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Steffan was in his office late one night when a rap came on the door. Stretching, he went to open it. Curt and Aliya stood there. Aliya grinned, while Curt looked out of place.
“You left your mountain?” Steffan managed.
“My gorgeous wife is helping me live a little. We went out for Vietnamese food. Delicious.”
“Ah, you sweet hunky prince. You’re delicious.” Aliya kissed him, but thankfully had a little compassion for Steffan and didn’t extend the kiss for too long. She pushed her way into the office. “Love, shut the door.” He complied. She looked Steffan over. “Well, you look like crap warmed over.”
“I’m not actually sure what that means.”
“Well, it ain’t good. I can tell you that right now. What are youdoinghere?” She folded her arms across her chest and gave him a challenging glare.
“Here? As in at my hospital?” Steffan gestured around. “I work here. I run the place, actually.”
“Oh.” She waved her hands in the air. “I’m so hoity-toity and I ‘run the place, actually,’ he says in his smooth accent. Look how important I am.” Aliya got in his face. “And look how miserable and lonely and missing our beloved Hattie like somebody cut off your right arm you are.”
“Yeah,” he agreed. That was exactly how it felt.
“At least you’ll admit to it.”
Steffan shrugged and clasped the ends of his stethoscope in his hands. “I’m waiting for Jensen to figure things out.” It sounded weak, even in his own ears.
“I’ve got a news flash for you. William Rindlesbacher did a number on us. The jerk is a genius. We ain’t gonna win this battle. At least not quickly or without some miracles happenin’.”
“I believe in miracles.”
“So do I. But sometimes you have to give heaven a little push.” Aliya smiled. “Your turn, love.”
Curt straightened and smiled calmly at him. Nothing much riled Curt. “Do you remember what you said to me when I didn’t go after Aliya?”
Steffan shifted uncomfortably. “Something about chick flicks and a big gesture?”
“Yeah. That was good, but the part I really liked was, ‘If I found the right woman for me, I would leave anything behind, move heaven and earth, get on an airplane at least, and go tell her how I feel.’” Curt gave him a significant look. “I’ll never forget that call out. Then with those piercing blue eyes of yours, you said, ‘Give her a chance to at least love you or reject you. Give love a chance.’”
Steffan was having a hard time catching a breath. He had said all of that. Thrown back in his face, he wasn’t ready to act on it.
His hospital and his family needed him.
An ache ripped through him to hold Hattie close, worse than a ‘toothache that needed extraction’ as Hattie would say.
If only things could be different.
CHAPTERFIFTEEN
Hattie was busy helping Sadie and Wolf give healthcare exams, vaccinations, and treat illnesses in some remote mountain village in Belize. They had a partition and a small tent sent up for women’s exams. Sadie was in the tent right now, and Wolf was directing the villagers and assessing needs as he had the best grasp of Spanish. Hattie had become proficient at giving needed shots and putting on Band-aids.
Crazily enough, she adored the children, and they adored her right back. She didn’t even mind the work or being dusty and dirty most of the day.
Who knew? She’d rarely been around children, and it had been years since she’d worked. She used to work a lot with her parents as a teenager, but once she graduated college and they became billionaires, she’d started traveling. Then after Jane was killed, she’d started her playgirl lifestyle, then her parents had died and everything had spiraled downhill.
Until she’d met Steffan. He was so great. She missed him. Horribly.
It was silly because she should hardly know him.
She couldn’t wrap her mind around being dead. If she wasn’t dead, she’d be an international fugitive. From what she’d heard from Wolf, things weren’t good on that end. William Rindlesbacher had set her up very well. The snake had skills.
On the bright side, she had been declared dead and all the money that hadn’t gone to her favorite charities went to Sadie, so they were both still very, very wealthy.
In better news, she’d really taken to this praying stuff and found she loved her Savior and was overwhelmed with gratitude for Him and His sacrifice for her. Knowing she was loved by heaven made the hurt over losing Steffan at least manageable.
