out.
“Possible, but not likely. He has to know the cops are looking for him, so chances are he’s headed for a big city where he can get lost.”
