Caught in the Current (Pacific Shores Book 2) (24 page)

Dakota had no experience helping a woman who’d been beaten by her husband so badly that she’d lost her pregnancy of six months. She had no experience at keeping a passive expression when looking into an eye where the sclera was totally red due to the fist that had burst the vessels there. Riley’s broken arm and ribs Dakota could deal with. There were doctors and prescriptions, and heaven knew she certainly had her fair share of nursing experience. It was the wounds left on Riley’s heart she was having a hard time figuring out how to heal.

A hand touched her shoulder, and jolted her back to the present. Justus squatted in front of her.

As she sat up something stung her eye and she swiped at it.

Justus moved her fingers away from the area and pressed a soft cloth to her forehead. “Hold this.” He guided her hand back to press the cloth in place, then squeezed her shoulder. He set the flashlight on the floor beside her, the light spilling across the concrete floor. “Stay put for a couple more minutes while I get a paramedic to look at you, okay?” He jogged toward the half open garage door before she could even give a response.

She nodded, but she needed to get the tarp or the rain was going to ruin the flooring in the entire house. So, as soon as he was out of sight, she stood. Dizziness drained through her and she bumbled a couple of steps and threw her arms wide to catch her balance.

Chapter 2

Justus ducked out into the rain and jogged toward the paramedics who were just exiting their vehicle. “I’ve got one person injured,” he yelled through the rain and wind. When the paramedic looked up, he could tell the man hadn’t heard his exact words. He pointed to the garage and motioned for the man to follow, then turned and ran back toward Dakota.

As he ran up the drive, he tossed a glance at the huge tree thrusting across the roof from the back yard. A shudder quaked through him. He’d been driving down the street when he’d seen the tree give way before the wind. He was in town for Reece and Marie’s wedding on Saturday and they’d forgotten they had an appointment with the minister this evening, so had asked if he minded picking Dakota up. He hadn’t minded in the least and in fact had headed this way a little early, looking forward to seeing her again – probably more than he’d been willing to admit to himself until he’d seen that nasty gash on her forehead, and witnessed her determination to do all in her power to lessen the damage to the house. He was so glad someone had been here to stop her from climbing up onto that roof in her condition. The gash on her head was definitely going to need stitches and maybe would even cause a bit of a concussion.

He ducked back under the garage door. Dakota had apparently tried to move because she was now sitting in the middle of the garage instead of on the tool box where he’d left her. Even as he watched she unsteadily tried to stand again. “Whoa!” He lurched forward, gripped her shoulders, and guided her back onto the tool chest. Those crazy high heels she was in weren’t doing her any favors. He heard the paramedics enter behind them. “You’re hurt worse than you realize. But the paramedics are here. Just let them have a look at you, okay?”

A guy with Marinville Fire and Rescue emblazoned on the front of his jumper, squatted before her with a med. kit. He pulled a small pen light from his pocket and peered into Dakota’s face. “Hi there. My name is Pete. And this is my partner, Joel. We’re just going to do a quick assessment to make sure you are safe, okay? What’s your name?” He eased the cloth she still pressed to her forehead away and gently set her hand into her lap.

“D-Dakota.”

Justus eased out a breath. At least she still remembered her own name. He started to move back out of their way but Dakota shot out one hand and gripped his arm. Her fingers slid over his forearm till they found his own. Her small hand trembled in his grasp. He swallowed and in that moment he wouldn’t have moved for a million dollars. “I’m not going anywhere, just let them look at you.”

The first paramedic shone his light into her pupils. Over the still bleeding gash on her forehead, and then down to the wrist she held gingerly in her lap.

Justus pulled in a breath. Her arm was blue and swollen.

The paramedic named Luke kept speaking to Dakota in a calming tone, even while he pulled bandages and gauze from his kit and spouted some medical jargon to his partner. It was the words “overnight observation” that set Justus’ heart to thumping so hard he was afraid the medics would hear it and turn to examining him, next. His hand tightened of its own volition around Dakota’s.

Lord, haven’t I had enough of ambulances and hospitals for a lifetime?

He forced the memories that tugged for his attention to the back of his mind and concentrated on the here and now.

Blood streaked one side of Dakota’s hair, turning the long blonde tresses into a dark matted clump. Even though a white bandage now compressed the wound, he could see blood already seeping through it. As the medic lifted her arm to examine it more carefully, she tucked her lower lip into her mouth and scrunched her eyes closed.

His stomach clenched. Would that he could save her from the pain.

Outside the sound of firefighters clomping through the yard and yelling to one another over the wind could be heard. Justus dropped his head down, staring at the blackness between his knees. The flash of another night so similar to this would no longer be abated. A night with so much more blood. So much more tragedy. So much more evil. A night filled with police, a man hunt, and a boy-not-quite-turned-man who had so much of his life left ahead of him, but so much revenge filling his heart.

He clenched his jaw and wrenched himself back to the present in time to hear…

“Would you like your boyfriend to accompany you on the ride to the hospital?”

Dakota’s gaze flashed to his, her eyes widening. “No, I’m fine. I can get myself there.”

The medic shifted in an uneasy way that raised Justus’ concern several notches. “I’d really like to encourage you to ride in the ambulance. We’d like to stabilize your arm a little better, and keep a careful watch on your head wound there.” The man tilted her a smile, that tightened something inside of Justus. “Riding with us won’t be so bad. Joel might even tell you a few jokes along the way.” The man chuckled and despite his annoyance over the slight flirtation, Justus appreciated his attempt to lighten the situation.

Both medics had eyed the structure overhead a few times and he knew they were considering the soundness of the building since the other end had been smashed by the tree.

Justus didn’t bother correcting their misperception over his relationship with Dakota. He wouldn’t abandon her for anything, but he was going to need his wheels once he got to the hospital. “You should ride in the ambulance. I can’t have you getting blood all over the inside of my Z3.” He winked at her. “Will you be okay if I follow right behind you to the hospital?”

“O-of course.”

The paramedics both scowled like he was the lowest form of humanity.

But it wasn’t them who changed his mind. It was the disappointment he saw flash through Dakota’s eyes. He tilted his head and squeezed her fingers gently. “Never mind. It’s fine. I’ll just leave my car here and ride with you.”

“No. It’s okay. You don’t have to.” A frown pinched her brow.

“It will be fine. I’ll just have Jalen drive it over for me later.”

“Jalen?”

He brushed off her question. He could explain all about Jalen and why he was here later. If he himself could figure out why Jalen was here, that was. “Let’s just get you to the hospital, okay?”

“Wait, what about the hole in the roof? The flooring will be ruined if we don’t cover it.”

Justus almost chuckled at her worry over the crazy tarp. Instead, he touched her shoulder. “Let’s just worry about you first. Besides, a single tarp isn’t going to be able to cover that hole out there.”

She swallowed. “It’s just…I’m responsible.”

He was stirred by her concern. “I know. But there’s nothing you can do about a tree falling on the house. Right now the best thing you can do is to get yourself better. You can deal with the damages later, alright?” He gently prodded her to her feet.

The paramedics rolled a gurney near her and helped her climb onto it. And as Justus followed her into the back of the ambulance he cast one more glance toward the house. He swallowed at the sight of the huge tree and the caved in end of the house. Things could have been worse. So much worse.

Dakota woke to weak rays of sunshine and a dusky hospital room. Her brow furrowed. What was she doing here? She rolled her head toward a cart rolling by in the hallway, and pain sprang up from every corner of her mind. A low moan escaped.

A rustle of movement sounded on the other side of her bed and despite the throbbing she rolled her head toward it. The pain wasn’t so bad this time.

Justus Teague, looking like he’d just woken up, sat on the front lip of a leather chair that couldn’t have been comfortable to sleep in. He scrubbed fingers back through his blond curls standing them all on end at protruding angles, and then met her gaze with a sleepy one of his own. “How are you feeling?”

Confusion plucked at her. She scrunched her eyes closed and tried to remember how she came to be here. It was only a moment before everything came back to her in a rush. She focused on Justus again choosing to ignore his question because somehow she thought he might overreact to the fact that her head felt like it might split open at any second. “Thank you for riding with me to the hospital.” A flash of memory – her clutching his hand – pressed her lips closed in embarrassment. She averted her gaze.

He stood and lifted a cup with a straw to her lips. “Not a problem. I’m just glad I was there to help.”

She realized how thirsty she really was and that her voice had sounded dry and parched a moment ago. She guzzled thirstily, then sank back against the pillows and sighed. “Thanks.”

He tipped her a nod.

Pain pulsed through her skull again. “Do you think they might have some Tylenol I could take?”

Something tightened in his features and he strode toward the door. “I’ll get you a nurse.”

He was back only moments later, a nurse bustling on his heels. “Your man here says you’re hurting? Where is your pain, hon?”

“My head.”

“Well, that’s to be expected considering the blow you took last night. Anywhere else?”

Dakota slowly assessed the other regions of her body and informed the nurse of a slight twinge in her left ankle and a larger one in her right arm.

“Also to be expected since your x-rays and scans revealed a fracture of your arm and a sprain to your ankle.”

Dakota nearly groaned. How was she supposed to walk down the aisle for Marie’s wedding in just a couple days time if she had a sprained ankle? She didn’t even remember them doing any scans.

The nurse was still talking. “The good news is, you don’t appear to have anything more than a super mild concussion. So you’ll probably get to go home here after a bit. First let’s get you some breakfast and I’ll put a little pain killer into your IV line, okay?” The nurse bustled back in the direction she’d come from.

Dakota didn’t care about breakfast, but killing the gremlins that were kicking the inside of her skull sounded heavenly. Her eyes dropped closed until she remembered Justus was still here. She glanced over to find him, elbows propped against his knees and one cheek resting on clasped hands, studying her. Weariness draped his features, and the blond beard he normally wore trimmed close and carefully groomed, looked a little thicker than normal.

She offered him a weary smile. “You don’t have to stay. Go home and get some rest.”

Humor tucked around the edges of his eyes. “I can’t have all these nice hospital staff thinking I’m the worst boyfriend in the world.”

She laughed, then gasped and scrunched her eyes shut as pain shot through her head.

Justus was by her side in an instant. “Sorry. What can I do?”

She opened one eye and wrinkled her nose at him. “Don’t make me laugh. At least not till a few minutes after she gets back with that pain killer.”

He touched her shoulder, his face serious. “You got it.”

His total seriousness almost made her laugh again. She opened her mouth to tease him about it, but just then Marie and Reece knocked at the open door. She changed her intended words. “Hi, you two. Come in.”

They stepped into the room followed by Riley and a dark haired Hispanic looking man she’d never seen before.

Marie rushed to her side. “Dakota! I can’t believe it! I hardly slept last night, I was so worried about you. Are you going to be okay?” She leaned over the bed and gave Dakota a gentle hug.

Dakota patted her back. “I’m going to be fine. Where’s my munchkin?”

“Darlene is watching her this morning.”

Reece’s mom seemed to have come around one hundred percent in her opinion of Marie over the last few months. Dakota was glad about that.

She moved on to a more pressing matter. “I just hope this isn’t going to ruin the wedding.”

Marie waved away her concern and rejoined Reece at the foot of the bed. “Our wedding is the least of our worries. I can’t believe a tree fell on House of Hope!”