Page 14 of Guarding Over You
“They won’t,” he said. “And I’ll be there.”
“Great. I’ll have a full house because Ash is off too. I love nothing more than my table bristling with the noise of my children.”
“You’ve got three extra ones now,” he said, laughing.
His brother Ford had married Reenie last month. Boy, talk about flashbacks to someone bleeding out. Ford had been shot a little over a year ago, his femoral artery clipped, and rushed inunconscious. Good thing Clay had tied off Ford’s leg before the EMTs arrived.
Blaze kept his brother alive, the artery clamped, and went into the OR while the trauma surgeon took care of the rest. This patient he wasn’t walking away from. If things went sideways, he was going to be on hand to cover.
Thankfully, his brother made a full recovery and was now happily married to the woman he had saved that day.
“I do,” his mother said. “I know it’s early yet with Rory and Gale, but I see the writing on the wall. He’s content to stay here.”
His sister was an attorney with her own practice. Rory Connors had returned to Lake George over two months ago to investigate his sister’s unsolved fifteen-year-old murder.
It wasn’t unsolved anymore, the killer being brought to justice... after Rory was being strangled and Gale shot the murderer in the leg to get him to drop the man she loved.
And let’s not forget about Meredith. Clay’s fiancée. She’d been drugged and kidnapped by her deranged neighbor who’d been stalking her for over a year.
Clay found and saved Meredith last fall.
“I’m happy for them,” he said.
“Now if my other boys could each find themselves a woman, I’d feel complete.”
He laughed. “I’m sure you’d like us to find them in a much calmer fashion.”
“Yes, please.” He heard the laughter on the other end. “I’m not sure my heart can take much more, but I know it’s as if trouble follows you all around. Thankfully, you can handle it.”
“We can. And I’ll be there Sunday with bells on and some empty containers for leftovers.”
“There is always plenty. If you stopped out to visit more, I could fill you up.”
“I should. Sunday is my first day off so I’ll be good. You don’t need to cook for me.”
“I don’t. I cook for your father and it’s an open door for anyone who wants more.”
“With Clay next door, you’re used to it.” His brother lived in the ranch down the road from the farmhouse they all grew up in. “Even having Reenie at the cafe daily, I bet she’s taking home food for Ford.”
“Don’t be jealous,” his mother said. “You moved closer to the hospital.”
He grinned. “I did. It’s all good. I know I can stop in whenever I want.”
Though he didn’t often and felt bad for that. Everyone had crazy schedules, but his was the worst.
He never only worked his twelve-hour shift; it was often closer to thirteen with him going in early and staying a bit later to turn over cases.
And when they needed someone to take extra shifts, he was the first with his hand lifted. The more experience he got, the better doctor he’d be.
“The door is open. I’ll see you on Sunday.”
He hung up after that, finished his dinner while he heard some child’s laughter. There were enough around, but not as much as other buildings that had three bedrooms over his section that only had two.
When the laughter got louder, he looked out into the yards past the small fencing and noticed a little girl kicking a soccer ball.
He bet that was Arden’s daughter. He hadn’t seen her before. Didn’t see her yesterday either as he assumed she was in the house when the ex was there.
The ball was kicked again, and this time it went sailing between the houses and closer toward him. Not to him, but hekept looking in that direction when he heard, “No, Gracie. I’ll get it.”
