Page 149 of Cold Case, Warm Hearts

“Even if we hadn’t shown up when we did. Even if we’d never found you, I would never have believed that. Never.”

“Truly?”

He kissed her forehead and held her against his chest again. “You could never hurt anybody. I know that. One of these days, you’re going to figure out how much you mean to me. One of these days, you’re going to see yourself as I see you.”

He’d believed in her, even after everything. She didn’t remove her cheek from the soft fabric of his sweatshirt but needed to ask the question. “How do you see me?”

He held her a little tighter. “As the woman I love.”

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

Aspen had been checked out at the hospital and released. She’d given Cote a statement—though not a complete statement. The time would come for that later.

Brent Salcito had been taken to a different hospital. According to Cote, he was refusing to talk. The only word he’d uttered since his arrest had been “Lawyer.”

She wasn’t a bit surprised.

Now, she sat beside Garrett in the hospital waiting room. Deborah sat on his other side.

Dean had been in surgery by the time they’d arrived there. An hour later, he was still in surgery. Deborah said the doctors hadn’t given her much hope but promised to do everything they could.

Others had arrived while they waited. Older folks Aspen had never met, along with a crowd of people her own age. Andrew and Grace, James and Cassidy, Braden and Carly and their baby girl. Tabby was there, though Fitz was on duty. He’d be by when he got off work. Jacqui and Reid had come, sans Ella, Reid’s little girl, who they explained was with her mother.

The way Reid explained that told Aspen he wasn’t happy to share his daughter. There was a story there. Maybe a story she’d be around long enough to hear.

Even Dylan and Chelsea had come. They’d returned from wherever they’d been that week.

Each new person walked in, hugged Garrett, and then hugged her. The group had prayed together more than once. None of them had asked for details about what happened. Maybe they realized Garrett’s mind was on his uncle, and Aspen… Aspen was still trying to come to grips with the whole thing.

A white-coated doctor stepped into the room and assessed the crowd. She was probably in her forties, shorter than Aspen, and couldn’t have weighed a hundred pounds. She had dark brown curly hair and hazel eyes. She caught Deborah’s gaze and made her way toward her. Aspen was close enough to hear, though the doctor lowered her voice. “Do you want to step away, someplace private? Or do you mind?—?”

“Just tell us,” Deborah said. “Is he all right?”

The room quieted, and everybody turned to the surgeon, who spoke to Deborah but raised her voice loudly enough for everyone to hear. “Your husband came through the surgery.”

Murmurs ofthank GodandPraise Jesusrumbled through the small room.

Deborah leaned against Garrett, who steadied her.

“The knife missed his heart by a hair. It did plenty of damage, though. We’ve stitched everything up, and we’re monitoring him closely. His heart rate is lower than we’d like it. We’re struggling to get it up. We’ve already done one transfusion, and we might need to do another before the night is over.” Her gaze lifted to all the friends. “If anybody’d be willing to give blood?—”

“Absolutely,” Andrew said. “Where do we go?”

The woman smiled. “I’ll send someone in to show you.” She spoke to Deborah again. “He’s not out of the woods yet, but I have hope.”

Garrett’s arm slipped around his aunt’s shoulders. He pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. “There’s always hope.”

“He’s in recovery if you two want to see him.”

Garrett squeezed Aspen’s hand and followed Deborah and the surgeon out of the room.

While they were gone, Aspen settled on a chair and prayed for Dean’s full recovery.

She prayed for Garrett’s heart as he struggled to understand what had happened thirty years before.

And she prayed for wisdom. She was going to need it. Because Garrett had expressed his love for her, and though her feelings might not have been quite as deep as his, she was falling hard for the man who’d rescued her.

Who’d walked with her through the most difficult weeks of her life.