Chapter Forty-One
Aiden
I am going crazy. I woke up in the hospital. They keep checking my vitals and taking my blood pressure and sending me for all kinds of scans. All I want is Emma. They tell me she is fine. Severely dehydrated, and she has some minor burns and scrapes, but she’s going to be just fine. I won’t believe it unless I see her with my own eyes. Hold her in my arms. Kiss her senseless.
I finally rip off all the annoying gadgets stuck to me. The nurse comes in just as I’m trying to remove the IV.
“Stop,” she says.
“I need to see her.”
“You need to rest, Aiden.”
I look at her nametag. Margie Evans. I know her. She was the PTA mom, canned food drive organizer and school nurse. “Mrs. Evans.”
She offers me a smile. “Aiden, the tests will be back soon.” She adjusts the covers over me, and her hand reaches for mine. I pull it away as soon as she touches it. “I’m so sorry.”
“What exactly are you apologizing for?”
“Everything.”
“Because you believed him, didn’t you?”
She wipes her eyes and sniffs. “Everyone did. I am so sorry.”
“I don’t need your pity, Mrs. Evans.”
“What can I do for you?”
“Take me to my girl.”
Her mouth crimps in a slight frown. “I can’t. The doctors don’t want you up yet. We’re worried about internal injuries.”
“Then put me in a wheelchair and roll me. Hell, I’ll roll myself.”
“Not until the tests are back. But I can try to sneak her in here. She’s been going crazy asking for you, too.”
It feels like forever until Emma is standing at the door. I hope to God she is not a mirage. I sit up in the bed, and shift my legs over.
“Aiden, you shouldn’t get up.”
“Then you better come to me.” I pat the vacant area on the bed.
She walks to me and takes the seat. Her shoulders shake. She turns her head to me.
“Are you hurt, Emma?”
“I’m fine. How do you feel?”
“Better now that you’re here.”
She throws her arms over me. I wince. “Am I hurting you?” she asks.
“No.”
“Liar.”
I laugh, which hurts even more. “Angel, I want to hold you more than anything. I can live with this hurt.”
“I almost lost you.” She sobs against my chest.
I take her face in my hands, wiping away her tears with my thumb. “You were so brave, Cooper. You saved my life. You know what that means? I am your responsibility now. You are stuck with me.”
“You saved my life, too.” I tilt my head quizzically and she goes on. “At the river and when you pushed me out of the house. When you jumped on top of me and probably a million other little ways.”
“I guess that means we’re extra stuck.”
“That sounds about right.”
She claims me with her kiss. It’s a kiss that heals the darkness of the past and holds a promise of our future.
Then someone clears their throat. I glare at the women who interrupted us.
“I’m sorry to intrude, but I’m Detective Cole. I need to ask you a few questions, Mr. Sheffield. Ms. Cooper, there is another detective waiting to talk to you.”
“We’ll answer them together.”
“I’m afraid that’s not our procedure.” Her face softens. “I have a dead man and a blown-up house. I have a list of questions. Please let us do our job so you can get on with your life.”
Even though I went into the military, I’ve never trusted cops, so I tense when Emma slips from my hold. “It’s okay, Aiden.” She kisses my cheek. “I’ll see you soon.” Then she turns to the detective. “Don’t take long. He’s been through a lot.”
“I’ll do my best,” the detective responds, seeming surprised by Emma’s demand.
I crack up at my girl’s protectiveness.
Detective Cole takes the plastic chair and positions it across from the bed.
“Deputy Franks was in on it,” I say before she even sits.
“He turned himself in a half hour ago. We’re questioning him, too. But I want to know what you were doing at your estranged father’s house.”
“That’s not really a quick story, Detective Cole.”
“Then take your time.”
I start to answer simply, but everything leads to something else. She asks insightful questions. She picks up on the things I brush over, until I am spilling all the horrible fucked-up details of my life and what brought me here.”
Her expression remains composed, but her eyes show compassion. Her cell phone rings right at the end. “Excuse me. I’ll send Ms. Cooper in here. I’m sure they are done by now.”
Emma doesn’t hesitate this time. She runs toward me. “You okay?”
“I’m fine. You?”
“Pretty damn good.”
Nurse Evans comes in, announcing I’m in the clear. No internal injuries. “You’re made of super-strong stuff, Aiden.”
“Yes, he is,” Emma says.
As soon as the nurse leaves, the detective comes back. Are we ever going to be alone?
“Franks admitted everything. Even things we didn’t ask about. The man will be going away for a long time. After this, I suspect the state will do a full investigation into the Linx Sherriff’s Department.”
“Better bring a broom. There’s a lot of sweeping up to do.”
“It’ll be a full vacuum assault.”
“So, we’re all good?”
She nods. “I want to apologize to you, Aiden. The entire system let you down time and again.”
I don’t need pity, but I sure did appreciate the apology.
“Thank you.”
I expect her to leave, but she still stands there.
“Is there something else, Detective?”
“You mentioned the dog you gave away.”
“Sassy?” I ask, surprised she remembered the tiny fact.
“Where did you leave her again?”
“At the no kill shelter in Roan.”
“You said she was a shepherd?”
“She was mutt, but she definitely had shepherd in there somewhere.”
She purses her lips. “I’ve never been a fan of dogs. I always thought they were too much responsibility. But then my son got cancer.”
Okay, this isn’t making much sense, but there is a raw grief in this woman’s eyes. “I’m sorry.”
She takes a deep breath. “Wow, that came out horribly wrong. It’s difficult to talk about.”
“Take your time,” Emma says. She offers the woman an encouraging smile and holds a box of tissues out.
The Detective takes one and dabs her eyes. Emma never stops amazing me. The girl has been through so much, yet she still finds the strength to comfort someone else. I wrap my arm around her.
“Thank you. It was a long time ago. He didn’t make it. We spent many hours at the hospital. They had a lot of programs for the kids. But nothing cheered him up more than when they brought the therapy dog in.”
“Dogs are really intuitive,” I say.
“Yes, and this particular dog was so gentle. Her name was Shiloh. Her trainer told me she had adopted her from the shelter. It was obvious she’d been abused, but someone must have loved her very much, too. Shiloh had so much love and compassion. She brought out smiles in sick children like she was magic.”
I make the connection and my heart stills. “Detective Cole, what are you saying?”
“I’m not sure. I keep a picture of my son petting this dog on my phone. I think it was the last huge smile I remember him having.”
“I would really love to see it.”
She hands me her phone. I blink in disbelief, taking in the picture of the gorgeous mutt and the little boy petting her. Emma peers over my shoulders. “Emma, this is…it’s Sassy.”
“She’s beautiful, Aiden.”
“I know Shiloh…Sassy has passed on now, but I promise you the trainer gave her an excellent home. She made many sick children remember they were kids again.”
“Thank you for this. You have no idea how much it means to me.” I hand her phone back. “And I’m sorry for your loss. He was a beautiful boy.”
She nods, putting the phone back in her purse. “He was. The thing about love, unlike any other emotion, is that it never dissipates. Once you put it in the atmosphere, it lives there. It travels and floats and goes to places you never imagine. When you love something, you unleash that love on the world.”
“That’s true,” Emma says.
She laughs, dabbing her eyes one more time. “I’d appreciate if you kept my emotional breakdown to yourselves.”
“No worries there, Detective Cole.”
“Sandy,” she says, shaking my hand. “Take care of yourselves—and each other.”
“We plan to.” Emma and I say it in unison.