They got a lot of strange looks when they walked into the ER in their gear, Mad Dog carrying Kate, wrapped in her foil blanket.
With Doc’s help, they provided as much information as they could, relaying what Kate had said before she passed out. A gurney was wheeled out, and they took her in right away, but they denied Mad Dog’s request to accompany her, assuring him that she was in good hands.
He and Doc joined the others in the waiting room, dropping down into chairs and removing some layers.
“She’s going to be fine, Mad Dog,” Church said.
“Yeah.” She had to be.
The next hour dragged by. No one would tell him anything because he wasn’t family. Making matters worse, the waiting room television was tuned to daytime talk shows. He couldn’t take the annoying voices and fake applause and turned it off.
“Hey, I was watching that,” Heff protested.
“Tough shit.”
When his phone vibrated, he looked down to see Kylie’s number pop up. “Kylie.”
“We just got a phone call that Kate’s in the ER.”
“I know. We’re the ones who brought her in.”
“We?”
“Me and some friends.”
“What the hell is going on?”
He relayed the events as succinctly as possible.
“Thank God you found her when you did. You’re at the hospital now?”
“Yes, but they won’t tell me anything.”
“I don’t think they can without signed consent. Based on what they told us, she’s okay. We’re snowed in. Even if the roads were open, it’d take hours to dig out. The drifts against the garage are nearly up to the top of the door, and my mom is already borderline hysterical because my dad’s stuck there, too.”
“I could send someone over with a snowmobile.”
Kylie immediately rejected that idea. “My mother on a snowmobile? You’ve got to be kidding. There’s not enough Xanax in the world to make that happen.”
“I’m here, Kylie, and I’m not going anywhere.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
Mad Dog disconnected the call and forced himself to take a deep breath. It took another agonizing thirty minutes before a nurse finally came out to talk to them. “Mr. Sheppard?”
He stood, as did the others.
The nurse looked from one to the other before settling her gaze back on him. “You brought in Kate Handelmann?”
He nodded. “How is she?”
“We’re admitting Kate and moving her to a room.”
Shit. That didn’t sound good.
“How bad is it?”
“I’m afraid I can’t tell you any more than that.”
That was when Church said smoothly, “Shannon O’Shaughnessy. I haven’t seen you in years.”
Her eyes flicked from Mad Dog to Church, focusing on him for a long moment before recognition dawned. “Matt? Matt Winston?”
He nodded.
“I heard you were back in town.” Her eyes raked him up and down. “Wow, you’ve really filled out, haven’t you?”
He chuckled. “So have you.”
Mad Dog and his brothers watched in fascination as Church transformed from the solemn, hard-assed team leader they knew to the charming, local boy next door.
The nurse blushed. “Thanks for noticing.”
“Pretty hard not to. Listen, Kate’s a good friend of ours, especially this guy here. He’d feel a lot better if he could see for himself that she’s all right.”
She looked at Mad Dog and then back to Church. “Close friend, huh?”
“Very close. If there’s anything you can do, we’d really appreciate it.”
She looked over her shoulder at the desk and then brushed a lock of hair back with her fingers. “Hmm. Well, things are kind of crazy around here. As long as it’s okay with Kate, I suppose I could bend the rules for a good friend.”
Church’s smile was dazzling. “Thank you, Shannon. I owe you one.”
Her cheeks flushed. “I’m due for a break. You could buy me a cup of coffee.”
“It would be my pleasure.”
Her smile was just as dazzling. “All right. Hang here for a few, and I’ll check with Kate.”
“Will do.”
As soon as the nurse disappeared from view, Heff put both hands together in front of his chest as if in prayer and bent at the waist. “I bow to the master,” he said, grinning. “Teach me, O Great One.”
“Fuck off,” Church replied gruffly.
Nurse Shannon returned a short while later. Her lips were glossier now than they had been, and she smelled faintly of flowers. “Go on up. Room 702.”
“Thank you,” Mad Dog said. He owed Church big time.
His feet couldn’t move fast enough. They took him toward the bank of elevators, swallowing his impatience when the numbers indicated both cars were several floors above. Unwilling to wait, he went to the stairwell and climbed the six flights instead.
There were two beds in the room, but only one was occupied.
“Kate ...” he called softly.
She opened her eyes, and there it was—that light that made it possible for him to breathe again.
“Hey,” she said sleepily. “What took you so long?”
He laughed, relief flowing through his veins. “Sorry about that.”
Kate smiled. “Just kidding. My hero,” she whispered. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“Looking for me. Finding me.”
He leaned down and kissed her because he had to.
“I’ll always come for you, Kate. Always,” he reiterated, just in case she doubted him. “How are you feeling?”
“A little better now that they’ve finally agreed to give me something for the pain. You’re not supposed to take ibuprofen for a concussion; did you know that? Apparently, it can mask symptoms and increase the chance of internal bleeding.”
“You have a concussion?”
“A concussion, ten stitches to the side of the head, two cracked ribs, a broken arm, a bruised patella, and a mild case of hypothermia.”
“Oh, baby.”
“Hey, could have been a lot worse.”
Yeah. He didn’t like to think about that.
“What happened, Kate?”
“I wanted to surprise you,” she said on a slow, easy exhale. “For Valentine’s Day. I made steak and shrimp and packed some sexy lingerie and planned to show up on your doorstep.” She smiled weakly. “Guess that plan went to hell in a handbasket, huh?”
His heart swelled at the same time his gut clenched. “You shouldn’t have put yourself at risk like that.”
“The roads weren’t bad when I left. I mean, there were some slick spots and stuff but nothing I couldn’t handle. It was the impatient jerk riding my ass that was the real problem. He hit my Jeep and sent me over the edge.” Her brows furrowed. “At least, I’m assuming it was a guy, but I guess it could have been a woman. I didn’t get good look; all I have is a vague impression.”
Rage, instant and powerful, erupted within him. “Someone hit you? Intentionally?”
“I don’t know. I don’t think so. I mean, why would he? I pulled over to let him pass, but he pulled in behind me instead, and I panicked. I hit the gas, got back onto the road, slid, and the next thing I knew, I was field-testing the integrity of my roll bar. Five out of five stars, by the way.”