Cinderella's Sweet-Talking Marine by Cathie Linz

Author:Cathie Linz
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2013-11-05T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

“Are you sure?” Ben cupped the back of her head with his big hand.

Ellie nodded.

“You won’t regret it, I promise.” Ben’s gentle hug was one of tender reassurance. “You’re making the right decision.”

Ellie couldn’t speak. Emotion clogged her throat.

Yes, she was tough, and yes she was independent, but surely it wasn’t a crime to lean on someone else for a change?

She closed her eyes for a second and tried to regroup her strength.

As she did so, she vaguely heard Ben informing the nurse that he’d be responsible for any financial costs incurred. Then he gently led her to a quiet corner of the waiting room.

Ellie leapt to her feet as the doctor rejoined them shortly thereafter.

“Amy is doing better,” he said. “You can go see her now.” It had only been a few minutes, but Ellie felt as if a lifetime had gone by since she’d held her little girl in her arms.

“You go ahead, I’ll be waiting right here for you,” Ben said.

“Would your name be Ben?” Dr. Roberts asked. “If so, I think it would do Amy good to see you as well. She was trying to say your name.”

“What happened?” Ben asked the doctor as he led them through the mazelike hallways in the E.R. to an examining room.

“This attack was triggered by the congestion of a bad cold. Asthma affects the airways, the tubes through which the air you breathe travels to the air sacs where your blood is oxygenated. Smooth muscles surround those airways and when Amy has an asthma attack, those muscles constrict or spasm, squeezing from the outside. These are involuntary muscles, so it’s not a matter of telling someone with asthma to calm down or relax. Medication is required to stop the spasms and free the airways again. Here we are.”

Ben saw the little girl, looking so small and frail in the hospital bed, hooked up to an IV and other machines, and his heart just about cracked in two. How had Ellie managed to handle all this on her own?

He felt reassured by the fact that the doctor said Amy would be fine, and the realization that Ellie and Amy wouldn’t be on their own any longer. From now on, he’d be looking after them. Whatever it took, he’d do.

Because this woman and her young daughter had marched into his very soul and become a part of him.

“Hey, big brother, remember that favor you owe me?” Ben was on his cell phone. Several days had passed since Ellie had agreed to be his wife. It was time to tell his family.

“No,” Striker replied.

“I’m getting married.”

“Say that again? We must have one of those static-filled connections because, this is funny, I could have sworn I just heard you say that you’re getting married.”

“That’s right. That’s what I said.”

“I see.” Striker had always had the uncanny ability to stay calm in almost any situation, which was one of the things that had served him so well during his time as a Force Recon Marine.

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