She closed her eyes, looking weary. ‘How many people did Wyatt hurt or kill?’
This Adam knew off the top of his head, because he’d been thinking about each one. ‘All together, seventeen fatalities between Wyatt, Mike, and Butch. Andy, the family who owned the house where he lived, Tiffany and her mother, Broderick Voss, Jolee Cusack and the other five young women we still have to ID, Butch Gilbert, Mike Barber, and John Kasper. Five are still in the hospital – the Feds outside the hospital that night, Hanson’s neighbor, Nash, and you.’
‘So many.’ Two tears streaked down Meredith’s face, and Adam brushed them away.
‘Too many. And that’s enough for now.’ He kissed the inside of her wrist. ‘I’m going to get the nurse, then I’m going to tell a waiting room full of people that you’re awake. Expect a constant parade of people, two at a time, for as long as your nurses allow.’
‘As long as you’re one of them.’
He smiled as he backed away from the bed. ‘Try to keep me away.’
‘Adam?’ Hand on the doorknob, he turned to her, once again filled with nothing but sweet gratitude. ‘I love you too.’
This time when his eyes stung, he didn’t fight it. ‘I’ll be back soon.’
Cincinnati, Ohio,
Tuesday 22 December, 11.00 A.M.
Meredith had her eyes closed when a familiar scent filled the room. Hoping she wasn’t dreaming, she opened her eyes to see her cousin Alex standing next to her bed, studying the various monitors, because she was a former ER nurse and knew what she was looking for. Her husband Daniel stood behind her in that quiet way he had and suddenly Meredith was choked up. ‘You’re here.’
Alex turned a blinding smile her way. ‘So are you. We’re really happy to know this.’
‘We were worried,’ Daniel said gruffly. ‘You’re not supposed to be the one who gets hurt, Mer. So don’t do that anymore.’
‘I’ll do my very best,’ she promised.
‘You’d better do better than that,’ Alex said tartly. ‘At least your vitals look good. You, not so much. What were you thinking?’
‘That I wanted to stay alive?’ Meredith replied dryly.
‘And you did.’ Daniel gave her a proud nod, then frowned at his wife. ‘Sit down. You’ve been on your feet too much today already.’
Alex rolled her eyes, but took the seat Adam had vacated. ‘I can’t chase two kids any other way.’ She winked at Meredith. ‘We were going to save this for Christmas, but Mr GBI-guy here let the cat out of the bag this morning in front of your crowd, so everyone knows.’
Meredith had already figured it out. ‘Muffin in the oven?’
‘Yep. Due in July.’ Alex beamed, as she had through both of her other pregnancies. She was one of those women who looked good while pregnant.
Meredith wondered if she’d ever get to find out how she herself looked in the same state or if Adam even wanted kids. But that was a discussion for a different day.
‘We’re going to need a godmother and it’s way past your turn,’ Daniel said.
Meredith just blinked away the tears when they came. Bailey and Daniel’s sister were godmothers to Tommy and Mary Katherine respectively. ‘I was hoping you’d ask.’
Alex’s eyes grew bright as well. ‘Pregnancy hormones,’ she said, taking several of the tissues from the box next to Meredith’s bed. She wiped her own eyes, then Meredith’s. ‘You’re going to need someone to help you with stuff like this when you get home. Eating, drinking, answering the phone. If you were anyone else, I’d be worried, but you’ve got an army out in the waiting room.’
‘A very relieved army,’ Daniel added. ‘And a very relieved detective.’
Meredith’s cheeks heated and she didn’t care. ‘Did you meet him?’
‘We did,’ Alex confirmed. ‘I hugged him hard and thanked him for saving your life.’
‘She mug-hugged him,’ Daniel corrected. ‘Nearly broke the poor guy’s ribs. And bawled all over his shoulder while thanking him.’
‘You liked him too,’ Alex sniffed. ‘When I thanked him, he said you’d saved him first. I thought Daniel was going to shed some tears himself.’
‘He said that?’ Meredith’s lips curved. ‘That’s so sweet.’
Daniel said, ‘Your friends said the same. Apparently, there’d been some doubt.’
Meredith tried to shrug, but the small movement hurt. ‘Just a little. I knew whatever doubts they had would be short-lived. So where are the kids?’
‘With Hope in the waiting room,’ Alex said. ‘We found crayons and a few coloring books in your kitchen drawers, so we brought them here and Hope’s keeping them busy. We also found lots of finished pictures in the drawer. Who’s the artist?’
‘Adam,’ Meredith said softly. ‘It’s kind of a long story.’
‘Well, you’ll have time to tell me everything.’ Alex settled in the chair. ‘We don’t have to leave until the thirtieth. Daniel has to be back on duty by New Year’s Eve.’
Meredith had always dreaded the time they’d all go home, her grandfather to Florida and Alex to Atlanta, but this year she wouldn’t. This year Adam would stay.
For as long as you’ll have me, he’d said. Which would be a very long time.
Cincinnati, Ohio,
Tuesday 22 December, 11.15 A.M.
Adam was surrounded by hugging arms and smiling faces – their group of friends and family. He hadn’t needed to tell them that Meredith was awake. Apparently, he’d had a sappy grin that had made the announcement for him.
The group had already devised a schedule for visiting her when she woke, rolling dice for position, which made him chuckle. They were pretty amazing, which made him even more grateful they’d welcomed him with open arms and unflinching support for his sobriety. There had been no judgments, no hard feelings. Just open affection.
The first two on the visitor list had already gone back. Alex and Daniel Vartanian, Meredith’s cousin and her husband, had arrived from Atlanta in the wee hours of the morning. Everyone agreed to give them the number one slot as they’d come the farthest. Adam had met them only briefly when Alex had hugged him so hard he thought he’d crack, whispering teary thanks for saving Meredith’s life.
‘She saved mine first,’ he’d told her and it was true. It had earned him another hard hug from Alex, a hearty handshake from Daniel, a chorus of awwwws from Meredith’s girlfriends – even Kendra, who’d never liked him. And a nod of approval from Clarke Fallon.
Once Alex and Daniel had disappeared into the ICU, Bailey’s daughter Hope came up and took Adam by the hand. ‘You need to meet people,’ she said soberly and led him to a child-sized table where two blond, blue-eyed children were coloring. He’d have been able to tell that they were Daniel and Alex’s kids without introduction. Daniel had those same vivid blue eyes.
‘These are my cousins,’ Hope said. ‘Aunt Alex is their mom. This is Mary Katherine. She’s four. This is Tommy. He’s almost two. I’m their babysitter, because I’m the oldest.’ She leaned in to whisper in his ear, as if imparting a great secret. ‘Aunt Meredith likes us a lot. If you’re going to be her boyfriend, it’d be good if you could like us too.’
Biting back a smile, Adam’s answer was equally sober. ‘I can. I already like to color.’
Hope brightened. ‘You do?’
‘Yep. Your aunt keeps some of my pictures on the fridge. Should we make her some to hang in her hospital room?’
Hope nodded. ‘That is a very good idea. What should we make?’
He pulled a grownup chair to the small table. ‘What do we got?’
‘Kistmas books,’ Mary Katherine told him, with an adorable lisp. ‘I’m doing a tree. Tommy’s doing a reindeer.’ Then added in a whisper, ‘Not very well, but tell him it’s good.’
‘I will,’ Adam said gravely. He chose a gingerbread man and found a bubble of calm in the otherwise noisy room. He was halfway finished when his phone started playing the theme from Chicago. ‘I need to take this,’ he said to Hope. ‘It’s work. I’ll be back later. Promise.’ He stepped away from the table, grimacing when his back complained. Too many hours in that plastic chair in ICU. But he wouldn’t have traded a single one.