her mother. Lily’s life would have been a whole lot different if her mother hadn’t loved her enough to find the courage to walk out on Lily’s abusive father.
Before the depressing memories of her childhood took hold, Lily dampened the cloth in the bathroom sink and sprayed disinfectant around the toilet. She thought again of the hot police officer from the party and smiled. She wouldn’t have wanted to wake up with the headache she was sure had greeted him the next morning, nor the mess that had no doubt been splattered all over the toilet.
Her smile slowly faded. It was obvious the guy had been drunk. More than drunk. Plastered, was probably a better word. He’d fallen asleep standing up. That told her more than enough.
She shook her head, her heart slowly filling with regret. It was a shame. He was cute enough to send her heart fluttering like a brightly colored banner in the wind. It was a pity he was a drinker. She didn’t do drunks. Period.
CHAPTER SIX
Royal North Shore Hospital—present day
Tom stared down at his wife’s pale form where she lay against the pristine white sheets that covered the steel hospital bed and tightened his grip on her hand. The nurse had reassured him Lily’s vital signs were good and she was resting comfortably, even though she had yet to regain consciousness.
“She’ll wake up when she’s ready,” the kindly woman with the gray hair and tired eyes added and then patted him lightly on the arm before moving away to attend to another patient.
Tom tried hard to believe her, to force some of her optimism deep into his heart, but his body resisted his efforts and the blackness continued to weigh him down. His wife looked so small and defenseless amongst the tubes and monitors in and around her bed. He silently cursed the boy whose stupidity had reduced her to this state of fragility, her life held in the balance. Lily didn’t deserve this pain. She’d always been so committed to her students. He couldn’t fathom why someone would want to hurt her in this way.
An IV cannula carried essential fluids through her veins and another tube protruded from under the sheets. Tom guessed it was some kind of drain. It was attached to a large glass bottle that stood on the floor beneath her bed. From the look of the dark colored liquid that emptied into it, the tube was draining blood. He shuddered and turned away.
It wasn’t like he’d never seen a person in trauma before. Christ, he’d lost count of the number of victims he’d dealt with over his years on the force, but it was different when it was Lily. She was his wife, the woman that he loved. She wasn’t some faceless stranger from whom he could remain detached.
The sight and sounds of so much medical equipment sent cold dread shivering through his veins. He hadn’t been inside an ICU since his father’s ruptured aneurysm the year before, but he hadn’t forgotten the rows of motionless patients, silent except for the sound of their breathing machines and the beeping of their monitors. Lily was now one of them.
Tom leaned over in his chair beside her bed and pressed a soft kiss against her hand. Despite the fact that it had been hours and hours since the shooting, tension still held him tightly in its grip. His phone vibrated against his hip and he pulled it off his belt clip and glanced at the screen. It was a text message from Brandon.
Alex has arrived with Cassie and Joe. They’re in the waiting room. The kids are asking to see their mom.
Tom bit his lip and scrunched his eyes tight and tried to find the courage to face his children. He didn’t know what they’d been told, but they weren’t stupid. No one was put in the ICU unless it was life threatening. He prayed he’d find the words to tell them what they needed to know without causing them unnecessary fear or alarm.
He made an impatient sound in the back of his throat. Unnecessary fear or alarm? Who the hell was he kidding? They’d be scared stiff and
Before the depressing memories of her childhood took hold, Lily dampened the cloth in the bathroom sink and sprayed disinfectant around the toilet. She thought again of the hot police officer from the party and smiled. She wouldn’t have wanted to wake up with the headache she was sure had greeted him the next morning, nor the mess that had no doubt been splattered all over the toilet.
Her smile slowly faded. It was obvious the guy had been drunk. More than drunk. Plastered, was probably a better word. He’d fallen asleep standing up. That told her more than enough.
She shook her head, her heart slowly filling with regret. It was a shame. He was cute enough to send her heart fluttering like a brightly colored banner in the wind. It was a pity he was a drinker. She didn’t do drunks. Period.
CHAPTER SIX
Royal North Shore Hospital—present day
Tom stared down at his wife’s pale form where she lay against the pristine white sheets that covered the steel hospital bed and tightened his grip on her hand. The nurse had reassured him Lily’s vital signs were good and she was resting comfortably, even though she had yet to regain consciousness.
“She’ll wake up when she’s ready,” the kindly woman with the gray hair and tired eyes added and then patted him lightly on the arm before moving away to attend to another patient.
Tom tried hard to believe her, to force some of her optimism deep into his heart, but his body resisted his efforts and the blackness continued to weigh him down. His wife looked so small and defenseless amongst the tubes and monitors in and around her bed. He silently cursed the boy whose stupidity had reduced her to this state of fragility, her life held in the balance. Lily didn’t deserve this pain. She’d always been so committed to her students. He couldn’t fathom why someone would want to hurt her in this way.
An IV cannula carried essential fluids through her veins and another tube protruded from under the sheets. Tom guessed it was some kind of drain. It was attached to a large glass bottle that stood on the floor beneath her bed. From the look of the dark colored liquid that emptied into it, the tube was draining blood. He shuddered and turned away.
It wasn’t like he’d never seen a person in trauma before. Christ, he’d lost count of the number of victims he’d dealt with over his years on the force, but it was different when it was Lily. She was his wife, the woman that he loved. She wasn’t some faceless stranger from whom he could remain detached.
The sight and sounds of so much medical equipment sent cold dread shivering through his veins. He hadn’t been inside an ICU since his father’s ruptured aneurysm the year before, but he hadn’t forgotten the rows of motionless patients, silent except for the sound of their breathing machines and the beeping of their monitors. Lily was now one of them.
Tom leaned over in his chair beside her bed and pressed a soft kiss against her hand. Despite the fact that it had been hours and hours since the shooting, tension still held him tightly in its grip. His phone vibrated against his hip and he pulled it off his belt clip and glanced at the screen. It was a text message from Brandon.
Alex has arrived with Cassie and Joe. They’re in the waiting room. The kids are asking to see their mom.
Tom bit his lip and scrunched his eyes tight and tried to find the courage to face his children. He didn’t know what they’d been told, but they weren’t stupid. No one was put in the ICU unless it was life threatening. He prayed he’d find the words to tell them what they needed to know without causing them unnecessary fear or alarm.
He made an impatient sound in the back of his throat. Unnecessary fear or alarm? Who the hell was he kidding? They’d be scared stiff and
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