Second Chance (Crystal Lake Series Book 6) Read online

  Second Chance

  by

  Laura Scott

  Second Chance

  Copyright © May 2015 by Laura Iding

  ISBN-13: 978-0-9907796-1-2

  Cover Designs by The Killion Group, Inc.

  Formatting by Author E.M.S.

  By payment of the required fees, you have been granted a non-exclusive and non-transferable right to access and read the text of this eBook. No part of this eBook may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now or hereinafter invented without the express written permission of the copyright owner.

  Please Note

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

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  Books by Laura Scott

  Crystal Lake Series (in order)

  Healing Her Heart

  A Soldier’s Promise

  Coming Home

  Worth The Wait

  Christmas Reunion

  Second Chance

  Love Inspired Suspense Books

  SWAT: Top Cops – Love In The Line of Duty (in order)

  Wrongly Accused

  Down To The Wire

  Under The Lawman’s Protection

  Forgotten Memories

  Holiday On The Run

  BOOK 6 – TBD

  Chapter One

  Sheriff’s deputy, Devon Armbruster, half-carried half-dragged the highly intoxicated Jimmy Campbell into the ER of Hope County Hospital. This was the third time in the past eighteen months that he’d pulled Jimmy over for driving without a valid license and driving under the influence.

  “Gotta get home,” Jimmy mumbled as he tripped, and would have fallen flat on his face, if Dev hadn’t been hanging onto him. “Sally’s gonna be mad.”

  Yeah, that was a massive understatement. Especially since Jimmy wasn’t going home anytime soon. He was going to spend time in jail, and considering this was Jimmy’s third offense, he was looking at a good six to twelve months behind bars.

  Devon held onto his temper with an effort. After losing his fiancée to a drunk driving accident five years ago, he didn’t have a lot of patience for Jimmy’s plight. Although Dev was glad he’d pulled Jimmy over before he’d hurt anyone unlike the person that had taken his fiancée’s life. Dev shook off the flash of anger and helped Jimmy over to the desk.

  “We’re here for a legal blood draw,” Dev said to Eve, one of the ER nurses who glanced over when they walked in.

  “Take room three,” she said with a wave of her hand. “I’ll be right over.”

  “Can I call Sally? Please?” Jimmy asked, slurring his words. “Gotta tell her I’m sorry.”

  “Not yet, but soon,” Dev promised.

  Thankfully Jimmy wasn’t an angry or belligerent drunk, so Devon didn’t need back-up to get the legal blood work that would prove what he already knew, that Jimmy was well beyond the legal limit.

  It was frustrating to arrest the same people over and over again. As much as he’d enjoyed living in the small town of Crystal Lake, Wisconsin, lately he didn’t feel as if he was making enough of an impact here.

  Not compared to his older brother, Steve Armbruster, who had assisted in breaking up some serious crime rings in Milwaukee, before he’d lost his battle with pancreatic cancer.

  What would be Dev’s legacy? Nothing close to his big brother’s, that was for sure. His brother’s death six months ago had spurred him into action. He’d applied for jobs within several big city police departments.

  So far, no one had called to follow up on the applications he’d submitted in both Madison and Milwaukee. Maybe he’d have to go out a little farther, for example the Twin Cities. He’d rather avoid Chicago, but maybe he was being too picky.

  Shaking off his maudlin thoughts, Dev tried to focus on the issue at hand. Eve came and drew Jimmy’s blood, putting the vial in the chain of custody kit so it could be submitted as legal evidence.

  “No problem.”

  Dev looked down at Jimmy who was slumped over in his seat, snoring loudly. Obviously, getting him outside and into the back seat of his squad wouldn’t be easy.

  “Help! Please, help!”

  Dev glanced over in surprise to find Janelle Larson, one of the ER nurses, dressed in street clothes, and rushing into the arena holding a young blond haired boy in her arms. “Sebastian is running a fever of a hundred point four despite acetaminophen.”

  Dev frowned, wondering what was going on. He’d always had a soft spot for Janelle, especially after the way she’d taken care of him two years ago when he’d been shot in the line of duty. There wasn’t anything but friendship between them though, since she’d been seeing some guy, whose name escaped him at the moment. Larry? Lance? Something like that.

  Dev quickly cuffed Jimmy to the chair, just to be sure he didn’t try to leave on his own, and then followed Janelle. Not to intrude, but to offer support if needed.

  “Let’s get him into a room,” Merry Crain, one of the ER nurses said in a calm, soothing voice. “Dr. Gabe is here, and will be in soon.”

  “I’m Sebastian’s legal guardian. He has kidney failure and receives peritoneal dialysis three times a day,” Janelle said, a worried frown furrowing her brow. “I’m afraid his catheter site might be infected.”

  “Let me get a quick set of vital signs, okay?”

  Janelle nodded and moved to the side so that Merry could examine the boy. Dev stepped up beside her.

  “Hey, are you alright?” he asked in a low voice. “Is there something I can do to help?”

  Janelle swung around to look at him, her eyes bright with tears. “Hi Devon, thanks for the offer. Sebastian has already gone through so much, more than any four-year old should have to endure. I can’t bear the thought of anything happening to him.”

  “Try not to worry, you know better than anyone the staff here will take good care of him. Isn’t Sebastian your sister’s son? When did you become his legal guardian?”

  Janelle swiped away her tears and shrugged. “Since Lisa died three weeks ago. Sebastian’s father lost his parental rights about a year after he was born, and I have to say I’m glad he’s been locked up in jail.”

  His heart squeezed in sympathy. “So of course you stepped up to take the little guy.”

  She sniffled and nodded. “The state social workers were so glad, because I’m a nurse and wasn’t put off by his medical issues. It’s been a steep learning curve, but so far we’re hanging in there.”

  Dev couldn’t imagine what it must be like to become a mother overnight, not to mention for a child with medical needs. For a moment the night he’d lost Debra flashed in his mind. She’d been pregnant when she was killed in the head-on collision. In fact, if the baby had survived, the child would be close to the same age as Sebastian.

  He swallowed hard and pushed the painful memories away. This wasn’t about him, but about Janelle. And he owed her for saving his life. “Are
you sure there’s nothing I can do for you?” he asked. “Do you have someone helping you?”

  Janelle flashed him a lopsided smile. “Thanks, I appreciate the offer. But we’ll be fine.”

  The way she avoided his direct gaze gave him the impression there was something she wasn’t saying. “Why are you here alone? Where’s your boyfriend?”

  She lifted a shoulder in a careless shrug. “Lane wasn’t interested in sticking around once he knew that I was taking custody of Sebastian. Which is fine with me, things weren’t all that great between us anyway. Sebastian and I are better off without him.”

  Dev reined in a flash of anger. No doubt she was better off without the idiot, but still, talk about being cold and callous. Turning your back on a sick four-year old? What was up with that?

  Before he could say anything more, Dr. Gabe Allen came into the room. Dev backed off so that Janelle could participate in the conversation about the boy’s medical care.

  “We’ll send a culture from the peritoneal catheter site, give him another dose of acetaminophen, and then start some IV antibiotics,” Gabe said. “I’d like to keep him here in the hospital overnight so that we can watch him closely for the next twenty-four hours.”

  Janelle nodded. “Okay, but I plan to stay here with him.”

  “Of course, that’s no problem,” Gabe assured her.

  Dev watched as Janelle moved closer to Sebastian, bending over the side rail of the gurney to talk to him in a low reassuring tone. With Sebastian’s blond hair the exact same shade as Janelle’s, they looked enough alike to make the average person think they were mother and son, instead of aunt and nephew.

  Glancing at his watch, Dev was glad to see the time was almost eleven-thirty at night, which meant his shift was just about over. He’d drive Jimmy to jail, then maybe come back, see if there was anything more he could do for Janelle and Sebastian.

  Just as friends. Despite the fact that Janelle wasn’t seeing that jerk of a boyfriend any more, Dev was in no position to get emotionally involved. There was more at stake than his plans to move to a big city police department.

  Unfortunately, Janelle and Sebastian were a painful reminder of everything he’d loved and lost.

  Janelle caught a glimpse of Devon leaving the ER with an obviously intoxicated Jimmy Campbell. It had been nice of Dev to come over to offer support.

  She closed her eyes for a moment, praying for strength. Leaning on God and faith would help her get through this. She loved Sebastian very much, but that fact alone hadn’t made the transition of becoming a mother overnight any easier.

  For the first few days, Sebastian kept asking about his mommy, and no matter how many times she explained that his mommy was up in heaven, he didn’t seem to grasp the concept. Finally she bought a stuffed angel and convinced him that his Mommy was an angel in heaven. Sebastian had calmed down after that, and slept with the angel every night. Janelle wasn’t sure if the fact that he’d stopped asking about his mother was a good thing or not.

  She bent down to press a kiss on his soft hair, breathing in the sweet scent of baby shampoo. He was such a good little boy, tolerating his peritoneal dialysis treatments better than she’d ever expected. Surely he’d pull through this latest threat without a problem.

  When Merry returned to start Sebastian’s IV, Janelle’s stomach clenched at the realization she’d have to help hold him down. Funny how different it was to be on this side of the bed. Usually, she was the one urging parents to help hold their kids during medical treatments.

  “Shh, Sebastian, it’s okay. I’m here. It won’t hurt for long,” she whispered as Merry inserted the catheter.

  Sebastian’s crying ripped at her heart, making her eyes well in sympathy. She hated knowing that he had to suffer more pain on top of everything else.

  “All done,” Merry said cheerfully, once the catheter was in place and the IV fluids running.

  “No more ouchies,” Janelle murmured to Sebastian.

  “Nana,” he whispered, cuddling close.

  She held him for a few minutes, until the trauma of being stuck with a needle passed. Sebastian used to call her Nanelle, but since she’d taken custody of him, he’d shortened it to Nana. She didn’t mind in the least.

  In fact, she hoped one day he might call her mama.

  “Anything else?” Merry asked as she adjusted the rate of his IV fluids.

  “No, but go easy on the fluids, remember he has kidney disease,” Janelle warned.

  “I haven’t forgotten, but fluids are key to battling infection. We may opt to do an extra exchange if necessary.”

  Janelle bit her lip and nodded. Of course Gabe and Merry knew what they were doing. When had she become such a worry wart?

  Since taking custody of Sebastian, she tried to tell herself to back off a bit, but then something like this happened, and she was right back to where she’d started. She was so afraid of doing something wrong, of failing as Sebastian’s surrogate mother, the biggest, most important role of her life.

  She couldn’t stand the thought of anything bad happening to Sebastian. She loved him so much. In just three weeks she’d found she couldn’t imagine her life without him.

  After about fifteen minutes Sebastian finally drifted off to sleep. His forehead still felt too warm, but she hoped his fever would come down once the fluids and antibiotics kicked in.

  She stroked a hand over his hair, then made sure the side-rails were locked on the gurney, before sinking into a chair and wearily rubbing her eyes. Sebastian had been fitful all day; she probably should have realized there was a problem sooner, but the catheter site had looked fine until the last exchange, right before bed. She’d never expected that the small amount of redness could become a raging infection so quickly. She was a nurse, but had needed to read up on kidney failure, to make sure she was well versed in Sebastian’s treatment plan.

  For some reason, she felt woefully inadequate to be Sebastian’s guardian. She tried to tell herself that her nursing background was a bonus, and other foster parents couldn’t provide the same care she could. At times like this, though, it was easy to have self-doubts. Especially since she still had a lot to learn about the nuances of Sebastian’s kidney failure.

  “Everything okay in here?” Merry asked in a whisper.

  Janelle raised her head and forced a smile. “Sure, we’re fine.”

  “Phoebe will be your nurse on the night shift,” Merry whispered. “She’ll be in shortly.”

  Janelle nodded, knowing they were in good hands. All the nurses in the hospital were great at their jobs. One of the things she enjoyed most about working here was the easy camaraderie amongst the staff, even the physicians. That hadn’t been her experience at the large Madison hospital where she’d worked prior to moving to Crystal Lake.

  Sebastian was on the kidney transplant list, which meant either moving back to Madison or enduring long commutes back and forth for treatment after his transplant. A problem she didn’t want to think about at the moment.

  Her stomach rumbled with hunger and she remembered she hadn’t eaten much more than the low sodium soup she’d tried to get Sebastian to eat for dinner.

  The cafeteria was closed for the night, though, so her only option was vending machine food; not the least bit appealing.

  Sebastian moaned in his sleep, and she shot to her feet, crossing over to make sure he was all right. Was it her imagination or did his forehead feel a bit cooler?

  She straightened out the IV tubing then bent over to brush a kiss across his temple, her heart aching for him. He had endured so much adversity in his short lifetime. She prayed again, this time for Sebastian to heal quickly and for the possibility of a kidney transplant, one he so desperately needed.

  There was a soft tapping on the doorframe, causing her to glance over her shoulder. She’d expected Phoebe, but it was Devon who stood there dressed in casual clothes: well-worn blue jeans and a soft long sleeved T-shirt, instead of the brown uniform he’d worn earli
er. He was handsome no matter what he wore, with his thick dark brown hair, broad shoulders, and deep brown eyes. Something she hadn’t really noticed until just this minute.

  A realization that caught her off guard.

  What was wrong with her? Sebastian was fighting off a life-threatening infection and she was thinking about how handsome Devon looked. She should be ashamed of herself.

  “Hungry?” he whispered, holding up the bag. “I brought enough for both of us.”

  Touched by his thoughtful generosity, she nodded. “Yes, but how did you know?”

  He shrugged and gestured for her to come out of Sebastian’s room. “I feel bad eating in front of him, maybe it’s better if we head down to the cafeteria.” His voice went up on the end, as if he were asking a question.

  She hesitated, then shook her head. “How about the ER staff break room? That way I won’t be too far away if Sebastian needs something.”

  “Sounds good.” Devon smiled and gestured for her to lead the way toward the break-room.

  As they passed by the central nurse’s station, she caught a glimpse of Sebastian’s night nurse, a pretty girl with dark hair and wide light gray eyes. “Hey, Phoebe, Sebastian is sleeping. I’ll be in the back room if you need anything.”

  “Sounds good. We’re working on getting him an inpatient bed. I’ll let you know once we have one assigned.”

  “Thanks.” Janelle darted around the nurse’s station to the small break-room located in the back corner of the ER.

  “Do you want the cheeseburger or the chicken sandwich?” Dev asked, when they were seated next to each other at the table.

  She lifted a brow. “I’m fairly certain you want the cheeseburger, right?”