“And Aleah’s father?”
“I think he’s on his way to England,” he said. “He wants his daughter back.”
“But,” she asked, “does the daughter want to go back?” Shane looked at her, smiling at her response, appreciating again how well she saw the larger picture and got to the point. “She doesn’t, does she?”
“I think she’s quite done with being a pawn in a man’s game,” he said.
She nodded. “And yet her father was refusing to do whatever this guy wanted,” she said. “So doesn’t that make him the good guy?”
“Until you realize that he was quite prepared to kill all those people at your job in order to find somebody who would get his daughter back. Not to mention, taking you and my family to force me to do it.”
“So why does he care so much? They clearly don’t seem close.”
“Well, she’s his only living relative for one thing,” he said. “And she just had a baby, which continues his line.”
“I guess,” she said. “Maybe when he realized he was the last of the males of the family, maybe that made a difference finally.”
“Well, you’d like to think so,” he said, “but I know she wants well out of it.”
“I do too,” she said. “I definitely do too.”
“Well, let’s put an end to this mess,” he said. “Then I’ll help you go wherever you want to go.”
She smiled at that. “Why don’t you save Prissy and figure out how to get Aleah’s father to stop playing games with his daughter and get him away from whatever this problem is with the guy who kidnapped her.”
“That is a pretty tall order,” he said. And his voice turned even more somber, as he said, “Things like this generally don’t have a happy ending.”
“Meaning, there’ll be some more deaths before it’s over?”
As he nodded, she gave him a flat look. “Honestly I’m surprised there hasn’t been more already,” she said.
“But your coworkers were all innocent people who had nothing to do with any of this,” he said. “We can’t minimize those lives because we’re worried about more deaths.”
“Let’s get this finished, so at least their lives and their deaths mean something,” she said.
“I can get behind that,” he said quietly. “I’ll have to leave you here, you know?”
“Really?” she said, groaning.
“Really. You’ve been kidnapped twice,” he said. “I can’t have that happen again.”
“It was hardly your fault either time,” she protested. “And we can’t stay on the destroyer as the navy’s guests forever either,” she said. “I’m not ill, and I know that Aleah wants to get on with her life.”
“I’m sure she does. She plans to stay here in England.”
“Then let me stay with her,” she said. “Just think. The security would be much easier, if you were looking after both of us at the same place.” He hesitated, and she pushed her advantage. “We’d be together. I’d help her with the baby. She could get back on her feet and regain some strength,” she said. “And we’ll both be safe and have a new friend for support, and you’d only have to guard one space.”
“I’ll see,” he said in a noncommittal tone.
“Which means, you’ll go away, think about it, and decide I’m right and then come back,” she said. “Got it. I’ll plan for that.” He burst out laughing, shook his head, dropped another kiss on her cheek. Only this time she turned, pulled him down, gave him a real kiss.
He raised his eyebrows at that. “That’s a dangerous game.”
“Ha!” she said. “I’ve been living in danger lately.”
“You have, indeed,” he said. “So, if you want to pick that up where you just stopped, maybe we can wait until it’s … until we have a little more time.”
“Absolutely,” she said, with a smile. “Just maybe we should, … ah, … discuss it?”
“I’m not sure discussing is the right thing to do here,” he said, studying her with that intense gaze. “Just remember. You opened that door.”
She smiled. “I don’t regret it either.”
“Good to know,” he said. “Neither do I.” And, with that, he was gone.
She settled back and smiled at the doorway.
The nurse walked in and said, “Wow, there’s a smile.”
“It is, indeed,” she said. “Change is in the air.”
“Good change?”
“I think it must be,” Shelly said, “because it feels right.”
“Well, that’s often a good sign,” the nurse said.
Shelly looked at her and asked, “Any chance I can visit the new mom?”
She looked at her in surprise and said, “You know what? Maybe. But let me see how she feels about it.”
“Perfect,” she said, “you go ahead, and I’ll make my way down there.”
“I won’t have time to get back in the meantime,” the nurse said, protesting.
“Oh, I’m not moving very quickly just now, so you’ll have plenty of time,” she said. The nurse disappeared. And Shelly got to her feet where she put on the slippers and grabbed the little housecoat they had given her, and slowly and steadily made her way down the hallway several doors from her.
When the nurse came out, she smiled. “As it turns out, she would love to meet you.”
With a broad smile, Shelly opened the door and stepped inside. “Hi, Aleah,” she said, winking at the nurse and stepping forward. “I’m Shelly.”
Aleah looked up, smiled, and said, “You are Shane’s girlfriend.”
“I am, indeed,” she said, liking the sound of that. She knew it was a bit presumptuous of her, but, hey, she was nothing if not a person willing to grab the reins and go for it. She took a detour to check on the baby, smiling to see the little angel asleep. “Isn’t she perfect? You make pretty babies.”
Aleah choked up, tears in her eyes, nodding.
Shelly slowly moved to the other side of Aleah’s bed and settled in the visitor’s chair, wincing as the movement jarred her forehead.
“Are you okay?” Aleah asked, looking worried.
“I’m fine,” she said. “Just, you know, that whole stitches in the head thing.” She bent her head down, so Aleah could see them.
“Ouch, that’s awful. And your poor hair.”
At the reference to her hair, she winced. “And I was trying so hard not to even think about the hair,” she said, “and now you’ll send me running to the mirror to take a look and to see how bad it is.”
Aleah burst out laughing.
Smiling, Shelly asked, “So how are you doing, Aleah? You’ve had a pretty rough time of it.”
“I have,” she said, “but I’m very happy to say that stage of my life is over.”
“Have you had any thoughts about what you want to do now?”
“I was thinking about relocating to the US or England, but, now that I think about it, the UK would be more suited to me,” she said. “So I’m hoping I can get that to happen legally.”