Rescued (A McKenzie Ridge Novel Book 1) by Stephanie St. Klaire Page A

Granny said reaching for her purse.
    “Oh no, I’ve got dinner, my treat, a lady should never have to buy! Can I bring you back a salad or anything besides pizza?”
    “Salad?!? Salads for rabbits and those skinny bitches on the magazines, sweetie, I’ll be havin’ what you’re havin’, and I wouldn’t hate’cha if you wanted to share a beer with an old lady. I bet you can hide it in one of them cups they have to go, over at…”
    “I’ve got it. Don’t spill all of our secrets, Lou, or we’re likely to be found out. We’ll be back.”
    Before Dawson could say another word, he had the tiny hand of a four-year-old in his, and was being dragged out of the building.
    ***
    The hours grew later, the pizza was long gone, when Dawson had a little head laying on his arm, from the chair next to him. He was a bit overwhelmed and elated by the action; he hadn’t felt this way in some time, and definitely at the hands of a child. A child that was quickly finding her way into his life and quite possibly his heart.
    She was such an image of her mother, he found comfort in that, this new little friendship, or whatever it was. Dawson was realizing just how empty his life had been, and how much room he had for more. Maybe that was the answer to the mystery that was Sam, and why he found himself sitting at the bedside of a woman he was getting to know better while in a coma, than he would have otherwise.
    Looking at her watch, with a yawn and a stretch, Granny interrupted his thoughts, ready to take Ellie home and call it a night. He walked them to their car, carrying Ellie, as not to disturb her slumber, and gently placed her in the car, buckling her in. A grin crossed his face as he noticed his wet shoulder from an obviously exhausted, drooling Ellie Lou.
    “I’ll stay with Sam until Everly is on, if you don’t mind. If she wakes up…“
    “Yes, yes, if she wakes up…you’re a good boy Dawson Tayler, seems a few of our ladies are a bit keen on you.”
    With that wink and grin, she had been giving him all day, she gave him a grandmother’s hug, and said good night. He was falling for the family as quickly as he had fallen for the girl they all had in common.
    Everly was in Sam’s room checking her vitals, reading her chart, getting herself up to speed on what she had missed, when Dawson returned. They each took a seat on either side of the hospital bed and watched Sam for a bit, before either spoke.
    “I’m glad you decided to come back.”
    “I wasn’t sure if I was going to. I, I just wasn’t, I don’t know, I just wasn’t sure what to think of it all.”
    “I really think she was going to tell you about Ellie. Sam hasn’t had the kind of life you wear on your sleeve. She is kind, warm, and giving, but she is very guarded.”
    “I am starting to realize that. I just thought that things were different than they obviously are. We’ve had a good time these past several weeks, getting to know each other. It’s been easy to talk and be together, I just assumed…I don’t know what I assumed.”
    “Dawson, just be patient with her. Her life has been less than normal; she hasn’t had a man in her life since before Ellie. She’s been hurt by too many people.”
    “Evie, I would never hurt her, surely she knows that. You both have known me quite some time now…“
    “I know you are a good guy, Tayler, Sam knows it too; she just has a hard time letting people in. She has more than just her own heart to consider, she has that little girl. Ellie Lou is her life; she doesn’t let just anyone in her daughter’s life.”
    “Which is why I didn’t know about Ellie. Somehow, I found myself here , with her, and it isn’t something I’ve done before. I don’t date; I don’t do this, whatever this is I mean, uh, I uh…sound like a serious asshole.”
    “No, Dawson, you sound like a guy with his own past to work through, and some new surprises to wrap your mind around. You’re one of the good ones. It’ll