Bad Karma (50 page)

Zach grinned and brushed a quick kiss against her lips.

She glanced at the dead man and grimaced before hustling into the cubicle where Rafael embraced his wife. Sky blew Zach a kiss before closing the curtains.

Zach felt a wave of nausea roil up from his gut. He stared at the dead stalker, appalled by what he’d just done.

Adriano, still kneeling, seemed to recognize Zach’s ambivalent feelings. “You did the right thing.”

“
Did I?” Zach tried to take a deep breath but the antiseptic, hospital smell was getting to him. He wanted to sit down. He wanted to put his head between his knees. He wanted to puke.

Cassie and Javier entered the examination room. Javier had a dusting of white powder over his face and shoulders. He went to the sink and washed up.

Cassie gazed at the dead man, a horrified expression on her face. “Where’s my sister?” she demanded.

Zach jerked his head to the curtained cubicle. “She’s delivering a baby.”

“
Oh, thank God!” Cassie threw her arms around Zach’s neck, clinging to him as a torrent of tears burst loose.

He patted her back as the dizzy feeling subsided.

Cassie sniffled against his chest. “How did you get in here, anyway? I didn’t see you outside.”

He glanced up at the open vent, not sure himself how he had found his way here.

Darla rolled her eyes at him. “You crawled through the duct work? And here we were trying to go through the door when you already had it figured out. Trust my brainy little brother to come up with the solution.”

He swallowed hard. “Are you going to arrest me?”

Darla made a noise in the back of her throat. “Self defense, bro. The man was armed.”

Zach frowned. “So that’s it?”

Darla tilted her head, staring up at him with a quizzical expression. “Zach, you’re a hero here. You killed the man who was trying to kill Sky.”

He nodded his head, mutely. He didn’t feel heroic.

Adriano took a sheet from the linen cart and draped it over the remains of Luther Franks. “When the storm subsides, we can get the coroner out here.”

Darla led Zach to a chair in front of a small charting station and made him sit down.

Cassie leaned over to whisper in his ear. “I’m sorry I doubted you, Zach. I was afraid that you couldn’t take care of my sister. I didn’t think you could protect her.”

Javier grasped Zach’s hand and shook it firmly. “I learned how to take down an armed assailant in SEAL training. Who taught you to do that? Did Calvin teach you to kick butt?”

Zach felt a bubble of laughter gurgle up from his gut. He gave in to the feeling and laughed out loud. He couldn’t stop.

Darla stared at him, her expression clearly stating that he was embarrassing her.

He tried to sober up. “No, it wasn’t Calvin. It was your girlfriend.”

They all turned to Cassie who merely shrugged.

Zach shook his head, trying to control his laughter. “Remember when you jumped on me and grabbed my head? I knew you came within inches of breaking my neck. I just applied the laws of physics and tried to recreate that move.”

Darla started laughing. Then Cassie joined in followed by Javier and Adriano.

The laughter stopped abruptly as they heard the sound of an infant’s cry.

Javier pulled Cassie back against his chest and wrapped his arms around her. He planted a kiss on her temple.

Cassie’s eyes were shining.

Sky came out from behind the curtains. “It’s a boy!”

Zach clapped his hands together and the rest joined in.

Sky grinned at Zach. “Could someone please go find Doctor Marcos and the others? I’d like to go home with my fiancé as soon as the storm passes.”

~*~

CHAPTER THIRTY

Fruition

South Padre Island and Port Isabel were spared from the full brunt of the storm. Fiona danced along the coastline and made landfall south of the border in an unpopulated area, but by then, her winds had diminished to a tropical storm level.

Zach took Sky home and they spent what was left of the night in each other’s arms. He couldn’t even express to her how much she meant to him and how he’d been terrified that she’d be killed. He hoped she knew.

“
Isn’t the baby beautiful?” she asked. “He was so perfect and I’m so glad that Rafael got to be there for his son’s birth. Chloe needed him to be with her.”

Zach’s throat got hoarse. “Beautiful baby. Our children will be beautiful, too.”

Sky nodded, smiling. “I can actually relax and plan our wedding. I want Cassie to be my Maid of Honor. And Darla and Chloe as Brides Maids.”

“
I thought your attendants were supposed to be unmarried women?”

“
Who cares? I want them with me. They’ve been the best friends I could ever wish for.”

Zach nuzzled her temple with his lips. “Are you sure you don’t want to go for the elopement?”

Sky giggled, burying her face against his neck. “I’m only going to do this once, so I want the whole thing.”

“
You’ve got it. I’ll rent a monkey suit and ask Rafael and Javier to stand up with me.” He snuggled her closer. “You did a great job of delivering Rafael’s and Chloe’s baby all by yourself. I’m really impressed.”

“
I kind of impressed myself. I was thinking that maybe I should take the Nurse Midwife classes for licensure and maybe open a practice here on the Island. What do you think?”

“
It’s a great idea.”

Sky turned in his arms, looking into his eyes. “Zach, I know you don’t believe in fighting. What made you take on Luther Franks?”

Zach looked at her in disbelief. “I can’t believe you asked that! I couldn’t let anything happen to you, Sky. You and I are soul mates. We belong together.”

She smiled, resting her head against his chest. “I know that, silly. But what made you throw aside your pacifist nature and go after my stalker?”

He chuckled and kissed her forehead. “You’re the silly one. I went after him because I couldn’t let him hurt you. I never had anything worth fighting for before.”

Sky sighed. “I’m glad you’re a lover and not a fighter, Zach. But I’m really glad that this one time, you were a fighter,

~*~

On Sunday, Cassie sat in church beside Javier, apart from his family and from Sky and Zach.

He held her hand and slipped his other arm around her. She was surrounded by Javi and it felt good.

The service was dedicated to giving thanks to God for sparing the town from the brunt of the storm.

After the mass, the priest turned to the assembly. “One of my former altar boys would like to make an announcement.” He called Javier Rios to the front.

Javier kissed Cassie’s hand and drew her to her feet.

Cassie felt a rush of shyness wash over her as the entire body of church-goers turned their collective heads to gaze at her.

Javier smiled encouragingly and pulled her behind him as he made his way to the front. He stood with her in the center of the steps leading to the altar. He looked out over the congregation.

“
I know most of you. I was born here in Port Isabel. I was christened and baptized in this church. I made my First Communion here, so it seemed appropriate that I take this next step in my life here.”

Cassie stopped breathing as Javier turned to her.

His beautiful, dark eyes shone with emotion as he grinned at her. “Cassidy Danforth, in front of God and in front of my priest, my family and yours; in front of the people who have known me as a boy and as a man, I’m declaring that I love you with my whole heart and I’m asking you to marry me and be my wife. I promise to love you and cherish you and honor and protect you as long as I live. Will you marry me?”

Tears pooled in Cassie’s eyes and spilled down her cheeks in twin rivulets. Javier stood waiting while she tried to find the words to respond to his eloquent speech. She nodded her head and whispered, “Yes.”

Javier grinned, his dimples flashing as he picked her up and swung her around in a circle. The entire church applauded; most rising to their feet as he kissed her.

He took a ring out of his pocket and reached for her hand.

“
Oh, Javi,” she gasped.

He slipped it on her finger and kissed her again. “Will you get a white dress and meet me on this very spot in three weeks to become my bride?”

“
Three weeks?” she squeaked out.

“
I booked the church. I can’t wait any longer, Cassie. Let’s get married.”

She glanced at Sky, who was wiping tears from her own face. She flashed a grin at Cassie and nodded.

“
I’ll meet you here in three weeks.” She grinned at him. “I’ll be the one in the white dress.”

~*~