Outlaw (43 page)

He reached out, and covered her hand with his.
“Angel, it’s Cole. You’re gonna be okay, baby. You hear me?”

The respirator made a horrible noise as it pumped
life-giving oxygen into her lungs. The heart monitor blipped quietly.

She lay unresponsive. His eyes filled with tears. He
couldn’t loose her. Not now. He leaned down, and kissed her forehead, and
whispered, “I love you, Angel.”

He stayed with her for a few more minutes, and then
turned, and walked out.

There was a police officer standing with Natalie by
the entrance to the unit. Cole walked over to them. He recognized him as one of
the cops that had hassled him.

“Sgt. Harmon,” Cole stated.

The officer nodded at him.

“Were you one of the officers on the scene?” Cole
asked.

“No. But I talked to them. Some shoppers heard her
scream. Saw her fall, and two guys run off. They stole her purse. We found it
in a dumpster behind the store.”

“The doctor said she was stabbed.”

Harmon nodded. “Twice. One wound to the chest and
one to the abdomen.”

“Any leads?”

“Some sketchy descriptions. We’re hoping maybe
she’ll be able to tell us more.”

Cole looked back toward her bed.

Harmon leaned in, and said quietly, “Piece of
advice.”

Cole looked back at Harmon.

“Leave this to us. Don’t go doing anything stupid. I
know you mean something to her, and well everything she’s been through, I’d
really hate to have to arrest you. Understand?”

Cole stared him down.

Harmon blew out a breath, and turned to Natalie.
“Well, I just wanted to see how she was doing. Natalie, let me know if there’s
any change?”

“Of course.”

Cole watched him walk away.

Natalie stepped closer. “What did he say to you,
Cole?”

He shook his head in answer.

“Cole.”

“Where are the kids?”

“My friend, Bonnie, is watching them at her home.”

“Any place we can get a cup of coffee?”

She nodded, and led him down the hall to the ICU
waiting room. There were vending machines against one wall.

Cole walked over to the coffee machine, and got them
each a cup.

They sat.

Cole looked over at her. “You okay?”

She turned, and looked at him. “I blame myself.”

“Why?” Cole asked, stunned.

“You told us months ago that the neighborhood wasn’t
safe. We should have left then.”

“Natalie, don’t. You were trying to get her out. We
both were. I was coming out next week to bring her home.” If only he’d come
sooner, but he’d wanted to find them a place, big enough for all of them. “I
should have come back with you.”

“Oh, Cole. Don’t blame yourself.”

Cole looked away. He sat staring at the floor,
barely remembering drinking the cup of coffee.

*****

Angel made it through the critical first twenty-four
hours. The next hurdle, the doctor told them, was for her to get through the
next week. Somehow they made it through that, too. Then an infection set in,
and they fought to keep her alive. For weeks, Cole sat by her bedside, refusing
to leave her side.

Eventually, she improved enough for them to remove
her from the respirator, and bring her out of the induced coma they had put her
in. Cole was in the room with her when she regained consciousness.

She looked at him, and smiled.

Days later, she wouldn’t remember him being there.

Finally, she improved enough to be taken off
critical care, and moved to another room. The doctors thought if all went well,
she may be home as soon as another week.

She woke up one day, and her thoughts were clear.
She looked over, and saw Cole asleep in the chair next to her bed. She found
the button to raise her bed up, and pressed it.

The sound of the bed raising woke Cole. He shook the
sleep from his eyes, and looked over at her.

She was staring at him.

He smiled. “Hey, baby. How are you feeling?” he
asked, moving to sit on the bed next to her.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

“You were in an accident. I came as soon as I
heard,” he whispered, brushing the hair back from her forehead.

“But you hate hospitals.”

He smiled down at her, and shook his head. “It
doesn’t matter. You’re all that matters.”

She pulled away, remembering why she was mad at him.
“You should go.”

He pulled back. “Angel, please don’t do this. I know
you’re mad at me, but we need to talk.”

“I don’t have anything to say to you. You shouldn’t
have come. I want you to leave.”

“Not before you hear what I have to say.” He knew
this might be his only chance to make her listen. “I love you, Angel. I always
have. I want us to be a family. I want you to come to California with me.”

She turned her head on the pillow, looking away from
him. “Please go.”

He reached out to take her hand, but she yanked it
away. “Angel. Please. Look at me.”

She refused.

“I love you. I know you love me, too.”

She turned to look at him then. “No. I don’t. Please
go.” She pressed the call button for the nurse.

He stood up, knowing he didn’t have much time before
they came, and threw him out. “Listen to me, Angel. I love you. I’m not giving
up on you. I knew the minute I first saw those eyes of yours that I was in over
my head. My life…I know it’s a mess. Maybe I never really tried before. Never
gave a damn before. Until you. If I can’t make this work, make us work, I don’t
think I could stand it. Do you hear me?”

Still she looked away.

“I feel like I’m in a deep, dark hole, and I’m
tryin’ to climb out of it, babe. I’m trying to do it, for you. But I need your
help, baby. And I don’t know where to start. Tell me where to start, Angel.
Please. I’ll do whatever you say I need to.”

The nurse walked in.

“Please go,” Angel begged, breaking down into tears.

“You should leave, now, sir,” the nurse told him.

He looked at Angel.

Still she didn’t respond.

He turned, and walked out.

Cole returned to Natalie’s, and walked in the front
door.

“Daddy, daddy!” Both TJ and Melissa ran to him, and
hugged him.

He hugged them back, wondering if they were ever
going to be a real family now.

Natalie came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on
a dishtowel. She took one look at Cole’s face, and knew something was wrong.
“What is it? Is everything okay?”

He went into the kitchen, and sat down. TJ and
Melissa each climbed up on a knee. He looked over their heads at Natalie.
“She’s awake, but she wouldn’t talk to me. Told me to leave, repeatedly.”

“Did you tell her you loved her?”

He nodded. “Yes. I said everything I could think to
say to make her see that I loved her, that I wanted her.” He shook his head.
She wouldn’t listen.”

“Oh, Cole. It’s just her stubborn pride, when she’s
had time to heal, and she feels better, I’m sure-”

“No. I don’t think it’s going to matter. I think
it’s too late for us.”

“Don’t say that.”

He looked at her, his eyes tormented. “I’m done. I
don’t know what else to try.”

Natalie straightened up. “I do.” She threw the
dishtowel down, and walked out of the room.

Cole stood up, with a child in each arm, and
followed her down the hall.

She went into TJ’s room, and pulled a duffle bag
from out of the closet. She started opening drawers, and filing the bag with
clothes.

Cole set the kids down, and told them to go in
Melissa’s room, and play. He kissed them on the forehead, and they ran off.
Turning to Natalie, he asked, “What are you doing? Natalie, stop.”

She stopped what she was doing, and looked at him.
“You’re taking the children back with you.”

“I’m what?”

“They’re going with their father for a while. At
least until their mother gets out of the hospital,” she stated, as if it was
already a done deal.

“What are you talking about? I can’t just take the
kids away from her.” Cole stared at her like she’d lost her mind.

“Not take them away from her. Just care for them for
a little while.”

“And how is that going to help anything?” This logic
escaped him. Completely.

“Cole, for one thing, it would help me out. I can
concentrate on getting her home, and getting her well. Secondly, when she’s
well enough she’ll have to come out, and get them. Then you can have a talk…on
your terms,” she explained.

Cole leaned against the doorframe, folding his arms.
“You’re really going to stand there, and tell me you believe that’ll work? Are
you crazy? She’ll probably call the cops on me,” Cole argued.

Natalie slammed a drawer shut. “No, she won’t. I
won’t let her.”

He shook his head, not believing in this plan.

“Cole, we’ll come out to get them together. She’ll
talk to you, and if after that, she still wants to come back to Arizona, then
fine, I’ll help her get the kids back. But, I’m also going to make it clear to
her that I’m selling the house, and I’m going back to California.”

He straightened from the doorframe, shaking his head
in denial. “I told you before, I don’t want to be her only option.”

Natalie walked over to him, and took his hands in
hers, and looked up at him. “Cole, trust me, please,” she pleaded softly.

He stared down at her face. A part of him believing
she was grasping at straws, another part of him wanting desperately to believe
her. Finally, he conceded, “I hope to hell you know what you’re doing.”

“Think you can handle being a full-time dad for a
couple of weeks?”

Cole nodded solemnly, and whispered, “That’s one
thing I am sure of.”

The next morning, Cole told Natalie he had an errand
to run. He came back about an hour later with a big, black, shiny SUV.

Natalie saw him pull in, and asked him, when he
walked in the front door, “What happened to the rental car you had? Did you
swap it out for that SUV?”

“Nope. I got that for Angel and you. Here are the
keys.”

“What? We don’t need a rental car,” Natalie objected,
staring down at the key chain he held out. It was not the kind of key chain a
rental company puts on a set of keys. It was the kind a dealership puts on.

When she hesitated to take the keys, Cole reached
out, took her hand in his, and put the keys in them, closing her hand around
them. “It’s not a rental. I bought it.”

“You bought it?”

“Umm hmm. Are the kids ready to go?”

Natalie was still staring down at the car keys.
“What?”

“I still have to have you run me back to the
dealership to pick up my rental car. I had to leave it there, when I drove this
one home.”

“Cole, wait. I don’t understand. Why did you just
buy a car, a brand new car? An expensive, brand new car?”

“For you and Angel. So you’d have a reliable car to
drive to California. Besides she needed a new car. I wouldn’t trust that old
used one she has to make it across the desert without breaking down.” Cole
wasn’t sure if he was trying to convince her or himself. He didn’t want to
admit that this might be a small form of bribery. At this point, he admitted he
was ready to take her anyway he could get her. He was tempted to tell Natalie
about the money.

A couple hours later, the kids were loaded up in his
rental car, and they were ready to head out. It was after dinner, and getting
dark. Cole had thought it best to try to travel as far as he could at night,
while the kids slept in the backseat.

Before they left, he handed Natalie an envelope to
give to Angel when she got home. She promised she would. It contained his
divorce papers and a letter he’d written to her.

Natalie waved them off, crying. She knew this was
for the best, but she was going to miss the children.

Natalie purposely stayed away from the hospital that
day and the next. She held out until the following day, and then went to visit Angel.
She walked in the hospital room, and found Angel sitting up in bed. She had
just finished her lunch, the tray pushed to the side.

Natalie bent down, and hugged her. “How are you
today, sweetheart?”

“I’m okay. Did you bring the kids?”

“No. I told you, you can see them when you get
home.”

“You didn’t come the last two days.”

“No. I didn’t.”