If I Loved You (Harper Falls Book 1) (35 page)

Under a picture of Rose and Edgar, both
grinning and both very muddy, it read, "See the trouble we get into
when you're not around? Come home soon." It was simply signed
Edgar.

Jack started to laugh. The heavy fog of doom
and gloom that had surrounded him for the past two days lifted and
he felt like he could breathe again. He looked at the picture
again. What
had
they been up to?
Feeling energized Jack grabbed the door handle and swung it open.
Checking in with Drew could wait, he decided suddenly. He had
someplace a lot more important to be.

"Must be nice to have something to laugh
about? Huh, Jack?"

His mind occupied with thoughts of getting
to Rose, Jack hadn't heard Craig Lowe's approach. He'd let his
guard down long enough for the man to get close—too close. But he
did
see the knife and felt it as it
sliced into his flesh.

"WELL, I THINK you smell great. Tell him
Tyler."

Rose had finally gotten both herself and
Edgar mud free and it had been easier than she'd anticipated. The
dog had taken being dowsed with water from the hose and soaped up
with lavender scented shampoo with amazing good grace. It was only
now, after the fact that he seemed to be having second thoughts
about how he smelled. Maybe she was spending too much time with
him, attributing him with assets he didn't possess, but Rose got
the feeling that Edgar wasn't terribly thrilled with the less than
manly fragrance. Tyler and Dani had arrived just in time to keep
him company while she jumped in the shower for the second time that
morning. She was walking into the living room just as Dani was
reassuring the dog.

"Edgar, unlike my friends here, I don't
think you care one way or the other about smelling like flowers."
Tyler grinned as the dog laid his head on her knee and stared at
her with soulful eyes. "You're just missing the mud. You put in all
that effort and then Rose goes and washes it off.
That's
the indignity."

"Was it just last week that you two were
giving me a hard time about talking to Edgar? And now I find you
carrying on a conversation with him. What gives?"

Dani took one of the cups of tea that Rose
had brought with her. "He asked me a question. It would have been
impolite not to answer."

"He asked you?" Handing Tyler a cup, Rose
joined her on the sofa.

"With his eyes."

"Right. And what's your excuse?" she asked
her other friend.

"I don't know what she's talking about, do
you, Edgar?" Tyler leaned down until she was almost nose to nose
with the dog.

"I wouldn't do that unless you want—"

But Rose's warning was too late. Edgar
considered Tyler's gesture to be an open invitation and he took
full advantage by giving her face a big, wet swipe with his
tongue.

Tyler sat back and grimaced. "And this is
what I get for being on your side." She declined the tissue Rose
offered. "That's not going to cut it. I need a trip to the bathroom
and some anti-bacterial soap. And before you say anything," she
addressed Edgar. "I know your mouth supposedly has fewer germs than
those guys I let kiss me. But I'm not buying it."

Unconcerned, Edgar trotted over to his bed
and settled in for a nap. After all, he'd had a very busy and
exhausting morning.

"So, how are things going with you?" Spit
free, Tyler sat back down and turned to Rose.

"Great, never better." Rose grinned when she
saw the look Tyler and Dani gave each other. "Okay, in order of
importance, here is what has happened to me since the last time we
spoke. I realized that I'm in love with Jack; I finished the song
for
Wishes,
and I finally had my
long overdue confrontation with Louise."

Before either Tyler or Dani could react to
the information overload, Rose heard the ringtone she'd assigned to
Jack. As she snatched up the phone she said to her friends," Hold
those thoughts. I have to take this. Jack? I'm so happy you
called."

"It's not Jack, Rose."

"Drew? Why are you calling me on Jack's
phone?" Rose had a sudden sinking feeling. "What happened?" She
asked the question as calmly as she could. Her heart was racing and
she wanted to scream but she held it together, waiting unti Drew
answered.

"Jack's been stabbed." Rose couldn't make a
sound, she just gripped the phone. She could tell that Drew was
trying keep his voice the panic out of his voice. "I got him to the
hospital as quickly as possible. He never lost consciousness;
that's a good sign. They took him into one of the examining rooms
as soon as we got here and then I called you."

"I'll be right there." Rose hung up and
jumped to her feet. Her legs felt like rubber, but sheer will kept
her upright. Rushing to grab her keys there was only one thought in
head—get to Jack.

"Rose, what is it?" Dani had watched Rose's
face turn an alarming stark white.

"Hospital, Jack." Her hand was shaking so
badly that she couldn't open the door to the garage. Tyler and Dani
had rushed after her as soon as they heard the word hospital.

Dani reached around her shaking friend and
opened the door. She took the car keys from Rose and handed them to
Tyler. "Drive her to the hospital. I'll make sure Edgar has enough
food and water in case no one can get back for a while and then
I'll be right behind you."

Rose let Tyler take over. She sat in the car
and watched the houses fly by her mind running in a hundred
different directions. What, how, where, when? But when it came down
to it only one thing mattered—Jack had to be alright. Not for her.
She would walk away without a backward glance and never see him
again if it meant he would live a long and healthy life.
Unfortunately, she knew that wasn't how it worked. No amount of
self-sacrificing promises would guarantee Jack's well-being. So she
didn't waste her energy on such foolishness.
Jack was not going to die
. She wouldn't allow
herself to think anything else.

Rose had the door open before Tyler could
bring the car to a full stop. "Jesus, Rose, the last thing we need
is for you to break a leg." But she was talking to air. Rose was
already through the hospital doors and running towards the
reception desk.

"Rose, over here."

She turned at the sound of her name. Drew
was waiting and he took her arm, leading her down the hallway to
their right.

"Have you heard anything yet?" She wondered
if she looked as wild eyed as Drew. His white shirt had a large
brownish stain on it. Was it blood?
Jack's
blood?

Drew was just about to answer when a voice
boomed from a nearby room.

"Just give me a goddamned local and stitch
the fucker up so I can get out of here."

"I guess we both heard
that
." He picked her up and swung her around.
Relief washed over them and for a moment they just clung to each
other, no words necessary.

"You're smiling, so it must be good
news."

Drew gently transferred Rose over to Tyler.
He met her eyes and for once that they weren't filled with
anger.

"If the strength of his voice is any
indication I'd say he's going to be fine." Rose gave a shaky laugh.
"But just to be sure let's wait and hear what the doctor has to
say."

"Hey," Tyler lifted Rose's chin. "You're
crying."

"Second time in two days." Rose wiped at her
cheeks with both hands. "Dani was right, it does release a lot
pressure, but I hope I don't start making a habit of it."

They only had to wait a few more minutes for
the doctor to come out and fill them in.

"Your friend was very lucky. Another inch to
the right and the knife would have sliced into his kidney. Instead,
he has a relatively minor wound that should heal with no
complications. We would like to keep him a while longer for
observation, but he's insisting on being released. Perhaps one of
you could try and convince him to stay." The doctor looked between
the two women. "Rose?"

"That's me." Rose took a step forward.

"His biggest concern seems to be getting
home to you. But since you're here he might be willing to listen to
reason."

"Not likely," Drew scoffed.

"I'll do my best, doctor."

Rose felt like she was floating. She would
have sworn her feet never touched the ground on her way to Jack.
Suddenly remembering the rush from her house to the hospital, she
paused for a moment outside the door to smooth down her hair.
Chiding herself for being ridiculous, she forgot about her
appearance and entered the room.

Jack looked—well, he looked like Jack. A
little haggard, a bit pale, but still bristling with an impatient
energy. Rose suddenly felt a little shaky again, but this time with
it was with relief. She'd heard him bellowing and the doctor
confirmed that he would be fine. But none of that had seemed quite
real until now. Seeing him for herself finally put her fears to
rest.

"You need to be a good boy and listen to
your doctor or you won't be getting your lollypop."

"Rose." Jack sighed. When had just the sight
of her become so important? He had been desperate to get to her, to
let her know that he was fine, to tell her he was coming home. But
now there was no more desperation. Rose was here—he
was
home.

Afraid of hurting him Rose tamped down on
her instinct that would have had her rushing into his arms and
holding on for dear life. Instead, she let herself be satisfied
with taking one of his strong hands in hers.

"You scared me."

Jack gave her hand a lingering kiss. "I'd
like to be all manly and say it was no big deal but truthfully, I
was pretty scared myself."

Rose brought his hand up to return his kiss.
"Well, at least you'll have a nice manly scar." She tried to keep
the catch out of her voice but failed miserably. Everything was
still too fresh. She could make snappy quips, but it was impossible
to ignore the large bandage that covered his side.

"Oh, sweetheart," Jack said gently. "All's
good. Really."

The nurse came back in to do some clean-up.
"If you're feeling up to it the police would like to take your
statement now, Mr. Winston."

"Should I go?"

"No." Jack kept hold of her hand. "I know
you want to hear what happened. I'd prefer only to tell it
once."

It didn't take long. The security cameras
outside H&W headquarters had recorded the entire incident, so
Jack only had to fill in a few of the details.

"I was in the parking lot just outside of
our office checking the messages on my phone. I wasn't paying
attention, so I didn't hear when Craig approached me. We had fired
him a few weeks ago and apparently he blames me for his life going
to hell. I saw the knife and was able to turn sideways, but I
wasn't able to knock it away before he stabbed me. He was coming at
me again, but this time I blocked his arm and punched him in the
face. He fell to the ground and that's when my partner, Drew
Harper, arrived and made sure Craig stayed down." Actually Drew had
beaten the crap out of Craig but since the police officer didn't
correct him, Jack left that part out.

"Drew secured Craig with cable ties. Our
assistant Pam had called 911, and since we could hear the sirens,
we left Craig and Drew got me into his car and brought me to the
hospital. That's about all I can tell you, officer."

"You had an altercation with Craig Lowe at a
local bar around the time you fired him, is that right?"

"No, that isn't right." Rose knew the man
was only doing his job but couldn’t he see that Jack was running on
fumes. "Couldn't the rest of your questions wait, officer? Jack
needs to get some rest."

"And you are?"

"Rose O'Brian." She leaned over and watched
him write her name. "No, Brian is spelled
ia
not
ie
, and you
should capitalize the b." It didn't really matter, but the police
officer was starting to piss her off.

Jack hid his grin. He was all for Rose
standing up for him, but what he wanted was to finish and get out
of here.

"I'm fine. Rose is right, officer. There
wasn't any altercation. In fact, neither Drew nor I even talked to
Craig that night. He'd had too much to drink, which is a problem
for him, and pretty much fell on his face. One of the men who works
security for H&W saw that he got home safely. That was it. The
last time I saw him was the day we fired him."

"And how did that go?"

"He seemed to take it well." Which was the
truth. Craig hadn't even raised his voice. "I never thought there
would be any trouble. Today came out of the blue."

"Well, that should do it." The police
officer closed his note book and put it away. "Lowe is in custody
and we have the security tapes. We shouldn't have any more
questions but if we do we'll call you."

"I always hate when witnesses get snippy
with the police on TV shows but from now on I'm going to be a lot
more sympathetic."

"Would it do any good if I pointed out the
obvious?"

Rose knew what he was going to say. "He may
be doing his job, and he may be very good at it. But you were
stabbed, and you've lost a lot of blood, and all I want to do is
get you home and take care of you. He was stopping me."

"Delaying," Jack pointed out. But what she
wanted sounded like heaven. "I asked the nurse to have Drew to get
the paper work going for my discharge so it shouldn't take much
longer."

"The doctor says you should stay a while for
observation." Rose did want to get Jack home, but his health was
the most important thing.

"There is no way in hell I'm staying in this
hospital any longer than necessary. Especially if you meant it when
you said you wanted to take me home."