Page 94 of Marrying Mr. Majestic

“We can do it together,” I said with a voice made wobbly by emotions.

His grin made the rest of me just as wobbly.

“Silas?” The woman in the hospital bed was pale, but I could still see her resemblance to my husband.

“I’m here,” Silas said, tugging my hand to pull me closer to the bed. “I brought someone for you to meet.”

Camille looked tired and sore but remarkably alert for someone who’d been sedated all night. “Are you the cowboy?” she asked with a crooked grin.

“Are you the chemistry genius?” I teased back, reaching out to gently squeeze her hand. “It’s so nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you. Your brother’s very proud.”

Her eyes flicked to Silas’s. “Who knew he would be the one to enjoy bragging about having a doctor in the family. The man is still terrified of shots.”

Silas leaned over and kissed her cheek. “You must be feeling better if you’re already spilling my embarrassing secrets.”

Her smile dimmed. “You must have freaked out. You got here fast. Kenji?”

Silas nodded. “He was on top of it, as usual.”

She turned back to me. “Thank you for keeping him company. You didn’t need to come all this way.”

Instead of correcting her and explaining we hadn’t come together, I simply nodded. “I didn’t want him to be alone. He was very worried about you.”

Silas’s hand snuck into mine and held on tightly.

Camille turned back to Silas. “I was scared. While it was happening.”

I felt the tension in his grip and heard the heartbreak in his voice. “I can’t imagine.”

All of us knew he was holding back from what he really wanted to say, whatever magical words might entice her to change jobs and put herself in a safer position. I was proud of him for holding back while she was in such a state.

“Luis Alamilla was the security guard who lost his life,” she whispered. “He had three kids, Silas.”

“We’ll help them,” he said, crouching down and reaching out to hold her hand. He still didn’t let go of mine with his other. “We’ll make sure they’re taken care of.”

She nodded and looked away. Tears fell down her cheeks as she sniffed. I stepped away to grab the box of tissues off a nearby counter and handed it to her.

It took a little while, but she eventually told us what had happened, how the hospital’s own policies of corporate profits and budget cuts had caused the understaffing issues. How in the end it had been a malfunctioning door lock that had failed to keep the shooter out, a door lock that staff had complained about several times but that corporate hadn’t approved the replacement for yet.

Silas sighed. “They’re going to get their asses sued.”

Camille nodded. “They’re going to deserve it, too.”

I could see the cost of Silas’s silence as he continued to hold himself back from pressing her to quit. Finally, she sighed. “I’m not coming back here.”

He stared at her for a beat as if making sure she’d meant what she’d said. “Really?”

More tears leaked. “It breaks my heart to say it because I love my job, love serving the people in this neighborhood, but I can’t work for this hospital anymore. And… I’ve been here six years, Silas. It’s long enough. It’s someone else’s turn. And I’ll find someplace else where I’m needed.”

He leaned over her and pressed another kiss to her wet cheek before taking a tissue and carefully drying her tears.

“Come to Majestic,” I said without thinking.

Silas turned to me. “What?”

The idea began to flesh itself out in my head. “Come to Majestic and help us upgrade our clinic. Silas and I have plenty of room. An entire ranch house. And if you don’t want to live with us, I have a tiny house you can live in.”

Camille looked from me to Silas and back again. “Are you serious?”

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