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Cole gave her a broad smile. “I knew you’d find your inner strength,” he said. “I’m glad to see you’re still as feisty as ever.”
She drew herself up to her full height. “You ain’t seen nothing yet.”
* * *
Frank’s face turned pale, then red, then purple. “Absolutely not,” he shouted. “I will not involve the police. We still have no conclusive evidence to suggest that our patients’ drugs have been tampered with. All we have are theories and gut feelings.”
Cole stood shoulder to shoulder with Deborah in the hospital room where Frank had agreed to give them five minutes of his time.
“I chased away an intruder on Deborah’s property last night,” he said. “We think he somehow managed to get a copy of Deborah’s front door key, but the chain prevented him gaining full access. Now, why do you think someone went to the trouble of cloning Deborah’s door key in order to get into her house?”
Frank was stunned into silence. He looked at Deborah. “I’m sorry to hear about this, Deborah. Do you know how they were able to copy your key?”
“I figure that someone took it from my locker at the hospital and made a copy before I realized it was gone,” she said. A slight tremor shook her body at the thought of a stranger rifling through her belongings, or even worse, someone she knew.
“And have the locks been changed?” Frank asked.
“I did it this morning,” Cole said. “The old key is now useless.”
“But we don’t know that this incident is related to the hospital,” Frank said. “It could just be an opportunist or a random thief.”
“Oh, come on, Frank,” Cole said as his patience wore thin. “You know that Deborah was attacked by a man in the underground parking lot, as well. What else needs to happen before you wake up and smell the coffee? Deborah is the one person in the pediatric unit who’s pushing hard for an investigation into the abnormal amount of kidney failures. The fact that she’s now been targeted in three separate incidents isn’t a coincidence. It’s a campaign to silence her.”
Frank fell quiet for a while, rubbing his hand over his thinning hair. “A run of bad luck doesn’t necessarily add up to a campaign,” he replied. “Although this sounds like a rather far-fetched theory, I’ll consider contacting the police to ask for their advice.”
“Please, Frank,” Deborah said. “We really need your cooperation on this. I don’t want to go against your wishes, but I will make my own complaint if I have to.”
“I said I’ll consider it,” he repeated. “Although it may reassure you to know that we’ve had no more renal cases in the last twenty-four hours, and five of the children who’ve fallen ill are recovering well.”
“But a twelve-year-old boy now requires a transplant, isn’t that right?” Deborah challenged.
Frank nodded his head. “Dr. Cortas has put that boy on the top of the transplant list. As soon as a suitable kidney becomes available, the operation will go ahead.”
Cole decided now was the perfect time to learn more about the medical staff at the unit. “What can you tell me about Dr. Cortas, Frank? He’s new to the hospital, right?”
“That’s correct,” replied Frank. “He came here from Shoreline Medical Center in Chicago just six weeks ago. He’s a gifted and brilliant doctor who is highly regarded by all those who’ve worked with him. We’re very lucky to have him with us.”
“Why did he move from Chicago?” Cole asked. “Was he running from something?”
“As I understand it, Dr. Cortas was simply looking for a new direction rather than escaping a bad one,” Frank said. “His references were excellent.”
“And what about Dr. Warren?” Cole asked. “What is her history?”
“Julie Warren has been at Harborcreek Community Hospital for almost forty years,” Frank said, clearly a little affronted at Cole’s probing. “She’s been a dedicated and loyal doctor throughout her time with us.” He crossed his arms. “If you’re insinuating that our own physicians are responsible for causing the kidney failures of the patients in Pediatrics, you’re barking up the wrong tree.”
“We’re talking about the lives of small children,” Deborah reminded him. “Cole is being thorough.”
“Yes,” he replied, having the decency to at least look shamefaced. He looked Deborah up and down, as if realizing for the first time that she was wearing scrubs. “Are you working your shift today?”
“I am,” she confirmed. “I want to be here helping rather than stuck at home worrying.”
“Well, at least that’s one thing we can agree on,” Frank said, heading to the door to leave. “You’re a good nurse, Deborah, and the hospital always needs your expertise.”
As soon as he was gone, Cole took Deborah by the shoulders and turned her to him. She flinched under his touch and he was reminded of the years that had passed between them.
“Let’s be very guarded today,” he said. “I’ll be here helping with the security upgrades. If we keep our ears to the ground, we might hear something vital. Keep an eye on Dr. Cortas in particular. He looks pretty agitated to me.”
“He did look like a rabbit caught in headlights when we walked in together this morning,” Deborah agreed. “But he must be under an incredible amount of pressure. It’s bound to have an effect.”
“That’s what I love about you, Debs,” he said with a small smile. “You’re always willing to see the goodness in people.”
Cole realized what he had said. “I mean...that’s what I like about you,” he said, feeling the need to backtrack.
Deborah gave a deep sigh. “We may as well get over the fact that this is going to be awkward. You and I have a history that we can’t change. I’m willing to try to put the past behind us for the sake of the kids.”
Cole nodded in agreement. He was glad that she seemed to be softening a little toward him. “I know our history is complicated,” he said. “And I also know that my presence here is hard for you, but I want to try to make things better between us. I want to make amends.”
“Cole,” she said, looking him straight in the eye. “Are you asking for my forgiveness?”
He returned her gaze. “Would you give it to me if I asked for it?”
She didn’t even need to think about it. “Of course. What kind of person would I be if I freely take God’s forgiveness and then withhold it from others?”
He smiled. Her Christian beliefs were obviously still as strong as they had been in high school. It had marked her as different and gotten her teased often, but she’d always accepted the teasing with good humor and invited people to ask questions rather than mock something they didn’t understand. He’d never once seen her lose her temper or become offended, and it was her strength of belief that had drawn him toward God. He only wished he’d had enough faith to appreciate the difference that a good, strong woman can make to a man’s life. Cole could overpower somebody with his bare hands, but he could never understand the kind of quiet power Deborah exuded when she simply sat in silence. Her power went beyond the physical, and it matched his in every way.
“Thank you, Deborah,” he said. “Your forgiveness means a lot.”
“Forgiveness doesn’t erase the past, though,” she continued. “I wish I could just instantly forget how bad I felt when you ended our relationship.” She snapped her fingers to emphasize her point. “But I try not to judge you for it, and I don’t want you to suffer because of it. I want you to be happy.”
“The ironic thing is that I didn’t realize how happy I was with you until I ended things,” he said with a dry smile. “I was too young and stupid to understand that twenty-year-old rookie navy recruits aren’t the best source of relationship advice. By the time I plucked up the courage to beg you to take me back, it was too late.”
She knitted her eyebrows together. “What are you talking about? You never asked me to take you back.”
He dropped his head. He had never intended to tell her these things. It wouldn’t change the way it had turned out. But once he started, he found he couldn’t stop the words from coming.
“Three years after I broke up with you, I came back to Harborcreek with the intention of asking you all over again to marry me. I’d just successfully completed the SEAL training program and I’d grown up a lot during that time.” He took a deep breath, noticing the look of pure astonishment on Deborah’s face. “I went to your folks’ house to find you, but your dad told me you’d recently gotten engaged to a guy called Brad. He told me to leave you alone, and to let you get on with your life. I went back to Virginia and tried to forget you. After another couple of years, I married the wrong woman, and the rest is history.”
Deborah let out a quick breath and stood openmouthed for what seemed like an eternity. “I got engaged to Brad two years after we split up, but I still wasn’t over you. Thankfully, I broke it off before I made the biggest mistake of my life.” She put her hands over her face. “Oh, Cole, if only I’d known you’d come back for me. I had no idea. My dad never mentioned it.”
“He thought he was doing the right thing,” Cole said. “Don’t blame him.”
“I don’t,” she said. “But things could’ve been so much different.”
He put his hand on her shoulder. She didn’t shrink away. “Things are as they’re meant to be,” he said. “That’s what I believe.”
She smiled. It looked forced and unnatural. “You and I were clearly never meant to be,” she said. “Dad probably did me a favor in sending you away. There was too much water under the bridge to go back to what we had.”
He nodded mutely, silently agreeing.
An air of sadness had descended over the room and Deborah shook her mane of hair, snapping herself back to the present. “Let’s leave the past where it belongs,” she said, smoothing down her scrubs. “There are sick children who need us to be vigilant on their behalf. That’s more important than anything else right now.”
He was glad the conversation was over. His chest hurt with the pain of memories. “Keep yourself visible at all times,” he said. “If you feel threatened, call out and I’ll come find you.”
She turned and opened the door. “I hope that won’t be necessary.”
“Will you promise you’ll ask me for help if you need it?”
She waited a second before answering. “Yes.”
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