Aimee (A Time for Love Book 3) Page 16

  The officer moved the coat and examined Frank’s leg. “Are you aware that we’re under orders to move out at dawn?”

  Frank shook his head. “No, sir. I haven’t talked to anyone in my unit in hours.”

  The man finished his examination. “And you know this man?” He nodded towards Lucas.

  “Yes, sir. He’s my best friend. Lucas Burke. Dr. Lucas Burke,” he corrected himself. “He took care of my wound.”

  The man rose, and his stern expression relaxed slightly. “Very well, doctor,” he said to Lucas. “Since Corporal Elkins confirms your identity, I will assume you are attempting to provide aid. However, he needs to go to a field hospital. Come with me, and we’ll get a stretcher. Nurse, stay with this soldier until we return.”

  Lucas gave Aimee a helpless look and followed the officer, leaving her behind.

  Just what she wanted. Another wait. She settled Frank’s head on her lap and snuggled as close to him as she could, for reassurance and for warmth. He closed his eyes, and Aimee made herself as comfortable as possible. Her legs soon went to sleep under Frank’s weight, and to take her mind off her situation, she looked around her.

  A battlefield. She was actually on a battlefield. The thought was still too incredible to process. She would no doubt have nightmares later, but for now, it all still felt hazy and unreal. Clouds covered most of the sky, but an occasional break revealed more stars than she’d ever known existed. She was truly in a different world, in the French countryside, with no electric lights and no interstate traffic.

  And no way back, if she didn’t manage to reach the access point. How could she keep Frank away from the soldiers who would follow Lucas back? Worse, what if Lucas didn’t return? She nudged Frank.

  “I know your leg’s hurting, but can you move?”

  Frank opened his eyes and propped himself up on one arm. “Maybe.”

  “We need to get to that flag.” Aimee pointed towards the pole with the handkerchief.

  “Why?”

  The question momentarily stymied her. His eyes, always so direct and honest, now held suspicion. Apparently he didn’t remember her or A Time for Love, and now did not seem the time for complicated explanations.

  She finally settled for, “Lucas—Dr. Burke—said so.”

  He nodded, and she helped him struggle to his feet. He tried to support his own weight, but with the first step he took, his leg buckled, and he swayed against her. She attempted to move forward, but his weight was too much, and she eased him back to the ground before he fell.

  “Let’s try another way,” he said between clenched teeth.

  Cautiously he tested several positions and finally twisted onto his side with his wounded leg stretched out. He began to drag himself, with excruciating slowness, in the direction Aimee indicated. She decided the best way to help him was to clear the path ahead of him. She pulled out her flashlight, wrapped it in her skirt, and led the way forward, sweeping debris and rocks out of their way.

  They had paused for the latest of their frequent rest breaks when Aimee heard sounds. She held her breath until she could see Lucas holding one corner of the stretcher. The officer they’d met walked beside Lucas and the three other litter-bearers.

  Aimee had been thinking. She and Frank were close to the marker now, but the men would load Frank on the stretcher and take him away. She couldn’t let that happen. She would do whatever was needed to ensure Frank made it back to A Time for Love.

  As the men approached, the officer suddenly realized Aimee and Frank were not at the spot where he’d left them. He strode forward. “Nurse! What are you doing, moving an injured soldier?”

  The officer stopped beside Aimee, and even in the dim night, she could see the contempt on his face. Time for her act.

  “I’m sorry, sir, but I saw something. In the woods. A shadow.” She made sure the litter bearers were watching before she screamed and pointed. “There it is! It’s moving!”

  “Could be a German!” one of the litter bearers said.

  They dropped the litter and ran towards the woods. Lucas started to follow but turned to look at her. She hoped he could see her shake her head. The officer didn’t go with the men, as she’d hoped. Instead, he stared at her in suspicion.

  “If there’s something in the woods, why are you taking this man towards the woods?” he demanded.

  Aimee froze. She should’ve considered that point, and her mind was blank. At that moment, Frank moaned. Whether it was by chance or in an effort to help her, Aimee didn’t know, but she seized the moment to avoid the officer’s question and kneel down to check on Frank’s wound.

  “Doctor, could you take a look?” she called to Lucas.

  When Lucas crouched beside her, she whispered, “Get Frank through. I’ll distract the officer and then follow.”

  “No,” Lucas whispered back. “Too dangerous.”

  She put a hand on his arm. She’d followed his lead the whole time, and now he needed to listen to her. “Just do it. Please. We have to get Frank back.”

  He hesitated and then nodded. The officer was watching them, and Aimee straightened up, taking care to position herself between him and Frank. When the officer moved towards Frank, she stepped in front of him and grabbed his arm.

  “I’m so scared,” she said, which was true enough. “What do you think is out there?”

  “I wouldn’t know, ma’am.” He tried to shrug off her hand.

  She refused to let go. “Do you have any water? I’m afraid I’m feeling a bit faint.”

  He eyed her with disgust as if she’d just confirmed every fear he had about women on the battlefield, but he held out a canteen. “Here.”

  She reached for it, swayed, and fell against him, throwing him off-balance. She gave him a violent push backwards and spun to see Lucas, with almost super-human strength, hauling Frank towards the flag. She ran after them. The officer recovered quickly and grabbed for her. It was only a few steps, but the ground stretched like a mile. Aimee saw a line of bright light. Lucas shoved Frank forward and turned back to check on Aimee. She was right behind him, but the officer seized her arm.

  “Go!” she said, but Lucas leaned forward to clasp her other arm.

  For a moment, she was caught in a tug-of-war. One pull, and she would be stuck in the past forever. She kicked behind her and heard a yelp from the officer. Then the bright light blinded her. She lost her balance and pitched forward into empty space.

  Chapter 19

  Voices jumbled together in her head: a sharp male one, barking orders; a soothing female one; another male one, calm and professional. Aimee felt herself being lifted and then deposited on a soft surface. She kept her eyes closed while she tried to figure out where she was.

  Then the thought of Frank struck her. What had happened? Was he all right? She sprang up, only to drop back against sofa cushions as her head swam. She was in the lounge at A Time for Love, and she could see Edwina and two EMTs bent over a form on a roll-away stretcher in the hallway.

  “Frank?” she called out.

  Immediately, Tish appeared beside her. “Aimee! How are you feeling?”

  “Okay. Dizzy,” she admitted as she steadied herself on the sofa where someone had laid her. “Where are Frank and Lucas? Are they okay?”

  “Edwina called an ambulance. They’re taking Frank to the hospital.” Tish held out an arm to keep Aimee from standing up. “He needs attention for the wound on his leg, and Lucas is going with him.”

  “I’m going too.”

  “Not yet. One of the paramedics will check you out next.”

  “I’m fine.”

  “I don’t think ‘fine’ is the right word,” Tish corrected. She sat beside Aimee and began examining her face. “You’re bleeding, and Lucas thinks you could be in shock.”

  “I’m bleeding?”

  Tish called to someone, and moments later, a man dressed in a white starched shirt had a blood pressure cuff on Aimee’s left arm and was shining a light in her
eyes. He examined a gash on her arm that she didn’t even remember getting and advised Tish, “We should probably take her to the ER to get her thoroughly checked out.”

  Aimee shook her head. “No. I’m fine. I just want to see Frank.”

  “You’ll be closer to him if you go to the hospital,” Tish pointed out.

  “Can you drive me?”

  After the ambulance left with Frank, Tish took Aimee to the hospital, where she was given a complete checkup. She had no idea what Edwina had told the staff about her and Frank’s injuries, but no one asked her about what had happened. The attending doctor examined Aimee and treated the cut, which didn’t even require stitches. When he finished, Aimee hurried to the waiting room to find Tish.

  “Where’s Frank? I want to see him!”

  Tish looked up from her phone. “He’s still in surgery. A doctor from the Trauma Center is removing the bullet from his leg. Lucas is with him. Edwina says for you to go home and rest. She’ll call you when there’s an update.”

  Aimee shook her head. “I’m not leaving.”

  Tish stood up and steered Aimee to a vacant spot in the waiting area of the emergency room. “You don’t have to rest. I understand if you can’t sleep while you’re worried about Frank. But I think you should go home to freshen up.”

  She gestured at Aimee’s clothes, and Aimee glanced down. She had forgotten she was wearing a long blue dress with a white apron over it, so that she’d pass for a World War I nurse. The apron and dress were stained with dirt and blood. Somewhere she’d lost the nurse’s cap Lucas had given her, and her hair had escaped its knot and lay in tangles around her face, which was no doubt also dirty. Aimee could only imagine how Edwina had explained her appearances to the paramedics, and when she glanced around, she realized several patients were staring at her. She looked like a madwoman. No one would let her in to see Frank.

  “Okay, I’ll go home, just long enough for a shower and change of clothes. But my car’s still at A Time for Love. I think,” she added uncertainly.

  “I’ll drive you.”

  When they stepped outside, the bright morning light dazzled Aimee, and she wondered what day it was. Her mind felt cloudy, probably from lack of sleep as much as from all that had happened. She relaxed in the passenger seat as Tish whisked her home. When they reached Aimee’s door, she looked around vaguely.

  “I don’t know where my purse is.”

  “I have it.”

  As Tish produced Aimee’s keys and unlocked the door, a voice called out, “Who’s there?”

  Aimee was too startled to respond, but Tish answered, “It’s Tish and Aimee.”

  Mandy, Aimee’s disappearing roommate, emerged from the hallway and set down the broom she was holding.

  “A broom? Really?” Tish laughed. “What were you going to do, sweep us away?”

  “I didn’t have anything else.” Mandy, dressed in a satin robe and fluffy slippers, peered at Aimee. “Is she all right?”

  “She’s fine. Just a little dirty from a minor World War I battle.”

  Mandy closed the door after Aimee and Tish. “Oh, one of those battle reenactment groups?”

  “Something like that,” Tish evaded. “She just needs a hot shower and a cup of tea. Would you mind starting the tea?”

  “Sure.” Mandy laid the broom aside. “Is there, like, a tea maker or something?”

  “Never mind,” Tish sighed. “I’ll do it.”

  A hot shower made Aimee feel like she might be human after all. Her arms and legs were sore, she had assorted scrapes and bruises over her body, and her hair was in need of serious conditioning. When she emerged in fresh jeans and top, Mandy had left, and Tish was waiting in the kitchen with two steaming cups of herbal teas and a couple of muffins.

  “I see you found the tea maker,” Aimee joked. Then she turned serious. “Any word from Frank?”

  “Lucas says he’s out of surgery and in recovery. He should be moved to a room soon.”

  “I want to go back to the hospital.”

  “Of course.”

  Aimee finished the heavily sweetened tea Tish had made for her, and the two women headed back to the hospital. Tish texted Lucas, and he came to the lobby to meet them. He’d also found time to shower and change, although he looked exhausted. He hugged Tish and then Aimee and led them to a visitors’ lounge on the second floor.

  “The doctor said the surgery was a success,” he told them both. “Frank’s responsive, and he’s being moved to a room. His nurse will let us know when we can see him.”

  “That’s wonderful!” Aimee sank back in her chair. She hadn’t realized how tense she’d been until that moment. “And his leg? Was it badly damaged?”

  “Minor tissue and muscle damage. He may need physical therapy, but he should mobile again soon, if that’s what you’re asking.” Lucas smiled. “All thanks to the first-aid he received. You were a great help, Aimee. Tish tells me you’re looking for a new job. Are you sure you don’t want to go into medicine?”

  Aimee shuddered. “No, thanks. The kitchen’s the only place in a hospital I want to be, and not even there, if my new business works out.”

  She hadn’t even thought about her business during the hours she’d spent trying to save Frank, and she wasn’t ready to return to spreadsheets and marketing strategies. She’d think about them later, after she’d seen Frank.

  “I want to thank both of you,” she told Tish and Lucas. “Tish, thanks for letting Lucas go with me. It was more dangerous than I realized, and if anything had happened to him, you would’ve had every right to hate me.”

  “Frank’s his best friend,” Tish said with a shrug. “He would’ve gone whether I approved or not. Even though he promised me no more trips back in time!” She swatted him playfully on the arm.

  “And Lucas, thank you for going with me. I wouldn’t have made it back without you, and you saved Frank’s life.”

  “We both did,” he reminded her.

  “But mostly you. I owe you, both of you,” she said.

  “You can pay us back by cooking us a wonderful dinner after Frank’s better,” Tish said. “We’ll make it a double date.”

  “Maybe,” Aimee said with a slight frown.

  “Or we could go out,” Lucas said hastily.

  “It’s not the meal.” In the chaos of her trip back in time, Aimee had almost forgotten one of her biggest fears. “I don’t know if Frank and I will be together. He doesn’t remember me.”

  Tish and Lucas exchanged glances. “He may when he wakes up,” Lucas said slowly. “I’m not really sure how this part works. I recognized Tish. It was quite the surprise when she showed up in my mother’s kitchen! But I had always intended to come back.”

  “Dana said Benjamin didn’t recognize her,” Tish said. “Just another question I’d really like to ask Edwina. Anyway, he’ll probably recognized you when he wakes up.”

  “What if he doesn’t?” Aimee asked.

  “Then you’ll just have to show him all over again what a fabulous person and perfect match you are,” Tish said with forced cheer.

  The conversation lapsed, and after a while, Aimee slouched against the chair and slipped into a light doze. She bolted upright when a nurse came to the doorway and asked, “Family and friends of Frank Elkins?”

  Aimee jumped to her feet. “Yes?”

  “You can see him now, but please remember, he needs his rest.”

  Suddenly nervous, Aimee hung back and let Lucas take the lead. Frank had left her, and when she found him, he hadn’t recognized her. What would his reaction be now?

  “How’re you doing, buddy?” Lucas asked.

  “Still alive.”

  The words were barely a breath of sound, and Aimee’s heart clenched. She tried to peer around Tish without letting Frank see her.

  “We’re so glad.” Tish leaned over and hugged Frank, careful not to dislodge the IV connected to one arm. “You’re going to be all right.”

  “Thanks to Dr. Lu
cas.”

  “And Aimee.”

  Tish drew her forward, and Aimee could no longer postpone the moment. Frank’s face was pale and bristly, and his features appeared drawn and tired. When he saw her, he didn’t smile, just nodded slightly. “Thank you.”

  Which told her exactly nothing. Did he remember her, or was he thanking her in her role as Lucas’s assistant? The silence grew awkward, and Tish took over. She chatted about the hospital and its annual benefit, which she had helped plan, while Lucas surreptitiously examined Frank to make his own assessment. Aimee watched Lucas, and when his shoulders relaxed, she knew he was satisfied with Frank’s condition.

  By the time Lucas finished his unofficial exam, Frank’s eyes were drooping. They all watched as his head tipped to the side, and he fell asleep.

  “He’ll probably sleep for a few hours, maybe most of the day,” Lucas said. “If you want to go home and rest?”

  Aimee shook her head. “I’m staying here.”

  Tish put her hand on Lucas’s arm. “Then I’m taking this man home for a nap. We’ll come back later. Call us if there’s any change.”

  Aimee promised she would. Lucas helped her pull the reclining chair over beside the bed and found an extra pillow for her. After they left, the room was quiet except for the faint noise of the IV drip. Aimee had stuffed a paperback in her purse while she was home, but she had no desire to read.

  Instead, she watched Frank. Besides the weight he’d lost, the shape of his face seemed to have altered slightly. His jaw was harder, less boyish, and when he’d looked at her earlier, she’d seen none of the sparkle that always lit his eyes. What had happened to him? And she still didn’t know if he even recognized her.

  At least he seemed to be resting comfortably. Her own questions could wait. What mattered now was that he was safe. He’d gotten the medical help he needed, and he was healing. And she’d gone back in time and saved his life, no small accomplishment. In fact, now that she thought about it, she was proud of herself. She’d been scared, but she’d done what she needed to. She’d brought him back. He had to appreciate that, if nothing else. They could talk later, after they both rested. She settled into the chair for a nap of her own.