Evidence of Trust (31 page)

She walked into the room, coffee cup in hand, smile on her face. Both of them were for his father.

He couldn’t take his eyes off her. “Dad, can you give us a minute?”

“Sure thing.” His dad accepted the cup from her and leaned in to give her a kiss on the cheek. “Thanks, darlin’.”

Joel watched her watch him leave, then she turned those green eyes on him. The moment his gaze met hers, another memory blindsided him.

Brittany, leaning over him, holding his hand.

I love you.

Had she said the words, or had he been dreaming? Pain killer induced hallucination?

She stood beside the bed now. Within reach, but so far away. “The doctor’s going to want to see you.”

He didn’t say a word. Just watched her and realized how tired she looked. She’d been through a lot the past couple of days, and she’d still managed to save his life by dragging him into the cover of the woods.

She gave a self-conscious smile, confusion in her eyes. “What?”

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“Yesterday.” He frowned toward the windows. “I was only out through the night, right?” He turned back to find her watching him now. Speculation shadowed her eyes. Was she wondering if he remembered?

“Yes, just the one night. But I’m the one who should thank
you
.”

“For what? I got shot. Probably wouldn’t be here if not for you.”

She dropped her gaze to take hold of his hand. “You got shot and
still
kept me safe.”

“Not without your help.”

“Sounds like we make a good team.”

He tightened his fingers around hers. “We do.”

Her gaze met his, and his pulse kicked up, making the monitor beep faster. Ignoring that, it was the perfect moment to tell her how he felt—until the doctor walked in. He liked that she didn’t move away when the man came to stand on the opposite side of the bed.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Morgan. I’m Dr. Edwards. Nice to have you with us today.”

“It’s nice to be here. Relatively speaking.”

The doctor smiled as he transferred his gaze to the heart monitor while a nurse handed him the patient chart. He was an older gentleman, graying, but with a full head of hair. “Your heart rate was up when I came in, but now I can see why.”

He liked that Brittany blushed at that comment.

“How are you feeling?”

“Tired. Sore.”

“That’s to be expected. And I’m sorry, but I’m about to add to that.”

He wasn’t kidding. By the time the man completed his examination and left, Joel could barely keep his eyes open. Sounded like he was definitely going to live, but he’d have to sleep first. He’d rather talk to Brittany.

As if she understood, she reached to brush his hair from his forehead and ordered, “Get some rest. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

And she was.

The sun was setting when he opened his eyes to see her dozing in the chair his father had occupied earlier. He watched her for a few minutes, then groped for the button to raise the head of the bed to a bit more of a sitting position. The noise woke her, and she smiled when she saw he was awake.

“Hey.”

The darn heart monitor increased speed. No way to hide his anxiety, so he ignored it and dove right in. “I know you were here last night.”

Awareness shimmered to life in her eyes as she got out of the chair. “I was. All night.”

“And I woke up.”

“Once.”

She was killing him with her short answers. He lifted his hand out of the way as she sat on the edge of his bed, then set it back down to rest on her leg. She covered his hand with hers—

“Mr. Morgan, are you doing okay?”

He laid his head back, frowning in the direction of the nurse hovering in the doorway. “I’d be better if you could take this thing off me.” He gestured toward the monitor as the woman entered the room. “I can pretty much guarantee it’s not going to stay normal for the next couple minutes.”

She glanced between the two of them with an apologetic smile. “Sorry, but that’s not possible.”

As his frown deepened, Brittany squeezed his fingers. “Last night the nurse turned the sound off. Can you at least do that?”

The woman nodded and reached to flip a switch on the machine, silencing the elevated beeps. She took a moment to review a few other readouts, then faced them with a stern warning. “Just remember, you are still in intensive care and we are monitoring everything from the nurse’s station.”

Once she left, Joel shifted his attention back to Brittany, who sat silent. Smiling.

He did not smile as he picked up right where he’d been interrupted, his nervousness suddenly gone. “You said something to me last night.”

“Yes.”

He turned his hand to twine their fingers together. “Are you going to say it again?”

“Do you want me to?”

The teasing note in her voice made him tug her closer. “Every day. And I’ll say it right back—I love you, Brittany.”

Tears filled her eyes. “And I love you.”

Now
he
smiled. “I know.”

She laughed and leaned in to press her lips to his. He wanted to kiss her back, but the whole hospital bed and wires and getting shot really put a crimp in his ability to kiss her the way a man should kiss the woman he loved. On top of that, the chaste brush of her lips only left him wanting more.

When he protested, she argued, “Relax. I can’t tire you out five minutes after you wake up. We’ll have plenty of time when you’re feeling better.”

He leaned his head back on the pillow, happier than he’d ever been in his life. After a moment, he realized while they would have plenty of time, he still had questions he wanted answered sooner rather than later.

Rolling his head in her direction, he asked, “Remember that night we first met? When I called you a city girl?”

“Oh, I remember. You said it as if there was something wrong with me.”

“And you said,
‘Not in my heart
.
’
”

“That’s right.”

He dropped his gaze to their joined hands. “So…”

“Are you trying to ask if I’m going back to Chicago?”

“Yes.”

“You know, we don’t have to talk about this
right
now.”

Shit
. Had she already made her decision?

“Look at me,” she said.

He did.

“I’m not going back to Chicago, Joel. My heart’s with you. Always. Wherever your job may go.”

“You said you wouldn’t want to travel that much.”

A shrug lifted her shoulders. “I’ll deal with it.”

“I’ll deal with the city if that’s what you really want.”

She shook her head. “Even if I hadn’t met you, I think I’d stay here.”

Relief lifted weight off his shoulders. “Good. Because I’m quitting the park system.”

She drew back in surprise. “But I thought you loved your job.”

“I love you more.”

“Oh, no. Don’t be doing that for me.”

He took a deep breath, then wished he hadn’t because it hurt too bad. Concern clouded her eyes, but once the pain subsided, he offered a reassuring smile. “I love parts of my job, but honestly, I’ve been thinking about this for a couple weeks now and I’ve been restless for months before that. I’d like to put down roots and want to know what you think about the idea of buying a ranch.”

“A ranch?” she echoed.

He nodded. “I thought we could breed and train horses here in Colorado. Or anywhere, really, so long as you’re at my side so you can tell me every day how much you love me.”

As she stared at him, the initial shock in her expression morphed into hope. “What are you saying?”

What was he saying? The answer took only a second to come out of his mouth.

“Marry me. Be my wife and it won’t matter where we live. Colorado, Chicago, wherever makes you happy. All I know is, I don’t want to risk losing you ever again.”

Tears shimmered in her eyes again as she leaned in to rest her forehead against his. “Right here makes me happy.”

“We can’t live in a hospital,” he whispered.

“You know what I mean.”

“Yes, I do,” he confirmed. “So, that’s a yes?”

“On one condition.”

“Seriously? I’m lying in a hospital bed and you’re going to put a condition on my marriage proposal?”

“Yes.” She looked into his eyes and very seriously said, “I’d like us to be friends.”

He wanted to laugh, but it would hurt too much. Plus, they already were and she knew it. A mock sigh of resignation only hurt a little. “Fine, but if we’re going to be friends, I’ve got a condition of my own.”

Her gaze narrowed, then she laughed. “I bet
you
want benefits.”

He grinned. “
That
is a bet you’d win.”

“In more ways than one.” Her sexy smile promised they’d both end up happy.

– The End –

Thank you for reading!

If you enjoyed
EVIDENCE OF TRUST
, reviews are always greatly appreciated.

Don’t miss the rest of the
Colorado Trust Series
, available Spring 2014:

TRUST BY DESIGN

book 2

TRUST IN THE LAWE

book 3

SHATTERED TRUST

book 4