My Salvation (26 page)

Taking in his surroundings, he noticed Cali’s
parents had arrived too. He couldn’t believe he didn’t hear anyone
come in. A different doctor was doing rounds and said he would
return in an hour or so to start waking her.

Dragging a hand through his hair, not really
caring how he looked, he stood. Simply looking at her caused the
lump to reform in his throat. He needed to stay strong even though
it was tearing him apart inside that the woman he loved more than
anything else in the world was lying in a hospital bed, needing a
machine to breathe for her.

Owen wanted to be there when she woke, but
everyone insisted he get something to eat before the doctor came
back. Realizing he hadn’t eaten in twenty four hours, he knew he
needed food. Once she woke up he wouldn’t be leaving her side. He
noticed when he walked through the door Erik was in the chair
again.

Asking Erik to join him, both men went to the
cafeteria. Owen bought him lunch, refusing to let him pay. Taking a
seat, he said, “Erik, I didn’t realize you were here. It was nice
of you to come, but not necessary.”

“I want to be here. I feel like it’s my fault.
The bullet should have hit me, not her.”

Owen shook his head. “You did all you could.
Cali wouldn’t want you beating yourself up over this. As a matter
of fact, she would probably yell at you for it if she could.”

“I want her to wake so I can apologize.”

“The guilt won’t get you anywhere. Trust me, I
know. I was useless and was down when she needed me most. I will
never forgive myself for her being in the hospital, because of me."
His eyes focused on the food in front of him on the table, making
his stomach roll.

“I guess she’ll have two of us to yell at when
she wakes.”

“Yeah, it sounds like she will,” Owen said.

They sat, both picking at their plates, only
eating a portion of the food. Throwing their food away, they went
back to the room. Owen checked his watch and realized they spent
more time in the cafeteria than originally planned. The doctor was
walking into the room as they were.

The doctor asked anyone that wasn’t family to
leave. His feet were firmly planted on the ground. No way he would
leave. He wanted to be near when she opened her eyes. The doctor
stopped the medicine and stood by the bed with a nurse on the other
side.

Fifteen minutes later Cali started coughing,
fighting the tube. The doctor moved swiftly to remove it. Owen
approached the foot of the bed, unable to stay back knowing she was
waking up.

Blinking a few times, she began to look around
the room. Her eyes slowly moved from person to person, finally
settling on Owen. Tears starting welling in her eyes when she saw
him. He went to the side of the bed and took her hand in his.

The doctor told her everything was all right,
that she was in the hospital and had to have surgery to repair the
gun shot she suffered. Cali tried to sit, but squeezed her eyes
shut, wincing. The doctor asked the nurse to give her more
medication for pain.

Her eyes never wavered from him. On a whisper,
she said, “Owen?” The doctor had mentioned her throat would be a
little sore from the tube.

Fear was apparent in her eyes. Pulling a chair
to the bed, he sat by her side, never taking his eyes off of her
face. He was so overcome by emotion that a tear escaped and ran
over his cheek. Reaching up, she captured it with her finger.

He stood and leaned over to whisper in her ear.
His voice was shaky. “I’m so happy you’re awake. I worried I would
never see your beautiful eyes again. I love you, Caliana. Please
don’t ever scare me like that again. I don’t know what I’d do
without you.”

He pulled away so he was only inches from her
face. Her bottom lip began to tremble. “Are you okay?” she
asked.

He couldn’t believe she was worried about
him
. There she was lying in a hospital bed, just woken up
and she was asking if
he
was okay. “I’m fine, beautiful.
No one is going to be able to take me from you.”

“I love you so much.” Giving her a quick kiss,
he sat in the chair.

“Mia?”

“She’s dead, Cali. Steven shot her.”

She nodded and began to cry. Sniffling, she
moved her hand to wipe them away and turned toward her parents. Her
mom leaned over to give her a gentle hug, crying too, and her dad
kissed her on the cheek. Owen wasn’t sure when the last time was
she had seem them.

He stood to leave, giving them time alone.
Cali’s arm reached for him. “Don’t leave.”

“I was going to give you some time with your
parents. Ethan and Erik are out in the hallway. Would you like to
see them?”

“Yes, but please Owen, don’t go far.”

“I won’t. I’m just going to step out in the
hall.”

Nodding, she loosened her grip and he could see
she still looked afraid. It tore him apart that she was scared. He
would do whatever it took to make her feel safe again.

Out in the hallway, he told the guys she was
awake. Steven was standing in the hallway beside Ethan. He told
them they could see her, briefly. The pain medication would make
her tired and he wanted her to rest.

The men followed him into the room. Steven went
first, giving her a hug, saying how happy he was she was awake.
Ethan stepped forward next. He squeezed her hand, said he considers
her family and was thankful she was okay. Anything she needs during
recovery, to ask him. Owen could tell their words were touching her
by her tears.

Erik stayed against the wall. When her eyes met
his, he stepped forward. He bent down and hugged her, causing her
eyes to widen. Owen knew how surprised she was, because he was too.
Erik stood and with a shaky hand, reached for hers.

His voice shook, too, when he said, “Cali, I’m
sorry I didn’t protect you better. If I had moved faster …” He was
choked up and his voice trailed off.

“Erik, what happened wasn’t your fault. You did
an amazing job protecting me. Please, don’t beat yourself up over
this. I’m all right. See. I’m awake and talking to you. Pretty soon
I’ll be back to normal and driving you crazy, trying to get you to
loosen up.”

Her smile seemed to relax Erik a little. He bent
once more to give her another hug. He must have whispered something
in her ear, because Owen heard her say, “Me too.”

When he turned to leave, Owen smiled at him.
Once out of the room, Owen sat next to her. Her parents were on the
other side of the bed, her mom holding her hand, refusing to let
go.

“What did he say to you?” He couldn’t help his
curiosity.

“He said he doesn’t have many friends, but he
considers me one. And he is very happy that I’m okay.” Smiling, he
knew he made the right decision concerning hiring Erik.

Cali’s eyes started to close. “Please don’t
leave, Owen.”

“Never.”

~ 25 ~

ONE WEEK LATER

Three days in the intensive care unit, four days
in a regular room, and Cali was ready to go home. She was still
very sore when moving, but knew over time that would improve. Her
parents were flying home the next day. She was sad to see them go,
but grateful they stayed by her side while she was in the
hospital.

Owen also stayed by her side. In fact, he rarely
left. She tried to get him to go home in the evenings to sleep, but
he refused. He had said that wherever she was, he would be.
Although, she did notice he was holding his head a little
crooked.

Another constant visitor was Ethan. Every day
after work, he would come by for a couple of hours and hang out
with them. She loved seeing him interact with Owen. It made her
wish she had a sister to have a bond with like they did.

And he didn’t miss her being released either.
Ethan came in as she was waiting to be discharged. “It’s a big
day,” he said, clapping his hands together. “Are you excited?”

“You have no idea.”

She was sitting on the side of the bed when Owen
walked over to her. “Are you sure you feel well enough to come
home?”

She sighed. “Yes, I’m a little sore, but
otherwise doing okay. I told you, Owen, I want to get out of
here.”

“I know you do, but I want to know you’re healed
enough to leave.”

She could see the worry in his eyes and stood to
put her hand on his cheek. A day’s worth of stubble was visible. “I
love that you worry about me. We have both talked to the doctor and
he assured us I’m all right and can go home. He said I’ve healed
faster than he originally had hoped. I need to take it easy
though.”

Owen didn’t respond with words, instead gently
embraced her. She couldn’t wait to be able to sleep against him at
night. The doctor said it would be six to eight weeks before she
could resume normal activities. Which to them meant no sex for two
months. He didn’t even blink an eye when the doctor said that. She
had a feeling she was the one who was going to push him, because
she couldn’t wait the full two months.

There was a knock on the door making all three
of their heads turn. Her favorite nurse, Piper, walked in. Ever
since she was moved to a regular room, Piper had been her day
nurse. They hit it off like long lost friends. Piper was short,
thin, but curvy. She had dark brown, almost black hair that fell
halfway down her back, but was pulled into a ponytail for work.

Walking in, Piper smiled at them, but then
noticed Ethan sitting in one of the chairs. She hesitated for a
second before walking over to give the discharge instructions to
her. Cali didn’t miss the way he looked at Piper either.

After signing the papers, she gave Piper a hug
and took her phone to type in her number. She told her when she was
feeling better to come over for dinner.

Cali decided, after seeing Piper and Ethan
repeatedly glance at one another, to introduce them. “Piper, this
is Ethan, Owen’s brother. Ethan, this is my wonderful nurse,
Piper.”

Ethan stood when Piper held out her hand, but
didn’t move. He stared at her, with his mouth slightly open.
Feeling uncomfortable, Cali cleared her throat to get his
attention. With a rough voice, he said, “Nice to meet you.” He
stuck out his hand and clasped Piper’s gently.

“Hi,” she whispered.

Cali didn’t know what was going on between the
two, but she could feel the energy sizzling around them. Piper
slowly slid her hand out of his, smiled to them and left. Ethan was
still looking toward the door when Cali spoke. “Everything okay,
Ethan?”

When he turned his head, she didn’t miss the
blush creeping over his face. “What? Oh yeah, fine. Ready to
go?”

“Sure. And just so you know, we are going to
have Piper over for dinner when I’m feeling better. You’re coming
too,” she said.

Ethan nodded, but didn’t say another word. They
waited for another person to come to the room with a wheelchair to
take her outside. Owen went ahead of them to pull the car around.
Ethan carried the flowers she had received during her stay.

Face scrunching with pain, Owen helped ease her
into the Benz. He said he almost brought the Jeep since it would be
easier for her to get in and out of due to the height. She wouldn’t
have had to bend down. He knew she missed driving in it, but the
ride would be rougher. The Benz was the best option. The car glided
over the road, the bumps barely noticeable.

Ethan followed behind. He said he wanted to help
get Cali settled, but they knew it was because he had never been to
the house. Only stopping by once when no one was home. It was the
same night he went to the cabin and the men fought.

He said Ethan felt like everything that happened
was his fault. If he hadn’t brought Mia to the company, Cali
wouldn’t have been shot. Owen assured him he was being used. That
if he wasn’t there she would have found another way to get close to
him.

One night in the hospital, in and out of sleep
from the pain medication, she thought she remembered Ethan sitting
next to the bed. He was holding her hand, apologizing over and
over. She wasn’t sure if it was the drugs or if it really happened,
but didn’t want to ask him. Not wanting to go back and re-live that
day. She was now focused on moving forward.

She was having some anxiety due to being shot
and the doctor suggested seeing someone once she was out of the
hospital, if it persisted. Knowing Owen would be by her side,
supporting her the entire way, she agreed.

Relief flooded through her when the car pulled
into the garage. Up until the shooting she didn’t think of his
house as home, but when they arrived, it felt like home to her.
Erik opened the door to the garage with a smile on his face. Steven
was right behind him smiling as well.

Erik opened the car door while Owen came to help
her out. Every time she sat or stood, pain radiated through her
abdomen. She used Owen’s arms to help pull herself out. Standing
for a second with her eyes closed, she breathed through the pain.
He held tight until she was ready to move. Looking up, she could
see Erik’s smile had faded and a concerned look replaced it.

“I’m okay,” she said. “It hurts sometimes, but
nothing I can’t tolerate. The pain is better than it was when I
first started moving around.”

“Come on, let’s get you into bed,” Owen
said.

He helped her into the house while Erik and
Steven grabbed the flowers. Ethan came in through the garage door
behind them. She was glad it was Saturday and Owen would be home
with her tomorrow, but she insisted he go to work on Monday. Too
much work had been missed since he refused to leave her side for
the week she was in the hospital. She knew he had gotten
behind.

Stopping at the bottom of the stairs, she looked
up contemplating how she was going to get up them. “I don’t think I
can climb the stairs. Maybe I should sleep on one of the
couches.”