Allan swallowed hard, and tears sprang into his eyes. Hell. He quickly rose from the chair and headed for the door. “I’ll be in the waiting area for when she comes out of the ICU and then I’m seeing her.”
Pack meant everything to them, and he realized then that not only had they given Debbie a chance at life, as different as it would be for her now, but they’d done this for him. And yet it could be a real problem for all of them. For them, if she was totally out of control. For him, if she hated what she was now. For herself, if she was so horrified about what she had become that she didn’t want to live.
*
Debbie felt like hell. She didn’t think she’d ever felt this out of it.
For a while, she just lay there, trying to recall what had happened to her that she needed to be in a hospital bed.
Then she remembered flashes of scenes—the gunman shooting the wolf three times, even after she told him to drop his weapon, then him turning the gun on her and firing. Her firing a shot back and hitting him in the shoulder, she thought.
And the wolf near death. She meant to shoot it and put it out of its misery. But then Allan was there, saving the wild wolf. Was he crazy? An injured dog could be dangerous, but an injured wolf? She wanted to stop him, but she couldn’t muster the strength. She remembered him telling her to get a blanket for the wolf, but she didn’t have the energy. The next thing she knew, she was sitting on her butt on the snow-covered beach.
She had seen the concerned look on Allan’s face when he was trying to save the wolf and again when he glanced at her and saw her sitting there. The pain hadn’t hit yet, since the bullet had severed nerve endings, but she could see the blood pooling in the white snow. She had watched it for a moment, thinking it looked like cherry coloring spreading over ice in a snow cone.
She thought Allan would come to her aid, but instead, he was giving the wolf mouth-to-nose resuscitation. She’d never seen anyone do that before. She had been fascinated in an abstract kind of way, as if she wasn’t quite there, just watching from far away.
And then the wolf turned into a woman—Tara, if Debbie recalled her name correctly. She was the sister to Everett, the man married to Rose, and really quiet. She was lying in the snow, bandaged after Allan had removed the rounds from her body. She was naked, and Debbie hadn’t gotten the blanket for her like Allan had asked her to. She remembered feeling bad she hadn’t done so.
She had been so cold herself, she felt as though she was naked as Allan rushed to take care of her wound. She must have passed out because the next thing she knew, she was in an ambulance, and that’s all she remembered.
“Debbie,” Allan said, and she opened her eyes to see he was holding her hand, a worry frown etched across his brow.
Dozens of roses filled a nearby table, and she wondered who would have sent all the flowers. Everyone in the sheriff’s department? Did anyone even know she was here?
She swallowed hard and with a dry throat said, “Allan.”
“God, I’m so glad to hear your voice.” He hurried to get her a cup of water. “How are you feeling?”
“You don’t want to know.”
“Okay.” He pulled up a chair and took her hand again.
“How much work have I missed?”
“None.”
She frowned at him. “You’re an awful liar. How many days have I been out?”
“Three.”
She sighed. “Any news about the case we’re working on?” Then she grew concerned because Allan seemed so worried about her. “I’m not…dying, am I? Unfit for duty?”
The worry frown remained. “You’re not dying,” he said.
“But I can’t work.”
“Not for a while.”
“How long?”
“We’re not sure. We’ll have to see how quickly you can get back on your feet.”
“But I’m going to live. Not physically incapacitated from diving?”
“No. But you’re going to have to take it easy. And you’re going to need around-the-clock care for a while.”
She smiled just a little bit. “You wouldn’t be volunteering for the position, would you?”
His jaw hardened. “Hell, yeah, if you’re all right with it.”
She relaxed a bit. “I know you won’t be able to be there around the clock, but—”
“I’ll make arrangements to have someone come in and stay with you whenever I need to be out.”
She smiled and felt better. She knew Allan cared for her. She wouldn’t have wished anything like this to happen to her on purpose, but looking on the bright side, maybe this would turn out to be the best thing that ever happened.
“How will your family feel about that?”
“They’ll be glad to hear it.” He motioned to the flowers. “From family and more.”
“They’re beautiful.” She eyed them, trying to determine which might be from Allan, if he’d gotten her any.
“The one with the dozen roses,” he said, as if reading her thoughts.
“They’re beautiful.”
The nurse knocked on the door, then came in. “We need to do some more blood work on you, Debbie, if you don’t mind.”
“As long as I’m going to live, no, not at all.”
Chapter 14