“Now,” grinned Gabi.
The silence in the room was deafening. Jonas didn’t move from the doorway as he stared at her, then noticed the hand.
“Are you in pain?” he asked.
“Some. I’ll live.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t get there sooner.”
“You didn’t know. I didn’t know.”
“Yeah, about what I said. I’m sorry,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I didn’t mean to imply that you were at fault for this. No one knew he was there, including me, and it wasn’t fair of me to say what I said.”
“Thank you for saying that. Do you want to sit with me for a while?” she asked, filled with hope.
“I-I don’t think I can, Khloe.”
“Jonas, what did I do wrong? I thought we were friends. I thought we were getting to know one another, and then you deserted me on the dance floor. Since then, you’ve avoided me like the plague. Please tell me if I’ve done something.”
He moved two steps forward and stopped again, shaking his head.
“It’s not you. You’ve done nothing wrong, Khloe. I just need to figure out some things on my own, and, well, then we can talk.”
Khloe stared at him a moment, then looked down at her hand again. Maybe this wasn’t the right place for her after all. Maybe she needed to find another clinic, another hospital to make her life. The thought of leaving caused a gaping wound in her abdomen, and she wasn’t sure she would ever be able to stop the bleeding.
“I may or may not be here when you get ready, Jonas. This might not be the job for me after all. I love these people and all they’ve done for me, but that doesn’t mean I have to stay where I’m not wanted.”
“Khloe,” he started.
“I’m tired, Jonas. I’m tired and hurting. Can you close the door when you leave?” She turned her head toward the wall, hoping to hide the tears from him.
It didn’t work. He saw them, he heard her sniffles, and it gutted him. He was causing her pain. More pain than he should.
Turning, he headed toward the door and began to close it. Seeing the glares of a dozen angry men, he stepped back, shut the door, and turned to her.
“I don’t think so.”
“Jonas,” she sniffed, “I know just seeing me is painful to you.”
“You know?”
“I know about your wife and what Archie did. I had no clue it was your wife, Jonas. I’m so, so sorry. I wish I could have changed it.”
“You didn’t do anything, Khloe. You tried to get him to stop drinking. You reported him to the police, and from what I hear, you’ve been running from him.” She stilled, staring up at his handsome face.
“I-I wouldn’t say running. Just artfully avoiding him,” she frowned.
“Khloe,” he said, shaking his head, “that’s the same thing. He’s coming after you because you turned him in, isn’t he?” She let out a slow breath, shrugging her shoulders.
“Honestly, Jonas. I have no idea. That’s as good a guess as any. He claimed that I ruined his life. Me. He was the alcoholic, the person who did this. I did what any person would have done.”
“Not any person,” he said, touching her unbroken hand. At first, he just laid his huge paw over her tiny one. Then he laced his fingers with hers. “I should have told you when you told me what happened on the dance floor at the wedding. I should have had the courage to stay and tell you it was my wife and unborn children.”
“Jonas, it was a horrible thing to relive. I can’t imagine what a shock that was for you. I understand if it’s difficult to look at me.”
“No. No, it’s not difficult to look at you. That’s all I want to do is look at you. It was everything at once, Khloe. Realizing how we were connected, feeling things for you that I hadn’t felt for a woman in ages, seeing how beautiful you looked that night. It was all of it.”
She stared at him, then heard someone in the distance beginning a countdown.
