Broken Road (46 page)

A
s Angel was placed into the ambulance, Jarrod stood zombie-like while a police officer wrapped a blanket around his shoulders. As soon as she and the paramedics were settled in, he jumped in beside her. They immediately took off for the hospital with the lights and sirens blaring. As they headed down the driveway toward the main road, Jarrod watched through the small back window as a truck passed them heading in the opposite direction. He read the words written on the back doors as it continued on toward the cabin.
Coroner’s office
. Benjamin’s ride had arrived.

Several hours passed as Jarrod impatiently waited at the Thomasville Medical Center for Angel’s parents to arrive. Angel had been brought to the ER, where doctors had worked feverishly on her. She had taken the stray shot directly in her left shoulder, but fortunately the bullet passed all the way through. He held her hand at her bedside while she slept. He lifted her hand and kissed it gently as he looked at her bruised, swollen face and cut lip.
She still looked beautiful
, he thought.

“I love you,” he softly said to her. Her eyes began to flutter open, and she squeezed his hand tenderly.

“I love you more,” she whispered, barely audible. He smiled at her, stood up, and leaned over her, placing a soft kiss on her lips. She smiled back at him as she closed her eyes again and quietly fell asleep, breathing softly.

When Willie, Laura, and Ileana finally arrived, emotions were high. Tears of gratitude for her safe return flowed interminably. Laura leaned in a half-sitting, half-lying-down position on the edge of the bed and wouldn’t let go of Angel, even when she opened her eyes for a moment and told her she could barely breathe.

“You can breathe later,” Laura said. “Right now I need to hold you for awhile.” But mercifully she did lessen up on her clinch a bit.

They all returned to Gainesville a few days later. The doctors had told Angel and her family she could resume her daily activities as long as she took things slowly in the beginning and rested.

Solemn and exhausted, they all entered Willie and Laura’s two-room suite at the hotel and immediately sat down on the two couches in the living room area. After a few minutes, Jarrod stood up and went directly to the pitcher of water that sat on the dresser and filled an empty glass for Angel. He took out two pills from a small envelope the hospital had supplied them with and gave them to her. She looked at him with questioning eyes.

“They’re for the pain,” he said.

“But I’m not feeling that much pain,” she replied.

“Thanks to the two pills you took earlier today. Take them, and then I want you to go lie down for a bit,” he said. She took the pills without argument and thanked him.

Ileana stood up from the couch and placed her hand on Angel’s good shoulder. Angel smiled up at her from where she sat.

“Do you need anything?” Ileana asked.

“No, I’m good. Thanks.” She covered her friend’s hand with her own and added, “Thanks for everything, especially for being my best friend.”

“My pleasure. But if you don’t need me, and I do believe you are in great hands, then I’ll be on my way. I’ll call you later, okay?”

“Okay,” said Angel.

Ileana said her good-byes and headed toward the door. Before opening it, she looked over at Jarrod and said, “Take good care of our girl, alright?”

Jarrod nodded and said, “You have nothing to worry about, Ileana.”

“Just call me Ile,” she said.

A few minutes after Ile had left, Angel stood up and asked her parents if it would be alright for her to speak privately with Jarrod for a moment. She asked permission to take him into the bedroom. Both parents looked at each other and nodded. Willie stood up and said, “Before you do, there’s something I’d like to say to Jarrod.”

Jarrod walked over and stood facing him.

“Yes, sir?” he said.

“Willie, remember?”

Jarrod smiled and said, “Willie.”

Willie cleared his throat and through his oncoming tears said, “I want to thank you again…thank you for what you did. Thank you for saving my little girl.” He choked on a sob and took a deep breath before continuing, “What you did was incredibly brave. Not many men out there would attempt it. You put your life at risk to save Angel. Laura and I will forever be grateful to you for what you’ve done…thank you.”

He pulled Jarrod into a deep embrace. Laura sat watching the two men behind tear-glazed eyes. She then stood and pulled Jarrod out of Willie’s arms and folded him into hers. She held him for a long while that way. Suddenly Jarrod uttered, “Mrs. Skyler?”

“Laura,” she said quietly.

“Laura… I can’t breathe,” he said.

Laura took a deep, invigorating breath and whispered softly, “You can breathe later.”

Angel led Jarrod into the bedroom and closed the door. She sat on the edge of the bed and motioned for him to join her by patting the spot next to her. He did and then he took her hand that was not confined in the sling and enclosed it in both of his. A lone teardrop fell from her eye, and he leaned over to kiss it dry.

“I want to thank you too,” she said as she gently pulled her hand away for a brief moment so she could wipe her nose with her sleeve. She realized it was the sleeve of the jacket he’d given her to wear and she smiled at him shyly and said, “Sorry.” He smiled back. She returned her hand to him again and he held it tightly.

“You’re welcome,” he said softly.

She looked at him in awe and said, “You saved my life.”

“All in a day’s work,” he responded, and they both chuckled at the memory of what the injured police officer had said in Thomasville when he had come to visit Angel. Luckily, Benjamin’s shot was off and had only nicked him in the arm, not causing any severe damage.

Jarrod became serious all of a sudden and said to Angel, “I need to ask you something, but I don’t know how to do it.”

“You can ask me anything.”

“This is tough, though.”

She slowly turned to face him, scrunching her face a bit from the discomfort, and said, “Don’t be afraid. Go on and ask me.”

“I want to know if…well, umm…did he…did he touch you? I mean besides the… hitting.” Every time he thought of that bastard touching her, he felt a renewed burst of fury.

Angel realized what he was getting at. He wanted to know if Benjamin had forced himself on her. Jarrod had lowered his head and kept his eyes on their clasped hands.

“Look at me,” she said softly. He slowly lifted his head and looked directly into her eyes. “No. He did not rape me,” she said.

Jarrod took a deep breath and leaned toward her to kiss her tenderly on the lips. He looked up toward the heavens as he had done in his car that fateful night so long ago and silently said, “Thank you…again.”

Two days later the Skylers were still residing at the Embassy Suites and were continually arguing with Angel that she needed to return to Bradenton with them. Angel was adamant that she remain in Gainesville and continue with her studies. She explained she was no longer in any danger, with Langdon dead and Morgan sitting behind bars awaiting her trial. They weren’t comfortable leaving her, but Jarrod promised to keep a close, protective eye on her, which made them both feel much better. He was, after all in their eyes, Angel’s personal guardian angel.

They left the following day. As they hugged outside the hotel lobby, Angel promised they would visit soon. Jarrod stood with his hand gently pressed against the small of her back as they waved good-bye to her parents. They remained there until the car could no longer be seen.

“You okay?” he asked.

She nodded. “Just a little sad, I suppose.”

“I’m sure. Your folks are great people. I like them a lot.”

“Well, they’re absolutely in love with you. Talk about making a good impression.”

He chuckled and said, “Hey, I never did ask. What about your little brother? Why didn’t he come?”

“This wasn’t exactly a pleasure trip, y’know. He stayed with our neighbor. They have a son that’s the same age as Luca, and they get along really well.”

“That’s good. I guess I’ll meet him when we go to Bradenton.”

“He’ll love you. He’s a real baseball fanatic. Loves the Red Sox.”

Jarrod rolled his eyes and groaned in misery. Not another one.

That night, as they lay in Angel’s bed in her dorm room watching television, Jarrod leaned toward her and whispered, “I love you.” She smiled the smile of his dreams, nestled closer to him, and whispered back, “I love you more.”

They lay motionless for awhile, savoring their love and all the wonderful feelings of warmth and tenderness it brought.

“I’ve made a decision,” she said.

“Hmm? What decision have you made? To love me forever?”

“That goes without saying. Forever and ever and ever…”

“That’s a good decision,” he said as he leaned over and kissed her warmly on the lips. He was still being careful with her. Her bruises were fading, no longer a deep purplish blue, but rather more of a faded greenish yellow. Nonetheless, they were still tender to the touch, and he didn’t want to hurt her unnecessarily. The gunshot wound didn’t seem to bother her as much as he thought it would. She kept her arm immobilized in a sling, but every now and then, if she turned or bent down to retrieve something, forgetting she needed to be careful, she would feel a sharp pain. Other than that, she was doing wonderfully.

“Seriously, I’ve made a decision, and I want you to be the first to know.”

“Does Ile already know?”

She hesitated and then said, “Like I said, I want you to be the second to know.”

He laughed out loud. God, how he loved her. She was everything to him. He could not ask for anyone more perfectly suited for him. She was beautiful, sexy, sweet, loving, smart, and funny. There had been so many times in the past year when he’d thought he would never be able to laugh or smile again, and yet she always seemed to find a way of making him do so. Time and time again.

“Alright, tell me about this decision.”

“I’m going to make love to you,” she said.

Jarrod became silent. “I thought you had already made that decision.”

“Not really. I knew I wanted to, but I wasn’t sure if I was ready.”