Walker Revenge (The Walker Family Series Book 5) (19 page)

“Your mom is going to hold on to Lucas while
we go to your appointment. They want us there a little bit early,
and I’m sorry, but that’s for my benefit, not yours. It has to do
with the schooling,” she began to inform him as she packed up a bag
of items they might need for their trip into town. “I need your
driver’s license for the marriage license. Where is that?”

Russell stared at her for a moment. “I guess
it’s with the stuff I had on me at the accident.”

Chelsea turned and dropped her shoulders.
“You haven’t seen it since then?”

“Didn’t need it. When we went to buy your
necklace, I used my credit at the store.”

“You have credit at a jewelry store?”

“I bought a really nice watch a few years
ago. No big deal.”

“Uh-huh,” she groaned.

“I’d ask my mother. She would have probably
taken my personal things home with her.”

She rubbed her tired eyes and tucked the two
loose strands of hair, which had fallen from her ponytail, behind
her ears.

“If we can’t find it, we can’t get the
license.”

Russell laughed. “Fine. Then we don’t get
that today. In my mind, I’m not married to you any less.”

“I know. I know.” She moved to him and
kissed him softly. “I just keep thinking that if you’re doing well
enough, I’ll have to go back to my training. I don’t have much time
before my boards, but it would mean having to go back.”

“I can be unwell if you want me to be.”

“No. I don’t want that either.”

“Chels, I’d sit outside every day if I had
to. Honey, nothing is going to happen to you or Lucas. I think this
is over for us now.”

“I don’t know. Phillip was acting very
strange last night, and he said he wanted to see us when we were in
town today.”

Russell bit back the curse. “I didn’t want
you to deal with that yesterday,” he said, and she turned quickly
to face him.

“Deal with what?”

“Dominic’s mom was picked up in Athens on a
DUI. And she said she’d been coming from Macon.”

Her face went pale, and she sat down on the
edge of the bed. “She’s been in town. I didn’t know her well. I’d
only seen her a few times, but I know I saw her.”

“You didn’t mention that.”

“I didn’t think about it. I thought I was
being paranoid.” She rubbed her forehead as if to ward off the
stress. “It didn’t look like her, well, not the way I’d remembered
her. Besides, it was before all this happened.”

“So why do you think it was her?”

“A gut feeling?”

He wasn’t sure what to do with that.
Suddenly she sounded crazy, but he couldn’t think that either. The
woman
had
been in Macon.

“Your training might just have to wait until
later,” he said as he scooted his chair toward the bedroom door.
“Chelsea, your life is more important than any career choice you’re
making. You only need to work if you need it to be more than just a
mother and wife. And before you go telling me what’s involved in
that job, I already know. I’ve seen my mother work her ass off for
years. Until we know those people are out of your life, I think you
should stay here and only be around others we trust. For your
safety and Lucas’s.”

She covered her mouth with her hand. “I hate
to say you're right. But I think you are.” Chelsea took a few deep
breaths and then stood up. “But for today, I’m your nurse, and
we’re going into town to see how you’re doing and to get our
marriage license. I'll see if your mom has your wallet. And I’ll
call Phillip, and he can meet us at the hospital.”

“Okay,” he said in agreement as he moved out
of the bedroom with her following close behind.

Chapter
Twenty-Two

Going back to the hospital had Russell’s
stomach in a knot. He’d honestly hoped he’d seen the last of that
place.

They quietly rode the elevator to the floor
where the doctor’s office was located. He caught sight of Chelsea
in the mirrored wall. He had to admit she was one damn sexy nurse
in her scrubs and white tennis shoes.

It had surprised him when he’d first seen
her at the hospital, but in hindsight, it shouldn’t have. She’d
always had that caring, comforting side to her. Anyone in need had
a friend in Chelsea.

“How did you meet Dominic?” he asked,
breaking the silence.

“Seriously? You’re bringing that up right
now?”

He shrugged. “I just wondered.”

She watched the numbers climb on the
elevator. “I got that job as a receptionist at a doctor’s office. I
wrote you about that.”

“I remember.”

“He brought his brother in because he’d
broken his arm, and the doctor had been the one on call at the
hospital.”

Russell let out a grunt. “Had he broken his
brother’s arm?”

“Not funny.”

“Wasn’t meant to be.”

The doors opened, and Chelsea pushed him
down the hall to the reception desk and checked him in. The
supervising nurse met her at the desk and asked her to follow her,
to go over a few items.

For the first time since his accident,
Russell was left alone in public, and he felt vulnerable.

Perhaps he should have called Phillip and
had him meet him there. At least it would have been someone to talk
to.

Luckily, Chelsea came for him quickly and
pushed him into a small exam room. He studied her carefully as she
shut the door. Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes rimmed red as
if she’d been crying or on the verge of it.

“Everything okay?” He reached for her, but
she pulled back.

“Fine,” she said just as the doctor opened
the door.

Russell answered all of the doctor’s
questions, and Chelsea gave him all the specifics on his home care,
which he’d checked against the records.

He was impressed with Russell’s mobility.
He’d certainly made the strides they’d been hoping for, and ahead
of schedule.

“I think it’s time to get you situated in a
boot. One you can get around in,” he said as he stood.

“Seriously? I can get out of this
chair?”

The doctor laughed. “I’d keep it around. But
yes. Let’s get you up on some crutches this week. I want you aided,
not putting all your weight on your ankle quite yet.”

“Never thought that would make my day,” he
said smiling and he looked up at his wife, but she was certainly in
another world.

Russell had the long line of staples removed
from his leg, x-rays, and then one of those clunky black boots
fitted on him, but the big groin to ankle bandages were gone. The
sling on his arm had been removed too. He was feeling more human by
the moment. Of course, the moment the catheter came out, he felt
like a man again.

Through every procedure, Chelsea was by his
side, however, her long distant looks and silence told him
something wasn’t right. But they hadn’t had even a moment to
talk.

The nurse made him a follow-up appointment
and told him that they would continue every few days with nurses
visits and physical therapy for a few more weeks.

When he tried to explain that Chelsea would
be there to do that, she hushed him and gathered up his
paperwork.

Phillip was supposed to meet them in the
cafeteria, and Russell was eager to try using the crutches, but
Chelsea thought it was best if she pushed him.

He wasn’t about to argue. Her eyes had gone
dark, and her jaw was tight. He’d been the cause of anger like that
many times. He wasn’t going to poke at the beast. For once, he was
on her good side.

Phillip was sitting in the corner of the
cafeteria. He was in street clothes which made Russell feel bad
that he was meeting them on his time off.

As they got to the table, Phillip stood and
kissed Chelsea on the cheek. “Nice to see you, Mrs. Walker.”

She smiled, but it was held back, and her
eyes were still sad. Phillip must have noticed. He lingered a
glance on her before turning his attention to Russell.

“Still in the chair?”

“Not because I want to be,” he said looking
at his wife, but she was somewhere else. “I’ve got crutches. I’ll
be back to normal soon. Maybe I can get to work on Lydia’s house
now.”

That brought a smile to Phillip’s face.
“It’s cute. Have you seen it?”

Russell laughed. “Just in pictures. You’ve
seen it?”

“I drive by.”

He was sure he did. “She hasn’t invited you
over to sit on the porch and have a beer.”

“Maybe drive by the front porch and she
could throw a beer bottle at me,” he said with a laugh.

Russell reached for Chelsea’s hand. “Do you
want to get something to eat while you’re here? You look a little
out of it.”

She snapped her attention to him. “No. I’m
fine.” She forced a smile on her beautiful lips and sat down next
to him. “What did you want to talk to us about?”

Phillip sat back down. “Fiona Cleary was
picked up on a DUI in Athens on Christmas Eve.”

“Russell told me. She was in Macon,
though?”

He nodded. “Can’t seem to pinpoint her here
as a resident. But yeah, she’s been around.” He looked at Russell.
“She might have been at the bar the night you got in the
fight.”

Russell ran his tongue over his teeth. “She
was there?”

“Surveillance is horrible. No one matches
her exactly, but we all know you can change the way you look in
three weeks.”

“Did you find her prints in the truck?”

Phillip shook his head.

“We located a Wesley Plum from the prints on
the truck. Jake knew him to be a mechanic.”

“How did Jake get involved?”

“I talked to him when I went to look at the
truck. Wesley Plum is a floater. Jake has hired him a time or two
when they’ve gotten behind on jobs. He was last working at a garage
about a mile and a half from Chelsea’s house.”

She leaned her arms on the table. “I never
took that truck out. I never even opened the garage. I didn’t want
it. That’s why I didn’t care that it was stolen.”

Phillip nodded and pulled his phone from his
pocket. He scrolled through the pictures and then he held it up.
“Recognize him?”

Russell looked at the picture, and he felt
the heat of anger rush through his veins. “That’s him. That’s the
son-of-a-bitch who was talking crap at the bar. He’s the one I got
into the fight with.”

“I was afraid of that.”

“Why?”

Phillip put the phone down. “You weren’t the
only fight that night. He was arrested two hours later, at the same
bar, for picking a fight with the bartender. His alibi is solid. He
never left the bar. He’s in the footage the entire time you would
have been hit.”

Chelsea gripped his hand. “But his prints
were in the truck?”

“First, he said he’d been working on it. But
we knew it had been stolen. Finally, he said he stole it from your
garage. It seems he took some tools too,” he added.

Chelsea's shoulders dropped. “How did he
know about the truck? Was he just looking for any open garage?”

“He said he was paid to pick it up.”

“Dominic sent him?”

Phillip crossed his arms in front of him.
“Dominic says he has no idea who the guy is. He said he was hoping
the truck would still be around to give it to his brother. Though
he mentioned, he always figured you’d sell it.”

“So this guy was working with someone. Who
was he with at the bar?”

“We have his shoving match with Russell on
video. There’s a woman that stepped in between them.”

Russell nodded. “Yeah. She’d lived a hard
life. I remember looking at her and thinking that.”

“She never faces the camera. Swoops in and
pulls you two apart.”

“You don’t know who she is?” Russell
asked.

“The bartender said she’d never seen her.
She wasn’t a local.”

Russell winced. “So we’re nowhere?”

Phillip shrugged. “I know who stole the
pickup in the first place, and he’s in custody. The Cleary boys are
both in custody or holding where they’re supposed to be on parole.
And mom is in Athens.”

“Still?”

“She made bond, but they sent her to
detox.”

“What about the break in at Chelsea’s house?
Did Wesley break in there too?”

“He hasn’t admitted to it.”

“So we still have a break in and a hit and
run.”

Phillip nodded. “I’m not just going to let
this go cold, Russ.”

“I know. But what about Chelsea? She’s going
to need to finish her schooling. I can’t keep her at the house
forever.”

She lifted her head and the stare bore
through him. “Don’t worry about my schooling. I’ve been asked to
leave the program.”

“What?” The word came from both men.

Russell reached for her. “What are you
talking about?”

“That’s what they told me earlier, when I
went to talk to the supervising nurse. They feel that in my
position, where I needed to leave my rotations for my own security,
I’m a danger to those I care for. Also, it was unorthodox to ask
for special privileges. And then, to have married one of my
patients was not professional.”

Russell’s breath came faster, and his pulse
had ramped. He pursed his lips together and exchanged looks with
Phillip, who showed equal signs of anger.

“Chels, this is crap. They can’t do that to
you.”

“Yes, they can. And they did. They’ve also
had someone who lodged a complaint.”

“Who would have complained?”

“I don’t know. That’s classified
information,” she said, and then the tears began to roll down her
cheeks.

“C’mon,” he said pulling her to him. “You
have a million opportunities now. Door shut—window open.”

“Right. Something else will come along.”

“Sweetheart, you have me. For all I care you
can be a full-time mother to your son.”

Her eyes lifted. “Our son.”

The very thought made him smile. “That’s
right. Our son. And we’re not stopping there you know. More kids.
Full house. That’s enough work for you right there, and it’s the
most honorable career imaginable.”