A Soldier's Promise (Crystal Lake Series Book 2) (6 page)

“A hundred even,” Henry said. “I checked it out, and I gotta tell ya, there ain’t no way to salvage it. Probably totaled.”

“Where is the vehicle?” she asked as Derek pulled out his wallet. She’d been about to pay the fee herself, but clearly Derek had this covered.

“Around back,” Henry said, gesturing with his thumb as he accepted the cash.

She followed the men around the corner and then sucked in a harsh breath, glad she’d lagged behind when she saw what was left of Derek’s car.

It was a miracle he wasn’t hurt worse. The entire driver’s side of the car was nothing but mangled metal. She gave another silent prayer of thanks to God for keeping him safe.

Derek’s expression was grim as he went over to the passenger side of the car and opened the door. When he pulled out Lexi’s booster seat, she reached around to take it from him.

“I’ll put this in my car,” she said.

Derek nodded before turning back to the vehicle. She could have assured him that whatever he had in the truck was still there. Henry would never have considered stealing from one of his towed vehicles.

The people of Crystal Lake were generally law-abiding citizens. Especially now that Tommy Hinkle and his father, Kurt, were behind bars.

By the time she’d strapped Lexi’s car seat into the backseat and returned to the mangled car, she discovered that Derek had pulled two suitcases out. The sight of his luggage brought her up short. Was she crazy to allow this man to stay with her? If Andrew were still around, he’d have a fit. But Andrew wasn’t part of her life any longer, and despite her unease, she refused to go back on her word.

Hiding her attack of nerves, she picked up the larger of the two suitcases and carried it to her trunk.

Derek carried the smaller suitcase over and stored it beside the larger one. “I’m just going to get my tools,” he said before striding back to his wrecked truck.

Within ten minutes, Derek had everything stashed in the back of her car. He went over and said something to Henry. The older man nodded and then shook Derek’s hand.

She refrained from asking what transpired despite her curiosity. Derek helped Lexi get into the booster seat and then surprised her by climbing into the passenger seat beside her.

“Next stop, Hope County Hospital,” she said cheerfully as she left Billy’s garage.

Derek nodded but still looked upset about leaving his truck behind. He fiddled with his phone, sliding the charger into the port and making sure the device still worked.

“You might want to call your insurance company,” she said. “The sooner you put them on notice, the sooner they’ll cut you a check.”

“Yeah.” Derek scrubbed his hands over his face. “But I doubt they’ll do much without the accident report.”

He was right; she should have thought about that. “We can swing by after you’ve been seen at the hospital,” she offered. “May as well get everything done in one trip.”

“No need. The deputy told me the report wouldn’t be done until Monday,” he said.

“I have connections at the sheriff’s department. Sheriff Torretti is a great guy and I know his wife Megan. I can ask for a rush on the report.”

“Monday is fine,” Derek said sharply. When she glanced at him in surprise, he seemed to backpedal. “It’s not like anything is going to be processed over the weekend anyway.”

She shrugged and let the matter drop. Maybe he was hurting more than he’d let on. Especially after the way he’d been hauling suitcases around.

The sooner Gabe Allen looked him over, the better.

___________

Derek gripped the armrest of the passenger door, hoping Julie wouldn’t insist on stopping at the police station. He was thankful she didn’t have the news on, but if Claire’s parents had put out the alarm, the risk of being arrested was too high. Claire’s parents had tons of money, and they’d made it clear that they’d take custody of Lexi away from him.

He tried to take deep, calming breaths, but it wasn’t easy with sore ribs. When Julie pulled up in front of the hospital, he gave a tiny sigh of relief.

“Why don’t you get out here, and I’ll park the car?” she suggested.

“I can walk, you know,” he muttered, getting really sick of being treated like an invalid. He supposed that being a nurse made her more conscientious than others, but still. He glanced back at Lexi. “Do you want to come with me?” he asked.

Lexi nodded. He was impressed at how well his daughter was handling all this, especially since she didn’t normally warm up to strangers at all. He opened the back passenger door and helped her get out of the booster seat. He lifted Lexi out and then set her on her feet. Before closing the door, he caught Julie’s gaze. “Ah, Dr. Allen, right?”

She smiled, and he was surprised at how much that small gesture transformed her features. Julie was really quite pretty in a girl-next-door kind of way. Not as classically beautiful as Claire, but then again, that hadn’t worked so well for him, had it? Julie was attractive, but it didn’t matter, since he had no plans to stay in Crystal Lake.

He figured he had a week at the most before he needed to be on the road again.

“Yes, Dr. Gabe Allen. Just keep in mind that you might have to wait if they’re busy.”

“I understand. Thanks again. Come on, Lexi.” He took his daughter’s hand and walked inside the emergency department. At least this time, he was walking in and not being wheeled in on a gurney.

He told the nurse at the front desk that he was here to see Dr. Allen. She placed the call and, within five minutes, waved him back. “You can go into room three,” she directed.

At first, he’d assumed that the ER wasn’t very busy since they’d taken him right away, but when he went back into the main arena, he was greeted by a cacophony of activity. Various patients were wailing in pain or yelling out for one reason or another. Monitors beeped, and there seemed to be a constant stream of chatter from the staff who scurried from one place to another.

Room three looked to be one of the few empty rooms, and he felt guilty for wasting the doctor’s valuable time. He waited inside the doorway, thinking it might be better if he just left, since they were so busy. Only the thought of disappointing Julie kept him there.

Ten minutes later, Dr. Allen and a nurse rushed in. “So, how did you survive the night?” the doctor asked without wasting time exchanging small talk.

“Fine,” Derek said, lifting his arm so that the nurse could take down the dressing around the chest tube.

“He sneezed, and his lung deflated again,” Julie said as she entered the room. “I applied negative pressure on the valve, and he seemed to be better after that.”

“Hmmm.” The doctor cocked an eyebrow at him questioningly so he reluctantly nodded.

“Yeah, that sounds right.”

“We’ll need to get another chest X-ray,” Dr. Allen said to the nurse. “I’m tempted to leave the catheter in for another day, but we’ll see how your X-ray looks.”

He kept his mouth shut, sensing it would do no good to argue. When it came time to get the X-ray, he flashed Lexi a reassuring smile before following the nurse to the radiology area.

Five minutes later, he was back in the room. Dr. Allen pulled up the X-ray on the computer screen right in the room. “No sign of the pneumothorax,” he muttered. “But I’d still like to keep the catheter in another day.”

“I’ll bring him back tomorrow after church,” Julie said.

Dr. Allen nodded. “I’m not working, but maybe I can just stop by your place. How do your ribs feel?”

“Sore, but tolerable.”

“All right, try not to do any more sneezing, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Thanks Doc,” he said, sincerely grateful to know he hadn’t made anything worse last night. The pain had been scary, but he felt a hundred percent better today. Well, maybe that was a slight exaggeration. More like fifty percent better. “I appreciate the special treatment.”

“No problem.” Dr. Allen flashed them both a tired grin before leaving them alone.

Derek held Lexi’s hand as he followed Julie back out to the parking lot. Getting in and out of the car still hurt, but he bit back a low groan when he slid inside.

Neither one of them said anything as Julie pulled out of the hospital parking lot.

“The drugstore is on the way home,” she said, finally breaking the silence. “We can stop to get your prescription filled.”

“I don’t need more pain meds,” he said quickly. He was afraid if she knew how low he was on cash, she’d insist on paying for them herself, and he was in debt to her enough already. “I still have a couple of the samples left, and I don’t plan to use them unless I’m desperate.”

“Like you were last night?” she asked. “I can’t believe you weren’t going to tell the doctor what happened.”

He shrugged, feeling guilty for disappointing her when, really, he had far bigger issues to worry about. “You heard the doc, no sign of a pneumo-whatever, so I’m fine.”

She didn’t answer but tightened her fingers on the steering wheel as if she was struggling not to lose control. He felt bad for making her upset, but he couldn’t explain how important it was that he stay out of the hospital at all cost. He didn’t want Lexi to end up in the foster care system. And he for sure didn’t want Claire’s parents to get custody of Lexi again.

Lexi was...special. She didn’t need that private super strict school that Claire’s parents had picked out for her. Lexi hated it, and forcing her to go was making her worse instead of better. Claire’s parents thought she needed structure, but what Lexi needed was love and attention. What she needed was to be with her father and time to recuperate from losing her mother.

Now that he was honorably discharged from the Army, he could take better care of Lexi than a bunch of strangers, no matter how well intentioned.

He’d made a promise to Lexi and to Claire before she died, and he intended to keep it.

Chapter Five

Julie stood in her kitchen, watching through the patio doors as Derek and Lexi walked down to the lake. Despite her protests, Derek had insisted on bringing in the luggage and his tools. They way he was moving slowly and carefully, favoring his right side, convinced her that he’d overexerted himself. Again. Yet no matter how many times she told him to rest, he ignored her and did what he wanted. Lexi instinctively stayed close to her father’s side rather than running toward the water the way Amelia used to do.

Thoughts of her niece always brought the threat of tears, so she turned away, trying to think of other things. It was close to noon, and there was plenty of leftover pizza to eat for lunch, but she also needed something to make for dinner. She opened her freezer and stared at the meager contents.

Hamburgers on the grill sounded good, and best of all, she wouldn’t have to turn on her oven. Thanks to her small garden, she even had the fixings for a salad. Tomorrow, after church, she’d have to make a run to the grocery store since she wasn’t used to feeding three people.

The sound of boat engines and shrieking laughter filtered in off the lake. Her brother, Zack, left his boat here during the summer months, and she wondered if Derek and Lexi would like to take a spin out on the lake after they’d eaten.

Or maybe they just wanted to spend some time alone. After all, it wasn’t her job to entertain them.

No matter how much she wanted to.

Since she was becoming far too fascinated with her unexpected houseguests, she busied herself with doing some bills and other paperwork until her stomach rumbled. Figuring Derek and Lexi must be hungry too, she pulled the leftover pizza out of the fridge and heated it up in her microwave. Then she piled paper plates and napkins on top of the pizza box before making her way outside.

“Are you guys hungry?” she called. “There’s plenty of left-over pizza for lunch.”

Derek looked up and flashed a smile, which somehow made him look about ten years younger. She wasn’t at all happy that her pulse jumped in response. “I am,” he said eagerly. “How about it, baby-doll?”

Lexi gave another of her short nods and readily walked back up to the townhouse with her father.

“Thanks, Julie, this looks great,” Derek said, looking down at the food with appreciation.

She ducked her head, hoping he hadn’t noticed her pink cheeks. Why was she reacting to Derek like this? Ridiculous. “It’s nothing, just more leftovers than I could ever finish by myself.”

Lexi scrambled up to sit on her knees so she could reach the table, and Derek gingerly sank into a chair beside her. Julie took her seat and bowed her head to pray.

“Dear Lord, thank You for providing this food and for this fantastic summer day. Amen.”

She opened her eyes and looked up, surprised to see that both Derek and Lexi had bowed their heads, too, while she’d prayed. All she knew about Derek was that he used to be in the military, and while he hadn’t joined her in prayer, he hadn’t scoffed at her faith, either.

And why did she care one way or the other? She had to stop thinking that Derek and Lexi would be here long enough for it to matter. She was simply helping him out of a jam—it wasn’t as if this was some sort of long-term friendship or anything.

“Is that boat on the lift yours?” Derek asked before taking a healthy bite of his pizza. He truly looked so much better today that she could barely reconcile this man sitting across from her with the guy who’d been sprawled on the bedroom floor last night, pale and sweating in pain.