Earning Her Love (3 page)

* * * *

Zane was asleep on his lap as he waited for information on Mia. Alex had called his brother Owen to pick his car up and drop it off at the hospital with Olivia’s car seat in it. He had then called his parents, who told him they would be there as soon as they could. That was over two hours ago. When Zane had fallen asleep on him he’d called his work, asking for leave and telling them he would be in to give his statement when he could get a babysitter.

Grant, the mechanic, came in. “Hi. Have you heard anything?”

“Not much. I know she went into surgery for swelling in her brain, and she has a broken leg.”

Grant plonked down on the chair across from him. Grant ran his fingers over his balding head. “I called her parents. They wouldn’t even give me the chance to tell them anything. As soon as I said her name they hung up on me.”

“Arseholes,” Alex hissed and clenched his fists.

Grant nodded. “Yeah, I knew her father in high school. I never would have expected this from him.”

Alex sighed. In his profession he’d seen and heard about a lot of things people didn’t think others would do. They sat for another twenty minutes before his mother and father came.

“Alex, I’m sorry it took us so long. Have you heard anything?” His mum rushed to him, sitting on the seat next to him and cuddling him as best she could. “Oh, this must be her son, Zane. Right?”

“Yeah.” Alex brushed Zane’s hair off his face. “Could you or Dad take him for a while? I have some friends in here that owe me some favors. I’m going to see if they can help me find out some information.”

“Sure. Go. We’re fine,” his dad said as he came and gently lifted the sleeping boy from his lap. When Alex stood his father sat down in his chair.

“That’s Grant. He’s a friend of Mia’s.” Alex pointed to Grant.

His mother smiled at Grant. “Hi, I’m Catharine, and this is my husband Charles. I’m sorry we’re meeting on these terms.”

Alex left them to talk while he went to find Kim. She was the head nurse in the emergency department. He got a nurse at the triage station to call for her. Kim rushed to where he was and smiled as soon as she saw him.

“Alex, what can I do for you?”

“I need information. A young woman named Mia Lexington came in almost three hours ago. I want info on how she’s doing?”

Kim’s eyes studied him. He was still in his uniform. “Are you on the clock?”

Alex debated for a moment if he should tell her he was still working or not, but he didn’t want any more lies that could come back and bite him and hurt his career. “No. Mia, is…my…” Did he call her his girlfriend, or just say she was a friend? He intended, if she was okay, to try the first one if she was willing. “Friend.”

“Argh, I get it. Wait here. I’ll go see what I can find out.” Kim rushed off, and he stood at the triage waiting for her, praying she came back with some good news. Fifteen minutes later Kim returned. “She is one lucky girl.” Alex cringed at the
girl
comment. “She’s in recovery. They stopped the swelling in her brain, but that’s something they will keep an eye on, and the next twenty-four hours are crucial. They fixed several breaks in her left leg. She’s badly bruised and has quite a few stitches on various part of her body from deep cuts. From what I gathered, she landed on her left side. I have put you on her visitor list. The only way you can get information is if I put you down as her next of kin, her fiancé.”

He sighed in relief, only to wince as he realized what she’d said, but he supposed that worked for what he had to tell her next. “She has a four year old son.”

“Well, it’s good she’ll pull through. Does she have parents or the father to look after the child? She will likely be in here for a while, and when she does go home she’ll need help as her left side, right up to her hip, is all cast.”

Alex shook his head. “No, she doesn’t have those. I’ll be helping her out, and I’m sure my parents will too.”

Kim eyed him up and down. “Are you sure? It’s a lot of work.”

Did Kim think he couldn’t handle the sick woman and a kid? “I’m sure I can handle it.”

With a shrug, she turned and walked off. “Good luck,” she said over her shoulder.

Great, he just became a temporary father and a fiancé.

* * * *

Everything hurt. Mia tried to swim through the fog that seemed to be clogging her brain. She couldn’t open her eyes, and her body wouldn’t move. She could hear quiet voices talking and knew they were talking about her. One voice she vaguely knew. It was a voice that had been in quite a few of her fantasies, but surely Alex wouldn’t be here right now when she was in so much pain.

Cracking an eye slowly open, the blinding, flashing florescent light came into view. Agonizing pain stabbed against her head, and she closed her eyes again on a groan. Crap, what had happened to her? Taking a deep breath, she winced when even that caused her pain. She opened her eyes and gazed about the best she could. A white room, with two boxes of flowers and get well cards. A drip and machines sat at one side, and that’s when it became clear—she was in the hospital. Zane. Where was her baby? Was he okay?

“Zane,” she croaked out. Clearing her dry throat, she repeated it as loud as she could. “Zane. My baby, is he okay?”

Alex’s face came into view. “He’s fine. Actually, he’s more than fine. My parents have bought him a whole new wardrobe and a bunch of toys. He’s with my mother and father now. I thought it would be better than him being with me here. I think Mum and Dad have Olivia also, so he’s having a ball.”

Mia stared stunned at Alex. He placed a glass of water with a straw before her mouth, and she took a soothing sip. Her throat felt instantly better. How did her son have all that he said? Why wasn’t he close by screaming for her, and why was Alex here? “What happened? How long have I been here?”

“You were in a car accident. You’ve been here for four days. This morning they woke you from an induced coma.” He pressed a button on a small call monitor. “I just called the nurse to tell them you’re awake.”

Okay, everything he’d said made sense now. “Um…why are you here?”

“I’m your fiancé.”

“What?” She clutched her head as her shout rebounded.

He ran his fingers through his hair. “I’m your next of kin. I had to tell them that, otherwise I couldn’t care for Zane, or help you.”

Again, he made sense. She knew he wouldn’t be able to be in there without a family connection, or if he wasn’t on her next of kin list. Mia didn’t know much about Alex, besides him being a cop and, from what she saw, a wonderful uncle. She knew with him being a cop he should be safe for her child. She had her best friend Beth and a couple of other girlfriends she could ask to help, but no one she could ask to look after Zane for a long time.

“Thanks. I don’t know how I’ll ever repay your kindness. I can’t wait to meet your parents and tell them the same thing.” Tears fell from her eyes as she realized what he and his family were doing for her.

Leaning over, he gently brushed her tears away. “You don’t need to repay me. You getting better will make me happy and will be repayment enough.”

The nurse came in as Mia started bawling, with gut-wrenching sobs.

“Don’t worry, Mr. Douglas. She’s overwhelmed. Go take a walk, and when you come back I’m sure she’ll be feeling better,” the nurse said.

Alex glanced at her, and guilt swamped her as she remembered her behavior at the café a couple of weeks ago. He nodded and walked out of her vision. Turning her gaze to the nurse, she watched as she smiled at her and put things into her drip.

“He has been so worried about you. When he hasn’t been with your little one, he’s been right here beside you. You’re a lucky girl to have snagged Alex. There are quite a few of us here who are envious of you.”

The excruciating pain she was feeling seemed to float away from her the more the nurse spoke. Her eyes grew heavy, and she couldn’t keep them open. Giving up the fight, she flew away with the pain, closing her eyes and letting slumber take her.

* * * *

Mia came in and out of consciousness many times, and Alex warred with himself over what he’d done. Not only had he taken three weeks of personal leave, he’d taken over the care of Zane, Mia’s son, moving the child into his home and making him an honorary Douglas. He’d lied to officials, even his own work, claiming that Mia was his fiancée. He’d signed paperwork affecting Mia’s care and told everyone he would be looking after her when she got out of the hospital.

His family had been amazing, helping him with Zane and sitting with Mia when he couldn’t. He didn’t like to leave her in the hospital by herself. He wanted someone with her when she awoke. Every time Mia had awakened she’d asked about Zane and what happened. Alex wasn’t sure if she forgot what had happened or she just wanted to make sure it was the same. When he explained everything and told her where Zane was and what he’d been doing she fell back asleep again. Mia stayed awake a little more each time she awoke. She always asked about her son first, making sure he was safe, before she asked about herself. The last time she awoke Alex asked her if she would like for him to bring Zane in as he was eager to see his mum.

Mia had shaken her head and groaned, “No. I don’t want him to see me like this. I don’t want to scare him. Wait until I don’t have as many machines on, and things attached to me, and I can stay awake for longer than half an hour. Tell him I love him.”

He nodded and then got his mobile out. “You can tell him. Mia, he needs to hear your voice.”

“You’re right. I should have at least thought of that.”

He smiled at her. “I do that sometimes.”

Mia yawned. “What?”

“Be right.”

A smile graced her battered face, and even in her state Alex thought she looked beautiful.

He called his parents’ house. “Hello, Mum. Can you pass the phone to Zane? His Mum wants to talk to him.”

“Sure. I’m so happy she is up and ready to talk to him.” The line went quiet, and Alex leaned over and held the phone to Mia’s ear.

Tears ran down Mia’s cheek. “Hi, baby. I hear you’re being a super good boy.” Mia chewed on her lip as she listened to Zane. “It sounds like you’re having so much fun at…” She choked on a sob. “Grandma and Grandpa’s house. Yes, you are super lucky. Yeah, that is good that you saw Beth and Landon.” She took a deep breath in. “I’m so proud of you. Oh, okay. I love you. I’ll see you soon. Bye.”

Alex took the phone away and put it to his own ear to see if his mother or Zane was still there, but the line was dead. He put the mobile back in his pocket and looked at Mia. She was crying, and his heart ached. He hated it when she cried, because he had no idea what he could do to help her feel better.

Clearing his dry throat, he reached for her hand and held it. “You’ll see him soon. As I’m sure you heard, he is being spoiled rotten.” Mia sobbed harder, and he groaned. Had he said the wrong thing? “I’m so sorry.”

Mia hiccupped. “What are you apologizing for? You’re amazing, and so is your family. If I wasn’t in so much pain, I’d think I’d died and gone to heaven. I’m crying because when all this is done my son is going to know what he’s missing. I can’t give him everything you have.”

She burst into tears again, and Alex had no idea what to do. He pressed the call button for the nurse, and when they came he made a hasty exit.

Alex called his mother back and asked what Zane had said to Mia and explained what happened. His mother sighed. “I have no idea how I raised such clueless sons. Mia was upset because she thinks that once she gets better we will be out of her life and Zane and her won’t have you or even us.”

As soon as his mother told him, he moaned at his own stupidity. How hadn’t he figured that out? “Well, I’ll have to show her that won’t happen.”

* * * *

Mia was staying awake now for a decent amount of time. Most of the time Alex was beside her when she awoke, either reading a book, on his laptop, or watching TV. He didn’t say much, just sat quietly and watched over her. This time when she awoke was no different, Alex sat on the chair next to her bed reading a book. The last couple of days she’d started talking to him about things other than her son. At first she’d found out that he barely left her side. Once she’d eaten dinner and fell asleep, he went and got Zane from his parents and didn’t come back until after breakfast when he dropped Zane back off at his parents. Mia slept from sixish at night to nine-thirty AM. The drugs she was given were strong, and she knew that sleep helped her heal.

She’d learned that Alex had a sister, Stephanie, who was close to her age. Mia hadn’t known about Stephanie, she’d only seen the brothers as Stephanie hadn’t taken Olivia swimming. Mia met Stephanie when she was still only waking for less than an hour at a time. Mia was a little intimidated by Stephanie at first. She was beautiful, and definitely not shy.

“Oh, you’re awake. Hi, I’m Stephanie, Alex’s sister. Call me Steph though. Mum and Dad are the only ones who call me Stephanie. So how are you feeling? Want me to press for the nurse? I heard they are giving you the good drugs.” Stephanie, er, Steph, hadn’t even given her the chance to answer before she reached over and pressed the nurse button. “So you’re the girl who’s going to put a stop to my oldest brother’s bachelor days. I didn’t believe it at first. I mean, Alex is almost forty and hasn’t found a woman. I see even with your bruises, cast, and everything attached how pretty you are. You also have the most adorable little boy. So for Zane to be the amazing little guy he is, you must be pretty amazing yourself. I can see why my brother is attracted to you. It makes me wonder if the theory of why he hasn’t found a woman is true. I just thought no woman would want to put up with him.” She winked, and paused as the nurse came in.

“Miss Lexington. How is your pain? Ten being excruciating and one not that bad.”

Not able to help herself, Mia looked at Steph, feeling like she might answer for her as Mia hadn’t had the chance to talk since she awoke. Sure enough, Steph grinned her way. “Oh, Mia was just telling me she was a ten. Poor thing. You better give her the good stuff.”

Mia opened her mouth to deny what Steph had said, but shut it when the nurse leaned over her to check her head and brushed her left side. Shards of pain shot through Mia, and she moaned. The nurse pulled away quickly, and Mia caught a guilty look on her face before she quickly concealed it with a sympathetic one.