Page 25 of Gentle Persuasion

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“I talked to your dad,” Rick said as he walked back into the emergency room.

Cole nodded. He hadn’t taken his eyes off Debbie’s whereabouts since their arrival. “Thanks,” he muttered.

The doctor had assured him, after a quick but thorough examination, that she was suffering only a mild concussion, some contusions, and a few scratches. Cole had watched the white knit shirt come over her head, winced at the evidence of more bruising on her shoulder that had probably been a result of her fall, and tried not to curse.

The doctor had then insisted on privacy, at which Cole promptly balked. But the doctor had been firm. And Cole now sat outside the curtained-off area, listening to Debbie’s shaky voice explaining the circumstances of her injuries.

“She’s going to be just fine,” Rick encouraged him.

“Well, I’m not,” Cole said harshly. “I just realized that I’m capable of murder. Being an officer sworn to uphold the law, it’s not a thing of which I’m pleased to learn about myself. It’s just a goddamned fact.”

Rick’s hand gripped his shoulder in a gesture of understanding. He knew exactly what Cole was feeling. If it had been his Tina, he’d have felt the same.

“I’m going to head on back to the P.D.—let them know what we’ve been up to today and make your apologies, so to speak. You’ve got time off coming. Why don’t you take a few days?”

“Past getting her home and into bed, I don’t know what the hell I’m going to do, but I doubt that I’ll sit on my thumbs. I want to make sure the son of a bitch who did this gets caught. Have you heard anything more about the witness?”

Rick shook his head. “But I’ll find out and give you a call later this evening. How’s that?”

“I’d appreciate it,” Cole said. “Did Dad say he’d be here soon?”

“From the sound of his voice when I called, if he could have flown, he’d already be here. Sounded really worried.”

“He likes her a lot.” Cole looked toward the curtain. “So does Buddy.”

“And so do you, my man. If you can’t admit it to me, at least admit it to yourself.”

Cole wouldn’t look up, but the words came out. “What if she can’t handle my job, Rick? I won’t give it up. And I’ve seen too many marriages go to hell because of the crazy work schedules and the constant danger. I wouldn’t be able to face losing her.”

“If you don’t give yourselves a chance, you’ve already lost her, buddy. Ever think about that?”

Cole buried his face in his hands. Rick slapped him on the back and made a quick exit. He waved at Cole’s father as he came hobbling into the hallway and directed him to where Cole was sitting.

“I knew I shouldn’t have left her alone,” Morgan said as he sank down onto the chair beside his son. “If I hadn’t, none of this would have happened. It’s all my fault.”

Cole frowned. “That’s not exactly what you’ve spent the last thirty-odd years trying to teach me, mister. I thought you always said that whatever was going to happen, would happen, no matter how much hindsight was applied.”

Morgan shrugged and then smiled. “You pick the oddest times to remember my sermons.” He heard Debbie’s voice. “Is she going to be all right?” The worry was back in his voice.

Cole looked at the man who was so like himself, and smiled. “Yeah, Dad. She’s going to be just fine. Got a bump on her head and a bruise on her chin, but she’s already worrying about who’s going to cook dinner tonight. I just heard the doctor tell her to order out. What do you bet we eat Chinese again? All those cute little boxes…remember?”

“My God,” Morgan sighed. “The resilience of youth.”

***

“We’ll take turns looking in on her,” Buddy offered. It was a major concession for him that he would even consider leaving his computer components for a human being.

“I don’t usually go to sleep until after the Carson—I mean, the Leno show. I could do it,” Morgan offered.

“Thanks. But I’ll tend to her,” Cole said. “It only makes sense. She’s right across the hall. I used to look in on Lily when she was sick, remember?”

Morgan remembered. He also remembered the look he’d seen on Cole’s face when he’d first walked into the emergency room. It had been somewhere between desperate and devastated. He was just thankful that Debbie was not seriously hurt. Cole could not have handled anything worse.

“Whatever you think, son,” he said. “But if you do need help, you know where we are.”

Cole nodded. “The doctor said just to keep an eye on her, make sure she doesn’t sleep too soundly or do too much right at first, and—” he shrugged and frowned “—wait for the bruises to fade.”

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