Marrying Kate (23 page)

Jared thought about Katie. Had she wanted those things? Of course she had. Any dreams of a husband and family would have included the normal courtship traditions.

As he and Drake sat in silence waiting for more news
, Jared began to plan the courtship of his wife. It felt like he’d waited an eternity when the door of the room opened and the same doctor he’d talked to earlier walked in.

Jared bolted to his feet. "How is she?"

"She’s stable." The doctor peeled off the cloth hat covering his head. "We removed the bullet which surprisingly enough had done very little damage. A little further down and it would have pierced the heart."

Jared closed his eyes at the thought, then opened them again. "She’s going to be okay?"

"It appears that way. She’s in recovery now. We’re still a bit concerned about the bump her head took, but there is no sign of bleeding around the brain. Once she wakes up that concern will lessen."

"Can I see her?" Jared asked desperately.

The doctor nodded. "She’ll probably still be out of it for another hour or so, but you can see her if you don’t stay too long."

Jared followed the doctor down the corridor and into the elevator. His heart pounded as the doctor led him to the bed where Katie lay.

She looked so still. Her face almost the same color as the white bandages on her head.

"You’re sure she’s okay?" Jared
glanced at the doctor and then back at Katie.

"She’s stable," he repeated. "She lost a lot of blood."

As the doctor left the room, Jared sat down on a chair next to the bed and reached for Kate’s hand. Her fingers were limp in his grasp, and cool. He covered her hand with both of his trying to warm it up.

Gradually her fingers began to warm a bit so he put that hand down and did the same to the other. All the while he prayed for her to wake up. From what the doctor said it seemed that her regaining consciousness was an important step.

"Come on, Katie," Jared urged. "Come back to us. We need you! We love you."

There was no response from Katie, just the hiss and whir of the machines in the room. Bowing his head, Jared clasped her hand between his and held it against his forehead.

"God, please touch Katie’s body and heal her. I have so much to tell her. I need her. The kids need her. Don’t take her from us. The kids have lost so much already. Don’t put them through this. Please." Jared’s throat tightened and he couldn’t go on. He fought back the tears that threatened to fall again. He needed to be strong.

Jared sat unmoving at Kate’s side for what felt like an
other eternity. He willed his strength into her and watched for the slightest sign that she was coming around.

Finally his waiting was rewarded. Kate moaned softly
, and her fingers flexed against his. Jared sat up straight and leaned over her.

"C’mon, Katie! Can you squeeze my fingers?" Jared felt another small movement in his hand and hope filled his heart. "Open your eyes, sweetie. Let me see those beautiful gray eyes."

Her lashes fluttered slightly and again Katie moaned. Jared hated knowing how much pain she must be in from the gunshot and the wound on her head.

Jared continued to talk softly to her as he rang the call button. A nurse came in and he explained to her about Katie’s movements. She hurried away and soon the doctor he’d seen earlier came in.

Reluctant to release her, Jared continued to hold Kate’s hand even as he moved out of the doctor’s way so he could examine her. A smile broke across his face when he saw Kate’s eyes
finally open.

"Welcome back, Katie." Jared leaned close hoping against hope he wouldn’t see anger in her eyes. Would she remember all that had happened?

"Jared?" Her voice rasped unnaturally low.

"Yes, I’m here."

After shining a light in each
eye and asking her a couple of questions, the doctor turned to Jared. "I think we can safely say that your wife has turned the corner. She’ll stay here in recovery for a little while longer and then she’ll be moved to her room."

The doctor left them then
, and Jared moved to sit in the chair closest to the head of the bed. "Are you in a lot of pain, Katie?"

"Yes. Everywhere hurts." Kate lifted a hand to her
head, her fingers grazing the bandage. "What happened?"

"Do you remember anything?" Jared asked.

Katie’s eyes slid shut again.

"Katie?" Jared worried about her falling asleep again so soon.

"Just thinkin’," Katie said, a slight smile lifting one corner of her mouth.

Relief filled Jared. At least she was still smiling.

"I remember...the fight we had and then feeling the cloth cover my face." Her brow furrowed and she winced in pain. "He was going to shoot you."

"Yes, but you stopped the bullet instead," Jared told her. "And you hit your head on your way to the floor."

"That explains the pain."

"I’m sure you’re going to feel pain for a few days to come, unfortunately."

"The kids. How are the kids?" Katie focused her gaze on him, her gray eyes serious.

"They’re fine. Darlene was bringing them here to the hospital. Drake said he’d come let me know when they arrived. I’ll let you see them when you get to your own room, okay?"

Katie nodded. "Is Dani okay?"

"She’s fine. Just cutting teeth like you said. I’m sure she’s missed you though."

"Missed them too." Katie’s eyelids slid downward again and this time Jared didn’t speak to her. She remembered and she’d talked with him, even smiled. She was going to be fine.

"Thank you, God. Thank you with all my heart," Jared prayed as he stood and bent to press a kiss on Katie’s forehead. When she didn’t stir, he decided to go let Drake and the others know what had happened.

Darlene and the kids were just walking down the hallway when Jared got out of the elevator. The two girls rushed to him and put their arms around him.

"What happened, Uncle Jared? Where’s Aunt Kate?" Amelia asked, worry clouding her small face.

"Let’s go into the waiting room and I’ll tell you." Jared looped an arm around his young nieces. He noticed Bry was hanging back, a scared look on his face. "C’mon, Bry. It’s not that bad."

Slowly the group made its way into the private waiting room. Drake saw the smile on Jared’s face and returned it with one of his own. "I think I’ll head for home now."

"Thanks for all your help, Drake. I’ll give you a call later. Right now..." Drake nodded his
understanding, gave Jared a hard one-arm hug and left the room.

Jared had the kids sit down. Darlene sat with Dani perched on her knee. He tried to give them what he hoped was a reassuring smile, hoping to take the fear out of the situation.

Before he could get a word out, Bry burst into tears. "I’m so sorry, Uncle Jared. It’s all my fault. I didn’t really want something bad to happen to Aunt Kate."

Jared gave Bry a perplexed look. "What are you talking about, Bry?"

"Aunt Kate. I told her last night I didn’t want her to be my mother. That she could never be my mother and that I wished she’d go away. I didn’t really mean it. Honest I didn’t. I just wanted to keep that video game
, but she said no." Bry’s shoulders slumped as he came to the end of his explanation.

Jared moved to sit next to his nephew.
"What happened to your Aunt Kate had nothing to do with that. Remember the guard we’ve had around to protect us?" The kids nodded. "Well, last night I was supposed to be guarding, but your aunt went into the back yard and before I found her, someone had kidnapped her." Jared paused, not wanting to go into all the details. "Some people from where I work came and helped me get her back. Unfortunately, Katie got hurt but she’s going to be okay. She was awake a little while ago and asked about all of you."

"Are you sure she’s going to be okay?" Amelia asked.

Jared didn’t want to lie but he didn’t want to frighten her either. "The doctors say that now that she’s woken up, she’s doing much better. We still have to pray that God will heal her completely, but I think she’s going to be just fine. I’ll take you in to see her in a little while."

The worry on their faces faded but not completely. Jared knew that until they saw for themselves that Kate was all right, they wouldn’t let go of their fears. Darlene looked more relaxed too, now that she’d heard that Kate was going to make it.

Jared left and went to the nurses’ station to ask them to notify him when Kate was brought to her room. Instead of going right back to the waiting room he went to the men’s washroom and in the privacy of a stall, allowed his tears of relief to fall. He hadn’t wanted to scare the kids with his tears. They might not understand why he cried.

He was fully composed by the time he returned to the waiting room. The kids were sitting silently on the couch and looked up expectantly when he walked in.

"They’ll let us know as soon as Katie’s in her room." Jared sat down next to Bry and leaned his head back against the wall. He was so weary. He’d gone more the twenty-four hours without sleep and added to that was the emotional and physical exertion. And now that the worry over Kate had ebbed from his body, Jared felt himself relaxing.

A nurse poked her head around the door. "Mr. Lambert? Your wife is in her room now. You may visit her, two at a time.
She will tire quickly, so please keep your visits short."

Jared nodded and looked at the three kids. "Which of you wants to go first
?"

Amelia stood immediately
, so he took her by the hand and followed the nurse down the corridor. Kate continued to sleep, but at least Amelia was able to see that her aunt was still alive. Candy came next and then Jared took Darlene and Dani.

Dani fussed when she saw Kate and at the sound, Kate’s eyes opened. When her gaze fell on Dani she smiled. "My baby! How are you, sweetheart?" She lifted a hand and squeezed Dani’s foot.

"She’s doing just fine," Darlene assured Kate. "And I’m glad to see you’re still in one piece too."

Kate smiled weakly. "One piece but very sore. Have the others been in already?"

"All but Bry," Jared told her.

"He doesn’t want to see me?" Kate asked.

Jared paused. "He was worried what had happened was his fault."

Their eyes met and knowledge flowed between them. It amazed Jared that with just a look between him and Kate, they knew what the other was thinking.

"I need to see him," Kate said.
 

Chapter Twelve

Kate watched Jared leave with Darlene and Dani following behind him. She t
ried to relax her tense muscles, but everything still hurt. They would probably give her something for the pain, but Kate wanted a chance to talk to Bry first, with a clear mind.

Her eyelids slid shut momentarily. Exhaustion tugged at her, enticing her to drift away
, but she fought against it. She heard her door open and footsteps approach the bed. Summoning strength from deep inside, Kate opened her eyes. Bry stood next to her bed, eyes downcast. Jared’s hand rested on his shoulder.

"Hi, Bry." Kate reached out and took his hand. "I’m glad you came to see me."

Bry’s gaze met hers briefly before sliding away once again. He still didn’t say anything.

"You know what happened isn’t your fault, right?" Kate tried again to draw him out. Bry gave a brief jerky nod. "I forgot about your uncle’s warning to not go out of the house at night without him. It had nothing to do with our disagreement earlier."

Bry edged a little closer to the bed, his fingers flexing in hers. "I’m real sorry," he whispered. "I didn’t really mean what I said to you. I was just mad about the video game."

"I know, but you still can’t keep it," Kate told him gently.

"That’s okay. I’ll save up my money for a better one."

Kate smiled and was glad when Bry smiled back at her. "That sounds like a good idea to me."

"I think we need to let your aunt rest now," Jared said. "You can come see her again later. I think Darlene is going to take you guys to school now."

"Do we hafta go, Uncle Jared? What if something more happens?"

"If something happens I’ll come to the school and get you. Your Aunt Kate needs rest and I need to get some sleep, so I think it’s best if you kids were in school."

Bry dragged his feet as they left the room. Kate wasn’t sure if Jared planned to come back to say
goodbye or not. She wondered exactly where they stood now. Her heart ached along with the rest of her body from the things he had said. Where did they go from here?

Kate’s eyes closed and she began to drift off. She was just about asleep when she felt someone grasp her hand. Opening her eyes, she saw Jared standing next to the bed looking down at her, his blue eyes serious.

"I didn’t mean to wake you," he said as he pulled a nearby chair close to the bed and sat down.

"I wasn’t asleep yet. Just dozing." Kate looked at him closely and saw exhaustion etched in every line on his face. "You need to go home and get some sleep."