A Soldier's Promise (Crystal Lake Series Book 2) Read online

  After the orderly came back to push his gurney out of the way, his nurse crossed over. She locked her gaze on his and spoke in a low tone. “Derek, the lower lobe of your right lung has collapsed. Dr. Allen needs to put a small catheter in between your ribs to re-inflate your lung.”

  “Can he do that right here? Or do I have to go to the operating room?” he asked, dreading the answer.

  “He can do that right here, but it’s going to hurt.” Her large chocolate-brown eyes held sympathy.

  “Let’s get it done fast, then, before Lexi is out of the scanner.”

  “That’s what I thought, too,” she confessed. When she leaned closer, her nametag came into focus. Julie. He remembered now, her name was Julie. The pretty name somehow fit her dainty frame and cheerful personality. “I need to prep the side of your chest, first, okay?”

  “Go for it,” he said. “Just hurry.”

  She hadn’t been kidding about the pain, but surprisingly, once the procedure was over, the fire in his chest felt better. The pain wasn’t gone, not by a long shot, but breathing was certainly was easier.

  “Now just a quick X-ray of your arm and your chest to make sure your lung has re-inflated, and you’ll be set for a while,” Julie informed him.

  “No other internal bleeding?” he asked. Even though he had no plans of staying, he wanted to know exactly what he was dealing with.

  “You have a hard head, but luckily, no sign of intracranial bleeding, although you do have a small concussion. You also have two cracked ribs and a bruised spleen, but no other internal bleeding was found. And Lexi’s scan is complete too. Rick, our orderly, is bringing her back here momentarily. Her scan was completely clear. You and your daughter are very lucky to have escaped serious injury.”

  “Great.” The relief was nearly overwhelming. Once he would have thanked God, but not anymore. Not that he thought God would listen to him anyway, considering the way he’d taken Lexi and bolted out of St. Louis in the dead of night. But no matter what, he wasn’t going to take Lexi back.

  The urge to keep moving was strong. They couldn’t afford to stay in one place for too long.

  He focused his gaze on Julie. “We are lucky, but we’re finished here. I suggest you get our discharge paperwork started, because we’re leaving as soon as possible.”

  Chapter Two

  Derek watched Julie’s brown eyes widen in horror. “What? You can’t leave, not with a chest catheter in place. We want to keep you overnight, to make sure your concussion doesn’t get worse.” Her distress was obvious. And maybe, if circumstances had been different, he might have considered staying.

  But he needed to protect Lexi.

  No matter what.

  “I’m not staying here overnight.” Slowly, he sat upright on the gurney, mentally prepared this time for the pain slicing through his chest. He swung his legs over the side, hiding the stab of pain the best he could. “Since Lexi’s fine, we’re leaving. We missed dinner, and I’m sure she’s hungry.”

  To his amazement, Julie planted her hands on her slim hips and stood directly in front of him, staring him down. “Oh, really? And how do you plan on leaving here? On wings? Because from what I heard of the crash, your vehicle isn’t drivable.”

  He momentarily closed his eyes, belatedly remembering that inescapable fact. Okay, so they couldn’t drive off to another town, but that didn’t mean they had to stay at the hospital. He opened his eyes and focused on Julie. “Where’s the nearest motel?”

  “Mr. Ryerson, the closest motel is in Crystal Lake, about ten miles away, but it’s the height of the tourist season, not to mention Friday night of a holiday weekend. Why don’t you just stay here at the hospital for one night? That way, we’ll know for sure you’re stable enough to leave.”

  He shook his head. “No thanks. I know my rights—you can’t keep me here against my will. I need some clothes. And would you mind if I borrowed your phone? I’d like to call the motel, regardless. Maybe they had a cancellation.” The alternative—staying here—was almost too much to bear. He didn’t want Lexi to end up in the child welfare system, or worse, with her grandparents again. His daughter was staying with him, end of story.

  Julie let out a heavy sigh. “It’s easy to see where your daughter gets her stubborn streak.”

  He ignored the jab, keeping an eye on his daughter, who was staring at him with her usual unblinking gaze. “Lexi, we’re going to leave as soon as we sign off on some paperwork, okay?”

  She gave another of her tiny nods.

  “I have to let Dr. Allen know you’re planning to leave AMA,” Julie muttered. At his questioning glance, she added, “Against medical advice.”

  Julie left, and he stayed sitting upright at the edge of the gurney, although he wanted nothing more than to lie back down, because now his head was throbbing in sync with his ribs.

  “Daddy.” Lexi reached out and put her small hand on his bare knee. “You’re hurt.”

  Sometimes he forgot just how smart his daughter was, when she hid behind her wall of silence. “Not that bad, baby-doll. I’ll be fine, don’t worry.”

  The doctor came into the cubicle, a frown furrowed between his brows. “I hear you’re planning to leave AMA.”

  “Look, Doc, I don’t have insurance, and with my daughter here depending on me, I can’t afford to stay. So cut me a little slack, would you? Surely it’s safe to discharge me.”

  “Did you forget about the catheter we left between your ribs to keep your lung inflated?” the doctor asked dryly.

  Well, yeah, maybe he had. He bit back a surge of impatience. “Okay, how long does the catheter need to stay in?” he asked. “As a former soldier, I know a little about field medicine. I’ll pull it out myself in a couple of days.”

  The doctor scowled but then relented. “Look, I’ll agree to discharge you, but on the condition you come back tomorrow, so I can at least look you over one more time. If your lung is good, I’ll take the catheter out. No charge,” he added hastily when Derek opened his mouth to argue. “A free follow-up visit isn’t too much to ask, is it?”

  Since Lexi was still watching him with her eerie, unblinking stare, he nodded in agreement, more for her benefit than his. “Sure Doc, no problem. Whatever you say.”

  “Good.” The doctor stared at him for a moment, as if unsure whether or not to trust him. “I’ll give you twenty-four hours’ worth of narcotics, to hold you over until you can get the prescription filled. Julie will be back soon with your scripts and your discharge paperwork.”

  He hoped she’d also bring scrubs and a phone, too. He nodded even though all this movement was making his head hurt worse, but he had no intention of giving them any reason to keep him here. If they knew how bad he really felt, they’d prevent him from putting one foot out the door.

  Julie didn’t come back for a good ten minutes, and when she did, her smile was strained. “There’s a deputy who wants to see you before you leave.” She set a clean pair of scrubs on the gurney next to him. “Once you’re finished with the police, I’ll be back with my phone.”

  Police? He froze, trying to think rationally. The last thing he wanted to do was to talk to the cops. What if they knew about Lexi and hauled him to jail? He didn’t have to talk to them, did he? Before he could say anything, Julie disappeared, and a cop strode in.

  “Mr. Ryerson? My name is Deputy Thomas. How are you and your daughter feeling?” The deputy looked young, not even close to his thirty, and he found himself hoping that the guy’s youth might work in his favor.

  “We’re fine. Just a bit bruised. What happened to the driver of the pickup truck?”

  The deputy scowled. “He’s been arrested. I need to ask you a few questions so I can finish up the accident report.”

  His gut tightened at the thought of answering a bunch of questions. How long before Claire’s parents found him? Did they already have an AMBER alert out for Lexi? No, surely not. He was Lexi’s legal guardian.

  For now.
r />   “I see from your registration that you’re from St. Louis, Missouri,” Deputy Thomas said. “Whatcha doing way up here in Crystal Lake, Wisconsin?”

  He could feel beads of sweat rolling down his spine. “Taking a summer vacation with my daughter,” he answered easily. He sensed Lexi moving closer to him, and he put his arms around her slim shoulders. “Friend of mine recommended Crystal Lake.”

  “Really? Who’s your friend?”

  He swallowed hard. “Jake Strawn. He lives in Chicago, and he spent some time up here a few years ago.” Jake Strawn had been a soldier in his platoon, and he did live in Chicago. The rest was a slight stretch of the truth.

  Deputy Thomas scrunched up his forehead. “Name doesn’t ring a bell,” he said slowly. For a moment, Derek thought the deputy would see right through him. “But then again, we get lots of tourists up here from Northern Illinois. Probably a good thing his name doesn’t sound familiar, right?”

  A wave of overwhelming relief almost caused him to fall off the gurney. It took a moment before he could speak. “Can I get a copy of the accident report for my insurance company?”

  “Sure, just give us a few days to get everything processed. Might be ready by Monday.”

  “Thank you.” Derek smiled and hoped Deputy Thomas would leave. Soon. Like now.

  “Anything else you need?” Thomas asked.

  For a moment, he was tempted to ask for a ride but decided it wasn’t worth the risk. For all he knew, Claire’s parents had already put out the alert. “No, I’m fine.”

  “Okay, then, take care.”

  “I will.” He held his breath until the deputy had gone. For a moment, he closed his eyes, tempted to say a tiny prayer of thanks.

  Except he didn’t pray anymore.

  “Are you okay?” Julie had returned and was looking at him with concern. He forced another smile, hoping he didn’t look nearly as bad as he felt.

  “I’m fine.”

  She held out a slim device. “Here’s my mobile phone. I have the number for the Crystal Lake Motel programmed in if you want to call them, but I can already tell you they’re booked. And so is every other motel and bed and breakfast within a twenty-mile radius. The Fourth of July is Tuesday, and lots of people are making a long weekend out of the summer holiday.”

  His heart sank as he took the cell phone. He made the call even though he knew she hadn’t been kidding. No vacancies. Within a twenty-mile radius. And he had no car. Maybe he should have taken a ride from the deputy? His shoulders slumped as he tried to figure out their next best option.

  Too bad he was all out of ideas.

  “Look, Mr. Ryerson,” she started.

  “Call me Derek,” he interrupted.

  “Ah, okay, Derek. Please reconsider staying overnight here.”

  “No can do.” He slid off the gurney and reached for the scrubs. “We’ll figure out something,” he said with more confidence than he felt.

  Julie turned away, her expression grim. Abruptly, she spun back to face him. “Look, I own a side-by-side townhouse. I live on one side, and the other side is undergoing major remodeling. But the good news is that the bedrooms are fine; it’s the kitchen and living rooms that are pretty much gutted, so you won’t be able to cook. But you and your daughter are welcome to stay there, if you don’t mind spending the night in the middle of a construction zone.”

  Was she serious? With a flare of hope, Derek pinned her with an intense gaze. It was then he noticed the slender cross she wore around her neck. She was a Christian, and offering a place to stay for a family in need was exactly something a Christian would do.

  His relief was short-lived as he tried not to think about how sweet Julie would turn her back on him in a heartbeat if she knew he was on the run with his daughter. Claire’s parents had filed a court order to take custody away from him, and he feared they had the power and the money to succeed. Would Claire’s parents file a police report about Lexi missing? Based on the Deputy’s response, he thought maybe they hadn’t gone to the police, at least not yet. Maybe they would use a private investigator, to keep things quiet.

  Either way, Lexi’s grandparents wouldn’t stop until they got what they wanted. They were rich and entirely too used to getting their own way.

  But there would be plenty of time to worry about them in the morning. Right now, he was grateful to know he and Lexi had a safe place to stay. Surely he’d feel better in the morning. “Thanks very much, we’d love to take you up on your generous offer, wouldn’t we, Lexi?”

  His daughter, as usual, didn’t reply but simply stared at him, her bright blue eyes full of concern and a hint of fear.

  His gut clenched, and he knew he’d do anything necessary to remove the last remnants of fear from his daughter’s eyes.

  Anything.

  ___________

  For a moment, Julie wished she could take back the impulsive offer. You’d think she’d have learned her lesson about getting too involved with a patient after the fiasco with Andrew, but no, here she was putting herself in the middle of Derek’s situation. But what else could she do? There really wasn’t anywhere else for him to go, and truly, she’d made the offer in the first place for Lexi’s sake.

  Because of Amelia.

  She couldn’t, in good conscience, simply let Derek and Lexi walk out the door without a vehicle or a place to stay. She’d just have to make sure she kept her distance emotionally.

  She forced a smile. “Okay, give me a few minutes, and we can leave. My shift ended well over an hour ago, so this won’t take long. If you need help getting the scrubs on, let me know.” She hoped he didn’t notice her blush.

  “Thanks,” he said again. And the genuine sincerity reflected on his face knocked her off balance.

  Last year, after the painful disintegration of her engagement, she’d made a conscious effort to avoid men. Which hadn’t been too difficult, since there wasn’t an overabundance of single men in Crystal Lake.

  A fact that had suited her just fine.

  Derek Ryerson was a patient, just like Andrew had been. But Derek was different in that he was a father with a young daughter. As soon as Derek was healthy, they’d be on their way to wherever they were headed. Hardly anyone came to Crystal Lake with the intention of staying.

  Soon enough, things would go back to normal.

  Ignoring her aching feet, she walked to the computer to finish up her charting. Thankfully, Merry had taken care of Lexi’s discharge note before she’d left for the evening, so all she had to do was to finish Derek’s. After five minutes, she sat back, satisfied she’d completed all the required documentation, and logged off the computer.

  When she returned to Derek’s room, she noticed he’d managed to get the scrub pants on and the scrub top, too, although he’d hacked at it with a scissor, cutting it down the front so that he didn’t have to lift his arms over his head. The wallet he’d tucked into the front pocket of the scrubs made the fabric hang crooked.

  Why his resourcefulness made her want to smile, she had no idea. “Are you both ready?” she asked.

  “Sure.” He reached over to take Lexi’s hand, and she recognized the quick flash of pain that he tried to hide.

  “Why don’t you both wait out front for me, and I’ll drive my car up to the door,” she offered. “Save you some walking.”

  She almost expected him to argue, but he nodded. “Okay. What kind of car do you have?”

  “An old green Honda.” She left Derek and his daughter standing outside in the cool, summer night and jogged to her car, trying to ignore the screaming protest of the soles of her feet. She reminded herself that her aches and pains were nothing compared to how Derek must feel.

  She drove up to the main emergency entrance and found Derek holding Lexi’s hand and leaning heavily on a cement pillar. She’d suspected he was hurt far worse than he’d let on.

  At least with him staying at her townhouse, she could keep an eye on him. And help take care of his daughter at the sa
me time.

  “I don’t have a booster seat for Lexi,” she pointed out apologetically, opening both the front and back passenger doors. “Luckily, my townhouse isn’t far, just ten to fifteen minutes away. She should be fine in the backseat.”

  “I’ll sit in back with her,” Derek said, making Lexi scoot over while he carefully lowered himself into the backseat. She noticed that he looked like he was still in pain, but didn’t say anything. He’d refused to stay at the hospital, and there was no reason to keep harping on him about it.

  She shut the doors and then ran around to the driver’s seat. The silence from the back was a little uncomfortable, so she found herself chatting idly as she headed toward home. “Crystal Lake is a spring-fed lake, about six miles wide and nine miles long. It’s very peaceful at night, but during the day there’s lots of activity—boaters, water-skiers, wave runners, and inner-tubers.”

  She glanced in the rearview mirror, not entirely surprised to find Derek with his head back against the seat and his eyes closed. Lexi was wide awake, though, staring straight ahead, possibly listening, although she didn’t say anything.

  “I don’t know if you’ve ever been inner-tubing, Lexi, but it’s great fun. You sit in the middle of an inner tube, and a boat pulls you around the lake. If you and your dad plan on staying for a few days, maybe we can try it.”

  Lexi blinked and gave a tiny nod. Julie frowned, thinking the young girl was unusually quiet for a six-year-old. Amelia had talked nonstop, asking dozens of questions, ever curious.

  Until a rare form of leukemia had taken her young life.

  Her chest constricted, and she shoved thoughts of her niece out of her mind. Even after eighteen months, the memories sneaked up on her, blindsiding her with their potency.

  “Your dad mentioned something about food. We can stop for a pizza on the way home,” she offered. “Do you like pizza? Or do you want something else?”

  There was a long pause, and this time Lexi answered in a soft voice. “Pizza.”

  Derek roused himself, giving his daughter a nudge. “What do you say, Lexi?”