Page 8 of Calling All Angels
He sank down beside her on the floor. “’Tis my job, after all.”
She sniffed. “You’re not very good at it, though, are you?”
That stung. He was good. Very good at his job. Just not with coming face-to-face with Violet here in the in-between. Not Violet exactly, he reminded himself. Just her doppelgänger.
“And look,” she said, a fresh sob pulling at her voice. “I’ve even lost my shoe.”
Someone slid the glass door to her room open. She sat up, wiping her face with the heels of her palms. “Aubrey!” she cried, jumping to her half-shod feet.
The young woman at the door only had eyes for the woman lying in the bed, who was poked with tubes and breathing apparatus. With a thick bandage around her head, and a swollen eye, Emma looked nothing like herself. Aubrey’s eyes were red—from crying, he supposed. She clutched a tissue in one hand as if it would somehow save her from the wave about to crash over her at the sight of Emma in the bed.
The nurse standing beside her took her arm. “It’s always a shock at first to see someone you care about like this.”
Aubrey nodded. Tearfully she made her way beside Emma’s bed. “Can I…will I hurt her if I touch her?”
“No. Of course not. We’ve got her heavily sedated.”
“Sedated?” Emma shot a look at Connor, who was getting to his feet. “Well, that explains everything! That’s why I’m so fuzzy. Right?”
He sent her a rigid look, unwilling to say what she might not be ready to hear.
The nurse went on. “But she may even be able to hear you if you talk to her. At least, we think so. Sometimes.”
“Yes. Yes. I can,” Emma cried. “Thank God you’re here, Aubrey. I’m right here. Look at me!” But of course, Aubrey didn’t.
Connor stepped back, curious about this girl.
“You’re her only family, then?” the nurse asked the girl, adjusting the drip on Emma’s IV.
Aubrey nodded. “She’s my aunt. I mean, she’s only ten years older than me. My mom was her older sister. But my parents both passed. It was just the two of us left. Emma’s taken care of me since I was sixteen.”
“Oh, dear. I’m so sorry,” the nurse said. “We’ll all keep a good thought for her. We’ll do everything we can.” The nurse pressed a hand against her shoulder. “Five minutes, now.” She quietly left the room.
Emma pressed her knuckles against her lips, watching her niece. Against his will, Connor felt a little sorry for Emma as she began to realize he’d been telling her the truth.
“Oh, Em,” Aubrey whispered, gently holding Emma’s still hand above the covers. “This can’t be happening. I can’t do this alone. I need you to be here. I need you. The doctors say you have a chance. A good chance, okay? But please, Emma. You’ve got to fight. This can’t be how it ends for you. For us.”
Emma made an effort to gather herself. “I’mnotdreaming. Am I?”
Connor lifted one brow but said nothing.
With tears in her eyes, her niece shook her head and stared up at the machine beeping away above her bed. “I can’t lose you, too. It can’t be your time. You’re just on the brink of…of everything, Emma. If you go, who will walk me down the aisle? Who will kiss my children? You. You have to. Please. Emma. Please try.”
Emma teared up, too. She touched Aubrey’s shoulder. “This is all wrong. I promised to stay with you always. I never expected—” She heaved a shuddering breath. “I’m going to clear up this mistake, Aub. You’ll see.” She stared up at Connor.
“Everyone’s outside in the waiting room,” Aubrey told her. “They’ve been here all night. We’re all so worried for you. I love you, Em.”
Moved by her words, Emma watched her niece for a long time. “I love you, too. Why don’t we say those things to each other more? I didn’t say it enough to her. I should’ve told her every day.”
“She’ll be alone if…?” Connor began. It wasn’t his job to worry about such things, but curiosity bested him.
Emma nodded. “Except for Jacob. Her boyfriend. But they’re…he’s…they’re just dating. She’s like my own daughter. A daughter I’ll probably never have. Now.”
Feeling empathy for Emma—Violet—was something he hadn’t anticipated. Nor did he welcome it, even now. But once, a long time ago, he himself had longed for a child. A child with Violet, a little girl with depthless brown eyes and her mother’s strength. But that was never to be for him, either. Violet had gone on to give that traitor, Sykes, children, a fact that had torn at him for longer than he cared to admit.
But he’d let all that go.
No, he hadn’t.
