on the other side of the call, but it wasn’t Petra’s. “Who is this?” he asked, now worried. “Where’s Petra?”
“Are you family?” the female voice at the other end asked. There was noise in the background—people talking and maybe an intercom.
Sam felt a sense of panic rising in his chest. “Yes, I am her…husband,” he lied smoothly. “What happened to Petra?”
“She was in an accident, sir,” the woman explained. “You should come to Mercy Hospital right away.”
His heart jumped to his throat. An accident? What kind of accident? “Is she okay?” he asked, afraid of hearing the answer. “I’ll be right there. Which floor?”
The woman on the phone told him where to go and Sam was running toward his car even before the phone call was over. He couldn’t lose her now. Even though they hadn’t known each other for very long, and, if truth be told, knew very little about each other, he felt an unexplainable pull toward her, a feeling he very much wanted to explore further.
The drive to the hospital was longer than he would have liked as he navigated through rush hour traffic in the city. The hospital parking lot was full and he had to drive around in circles a few times before finding a spot to park his car. His long legs took flight down the hallways and corridors of the facility, avoiding the crowded, slow moving elevators and taking the back stairs instead. The nurse who had talked to him on the phone was waiting for him at the nurses’ station on the third floor.
“Mr. Linden?” she asked. Damn, they must think he was Jonas. Petra had kept her married name after the divorce even though she rarely used it, preferring her maiden name instead. He nodded assent, figuring that if he didn’t actually say anything, it was not technically lying.
“Come this way, sir,” the nurse said, guiding him down the corridor toward the ward. “She is sedated, but she’ll be all right. She broke her arm—just a hairline fracture—and has a concussion from hitting her head on the marble floor. Also, she had an ugly cut in her head that required quite a few stitches.” Sam was trying to process all that information while following the nurse at a fast pace. “Here’s her room. Call us if you need anything.” The nurse left Sam standing at the door of a private room. Through the open door he could see the prostrate form of Petra’s small body on the bed. She looked so fragile and small.
From the doorway, he contemplated maybe leaving and never returning, but even the thought was painful. There was no denying it; he was intrinsically connected to this woman. So, he walked inside and sat on a chair beside her bed, close enough to touch her if he wanted, and God knew he so wanted to. His hand slid over the white bedding as he reached out for her tiny hand. It was cold and limp, so he held it tight in his until he felt some warmth come back to her skin. Without letting it go, Sam relaxed into the chair, swept his other hand over his face and sighed. “You are the most aggravating creature I have ever met,” he said in a gentle voice. “My life was so much simpler before you got into that closet with me and yet…” His voice dragged for a few seconds. “Yet I am having too much fun putting up with your antics.”
Emerald eyes intent on her sleeping face, Sam pulled the chair closer to the bed so his elbows were now resting on the edge of it and he was able to caress the cool skin of her arm in a gentle massage. “I know so very little about you,” he continued. “You seem to be on some kind of mission, and to be totally honest, I’m not sure I want to know what it is, but I pity the man who is the target of your quest.” He chuckled under his breath, imagining the damage she was possibly causing her ex-husband. “And then, there is this chemistry between us.” His stomach tensed at the thought of her body against his. “Damn, woman, I am not a young man anymore, and I have met a lot of
“Are you family?” the female voice at the other end asked. There was noise in the background—people talking and maybe an intercom.
Sam felt a sense of panic rising in his chest. “Yes, I am her…husband,” he lied smoothly. “What happened to Petra?”
“She was in an accident, sir,” the woman explained. “You should come to Mercy Hospital right away.”
His heart jumped to his throat. An accident? What kind of accident? “Is she okay?” he asked, afraid of hearing the answer. “I’ll be right there. Which floor?”
The woman on the phone told him where to go and Sam was running toward his car even before the phone call was over. He couldn’t lose her now. Even though they hadn’t known each other for very long, and, if truth be told, knew very little about each other, he felt an unexplainable pull toward her, a feeling he very much wanted to explore further.
The drive to the hospital was longer than he would have liked as he navigated through rush hour traffic in the city. The hospital parking lot was full and he had to drive around in circles a few times before finding a spot to park his car. His long legs took flight down the hallways and corridors of the facility, avoiding the crowded, slow moving elevators and taking the back stairs instead. The nurse who had talked to him on the phone was waiting for him at the nurses’ station on the third floor.
“Mr. Linden?” she asked. Damn, they must think he was Jonas. Petra had kept her married name after the divorce even though she rarely used it, preferring her maiden name instead. He nodded assent, figuring that if he didn’t actually say anything, it was not technically lying.
“Come this way, sir,” the nurse said, guiding him down the corridor toward the ward. “She is sedated, but she’ll be all right. She broke her arm—just a hairline fracture—and has a concussion from hitting her head on the marble floor. Also, she had an ugly cut in her head that required quite a few stitches.” Sam was trying to process all that information while following the nurse at a fast pace. “Here’s her room. Call us if you need anything.” The nurse left Sam standing at the door of a private room. Through the open door he could see the prostrate form of Petra’s small body on the bed. She looked so fragile and small.
From the doorway, he contemplated maybe leaving and never returning, but even the thought was painful. There was no denying it; he was intrinsically connected to this woman. So, he walked inside and sat on a chair beside her bed, close enough to touch her if he wanted, and God knew he so wanted to. His hand slid over the white bedding as he reached out for her tiny hand. It was cold and limp, so he held it tight in his until he felt some warmth come back to her skin. Without letting it go, Sam relaxed into the chair, swept his other hand over his face and sighed. “You are the most aggravating creature I have ever met,” he said in a gentle voice. “My life was so much simpler before you got into that closet with me and yet…” His voice dragged for a few seconds. “Yet I am having too much fun putting up with your antics.”
Emerald eyes intent on her sleeping face, Sam pulled the chair closer to the bed so his elbows were now resting on the edge of it and he was able to caress the cool skin of her arm in a gentle massage. “I know so very little about you,” he continued. “You seem to be on some kind of mission, and to be totally honest, I’m not sure I want to know what it is, but I pity the man who is the target of your quest.” He chuckled under his breath, imagining the damage she was possibly causing her ex-husband. “And then, there is this chemistry between us.” His stomach tensed at the thought of her body against his. “Damn, woman, I am not a young man anymore, and I have met a lot of
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