Page 20 of SEAL's Angel
“I haven’t decided yet. I think we need to talk about this first. But not tonight. Okay?”
“Okay.”
“We have hot cocoa for you,” Cindy chimed in.
Jake handed her the cup to give to Chase. “Do you want it?”
“Yeah, I’m still a little cold.” He shivered as he took it from her.
Dawn turned to her brother, who was still holding Cindy on his lap. It was good to see him, especially now that they’d found Chase.
“Do we know the X-ray results yet?” Dawn asked.
“Not yet. They said the doctor would let us know as soon as he read them. But I don’t think it’s broken,” Rafe replied.
“It didn’t look broken to me. And he could rotate it. It’s just painful,” Jake added.
“I guess you’ve seen more than your share of broken bones,” Dawn said.
Jake laughed and moved to the side of the bed where she could see him. “You could say that. I’ve set a few, too. Not my idea of fun, but better than some other things.”
Dawn appreciated that he didn’t elaborate on the other things, but it didn’t stop her imagination from kicking into high gear. Bullets. Bombs. And who knew what other deadly other things? It reminded her why she’d been avoiding him.
The little group chatted quietly, not wanting to disturb the other person in the ER area. For the first time since Janey called her at work earlier, the tension left Dawn’s shoulders. Holding Chase’s hand while they chatted might have had something to do with it, or it could have been Jake’s hand on her shoulder. Or maybe it was both. She was grateful for them both. Now if the doctor would let them know the results so they could go home, it would be perfect.
They ended up having to wait about an hour before the doctor returned with the results. They were all relieved when he confirmed Rafe’s thoughts that it was just a bad sprain, and Chase could go home. Both of the kids even cheered.
He’d have to stay off his foot, and she’d need to make a follow-up appointment with an orthopedist, but they could take him home. By then, Dawn was ready to cheer too.
It was almost another hour before they got home. Both kids were out cold. If she’d been alone, she’d have had to wake them up. But Rafe carried Cindy up to bed, and Jake carried Chase. She’d have to get him crutches in the morning, or actually, later in the morning, since the sun was already rising. It had been one long-ass night after a long-ass day. All Dawn wanted to do was climb into bed and sleep, but she didn’t have a guest room, and they still had to figure out sleeping arrangements.
By the time Rafe and Jake walked into the living room, Dawn was leaning back on the couch with her eyes closed. She wasn’t asleep yet, but if it had been another five minutes, she might have been.
“Dawn, go to bed,” Rafe said. He stood across from her with his hands on his hips, staring at her.
“Where are you going to sleep? Chase has the bunk bed, but I don’t think either of you will fit on it.”
Jake laughed. “Don’t worry about us. We can sleep anywhere. I’ll take the floor, and Rafe can have the couch.”
“But after all you’ve done, that’s not right.” Dawn stood up and stretched. Then looked around. The couch might be long enough for Rafe, but the floor for Jake?
“You wouldn’t believe the places we’ve slept. We’ll take a couple of blankets and be fine,” Jake said.
“And pillows, we might as well live the high life,” Rafe added.
“Are you serious?”
“Yup. It’s almost five. We’ll be up in a few hours. In fact, I need to call Captain Knox to give him an update since they’re two hours ahead,” Jake said.
“Oh crap. I need to call the police to let them know about Chase, too.”
“I called from the hospital. Spencer was the cop you dealt with, right?” Rafe asked.
Dawn nodded.
“He said he’ll come by tomorrow—today—to talk to Chase and then close the investigation.”
“Thank you. I should have thought of it earlier.” Dawn hugged her brother. “I don’t know what I would have done without both of you.”
