Counting On It (Hearts for Ransom Book 1) (22 page)

“Trevor, I don’t want you to be scared, but an ambulance will be here in a little while. They’re just going to take you to the hospital where I work so a doctor can make sure you’re okay. They’ll be able to help you breathe a little better, too.” She smiled reassuringly at him. “I’m just a nurse. Remember?” Another nod. “A doctor will be able to help you stop feeling funny when you breathe.”

“Can…can Logan go…with…me?” Trevor managed to get out.

She looked questioningly at the pastor. Without a word, he got his cell phone out and walked away to make a call. He was soon back, with a comforting smile on his face.

“Trevor, your grandma says Logan can ride in the ambulance with you, and she and Grandpa will be at the hospital when you get there.” He leaned down and ruffled the boy’s hair. “You’re a pretty important person to have so many people who care about you.”

“They…love…me.”

“I love you.” Logan spoke so softly that nobody outside their little circle probably heard him, but Trevor had. Even through his wheezing, he managed to smile at Logan.

“I…love…you too…wish you…were…my dad.”

Emily had to turn away to wipe the tears from her face.

A blaring siren announced the ambulance’s arrival. Aaron had met them at the entrance to the campground so he could direct them to the trailhead.

Emily quietly told the EMT her findings and stood back as he checked Trevor. A few minutes later, amidst the organized chaos, Logan handed his keys to her.

“Have Mason drive my truck home.”

“I will.” She watched as he followed Trevor, looking so small on the gurney.

He turned at the last minute, and silently mouthed, “I love you.”

“I’ll pick you up at the hospital,” she called. He nodded.

A subdued group of people watched the ambulance pull away.

“Is Trevor going to be okay, Miss Scott?” Austin, who was standing as close to Jesse as he could, asked.

She managed a smile. “I’m sure he will be. I’m a nurse, though, and he needs to have a doctor take care of him. I think he needs some medicine.” The EMT would pass on her suspicions about a possible allergic reaction, and Trevor would be carefully examined for rashes or bug bites. It had come on him too suddenly to be asthma.

Abby came up beside Emily and put her arm around her shoulders. “You did good, Em.”

Emily looked at her friend and smiled. “Thanks.”

Pastor Rhinehart cleared his throat. “I think we’ll go ahead and finish our day. Trevor wouldn’t want all of you to miss out on your fun day because he’s sick.”

“Can’t we go to the hospital?” Andy asked. Colton walked up and put his hand on his “little brother’s” shoulder.

Emily looked at the group of anxious young men. Ransom Hospital had a large waiting room, but there were twenty-three of them, counting Abby. Still…She caught Pastor Rhinehart’s eye and shrugged. She’d leave it up to him.

The pastor looked around at his group. “You boys aren’t going to enjoy yourselves because you’re worried about your friend, are you?”

“No.” It seemed Seth wasn’t shy about speaking his mind.

A chorus of “no’s followed.

“Mr. Boone, I’m sorry to have inconvenienced you, but it looks like we’ll have to cancel our party.”

Aaron smiled at the pastor. “That’s okay. I’ll go ‘round to the other campers, and see if they’d enjoy a nice wiener roast.”

“I’m going ahead. I’ll see you at the hospital,” Emily told them. Then she remembered. “Mason, Logan wants you to bring his truck home.” She handed him Logan’s keys.

“No problem. Drive carefully.” He turned to Spencer. “You go get on the bus. I’ll be right behind you.”

The boys were filing onto the bus when Emily pulled out of the parking lot.

The drive between the campground and hospital had never seemed so long before, but she finally pulled in and parked in the employees’ lot. Working there had its perks.

When she got inside, she walked straight back to the nurses’ station and found the weekend staff. Betty Gilkins was head nurse.

She greeted her, then asked about Trevor.

“Dr. Lysart thinks he’s had an allergic reaction to an insect bite. She has given him a strong dose of antihistamine and has him taking breathing treatments. His grandparents are back here with him—nice people.”

“Another man came with him. Do you know where he is?”

“If you mean that gorgeous hunk of flesh, he’s out in the waiting room.” Was Betty salivating?

“That gorgeous hunk of flesh is my boyfriend,” Emily informed her, before heading out to find him.

He was sitting with his head in his hands when she walked in.

“Logan?” There was only one other person in the room.

He looked up. “I couldn’t stay back there, and nobody’s told me anything. I don’t know how he is. Can you find out?”

She sat down beside him. “I just checked. He’s going to be fine. Dr. Lysart thinks Trevor had an allergic reaction to an insect bite, and she’s given him an antihistamine. Trevor’s taking breathing treatments, too, to make sure he gets enough oxygen in his lungs.”

“So he’s really going to be okay?” Logan hadn’t been so worried since his mom had broken her arm.

She nodded. “The most difficult thing may be figuring out what bit him. He was around all kinds of things at the campground today.” She gave him a reassuring smile. “You might want to be prepared because twenty-two males and one female will be arriving any time now.”

He reared back in his seat. “You’re kidding.”

“Nope.” She grinned. “The boys told Pastor Rhinehart they wouldn’t enjoy themselves without Trevor, and they’d rather be here to make sure he was okay than stay for the kickball game and wiener roast.”

Logan looked at her with wonder in his eyes. “It’s almost like this program has created a family, isn’t it?”

“I think so.” She paused. “I heard Trevor tell you he wishes you were his dad.”

His eyes looked suspiciously damp. “I wanted to talk to you first because it affects you, too.”

She waited.

“I’d like to talk to his grandparents about making arrangements for you and me to gain custody of Trevor if anything were to happen to them.”

Emily had heard everything he said, but she couldn’t help but focus on one thing. He was counting on the two of them having a future together, or else her wishes concerning Trevor wouldn’t matter.

“I love you, and I’d love to be Trevor’s mom if he ever needs me to be,” she simply stated.

He leaned over and gave her a quick kiss. “I thought you’d say that.” He cleared his throat. “What you did out there with him…Em, you’re good. You’re a great nurse. I mean, you didn’t panic, and you knew what to do.”

She smiled wryly. “Logan, I work in this emergency room at least forty hours a week. I’m used to dealing with all kinds of problems like Trevor’s. It’s what I do.”

“I guess I never understood.” He focused on the floor. “It makes me feel even worse about the way I was the day you helped my mom.”

Emily placed her hand over his mouth. “That’s over and done with. Unless you want to talk about gluing my dress to the chair so thoroughly that Miss Winestock thought she was going to have to cut me out of it.”

Logan chuckled and shook his head. “Let’s not go there.”

“Agreed.”

She heard them before she saw them. Filing into the waiting room were the rest of the “family”.

“You guys will have to keep it down,” she warned them. They quieted immediately. Trevor’s going to be fine.” She went on to tell them what was going on.

The adults speculated about what could have possibly bitten him.

“Could there have been a spider or something on the side of the tub when he was bobbing for apples?” Bo asked Emily. “It wasn’t very long after that when he came after you guys.”

She considered it. “I’ll let the doctor know.” She looked at Bo, considering the day’s activities. “You know, Dr. Lysart probably needs to speak to one of you to find out what Trevor was around before his attack. If she does, would you do that, Bo?”

Logan couldn’t help but feel guilty. He should have been out there with Trevor instead of getting all hot and bothered with Emily. As it was, Bo would have a better idea of what might have caused it.

“Sure,” Bo answered.

“I’ll be right back.” Emily smiled at all of them, then turned to Logan. “I’ll see if you can go back there and sit with him for a few minutes. His grandparents may want to go get a soda or something.”

He smiled gratefully at her. How had he ever lived without Emily in his life?

Twenty minutes later, Emily promised the busload of boys she’d tell Trevor they’d been there, and told Abby and the men goodbye. Then she led Bo and Logan to the back. Dr. Lysart met them at the nurses’ station.

“Dr. Lysart, this is Bo Daniels. He’s the man I told you about.”

“Would you come to the consultation room with me for a few minutes?” the doctor asked Bo.

“Gladly, if it’ll help Trevor.” Bo followed Dr. Lysart.

Emily turned to Brenda. “This is
my boyfriend
, Logan Taylor, and he’s going to sit with Trevor Ryman while his grandparents go to the cafeteria. They haven’t had dinner yet.”

Logan hadn’t missed Emily’s tone of voice, nor did he miss the way the other woman looked him up and down. There was definitely some tension between those two. He silently took Emily’s hand and squeezed it reassuringly. She had no reason to worry, and he wanted her to know it.

She walked with him to the door of Trevor’s room. “I’ll let you have some time with him. Just come find me when you’re ready to go home.”

He didn’t care where they were. “I love you.” He leaned down and gently kissed her lips.

“I love you, too.” Even if he still thought she was delusional or something.

She could still feel his lips against hers as she walked to the cafeteria to talk to Trevor’s grandparents.

“This is fun!” Linda Taylor exclaimed, sitting back in her rocking chair. Logan had moved it over so she could watch the door from a comfortable distance.

Emily laughed. She was enjoying herself, too, handing out candy to little ghosts, Power Rangers, the cutest little Tow Mator she’d ever seen, and more costumed children than she could count.

“Logan’s going to be sorry he missed this,” his mom declared. Emily had insisted he go with Mason and Bo to Matt’s house, where all of the Slammers were watching a basketball game on his big flat-screen television. He needed to spend some time with his friends.

“I think he’s probably having a good time, too,” Emily gently told Linda. “He works so many hours and spends so much time with me, I feel guilty. The guys miss him.”

Linda chuckled. “You’re a lot prettier than any one of those guys, even Brody.”

“Thank you—I think.” Emily was interrupted by a knock on the door. When she finished giving candy to a crayon and an Oreo cookie, she turned back to a somber Linda.

“My Logan has had a hard life, you know.” His mom’s eyes darkened. “Nothing has ever come easy for him. He has worked hard for everything he’s got.” Her smile was shaky as she fought tears. “That’s why I’m happy he has you. You’re like a breath of fresh air in his life. I’ve never seen him happier, and if anybody deserves to be happy, it’s Logan.”

There was another knock at the door. Emily burst into laughter when she saw Mason and Logan with their jeans rolled up to their knees and baseball caps on backward. “What are you two nuts doing?”

“Trick or treating.” Logan’s eyebrows waggled. “Will you be my treat?”

Emily leaned forward and gave him a quick kiss.

Logan led Mason in. “Hi, Mom.”

“Hi, Logan. This is the most fun I’ve had in years.” His mom’s smile was wide.

“Good.” He loved Emily all the more for thinking it up. He had to talk to her, though. “Mom, Mason’s going to hand out candy for a little while so I can talk to Em. Okay?”

Linda smiled at Mason. “I remember you. Don’t you go getting fresh with me.”

“Come on, Mrs. T.” Mason played it up for all he was worth. “How can I resist a beautiful woman like you?”

“Hand me that fly swatter before you go with Logan, Emily,” Linda commanded her.

Laughing at the two of them, Emily complied before following Logan onto the back porch.

“What’s going on?” She was starting to become nervous.

He didn’t know what she’d think about his plans. “Matt’s satellite is down, and we all kind of had our hearts set on watching the game on a big screen.”

“Yeah?”

“Well, the guys want to go to Trimble’s and watch it. I just didn’t feel right about going there without you knowing first.” He searched her eyes. “Are you okay with it? Do you trust me?”

Trimble’s was a local sports bar that boasted waitresses with chests the size of small countries, and skirts that were shorter than an average belt. Emily had to admit to herself that she was less than comfortable with the idea of her extremely handsome boyfriend being there without her.

“You don’t want me to go. I’ll stay here with you and Mom.” He turned to walk back into the house, but she stopped him.

It was going to have to be all or nothing. She either trusted him or not. “I’m not thrilled that other women will be waving their…attributes in your face, but I trust you, Logan.” She looked into his eyes. “You haven’t given me any reason not to.”

“I promise we’re going to watch the game. I’m the designated driver for Mason, so I won’t even be drinking.” He pulled her into his arms and kissed her. “And I’m not the least bit interested in any other woman’s attributes. I only want to get my hands on yours.” His lips found hers once again. “I love you, Em.”

“I still love you, too.” She wished he’d give up this stupid time limit. Christmas wasn’t going to get there soon enough to suit her.

He looked into her eyes. She trusted him, and he would never betray that trust. Everything he had told her was true. “Thank you, Emily.”

“You’d better leave before my sanity returns and I change my mind.” She was only half kidding.

“I’ll call you when I get home tonight.” They had gotten into the habit of late-night phone calls when one of them got stuck working late, and they didn’t get to spend any time together.

“Okay.” She stood on her toes and kissed him. “Your mom’s probably in there beating Mason to death with her fly swatter.”

“Ouch! I just wanted one candy bar, Mrs. T!”

“I didn’t hit you that hard, you big baby,” Linda scolded him. “The candy is for the cute, little kids. If we run out, Emily will have to turn out the porch light, and they’ll stop coming.”

Emily couldn’t keep from laughing at the expression on Mason’s face. He was the proverbial kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

After Logan kissed his mom on the cheek and gave Emily another lingering goodnight kiss, the men left.

Emily gave some candy to a Tootsie Roll, and what she thought was supposed to be a shark—or a guy with a really bad blue Mohawk. When she shared her thoughts with Linda, the other woman laughed.

Suddenly she sobered. “Logan’s father cheated on me.” Emily’s heart stuttered at Linda’s announcement. She had always thought Linda’s absentee husband was a taboo subject.

“I’m sorry.”

“Anything in a skirt, or pants, that he could get into.” She looked miserable. “Of course, he was married to a sick woman.”

That made Emily angry. “Your illness doesn’t matter, Linda. The fact is, he was married to you. He should have honored his vows.”

“So far as I know, we’re still married.”

“You’ve never divorced him?” Emily asked incredulously.

Linda sadly shook her head. “The truth is, I don’t know where he took off to—or who he took off with. He told me he was leaving on a Friday night, and he was gone when I got up on Saturday morning. He didn’t even tell his boys goodbye.” Her sorrowful countenance shifted to anger. “He could have at least told his own sons goodbye. They didn’t do anything to drive him away.”

Emily set down the candy bowl and walked over to Linda. She knelt and placed her hands “on the other woman’s. “You didn’t, either. There was something missing in him, not you. There had to be for him to have been able to desert his wife and sons.”

“I think Trenton thought it was his fault. He was older, you know, and was quite a sassy boy. He didn’t take anything from anybody without talkin’ back. I love both my sons, but Trenton was never respectful like Logan.”

“Do you think that’s why Trenton left?” Emily’s heart was breaking for this sweet woman.

She shook her head. “No. It turned out that he was cut from the same cloth as his father.” Linda smiled sadly. “I think I might have a grandchild or two out there somewhere. He was quite the ladies’ man, and from what I understood, not a very careful one.”

The thought of Logan having nieces or nephews, and not knowing them, coupled with the way he loved Trevor, broke her heart. “If Trenton was like his dad, Logan must be like you.”

Linda smiled. “He’s a good, decent, honorable man. You’re the first woman he’s brought here for me to meet.” She patted Emily’s hand. “He loves you, and he’ll do right by you. You’ll never have to worry about him havin’ a wandering eye.”

Emily returned her smile, but couldn’t quite keep a lone tear from sliding down her face. “He’s still waiting until the middle of December. Christmas now, he says. Before he accepts that I really love him.”

“Now that, I’ve realized, must be for another reason.” Linda carefully studied Emily’s features. “Even a fool like me can see how much the two of you love each other. If I find out he didn’t have a mighty good reason for waiting, I’m going to take my fly swatter to
his
back side!”

The picture of Linda swatting the seat of Logan’s pants made Emily laugh. “I’ll tell you what,” she managed to say. “I’ll hold him down for you.”

Both women were laughing when some more trick-or-treaters knocked on the door.

---------------------------------

If that waitress leaned over in front of Logan one more time, he was leaving. Mason or no Mason. He had done everything he could think of to let her know he wasn’t interested, but she was either an idiot or very persistent woman—maybe both. Mason’s increasingly drunken ramblings weren’t helping, either.

“If you don’t grab some of that, you’re crazy,” Mason informed him.

Logan was getting angry. The game had been over for fifteen minutes, and the rest of the gang had left. He had been trying to get Mason up and out of there ever since.

“You know I’m with Emily.”

“What she don’t know won’t hurt her.” Mason winked at another waitress. Good. Maybe
she’d
take his sorry carcass home.

“Shut up, Mason. I’m not interested in anybody besides Emily.” He should have just stayed at his mom’s and helped Em hand out candy.

“Sure I can’t get you anything, sugar?” Okay. This time she had brushed against his arm way too hard for it to have been an accident.

“I’m positive,” he coldly informed her. “I’ve got everything I need waiting for me at home.”

“Maybe a little side dish?” He averted his eyes as she leaned over the table in front of him.

“I’d like a side dish,” Mason told her.

The blonde bimbo cast a dismissive glance Mason’s way. “It’s a special. Only available for your friend here.” She came around and brushed her breast against his arm again.

That did it. Logan stood up so quickly he nearly knocked his chair over. “I’m leaving, Wright. You can come with me, or stay here and hope somebody gives you a ride.”

Mason drunkenly looked at the waitress who kept coming after Logan. “How about if
I
give
you
a ride, Sweetheart?”

“I’d rather ride him.” She actually brushed her hand across Logan’s fly.

“I’m outta here.” He threw money on the table for his last soda and walked out of the bar. Mason was on his own. As far as Logan was concerned, he could walk his sorry butt home. He was just sliding behind the wheel of his truck when the waitress appeared at his window.

“I don’t think you know what I’m offerin’ you, honey.”

He had
really
had enough. “I don’t think you understand, I’m not interested!!” He didn’t mean to yell quite so loud, but the woman was evidently stupid or hard of hearing, so he’d cover both bases. “I have a girlfriend!!”

Thank heavens! The woman finally backed off, disbelief in her eyes. She must not get turned down very often.

As Logan pulled his pickup out of the parking lot, he made two decisions. He was never coming to Trimble’s without Emily glued to his side, and one of his other buddies was going to be Mason’s designated driver from here on out. He had actually encouraged Logan to cheat on Emily.

He looked at his watch and softly cursed. He’d probably wake her up, but he told her he’d call when he got home. He was telling her everything, too. He had learned from his past mistakes. There were never going to be games and secrets between them again. He just hoped she understood.

She sounded downright sexy when she answered the phone twenty minutes later, obviously having been woken up.

“Em, I love you,” were the first words out of his mouth.

She immediately woke up. “What happened?”

“Nothing. I promise.” He took a deep breath. “One of those sorry excuses for a waitress kept putting’ it out there, but I let her know in no uncertain terms I wasn’t interested. I even yelled at her in the parking lot.”

Emily felt sick. “She was with you in the parking lot?”

Darn it. He should have phrased that differently. It sounded like something it wasn’t. “She followed me to my truck, Emily. That was when I had to yell at her to make her understand I have a girlfriend, and I wasn’t the least bit interested in anything she had to offer.”

“Where were the other guys? Where was Mason? Her mind was full of pictures she didn’t like.

“Everyone but Mason had left, and as far as I know, he’s still sittin’ there—three sheets to the wind. I kept telling him I was leaving, but he just kept encouraging me to…you know. I got fed up and left his sorry tail there. He can just find his own way home.”

“Nothing happened? You didn’t…touch her?” Emily had only been to Trimble’s once, with a group from the hospital, and she had seen the kind of women who worked there.

“I didn’t touch her. She brushed against me a couple of times and kept trying to flash me, but I kept away from her and didn’t look.” She had to believe him.

“If nothing happened, why are you telling me?” Her voice was quiet like it was when she was about to cry.

“Because I’m not ever going to play games with you again, Em. I learned after that mess with the
Razor
. I didn’t want somebody who might have seen what happened to tell you, or worse yet, Mason’s version of the whole stupid thing and have you wonder why you didn’t already know. I promise I didn’t cheat on you with my heart, mind, or body.”