Page 88 of Love in the Storm

Betty stepped up beside them and let out a long exhale. “That’s great news.”

“Praise the Lord,” Chief Wright said.

Jacob pressed his face against her arm and sniffled. Lyric tightened her hold and whispered, “I love you, and I’m not going anywhere.”

30

ASA

The stabbing in his shoulder jerked Asa out of a shallow sleep, and a blood pressure cuff tightened on his other arm.

They had just checked his vitals a few minutes ago. Why were they doing it again?

Squinting against the dim light filtering through the window, he blinked past the heaviness of his eyelids. So much for a few minutes ago. It was morning. If he’d slept this long, why was he still exhausted?

“Sorry to wake you, Mr. Scott. You need to take this.” The nurse rattled off the name of the drug and what it was for, but he barely understood what she was saying through the fog in his head.

He tried to look down at his shoulder where the sharp pain pulsed. Layers of bandaging covered the entire side.

“Do you need pain medication?” The nurse checked her watch. “You’re due for another dose.”

“What is this?” he asked, pointing to the bandaging.

“You were shot. The surgery went well, but you still have a ways to go before you come out on the other side of this.”

He remembered being shot, and he remembered waking up from the surgery. Why did it feel like it had all happened to someone else? He couldn’t be the one tethered to a hospital bed by cords and tubes. He had things to do—people to take care of at home.

“Is anyone?—”

“They’re all in the waiting room. You’re the talk of the town.”

“The town?”

The nurse finally turned to him, but he could barely make out her shadowed features in the low light. “That waiting room has been packed out since well before my shift. Everybody’s talking about Lauren Vincent and how you saved her.”

“Lauren,” Asa whispered. Then the important pieces of information started flooding in all at once. “Is my family out there?”

“Yep. They weren’t too happy when visiting hours were over, but they’ve set up a home base in the waiting room.” She looked at her watch. “I can probably let them in here for a little bit.”

“What time is it?” he asked.

“Four in the morning.”

“Can you see if one of them is up? Don’t wake them if they’re asleep, but I’d just like to…”

To what? He wanted to make sure his family was okay, but it sounded ridiculous when he was the injured one.

“I’ll be right back.” She padded out of the room and gently closed the door behind her.

“Is he awake?”a familiar voice whispered.

“Not yet.”

Now, that voice was the one that got his heart pumping. Inhaling a deep breath, Asa opened his eyes and lifted his head.

Sure enough, Lyric sat in a recliner with her feet tucked in the seat beside her. Man, was she a sight for sore eyes. With her dark hair pulled up into a wild ponytail and a thin blanket wrapped around her shoulders, she looked almost comfortable.

Dawson tiptoed into the room still wearing his uniform. When he realized Asa was awake, he threw his hands in the air. “He lives!”

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