Lion Lost & Found, Paranormal Romance (Ghost Cat Shifters Book 2) (17 page)

She skidded to a stop by the desk. “I need to see Heath Ashworth,” she said abruptly.

The nurse glanced up. “Are you family?”

“Well, no, but I might as well be.”

The nurse shook her head. “I’m sorry, but we can’t give any information out unless you’re family.”

The woman looked back at her computer and kept on typing. Anger rose swiftly inside Vivi. “What the hell is wrong with you? People don’t just show up at hospitals to see someone unless they give a damn. Please tell me…” Her voice raised an octave with every word, but she was conveniently interrupted when she felt a hand curl around her elbow.

She turned to find Sophia at her side. “Come on. We’re all waiting down the hall.” Sophia’s eyes were warm and worried.

Vivi threw a final glare at the nurse behind the desk, although she’d turned around and didn’t even see it. She hurried along at Sophia’s side. “What’s going on? Do we know if he’s okay?”

Sophia nodded, her mouth pinched and her face tense. “He’s in surgery. He insisted he was okay when they left, but he should’ve gone straight to the closest hospital. Instead, Roger and Daniel didn’t push it and he lost a lot of blood on the way here. I guess he has a nasty tear on one side of his neck and shoulder. The doctor is operating right now to close it up. Apparently, Nelson came within centimeters of his carotid artery. Heath is damn lucky he’s alive.”

Vivi absorbed Sophia’s words and swallowed against the cold fear rolling through her. Her throat was tight and her heart ached. Sophia turned into a waiting area where Daniel sat, along with Heath and Sophia’s parents, Leo and Lila Ashworth. Lila stood when they entered the room and immediately came to Vivi’s side, pulling her into a warm hug. When she stepped back, she slid her hands down Vivi’s arms. “I’m glad you’re here. Heath would want you to be here,” Lila said, her dark brown eyes warm and assessing. Her almost black hair was streaked with silver and pulled back into a loose ponytail.

Lila might as well have been a second mother to Vivi. The same could be said for Vivi’s mother to Sophia. They’d spent so much of their childhoods at each other’s houses that it was impossible not to feel that way. Vivi wondered what Lila knew of her and Heath. When she met her eyes, she knew Lila was at least aware something was going on between them. Vivi saw the kind understanding and concern reflected in her gaze and almost burst into tears. She took a deep breath and tried to calm the worry and fear coiling tightly inside.

“Do we know how long it will be before we hear from the doctor again?” she asked.

Lila shook her head. “All we know is they took him into surgery. The nurse who checked in last said it would be at least another hour before he’s moved into recovery.”

An hour seemed too long and terrifying. That sense of panic clogged her throat again, making it hard to breathe.

Lila slid her hands down to squeeze Vivi’s, prompting Vivi to flinch from the cut on her palm. Lila lifted her hand and turned it over. “What happened to you? Are you okay?”

Vivi nodded quickly. “Just a little cut. No big deal.” As the words left her mouth, all she could think was it was nothing compared to what Heath was going through.
 

When Lila dropped her hands and moved to sit again, Vivi followed suit and turned to Daniel. “What happened?”

Daniel quickly offered a summary of events. “Honestly, Heath took a pretty big fall when Nelson knocked him off the ledge. You have to understand, it was a muddle for a few minutes. Heath just wouldn’t back down and neither would Nelson. When we tried to persuade Heath to go to the hospital up there, he refused. If I’d known how deep Nelson had gotten him, I’d have insisted.” Daniel clearly felt responsible and shook his head, a look of worry and frustration in his eyes.

Sophia slipped her hand into his where it rested on his thigh. “It’s okay. Heath’s going to be okay. We just have to wait to find out how he’s doing after surgery.”

Vivi leaned her head against the wall behind her and tried to corral her feelings. She’d been such an idiot. She loved Heath. She’d loved him for years. She’d let her own fear get in the way. Now, she was afraid he might not make it through this, and she might not have a chance to tell him how she felt. After everything he’d been through over the last year, she couldn’t stop worrying that it was worse than they knew. The next hour crawled by. The television in the waiting room rumbled in the background. She mostly tuned it out until her ears perked up when Nelson’s name was announced. She wasn’t alone with everyone in the waiting room turning to the television. The stately local news anchor continued what he was saying.

“We received a report from the police in Painter, Colorado this evening that they believe Nelson Weaver was the original mastermind and organizer for the drug smuggling network. The network sprung up in Painter and then spread throughout Colorado and into other states over the last few years. As you’ve heard from previous reports, law enforcement in multiple states have been gradually taking the network down, but the authorities here reported slow progress except for arrests of low level dealers. Last summer, they had a big break when they identified Mr. Weaver as the leader of the drug ring, but he was believed to be in hiding for months. Law enforcement chose not to release his name to the public in order to protect their investigation. Reports indicate Mr. Weaver was arrested this afternoon on Federal lands several hours north of Painter. This won’t mean the end of drugs or of smuggling, but the authorities do believe Mr. Weaver’s arrest was crucial and will eliminate a significant source of drugs coming into the area.”

Vivi sighed and glanced around the room. She should feel elated, but she couldn’t feel anything other than worry and fear right now. If Heath wasn’t okay, Nelson’s arrest would mean they paid much too high of a price to bring him down. She idly traced the edge of the bandage on her palm and waited. She’d lost track of how long they’d been waiting when a nurse stepped into the room. Vivi leapt out of her chair, while the rest of the family circled the nurse.

The nurse, a slender woman with warm blue eyes and short brown hair, smiled at them. “Well, I can see Mr. Ashworth has plenty of family concerned about him. You’ll be glad to know the surgery went well. He’s in the recovery room now and can have visitors shortly.”

The nurse was bombarded with questions from the others, while Vivi leaned against the wall and put her hands over her face. She didn’t need to know anything other than that Heath was safe and okay. Immense relief swept through her. She felt a hand curl over her shoulder and glanced up to find Lila beside her.

“Are you okay, dear?” Lila asked softly.

Vivi nodded and swallowed through the tightness in her throat. “Uh huh. I’m just…” She paused and took a shaky breath. When she met Lila’s eyes again, the tears rolled down her cheeks. Vivi swiped at them. “You must think I’m an idiot. Here you are doing just fine and Heath’s your son. I’m, oh, I don’t know…”

When her words trailed off, Lila slipped her arm across Vivi’s shoulders and tugged her into another hug. When she released her, Lila leaned against the wall beside Vivi. “Heath loves you. You know that, right?”

Vivi bit her lip and rolled her head to the side to look at Lila. “I think so. I haven’t handled things all that well.”

Lila smiled softly. “You’ve handled things just fine. I talked to Heath the other day and told him to give you some time. Julianna
should
be your priority. I never needed to sort through something like that, but every mother knows you don’t just bring a new man into your child’s life without finding a way to do it very carefully. I believe you probably love Heath too, but that still doesn’t mean you should rush things.”

Somehow Lila’s way of framing the issue, without judgment and as if it made perfect sense, eased the knot of uncertainty and tension Vivi had been holding inside for weeks. Vivi took in a gulp of air and closed her eyes. When she opened them, she glanced to Lila. “I do love him. I just hope he understands I didn’t mean to hurt him.”

Lila reached over and squeezed Vivi’s good hand. “He already understands. I’m not going to pretend he’s enjoyed the last few days, but he understands. If not, just give me a call and I’ll knock the sense back into him.”

Vivi laughed softly, her tears still hot in her eyes. “I’ll do that.”

A few minutes later, the doctor came to offer more of an update on Heath’s surgery and what to expect next. They were then allowed into the recovery room to visit him, only two at a time. Even though Vivi was desperate to see Heath, she felt his parents and Sophia needed to see him first, so she hung back and waited while they went in in pairs. When she was finally in the room beside him, the tears welled again. His eyes were closed when she approached the hospital bed. The recovery room didn’t offer much privacy. His bed was surrounded with a curtain, and she could hear the soft mumble of other voices nearby.

She quietly sat down in the chair situated beside the bed. His breathing was slow and even. She didn’t want to disturb him, so she carefully slipped her hand onto the bed where his rested and eased hers over it. His breathing didn’t change, so she stayed like that, softly stroking her thumb over the back of his palm. After a few minutes, he rolled his head to the side and opened his eyes. For a second, they were unfocused. He blinked and then his dark green gaze held hers. He started to sit up, but fell back against the bed.

“Don’t move!” she whispered fiercely, fighting against the tears welling inside.

“I’m fine,” he said, his voice hoarse.

“You are
not
fine. You just had surgery,” she said, trying to inject some sternness in her tone.

He somehow managed a small shrug with one shoulder, although he grimaced when he did. He turned his hand over and laced his fingers into hers. “I didn’t think I was in bad shape. Last thing I remember is Daniel telling me I collapsed when we got here.”

Her heart felt sliced open. She tried and failed to keep the tears from spilling down her cheeks. His hand gripped hers tightly. “Please don’t cry, Vivi. It’s okay. I’m okay.”

She nodded and dragged her forearm across her face, smearing her tears on her sleeve. “I know, I know. But you got hurt, and I got scared.” She paused and gulped in air. “Maybe now’s not the best time to talk, but I’m sorry. I’m so sorry I got all freaked out. Its just…it’s just you mean so much to me.”

Heath again tried to sit up and fell back.
 

“Stop it. You’re going to hurt yourself.”

His mouth hooked in a half-smile. “Hard to get in worse shape than I was before the surgery.” His smile faded. “I love you, you know.”

Her tears kept rolling down her cheeks. She squeezed his hand tightly and nodded. “I love you. I do, I really do. I just…ugh.” She paused for another breath of air. “I talked to Chris and it made me question everything. Not about you, but about me. I mean, he’s, well, he’s a complete loser and I was dumb enough to fall for him. Julianna has a fool for a father and I can’t do anything to change that. I want to make sure I do what’s right for her. Somehow I got that all mixed up into thinking I needed to keep you out of our lives.” She shook her head sharply. “But I love you and that isn’t going to change, so I figure it’s better if I find a way to deal with that instead of running away from it.”

Heath’s eyes locked onto hers, his expression somber and soft at once. She felt held by his gaze alone. She could feel the beat of his pulse against her wrist. “My mom told me I needed to be patient, but I won’t pretend the last few days didn’t suck.” He cleared his throat. “I can’t do anything about Chris and how he’s treated Julianna, but I promise you I already love her as if she was mine. I don’t want to replace her father in her mind, but as far as I’m concerned, she’s my daughter. I know she comes first for you, and she’s first for me too. Okay?”

She nodded, unable to speak a word with the flood of emotions coursing through her. At that moment, the distinct sound of the curtain sliding on its track came. Vivi glanced over her shoulder to see the nurse peeking around the edge of the curtain. “Sorry to interrupt, but I need to check on a few things. Will that be okay?”

Vivi started to stand, but the nurse shook her head. It was the same nurse who’d come to let them know Heath’s surgery went well. Her blue eyes coasted over Heath. “You’re looking quite well for what you’ve been through today, Mr. Ashworth,” the nurse offered with a soft smile.

Heath held tight to Vivi’s hand and grinned. “I’ve been worse. What do you need to check on?”

The nurse stepped to the far side of the bed and scanned the monitor positioned on that side. “Just making sure your vitals are still stable, which they are.” She reached up and checked the fluid in the IV bag hanging from its stand. “How’s your pain?” she asked as she turned to face the bed.

Heath shrugged. “I can deal with it. If you don’t mind, I’d prefer you keep any doses of pain medication light.”

The nurse arched a brow in question.

“I was in a bad car accident over a year ago and had a rough time coming off the painkillers. I’d rather live with a little extra pain than go through that again,” Heath explained matter-of-factly.

The nurse nodded firmly. “Understood. I’ll let the doctor know.” She turned to leave, but Heath spoke again.

“Not to sound stupid, but do you mind telling me what the surgery was for? I don’t remember a damn thing after I got here except waking up briefly to hear my buddy tell me I passed out.”

The nurse grinned. “You sure did. Fell in a heap at his feet, as a matter of fact.” She sobered. “You sustained a nasty puncture wound on your neck and a deep scratch that ran down your neck and shoulder. Your friend said you fell while you guys were out hiking and caught your shoulder on a branch. That must’ve been one sharp branch because it did a bit of damage. The doctor took care of some other scratches and nicks, so you’ve got stitches in a few places. The other areas would probably heal up on their own, but since he was operating, we wanted to minimize chances of infection. You’ll need to stay for a few hours, but you can probably go home later tonight. No need for you to stay overnight.” At that, she glanced between them. “I’ll let you two have a few more minutes to yourselves. Visitors are only allowed in recovery for fifteen minutes at a time.” At that, the nurse slipped through the curtain. It fell behind her with a soft whoosh.