Luke by CP Smith

Author:CP Smith [Smith, CP]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: CP Smith
Published: 2017-12-03T16:00:00+00:00

We arrived at Mercy Hospital as the snow began to fall again. The quiet surrounding us as Luke reached out his hand for mine didn’t match my beating heart. The mixture of emotions I was feeling left my head spinning. I was worried about my brother, terrified he wouldn’t survive. Yet, at the same time, I was hopeful that what was happening between Luke and I was the beginning of something real. I also felt guilt about my brother’s condition, and ashamed that a part of me was excited about Luke, while his life hung in the balance.

My breath caught as I slid my hand into Luke’s and his fingers curled around mine. There was so much strength in his touch; it was addictive and comforting. A woman could easily relinquish control to a man as strong as Luke if she wasn’t careful.

The halls were quiet as we made our way to the bank of elevators; the sound of my boots echoing down the deserted hall reminded me of a prisoner being led to their execution. When the elevator opened, I sucked in a breath and then let it out slowly, trying to ease my worries before I came apart at the seams.

Gregg will be all right, I kept repeating in a mantra. He is too full of life to die.

The moment the doors closed, shielding us from the world, Luke turned me into his body and locked his arms around me. “Shhh.” He mumbled, “It’ll be okay.”

My brows pulled together and I looked up at him. His face was blurry, so I blinked. Wetness coated my face with slow droplets of tears. I’d been crying and hadn’t realized it.

“What if he dies?” I asked in a small voice, feeling like a child lost to an uncertain world. The very notion that Gregg might die left me paralyzed with fear.

“Don’t go there,” he soothed calmly. “Worrying never changes the outcome, and you’ll make yourself sick.”

The elevator doors opened to the ICU, but I didn’t move. “Are you leaving now?” I prayed desperately he’d say no. I knew it was selfish to ask him to stay, but I needed his strength to get through the next twenty-four hours.

Luke’s face registered shock at my question. “I’m not going anywhere,” he vowed. “I called in a favor, so my friend’s business is covered. I’m here as long as you need me.” I buried my face into his chest to keep from crying with relief.

Someone cleared their throat as we stood there, so I turned my head. Darryl was holding the doors open. He was a big man with sandy brown hair and olive-green eyes. He played keyboards for The Wranglers when he wasn’t playing bouncer, which was almost nightly, since their music attracted rough and tough cowboys looking to unwind.

He barely had a scratch on him, which amazed me. Then I remembered how many times I’d read accounts of accidents where one person died and the other walked away without a single injury.

His eyes narrowed on Luke as I broke from his embrace.

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