Page 80 of Mistletoe and Malice
“Yes.”
“The kids should go back to their rooms at three-thirty.”
Colton consulted his watch. “We’ll head out in ten.” He clicked his com. “Jamison, we’re leaving the peds floor at 3:25.”
“Copy,” Paul said through his mic.
“Trev, meet us at the elevator.”
“On my way.”
The younger man scanned the room. “This was an unexpected blessing today. Thank you all for coming and doing this for the kids.”
“It was all Miss Hudson.”
“As if giving her marrow isn’t enough. Do you mind if I thank her?”
“No problem.”
The nurse walked over to where Riley knelt in front of a little girl in a wheelchair, listening to something that must have been of great importance, judging by the earnest way Riley focused on her and listened with her whole self. She stood and accepted the nurse’s handshake. Smiling, she shook her head and gestured back to Colton with her arm. Humble as always. Never taking any credit.
Watching her now, bringing smiles to these children who were dealing with challenges they shouldn’t even know about, he couldn’t help but think Theresa and Riley would’ve been friends. Different in a lot of ways, yet in others, so much the same. The same heart of compassion, the same love for the Lord. The same work ethic and humility when others tried to give them their due.
Theresa would’ve loved being here today. And, maybe, in a way she was, since the toys and art supplies—ordered from a department store yesterday afternoon for delivery to the hospital today—were given in the name of the Theresa Blankenship Foundation for Bone Marrow Matching. All paid for by the Hudson family.
His chest filled with warmth. While he kept a constant watch for anybody coming and going from the room, his focus always came back to Riley. Kneeling now beside a small boy, wearing a surgical mask and seated in a wagon outfitted with pillows and blankets to keep him comfortable. With his parents on the floor next to him, she watched as he drew something in a sketch pad. The dark circles under his eyes, bald head under a knit cap, the port in his chest for his chemo treatments, and the IV lines for his nutritional needs were only the outward signs of his illness. The evil ravaging his body was silent, invisible. And cared not who it destroyed.
The boy showed her his picture, and at her look of awe, his eyes lit up with delight at his accomplishment. She’d clearly made his day.
Colton’s heart jumped. They’d not seen another little boy as ill as this one.
Could he be looking into the face of his miracle?
Chapter Thirty-Four
“You know, Miss Hudson, you’re making our job a lot harder.”
Colton grinned down at the woman walking next to him, her hand pulled through the crook of his elbow.
Riley’s eyes rounded as they entered the luxurious lobby of downtown Houston’s Whitmore Hotel. “I am?”
“Yes, ma’am. We’re not only going to have to keep a lookout for the creep, but we’re going to have to beat off every eligible male who will be clamoring for your attention tonight.”
Her smile rivaled the brightness of the crystal chandeliers hanging overhead. “You can be charming, Mr. Blankenship, when you put your mind to it.”
He shrugged. “Just telling it like it is. You look stunning.”
Her face colored the most endearing shade of pink, and his heart caught. Had she not been told a thousand times how beautiful she was? Yet it always appeared to be news to her.
She’d spent her morning working on details for their family’s upcoming New Year’s charitable ball, then asked him over lunch if he’d like to help her go through witness depositions forShane’s case. He’d been only too happy to comply and enjoyed employing a little more of his investigator brain.
But three hours after disappearing to her suite to get ready for the evening, she’d descended the stairs at the estate—a vision in her red ball gown—and he couldn’t tear his eyes away.
She’d once again put her hair up, this time in an intricate knot at the back of her head. Delicate straps graced her shoulders, with satiny red gloves pulled up to her elbows. A shimmering ruby and diamond necklace lay at her throat, and matching earrings dangled from her ears. The full skirt settled around her like a cloud, and dozens of tiny crystals sparkled from the bodice.
Although indeed lovely in her Christmas-hued dress, it was the sight of her four days ago—radiant in that white wedding gown—that had taken his breath away, rendering him speechless right there in front of her friends.
“You and the boys had something to eat?”
