When she woke up, it was about lunch time on Christmas day. She blinked and looked around the waiting room. How had she slept for nearly ten hours? At least she felt less tired than she had last night when they’d first arrived at the hospital.
A pretty blonde woman and an attractive brown-haired man who wore expensive, elegant looking clothes had joined Angelo’s family in the waiting room. Kara was still getting the sleep out of her eyes as Jared stood up to greet them. The woman hugged Jared and Angelo’s family, who had clustered all around her. She had no problem being the center of attention, but not in any kind of self-centered way. The man who accompanied her hung back to the edge of the room. Much like Kara, he carried the aura of an outsider.
“How’s Angelo doing?” the woman asked Jared.
“He was only stabbed once, but it was deep. The surgeon told us he came through the surgery well. He’s going to be okay. He’ll be able to have visitors once he’s awake. It might be another hour or so before he comes around.”
The woman glanced around the waiting room until her eyes settled on Kara, her eyes full of tears.
“That’s Kara. She’s the woman who rescued Angelo,” Jared said just loud enough for Kara to overhear but his voice broke a little. He’d been so well composed before. She could only assume reality was catching up with him, and all the might-have-beens that had been narrowly avoided.
Angelo’s life had to be a charmed one if he was surrounded by so many family and friends, people who were relieved and overjoyed to know he was going to be okay.
He must be an incredible man to foster such love and loyalty with so many people…
The woman turned back to Jared, her lips tightening in bravado. “Angelo is tough. He’ll pull through and be back in his restaurant, cooking in no time.” She kissed his cheek. “Where are Felicity and Hayley?”
That had to be Jared’s wife and daughter. Alessia had mentioned them earlier.
“At home. I didn’t want them here watching everyone stress over this. Hayley is at that age where she cries if she sees other people cry.” Jared smiled a little, but his expression was sad.
The woman speaking to Jared nodded in understanding. “Jared, you should go home. You have a family, and it’s Christmas. I’ll call you when Angelo’s awake. Thad and Veronica will be on a flight home tomorrow morning. It was the earliest they could manage.”
Jared seemed to think it over for a moment, and she knew he was weighing it in his mind.
“Seriously, Jared. You’ve been here all night. I’ll take over for at least half the day. At least go home and shower.”
“Okay, call me the minute he’s awake.” Jared told the blonde woman.
“I will,” she promised him.
Kara closed her eyes, hoping that no one would focus on her so she could try and sleep again. She was gently wakened a while later when a man in the elegant clothes held out a cup of hot chocolate. He was the man who’d come with the pretty blonde woman. It was from the hospital cafeteria, and probably as average as it got, but at that moment, that first sip was the best thing she’d ever tasted.
“Thank you.”
“I thought you could use something to warm up,” the man said, his smile compassionate. “I’m Roarke. Roarke Covington. I’m with Shana Pimms over there.” He nodded toward the blonde woman who was talking with Angelo’s father.
“I’m Kara Gallagher.”
“Hi Kara.” He then stood straight and said to the family in general, “I’m going to run out for some food for lunch. Any requests?”
“The sandwich shop on the corner is good. It’s today,” Francesca said.
“Done. Shana, send me a text with everyone’s orders.”
Shana collected all the orders and texted Roarke. Even Kara reluctantly agreed to a sandwich.
Roarke was back half an hour later with two large bags filled with subs, chips, and drinks. Kara was grateful. Her stomach was empty, and even though the thought of eating was completely unappealing right now, if she didn’t eat, she’d get nauseous and have a headache soon.
A short time later, a nurse came into the waiting room and informed them that Angelo was awake and ready to see visitors. The parents went in first, followed by Dante and Alessia, then Shana and Roarke. After a few minutes, Roarke came out alone and sat next Kara to eat his sandwich.
“I heard you were the hero of the day,” he said.
Kara shook her head. “More like the cause of the problem. He was trying to help me. It was stupid. I should’ve just let that man steal my purse.”
“It was instinct. You couldn’t help yourself. As for Angelo, someone has to stop people from doing what’s wrong. Angelo is that sort of person. Then you saved him. That means a lot,” he confided.
They ate in silence until Shana returned and ate her own sandwich, looking more relieved than when she’d left to see him. By the time they had finished, the rest of the family had returned to the waiting room. Shana and Roarke said goodnight to everyone and prepared to leave, but Shana hugged Kara unexpectedly just before they left.
