Sweet Resolve (The Lucky #2) (18 page)

“He’s not breathing,” someone yelled as they carried Logan toward the ambulance, which had parked directly behind her Jeep.

Gary and she were beside the gurney on which they laid him down. They stood back as a fireman tossed off his gloves and hat and started CPR on Logan immediately. Amy’s heart felt like it had stopped as she watched the man kneeling over Logan and pounding against his chest. Every time they pumped oxygen into him, she held her breath. She couldn’t look away as the EMTs continued to pump oxygen into his lungs.

Quickly, her mind flashed to a future without Logan. She physically felt her heart hurt as she thought of it. Her stomach rolled and she tried to focus on what was going on instead of the horror of possibilities.

Since the driveway was gravel, they had a hard time moving the gurney back toward the ambulance and the fireman actually had to get off and help carry it toward the vehicle.

“I’m going with them,” she told Gary. “Here.” She shoved her keys into his hands. “Follow us.”

Tears were streaming down his face, and he used his sleeves to wipe them away. “I’ll call his mother.”

She jumped into the back of the ambulance as they continued to pump oxygen into Logan’s lifeless body.

CHAPTER TWENTY

Logan was drifting. This was a hell of a lot more peaceful than dying in a fire, he thought, which only shook him out of the surreal mind-set. The word
fire
flashed memories into his brain as he screamed to his body to wake up. Amy!

His eyes opened slowly. His entire body felt like he’d jogged a thousand miles. His lungs burned when he tried to take a deep breath.

“No, don’t move.” He heard Amy, and blinked frantically, desperate to see her. “You’re safe.” He couldn’t see her, but heard the relief in her voice. “We’re at St. Anthony’s.” He felt her take his hand and tried to open his eyes again. “Easy, don’t worry. Give your eyes some time. They say there’s a lot of smoke and dirt in them still.”

He continued to blink, but so far his vision was still too fuzzy to make anything out clearly. Then he tried to open his mouth.

“No.” She brought his hand up to her face and he felt a tear fall down her cheek. “They don’t want you to speak either. I guess for the next few days you’re going to have to let me do all the talking.”

He nodded slowly and swallowed.

“They don’t want you to have any water just yet.” He knew her voice well and he could tell that she’d been very worried. She sounded as if she hadn’t slept for days. “I know you probably want some, but you’ll have to hang on.” She brushed at his hair and she sat next to him on the bed.

He nodded slightly, enjoying the touch of her fingers on his skin.

“They’re looking for whoever tied you up and did this to you.” He felt her touch the bruised spot on the side of his head lightly. He remembered the pain and the blood then. Reaching up with his free hand, he took hers and squeezed. Then brought it to his lips and left it there until he heard her sob.

“It’s okay. I’m okay,” he tried to say, but it came out only as a croak.

Then she rested her head on his shoulder. “I’m in love with you,” she cried out against his chest. “Don’t you ever leave me,” she sobbed.

He shook his head and held her close, running his fingers through her hair. He couldn’t stop the tears from falling down his cheeks as he held her. Now, when he needed his voice the most, it was gone. Once he opened his eyes, he realized the tears had cleared the smoke from them and he was able to see a little better. Still, everything had a hazy film and he blinked a few more times to try to focus more.

“Oh,” he heard a new voice. “How wonderful.” He smiled when he looked over and recognized his mother’s shape. Holding out his hand, he motioned for her to come closer.

He watched a dark gray blob move toward him, and when he felt his mother’s hand in his, he tugged Amy’s up to meet hers. “I guess this is his way of introducing us.” He smiled when Amy started nervously twisting her watch.

“Well, dear, I already know who you are of course.” He could tell that Amy had crossed the room and assumed the two women were hugging. “Logan used to be such a pain to you. Wasn’t he?”

He heard Amy chuckle and he felt his cheeks go hot.

“There you are, boy!” His uncle burst into the conversation. He didn’t know if the man had stood back and watched the last few minutes or if he’d just stepped into the room. Either way, it was perfect timing. “You know, there are better ways to get out of a meeting with me than this.” His uncle laughed at his own joke.

Logan just shook his head and motioned for him to spill it.

“What? What’s that, my boy?”

“I think he wants to know what your meeting was about,” Amy said. Logan nodded his head a few times.

His uncle laughed. “Well, you’ll just have to get better to find out. Won’t you?”

Amy groaned, and Logan would have, too, if he could have.

“They want to keep him for a few days. Until he’s back to his old self.” He heard Amy tell the room, but he couldn’t see her face clearly to tell if she was hiding something.

He held out his hand until she took it. Then he squeezed.

“Really, they just want to make sure your eyes are okay.” He tilted his head. “Okay, they’re really worried about your head.” She sighed. “You stopped breathing for over ten minutes.” He heard her sob. “The fireman who pulled you out of the house pounded on your chest until we were halfway down the mountain.”

He tugged on her hand until she laid her head on his chest. He heard his mother crying and hoped his uncle was comforting her.

“There, there,” his uncle finally said, sniffling. “He’s awake now. No use crying about what might have been.”

He smiled when Amy used a tissue to softly dry his own tears. He blinked a few times and could see a little more clearly to make out the outline of her face.

“Beautiful.” It came out as a whisper as his fingers brushed against her soft skin.

“Logan!” she exclaimed. “You’re not supposed to talk.”

Just the sound of her voice was doing more than any rest could do to his system. Having her beside him was the best medicine he could ever get.

“I love you,” he said hoarsely. He’d pay the price for those three words later as he felt flames shoot up his throat.

His vision cleared further, and he watched tears start to flood her beautiful eyes as she bit her bottom lip. As her eyes moved to his, her lips turned upward into a smile.

“I love you too.” She laughed. “Now shut up.” She hugged him and he felt her body shake. He held onto her until he heard his mother and uncle leave the room quietly.

His heart was beating fast as she placed soft kisses along his chin. He’d never imagined that he could have gotten so lucky.

The next day, Amy was still in Logan’s room when they were visited by a state investigator who, at this point, had more questions than answers about what had happened. In the end, she had stood her ground and asked the man to leave because Logan couldn’t use his voice yet.

So far, Amy had left his side only to rush home to shower and change. She’d persuaded Kristen to stay at her place see to the dogs’ needs until Logan was out of the hospital.

The day before he was set to be released, three crime-scene investigators knocked on his door.

“Mr. Miller.” The oldest of the group was a silver-haired man who
looked to be in his early fifties. “I’m Carl Wither, I’m an arson inspector for
McWilliams Insurance. These gentlemen are from the state and county.”

Logan nodded and shook all three men’s hands. The men sat down and explained how the owner of the construction company that had built the home had been caught trying to get into Canada with his wife. They had over a million dollars taped to their bodies. Apparently, they had been using the homeowner’s money to gamble instead of using it to finish the house. The investigators had proof that the pair had lost big at the casino a few weeks ago and had withdrawn the remaining cash.

“The fire initially looked legit,” Mr. Wither said. “It started at the fuse box and spread without help. That is, if you don’t count the cheap material that they used in the home. The only thing that tipped us off that it could be arson was you . . . what happened to you,” he corrected.

“Why . . . ?” he started to ask, but Amy jumped in.

“Why did they attack Logan?” She squeezed his hand, not wanting him to use his voice too much.

“They claimed that they didn’t know the owner had scheduled an appointment with Mr. Miller. They never even imagined that the owner would try to sell the house, since construction wasn’t completed yet,” one of the other men said.

“Why did they attack him?” she persisted.

Mr. Wither jumped in. “We’re not too sure on why. Maybe they saw him drive up as they were starting the fire and panicked?” The older man ran his hands through his hair. “Either way, they’ll be charged with attempted murder as well as fraud and a long list of other things.”

“Why didn’t the owners . . . ?” His voice cracked and he swallowed. Amy quickly handed him some water.

Mr. Wither nodded. “I think you’re asking why they weren’t there to meet you.” Logan nodded after taking a sip. “It seems like your clients were running very late, and by the time they made it to the street, the blockade your uncle and Miss Walker here moved aside did the trick for them.” He glanced at Amy. “They turned around thinking the road was closed. They claimed it’s been closed several times before and they had been told never to drive through if it was blocked. Later that evening, after they had made it back into town, they had called your office to make sure the meeting had been canceled.”

After the men left his room, Amy crawled into his bed with him and enjoyed having him hold her. Her mind kept playing over and over how close she’d come to losing him.

She’d been so close to never knowing how wonderful it felt to know she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. She still worried about marriage, but with Logan, she knew they would be able to overcome anything together.

In the end, they kept Logan in the hospital for five days, until he had his full eyesight and voice back. He had seven stitches above his left ear, and since they had to shave that part of his head, he had a stylish new ’do that his friends playfully ridiculed.

Gary wouldn’t let Logan or Amy come back to work that first week, but she had promised to bring him into the office so he could see everyone. He’d told her that he wanted to let everyone see firsthand that he was alive and well.

Aiden and Gary had spent a whole day moving all of Logan’s things into her townhouse. She’d been secretly looking for a bigger place, since the puppies were up and running around. They needed a backyard to play in, not the small piece of grass she currently had.

She loved having him live with her, even the dogs seemed much happier. They both enjoyed spending as much time with the dogs as they could while Logan recovered. She knew that their time off from work was coming to an end. Logan was almost back to his old self. They were both feeling antsy and ready to get to work again.

An hour into their first day, Gary walked into their office with a huge pair of scissors.

“What the heck do you need those for?” Logan joked as he leaned slightly in his chair.

“If you two are done with your vacation, follow me.” He turned and walked out of the office.

“Vacation?” Logan took Amy’s hand and followed him to the elevator.

“What’s this about?” Logan asked when the elevator started to move.

“You’ll see.” Gary chuckled.

When the elevator doors opened, there was a bright red ribbon blocking their path. Everyone from the office stood on the other side, smiling at them.

“Now, if you’d do the honors.” Gary handed the scissors to Logan.

Logan looked down at them, then over at her. “Together?” He smiled.

She nodded and took his hand and helped him cut the ribbon.

“It’s official. The executive suite of Rocky Mountain Realty is now open for business. And as one the three owners, I’d like to introduce you to the other two.” He raised his arms and stepped to the side. “The soon to be Mr. and Mrs. Logan Miller.”

Everyone clapped and cheered as Logan pulled her into his arms and kissed her right in front of everyone. Then he moved back. “Easy, darling.” He took a few mock deep breaths. “I did almost suffocate a couple weeks ago.”

“How can I ever forget?” She wrapped one arm around him, never wanting to let go.