Page 19 of Hard Focus
“Shhhhh, honey,” he whispered.
She felt Alden’s presence at her other side and reached out a hand. He gripped her fingers and leaned in, bracketing her with his bulk and warmth.
“Time enough to talk it through,” Taylor murmured. “Right now, right here, you just need to know you’re safe. You’re safeandyou’re going to be okay.”
“You’re going to be okay,” Alden echoed his words. “We’re here. We’ve got you, Connie.”
That was so close to what Cole had said, and all Connie could remember was the coldness and disgust in his voice when he’d said her name.
***
Cole
Standing at the window, he yawned and stretched, gaze angled up to where the full moon sat high on the horizon. Thecoffee makergurgled and spat, and without looking, he reached for the creamer, unscrewing the lid. The moon didn’t move, didn’t change, but he watched as the edges became fuzzy, bright light becoming diffused as it filtered through a layer of clouds.It’s all about perspective, he thought and shook his head. Behind the clouds piling in ahead of a storm, the moon was exactly the same. Your view depended on where you stood in the equation, and only the moon knew the real truth of itself.
Mug in hand, he strolled towards the living room. Feet up on the ottoman, he yawned again as he flicked the TV on. Blinking at the screen, he winced and changed the channel, only to find the same coverage on the next. Giving in to the inevitable, he watched a report on the river rescue yesterday.
There was video of the car tumbling over the barrier. He’d been a block away on an adjoining street and had happened to look up just as the accident happened. Only chance had him in the right place at the right time. He had pulled haphazardly into a parking place and abandoned his car, racing up the street, hoping to find the vehicle on the bank below the bridge.
Shaking his head, he changed the channel and found another report showing virtually the same view he’d had when he made it up the rise towards the structure spanning the fast-flowing river.
The water had been cold, but he’d trained in worse conditions, climbing ladders with a full pack on while ice-cold water blasted him from the side. Her voice had pierced him, the tangible terror in it spurring him to swim faster. Once out of the vehicle, she’d trusted him when Cole had asked her to, giving herself over to him completely. Her belief had carried him through the fight to escape the river’s maincurrentand then worked as an angel on his shoulder for the final stretch of water.
Connie Rowe.
Unbelievable. Why would fate do this to me?Something in this world had put himinthe perfect position to save the woman he might want, but would never have. He jolted when his phone rang. “What now?” The screen showed it was the ER calling, and he felt a moment of fear before he answered.
“Cole?” The voice on the phone was tantalizingly familiar, and he nodded when she identified herself. “This is Judy.”
“Hey, Judy. The local ER offering full service these days? You calling to check up on me? I wasn’t even hypothermic today.” He chuckled when she scoffed into the phone. “Yeah, I didn’t think so. What’s up?”
“Everyone here hated what happened to Audrey.” Her blunt words struck him like a blow, turning his response into a pained grunt of acknowledgment. “I wanted to start with that.”
“Okay.” He didn’t know why she’d be calling now to express her sympathies, years after the fact. “I’m in the ER nearly every week on a call. You have a weird sense of timing with this.” Figured she’d feel compelled to bring it up after it was Connie in the ER. It would be too much to expect the staff there hadn’t put two and two together, and Cole figured the EMT had spilled the beans about who the river rescue had been.
“That’s why I’m calling. I talked to that Ms. Rowe and she…I thought you should know what she told me.”
Long minutes later, he disconnected the call as the talking heads on the screen moved on to the next story and Cole lifted his coffee, making a face when he realized it was cold.What do I do with this?On the one hand it opened a door he hadn’t anticipated. But on the other hand, maybe it gave him an opportunity to learn something much more important.
He placed the coffee back on the table and sat back, neck arched as he stared at the ceiling.
“Why?”
***
Connie
“I’m not arguing.” Connie eased onto her side, nestling back against the couch cushions as she glared up at Taylor. “I’m just saying I don’t need a babysitter.” He turned without a word and walked towards the kitchen, not even giving her the satisfaction of a return glare. “I’m not sick,” she called after him, then winced at the sharp pain the force of her words caused in her head.
“Let him do this.” Alden’s amusement was clear in his tone, and she turned her glare on him. “It’s only been a couple of days, Connie.”
“It’s been four days since the accident.” The first day had been a blur beginning with the ambulance ride and ending with Taylor nearly having to carry her into her apartment as exhaustion broke over her. Through to the next day, he’d remained a sentinel in a chair beside her bed and had been ruthless in his determination to wake her every two hours.
Not that the doctor had demanded it, but Taylor had read online somewhere that a head injury needed to befrequently checkedto ensure the person wasn’t slipping into a coma. Which had been his excuse eachtime.The next day she’d tried to kick him out and make him go home. She’d felt successful, too, quiet settling over her apartment as she slept. It wasn’t until she’d climbed out of bed finally to take care of nature’s call that she found he hadn’t actually left theapartmentbut was her residential squatter, camped out in her spare bedroom.
Once she’d gotten over her irritation, they’d spent the day lounging on the couch eating junk food and critiquing daytime TV shows.
“He should have been back at work yesterday.” She knew Taylor must have taken vacation time to be with her, and she hated the thought of him using what should be relaxing time on taking care of her. “I can take care of myself, Alden.”
