Page 36 of Burke (The Haven #2)

S hirley watched as Frankie walked out, still mumbling, trying to save his ass with the detective.

Then Burke walked over, standing beside her. He picked up her hand and held it gently. “Hey. How are you doing?”

She smiled. “Honest to God,… I’m not really sure, but I don’t want to go through that again. Yet it’s a hell of a relief to know that we are done with both of them.”

“He wasn’t that bad,” Burke teased, with a big grin.

She groaned. “Maybe to you he’s not that bad, but when that gun went off…”

The smile immediately fell from his face, and he nodded. “I hear you there,” he murmured. “I’m so sorry.”

She looked over at him and smiled. “You have no idea how much I appreciate everything you’ve done for me.”

He frowned at her. “Oh no, no, no,” he muttered. “That sounds like a goodbye.”

She frowned. “It’s not so much a goodbye as much as a,… Hey, I really appreciate what you did for me ,” she teased.

“Ah, well, that is one thing, but that sound of a goodbye is a completely different thing.”

She looked at him and admitted, “I wasn’t sure if you even wanted to say hello after this.”

“Of course I do,” he stated. “I meant what I said earlier.”

“You mean when you said you made the mistake of going out with the wrong sister?”

“Yeah, I did mean that.”

She snorted. “You have no idea how many times my sister told me the exact same thing.”

“That was a mistake I made, but it’s not a mistake I’m willing to keep making.”

She frowned. “I’m not sure about that.”

“Absolutely no reason for either of us to think of Silvia at all.”

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely sure. Besides, the guys already really love you.”

“Oh, so the guys really love me, so I’m safe to go back there. Is that it?” she asked, with smile.

“Believe me, once they found out what happened, all kinds of hell was happening out there, so if you’re not coming back to the Haven, I’ll be in deep shit.”

“You will?”

“Yes, because they’ll all think it will be because you don’t want to come back with me.”

“Is that the condition to coming back?” she asked.

“No,” he said instantaneously, “absolutely not. No strings attached.”

She looked up at him, now with her lips twitching, and asked, “Are you sure?”

“I am,” he replied, “but if you do want to spend time together—”

“I do,” she stated instantly.

His face split in a wide grin. “I was hoping you would say that. I just,… I wasn’t sure.”

“Yeah, well, neither am I,” she admitted, a bit flushed. “Not really. It’s a weird scenario. Looks as if I’ll have to stay in town to deal with my sister, after all.”

“No, she’ll be in jail, and then you’ll be free, though there will probably be a trial.”

“Yeah, because she won’t confess to anything,” she guessed, with a sigh. “She’ll make sure my life is as difficult as it can possibly be.”

“That’s her right, but that doesn’t mean it’ll go easy on her, even if she does. Especially as Frankie is singing to save his soul. Also the credit cards are wiping out the debt as this is now part of a criminal investigation and they know it wasn’t you using up the cards.”

“That’s huge! I suppose I hadn’t really considered that part,” she noted. “I wasn’t really even thinking, to be honest. I was more concerned about trying to stay alive.” She looked down at the sheet around her. “They mentioned they would send you a cot, didn’t they?”

“They did and they will.”

Just then the door opened and an orderly walked in with a cot. He asked, “Is this for you?”

He nodded. “Yep, that’s for me.”

“Good enough. I heard some nightmare was going on here a little while ago.”

“Yeah, there sure was,” Burke confirmed. “We had a shooting in here.”

The orderly looked at him shock. “Seriously?”

“Yeah, seriously, that’s why I’m staying here for the night.”

“Well.” He looked over, saw Shirley, and smiled. “Honest to God, man, you don’t need an excuse. She’s amazing, and, hey, I would be staying here too if I could.” And, with a wink, he turned and left them alone.

“Did he just say that?” Shirley asked in astonishment.

“Yeah, he did,” Burke replied with a grin. “Seems as if you have a fan.”

“That would be a first.”

He shook his head. “No, it wouldn’t, and we need to get rid of all that leftover family BS too.”

“Yeah, I’m happy to have that go,” she admitted. “It’ll just take a bit of time.”

“It may, and then it may not,” he pointed out. “The fact that you don’t know how beautiful you are, both inside and out, is a shame, but it is to my benefit. I’ll be more than happy to show you how much everybody loves you.”

She looked over at him, tears in her eyes.

“Hey, hey, no tears, please.”

She snorted. “As if I’ll just stop because you say so.”

“Of course you will,” he teased, with a big grin. “I know it’s been one hell of a day.”

“No, it’s been a hell of a few days,” she corrected. “Ever since I realized what was happening and knew I had to make some major decisions.”

“Ah, but you made them,” he noted, “and you made the right ones, so that’s what counts.”

She smiled. “I hope so. The last thing I want is to find out that I messed up in some other way.”

“That’s just your father speaking.”

“Oh God, it is so my father speaking,” she admitted, with a sigh. “You don’t even realize.”

“Now that stage of your life is over.”

There was such firmness in his tone that she wanted to believe him, was sorely tempted to believe him, but knew it would take time before she got to that point. Also that it wouldn’t happen so quickly. He looked at her as if he knew what she was thinking.

“Yeah, it’ll take a little time,” he stated, “but you’re almost there, and that is just as important.”

She looked over at him and shook her head. “I don’t even know how you could possibly understand what I was thinking.”

“If you understood what I was thinking, this would be a whole different conversation,” he stated, then waggled his eyebrows at her.

She flushed bright red and then laughed. “That is good news,” she murmured, as she opened her good arm, wincing at the pain of moving the other one. “Damn, that’ll take a bit.”

“It sure will,” he said, with a bright smile. “That’s what happens when you try to be a hero.”

“I wasn’t being a hero.”

“Yes, you were,” he argued. “You were trying to reach out and to help your sister.”

She frowned and then nodded reluctantly. “But it wasn’t,… it’s not as if I wanted to be a hero.”

“I know,” he said, “but that is who you are, and that is something you’ll just have to accept.”

She smiled up at him, “Only if you do too.”

“Oh no, no, no, no,”

“Oh yes, yes, yes, yes,” she replied. He glared at her, and she burst out laughing. “If I do, you do.”

He sighed. “Okay, fine, I will consider it.”

“Done.”

And, with that, he leaned over and gave her a gentle hug, avoiding her bandaged shoulder. “Now, would you get yourself back to sleep so we can leave this place tomorrow?”

“Now that is well worth trying.”

He helped her shuffle into a better position in the hospital bed, pulled up the covers, then gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead. “Get some sleep, please. I do want to get out of here as soon as possible.”

“Done,” she murmured, “but it might take me at least until tomorrow.”

“You’ll get until tomorrow,” he said. “You’ll get as long as you need. Just rest.”