Contemporary Romance: Passage of Arms - A Military Romance Novel (Romance, Contemporary Romance, Military Romance, Romance Novel Book 1) (13 page)

“Do you want to go in? Well, we have to,” he chuckled. “I already purchased our tickets.”

“Of course I want to go,” Sarah said quickly.

“There’s a lot of walking,” Dave lifted a hand to her lower back, one that was welcomed with pleasure.

“That’s okay,” Sarah replied. They started towards the hotel. “If I get tired, you look like you can carry me,” she caught Dave’s eye and winked. That was a little bold of her, but being at his side made her feel a bit daring.

Dave arched a brow. “You seem a lot more relaxed today.”

“Oh, that’s because I’m drunk.”

“What?” Dave stopped walking and turned to her directly. “Are you serious?”

“Oh gosh no,” Sarah’s face drained. “I was only joking,” she said quickly, and then her mouth ran dry. “I guess I still need to work on my humor.”

Dave chuckled. “Oh, that’s a relief. I don’t like drunk dates.”

“Does it happen often?” There was still flush to Sarah’s voice. She ran a hand through her hair, fingers fumbling through the strands.

“Just once. It was a disaster,” Dave pulled Sarah close again as he replaced his hand on her back. “I’ve never been here before,” he admitted. Sarah smiled.

“I guess it’ll be a first for the both of us.”

The tour was every bit of magnificent as Dave made it out to be. The foliage growing within the complex left Sarah marveling at the minds of the architects and engineers involved. They even took a riverboat ride with other patrons that made getting closer to Dave that much easier.

She couldn’t get over the many different light features of the place, and how many areas carried their own themes. On the riverboat ride, Dave had edged next to her and whispered something that still had her thinking.
“Do you think Ruth would like this place?”

It was a simple question, but it took her breath away. The truth was that she didn’t really know. Throughout the summer she had been able to put Ruth in a variety of different summer camps. Having her own business helped her do that, but other than that, Ruth really seemed to prefer being on her own or with the company of her friend, Tina.

Sarah didn’t know when their relationship had fallen away, but it definitely had. They were not nearly as close as she wanted them to be, and that hurt her a little. Actually, a lot. Ruth loved her though. She knew Ruth did, but she had no idea why the young girl seemed to hide who she was from even her own mother.

After the tour, Sarah and Dave roamed the restaurant hall in a section that overlooked the incredible man made river. They were going to have dinner within the resort, but first, they agreed to just look and watch. Sarah liked that about Dave. He didn’t talk too much, or too little. Silence with him wasn’t uncomfortable, at least now that she was more relaxed.

They found a nook apart from the restaurants with tables and seating and Sarah leaned against a collection of rocks that spilled onto the path.

“This place is gorgeous,” Sarah said again, a phrase she couldn’t seem to stop repeating. Her mind felt swollen and sluggish as it attempted to take in such beauty.

“Hmm,” Dave turned to Sarah and touched the edge of her chin. “Gorgeous…just like you,” he smiled. Under different circumstances, she might have looked away, or found something to twiddle with. This time, Sarah didn’t though. She held Dave’s gaze steady, her breath hitching when he stepped towards her, past the distance of a personal barrier. 

He moved his hand from her chin along her jaw line. His touch was fire. Sarah closed her eyes and welcomed the feel of his lips against her flesh. He kissed her cheek first, but his lips soon connected with Sarah’s with noted restraint.

Such a simple thing, a kiss, but so strong and so telling. He wanted her. That much was obvious, but how? Why? Time seemed to stand still. Sarah couldn’t remember the last breath she had taken. The only thing she heard was silence, save for the sound of his breath and beating heart.

It had been over six years since she had felt the touch of another man, tasting his mouth against her lips. Her breath was shaking when Dave pulled back. They both seemed to pant, and all at once, suddenly, it seemed loud with distance voices and churning waters from the flowing river beneath the overpass where they rested.

“Oh, Dave,” Sarah said in a breath. She closed her eyes and tried to focus on a thought. Instead, all she saw was Ruth’s face. Not as the eight year old she was at present, but the young three year old she was when she had received the news. Sarah opened her eyes and searched Dave’s face.

“I don’t think this is going to work,” Sarah whispered softly.

One of Dave’s hands slid down her arm, to where her rings had been. The meat of Dave’s thumb now stroked her bare skin.

“Because of Ruth?” Dave asked.

Sarah kept her eyes down. “I don’t think can explain.”

“How did he die?” Dave asked after a while.

Sarah took a deep breath. She was suddenly emotional and felt a sob swelling in her throat. It had been years since she had last cried over him. She wasn’t going to do it now.

“Was it an accident?” Dave fished for more information. “A wreck or something?”

“He was a United States Marine Corps Officer,” Sarah met his eyes, and to her amazement, her composure steadied. Dave’s face hardened. “He was deployed and hours from leaving the hottest combat zone there was. But they were attacked. Ambushed. No one survived. No one.”

Sarah forced herself to keep her eyes open. She was afraid that if they closed that the dam would break and her tears would spill. She didn’t know what she expected Dave to do, but she was shocked when he leaned into her and took her into his arms into a simple hug. But it wasn’t all that simple. The feel of him, his body against hers, his arms around her back with his hands cradling her head made her feel safe.

Safe.

She closed her eyes and the tears fell, but Dave didn’t release her. They weren’t wild tears, like those bursting from a clogged piped, but calm and collected, like a steady stream flowing from her tapped heart. She didn’t discuss her past with anyone. She never saw the need. All anyone needed to know is that she and her daughter had survived her husband. She and Ruth, and together, they had forged ahead with their lives.

“Sometimes I just wish I could forget him,” Sarah breathed. “He was so sweet and gentle. The best father,” she squeezed Dave’s body, pulling him closer, if it were even possible. She breathed in the smell of him and gained strength in her weary bones.

“You don’t want to do that,” Dave answered. His response made Sarah pull back. She went to wipe her cheeks, but Dave beat her to it.

“You can’t forget what he was to you,” Dave said softly. “You can’t forget your daughter’s father. You have to remember that part, who he was when he was with you. That’ll never chance,” Sarah’s mind seemed numb. She just stared into Dave’s knowing eyes. Had he lost someone special too?

Dave looked away then and sighed. “I’ve worked with a lot of good people throughout my time,” he said. “I’ve seen a lot go down though. Die. One day they’re there and the next they’re not. Sometimes you wonder what you could have done differently, if anything.” He sighed. “And other times, you’re just helpless.”

“Like me,” Sarah answered. Dave loosened his grip around her, but it took Sarah several seconds before she stepped away. “I don’t date,” she said with a swallow.

Dave smiled. “Neither do I.” After another pause he added, “I mean, my last serious relationship was four years long. I proposed after a year, but she said she needed time. Eventually, she left because she definitely wanted to be with someone else,” he paused, “or something,” he grumbled.

“Serious relationship?” Sarah questioned.

Dave laughed suddenly, a beautiful thing that creased his skin and still left him breathtakingly stunning. “Look,” he began matter-of-factly, “I don’t mess around. Not like that. Is that what you think?” He shook his head again. “I’m way too busy with work.”

Sarah frowned. “Renting boats—?” The sound of her phone ringing called for her attention. She fished for it quickly out her purse and checked the caller. After she read the number and ID, she glanced to Dave. “I’ve got to get this.”

Taking another step away, Sarah answered the call. “Hello?” There was a rush of sound before a frantic voice answered her.

“Hey. Sorry this is so sudden. Something’s wrong with Ruth.”

In Head Over Heels

Dave didn’t need to ask what the problem was. He saw Sarah’s face morph and knew a second later that they’d be leaving. As soon as she ended the phone call, he knew his worst fears were true. She relayed the message as they made their way outside the grand hotel.

“Is Ruth sick? Did she get hurt somehow?” Dave questioned Sarah inside the truck. He turned the key and waited for the coils to heat. It only took a couple of seconds, and then Dave turned the motor and started the engine.

“I told you what they told me, Dave,” Sarah said in an eerily calm voice. She grasped the handles of her purse in her hands. Her knuckles were white.

“Okay well,” Dave took a deep breath and started to drive. “We’ll be there soon enough.”

The drive was silent. About 15 minutes later, they received another call that they were taking Ruth to the emergency room. Not much was needed to correct their path, but Dave noticed that Sarah was struggling to breathe.

When they pulled into the drive-thru ramp of the specified hospital, Dave hopped out the car along with Sarah and took a valet number without thinking twice. He followed Sarah into the building. It was late evening on a Friday night. His gut tightened when he thought of the line.

“Look, that’s her!” Sarah exclaimed. They were taking her into the back. An older woman was with her. Dave stayed right on Sarah’s heels as she weaved through the rows of seating to get to the back.

Sarah ignored the nurses wheeling Ruth into the back, until one touched her arm and pulled her to the side. Dave made it to the side of Ruth’s wheelchair and listened quietly.

“She’s severely dehydrated,” a nurse whispered. “She can’t even keep down four ounces.”

Dave looked to Ruth. She weakly held a barf bag. Her face was pale, nothing like the shinning bulb he had seen earlier in the week. He heard her retching and reached for the bag, pushing it closer to her mouth. He held it there firmly while she heaved. His ears still strained to hear nurse behind him.

“This couldn’t have happened in a day. What was she like yesterday?”

“She said a little sick,” Sarah answered back promptly. “She said she didn’t feel well and skipped dinner. Sometimes that happens, but I didn’t think to make sure she was drinking water. Can’t we just make her drink more?”

Dave caught Ruth’s eye as her hand bumped into his where she struggled to keep the bag around her mouth. She tried to smile weakly, but then was taken with a fit retching. He patted the back of her head, smoothing down her dark hair.

“You’re dry heaving,” he said calmly. “It hurts, but you’ll be okay. You’ll probably get an IV,” he whispered.

“She needs an IV, at least one bag and we’ll check her blood pressure again,” the nurse continued.

“An IV? Are you sure?” Even though she asked the question, Dave knew Sarah would agree to it. She would agree to anything for her daughter.

“She can’t even keep down half a cup of fluids, Ma’am,” the nurse responded. “Has she had IVs before?”

“No.”

They entered a room with drawings on the wall. They were in a pediatric room. Dave hoped, the childish atmosphere would calm Ruth’s nerves. At the bed, two nurses converged to helped Ruth to the bed. When they left her side, Dave was quick to edge himself next to her. He kept the bag secure as she began to heave again. Something came out this time. It was thick and tainted yellow. Bile. He stroked the young girl’s back. Near the entrance of the room, Sarah spoke with the woman who had initially walked in with Ruth.

“Thank you, so much Lisa,” Sarah said quietly

“We called you as soon as we knew we were going to head to the ER, when her fever spiked. I didn’t want to wait until she got diarrhea, you know.”

“Thank you, again,” Sarah exchanged a quick goodbye and then joined Dave at Ruth’s side. She touched Ruth’s hair and stroked her face. A tear slid from Ruth’s eye and Dave wiped it away. At that, Sarah glanced towards him and blinked. Dave caught Sarah’s eye and for a moment, she just stared at him. Finally, she straightened and touched his arm.

“You can leave now,” she whispered. Dave stiffened. 

“I drove you here,” he started.

Sarah nodded, but squeezed his arm to silence him. “I can take a cab back,” she was still whispering. “I’m sorry our evening was interrupted, but we’re good now.”

He took her dismissal hard, like a swift punch to his abdomen. “I don’t mind staying, Sarah,” Dave countered. He knew his will wasn’t the problem. Sarah just didn’t want him around. She closed her eyes and took a steady breath.

“Dave, I just,” she paused as she opened her eyes. Her stare said more than her words ever could and he was reminded of the first thing that tumbled out her mouth after they kissed,
“I don’t think this is going to work…”
she had really meant that. “I just really think you should go now,” Sarah managed politely.

“Hey, Momma,” a nurse walked in with more authority than the two that had helped Ruth to the bed. “We’re going to get started on the drip. Has she had them before?” Sarah blinked and looked over the woman speaking to her. She had loose wavy hair cropped to a perfect bob and kind eyes. In her hand, she held a small rectangular pack. A warming pack to heat the vein before the needle stuck.

Sarah shook her head. “Will it hurt?”

The woman laughed. Her nametag read Tabby. Dave stood to his full height. The act caught Tabby’s eyes and her looked changed.

“And you are?” Tabby began.

“Oh, he,” Sarah turned and touched Dave’s chest this time with the tip of her fingers. He grabbed her hands, commanding her eyes. “He was just leaving,” her eyes pleaded with him to just go. But Dave didn’t dare move.

“Well, either way, we need to get started.”

Sarah whirled back to the woman. “Could you give me a moment please?”

“She needs an IV now,” Tabby’s voice hardened and she rounded the side of the bed towards Ruth. In a compartment drawer near the head of the bed, she pulled out two drawers and different packages. Dave already knew what they were.

“Will it hurt?” Sarah questioned again, moving from Dave to follow the woman around the bed. She stopped and turned to Sarah.

“It’s an IV. Of course it will hurt.”

“Mom,” Ruth began to whine. Dave watched Sarah’s brows bunch and her face darken. He saw sweat bead at Sarah’s temple.

“Hey,” Dave reached across the bed, but still kept a hand on Ruth’s back. “I’ll leave, but do you think you can get me a soda from the vending machines?” Sarah frowned and walked the length of the bed again to stand in front of Dave. He lowered his voice. “It’ll take her a while to get started. They’ll need to warm her veins up first,” he whispered to Sarah. Yes, it was a lie, but he was almost certain it was a lie Sarah would appreciate later. He knew the nurse heard him, but she remained quiet.

“Warm her veins?” Sarah’s words weren’t quite connected.

“A soda, Sarah. Please, could you get me a soda?” At length, she nodded.

“I’ll be right back, baby,” Sarah called to Ruth. She darted out the room a moment later. Dave quickly turned his attention to Ruth, but not before he caught the nurse’s eyes. She grinned at him.

“Do you know if Ruth has rolling veins or anything like that?” Tabby asked.

Dave shrugged and watched as she wrapped a thick, flat rubber band around Ruth’s arm. The dry heaving was still coming sporadically, but it had been about a minute since he had seen the young girl spit up bile.

“Okay, Ruth, sweetie,” Tabby’s voice softened in the way that only a mother’s could. “I’m going to stick you with a needle. We need to get some fluids in your body, okay?”

Ruth glanced to Dave and his grip tightened on her shoulder. “You can do it,” he encouraged. Ruth searched his eyes and frowned. She lowered the medical bag from her mouth and nodded to Tabby. The nurse wrapped a plastic band around Ruth’s upper arm and tapped at the junction of her elbow with two fingers.

Tabby kept pushing against Ruth’s skin until a vein rose to the surface.

“There it is,” Tabby whispered. She prepared the needle and then held Ruth’s gaze. “I’m going to stick the needle in, okay?” Tabby didn’t wait for a response. She moved the needled towards Ruth’s skin and pierced her flesh without hesitation. Nothing could have prepared Ruth for the first prick. Even though Ruth’s eyes were glued to Tabby, she screamed and jumped as the needle entered her skin. Tabby stood slowly and took a deep breath. Her eyes hardened and she zeroed in on Dave.

“I’ll hold her,” he said quickly, and slid onto the bed behind Ruth in the next breath. She had sprinkles of tears in her eyes and yanked the needle out and tossed it to the floor.

“No no!” Tabby yelled, quickly grabbing the band that was still around Ruth’s arm. There was a spurt of blood until the band released that made Ruth’s eyes grow. Her face drained to white and sweat prickled along her eyebrows and forehead. Dave took the heat from Tabby’s glare.

“Ruth, you can’t do that again.” Ruth glanced back towards Dave, too weak to protest. “The band is there to help find your vein,” he reasoned. “It’s going to hurt,” Dave stressed. He began to speak slowly, “but you can do it. I know you can.”

He fished for Tabby’s eyes. The nurse was preparing another needle. Looking to Ruth, Dave searched her young face. “I’m going to help you keep still, okay?” Ruth nodded, her head a bobble on her neck. “Okay, we’re ready,” Dave said a tad louder. He didn’t need to meet Tabby’s eyes to know that she was back into nurse mode.

Tabby replaced the band on Ruth’s arm and felt for her vein using her index and middle finger. Ruth turned to look, but Dave tapped her face.

“You don’t need to see,” he said softly. “Just talk to me. I took your mom on a date today,” he said suddenly. Ruth’s eyes widened. He thought he saw a smile touch the corners of her lips.

With his left hand, he moved it around Ruth’s small bicep on her left arm. He repositioned his right hand to get a better grip just below her right shoulder.

“Do you like my mom?” Ruth croaked. Dave smiled and nodded.

“Yes, I do. A lot. She told me about your father—.” Ruth’s body seized. She went rigid and turned to look at Tabby as the nurse pushed the needle deep into her skin. Tabby stopped and pressed her lips together. She met Dave’s eyes.

“It rolled. I need to move the needle,” Tabby informed.

Dave would have sworn beneath his breath, but his grip on Ruth was too strong. The girl pulled against him, but he was stronger and her attempts to pull away from the needle were barely noticeable under his grip. Instead, her mouth hung open and she struggled to make a sound.

“Ruth, look at me,” Dave said quickly, commanding her attention again. Ruth struggled to tear her eyes from her arm. “Ms. Tabby needs to move the needle. It’s going to hurt a little more, okay?” He nodded. “Can you tell me about your father some? Do you remember him?”

Ruth frowned. She glanced to her arm, to check on the nurse. Tabby hadn’t begun yet. When Ruth turned to Dave, she opened her mouth and froze. Tabby didn’t withdraw the needle, she just pushed it in deeper, and moved it a bit to the left.

Ruth squeezed her eyes shut, a high pitched squeak finally came from her throat. She wasn’t even breathing.

“Ruth, you need to relax,” Dave tried. Ruth kept her eyes shut. She was going to pass out if she kept it up. “Think of your father,” he tried. She gasped and gulped down air. “You miss him, don’t you?” Dave coaxed and smiled. “It’s okay to miss him,” he cooed. Ruth searched his eyes and took another breath controlled breath, one that was longer than her first attempt.

“Got it,” Tabby announced. She was their new point of attention. Ruth inspected the tap on her arm and Dave watched Tabby pull the IV drop to the side of the bed. She connected the catheter to the machine after withdrawing the needle and set the timer.

“We’ll give her one rapidly and then another right on her heels,” Tabby turned to Dave. “She’s going to get cold. I’ll get her nurse to bring her a blanket.”

With a weak smile, Dave mouthed a silent thank you, and placed his hand on Ruth’s forehead. She was sticky and hot. He pushed her hair back and kissed her temple. It felt oddly familiar, reminding him of his childhood.

Tabby gave Dave a kind smile and started towards the door. She left them in silence. Ruth’s body was still rigid, but she was breathing regularly. She stared at her arm and tugged at the tape Tabby had wrapped around her skin to keep the IV tap in place.

“There’s not a needle in there now,” Dave tried to comfort.

“I’m cold,” Ruth’s voice cracked.

Dave ran his hands over her arms. She was definitely smiling now. She took a deep breath and relaxed into his chest. Now Dave was tense. He thought of laying her back on the bed, but she turned a second later, eyes closed, and nestled her head into his shoulder.

“Mom doesn’t talk about Dad to anyone,” she whispered. Her voice was low and seemed drugged. He thought of how tired she must be. She yawned a breath later as if to confirm his suspicions.

“Well, she told me about him,” Dave said softly. “He was a Marine,” he commented. Ruth didn’t respond. Her breathing slowed into a hypnotic rhythm. Dave didn’t think he was going to get any more out of her.