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“Two minutes out. Cruz confirmed the emergency team is already waiting at the helipad.”
The two hours Jordan was in the operating room were the longest of Brock’s life. Not once did his mind wander to the death of his wife and child. For the first time in many years, his focus was on the woman who was now fighting for her life.
He never believed he would find love again, especially since he’d made that emotive vow to always love only his first love. Now, he knew better. The heart couldn’t be stopped, love couldn’t be banned, no matter how hard he’d tried. Jordan had changed his life. She made him realize there was more to his existence than chasing criminals and dodging bullets. It was human nature to fall in love, more than once… fiercely so. That didn’t mean the feelings he had for Cecile had been any less important. It was just different, and he would never forget her and their daughter.
Jordan’s love had been the balm that had salved the emotional bruises that discolored his essential nature. Wanting only her as the sole tenant of his heart, he would embrace what was already known to be the pathfinder for the yet undiscovered.
She had to pull through. She just had to!
“Doctor Watts!” he jumped up as the surgeon entered the waiting room. “How is she?”
“Miss Sutton is a very healthy and extraordinarily resilient woman. Given time, I expect her to make a full recovery.” He smiled reassuringly at the group of people surrounding him.
“It looked like she had internal bleeding,” Brock prodded for more information.
“She had a couple of cracked ribs and a ruptured spleen.” He held up his hand at the collective gasp from the group. “I see you all realize the danger of that and yes, a ruptured spleen may pour a large amount of blood into the abdominal cavity and be lethal. Initially I thought it would be necessary to completely remove it with an open splenectomy but after plugging the artery to the spleen right before surgery using special X-ray technology that shrunk the spleen, I was able to perform the laparoscopic technique.”
“And did you? Remove her spleen?” Brock was pale, knowing the health risks associated to a person living without a spleen.
“No, I only did a partial splenectomy since the rupture wasn’t as serious as I initially assumed and therefore it reduces the risk of infection that results from removing the entire spleen.”
“Thank God,” Brock relaxed a little.She was going to be okay!
“I would however recommend annual vaccinations against COVID, pneumonia and influenza as a way to reduce the risk of any infection in future.” He smiled at Brock. “I’m sure you’ll see to that?”
“You can rest assured.” Brock looked at the hallway. “May I see her?”
“Are you Brock?”
“Yes.”
“Then you better get over there. She’s awake and has been asking for you.”
Brock shook the surgeon’s hand. “Thank you. You have no idea how much this means to me.”
“I think I do but if I keep you any longer, I’m not so sure that brave young woman won’t get it in her mind to come looking for you, drips be damned.”
His words floated after Brock who was already rushing down the hallway. The nurse pointed him toward the recovery room where he found Jordan slapping away two male nurses trying to keep her contained in the bed.
“I leave you alone for two minutes and here you are, flirting with the nursing staff?”
His deep voice rolled over her and she immediately quieted.
“Brock Carter, get your ass over here, pronto!” She pointed to the spot next to the bed. “And the two of you, make like ghosts and disappear.”
The two men shook their heads and with wide smiles at Brock as he approached, left the room.
He cupped her cheeks, and with a gentleness she’d never experienced from him before, kissed her lips. It was more than a kiss, it was the sweetness of passion, a million loving thoughts condensed into a moment where they exposed to each other their pure and vulnerable selves. It was a vow… of the years of love to follow.
In his kiss Jordan finally found... her forever home.
Chapter Nineteen
Two months later…
Top of the Mark Restaurant at the InterContinental Mark Hopkins Hotel, San Francisco…
“Finally! The guests of honor have arrived,” Emile gushed as Brock and Jordan walked into the restaurant. He beamed at them, chest pushed out, looking like a proud peacock. If not for his ears, his smile would circle his entire head.
