Something Beautiful (Beautiful #3) Read online

  I’d rolled down the window, and I was resting my chin on my hand, letting the air blow against my face. I closed my eyes, imagining the look on Shepley’s face when I walked through the door.

  “Landers said he was pretty beat up. You should prepare yourself for that,” Reyes said.

  “He’s okay. That’s all I care about.”

  “Just don’t want you to be upset.”

  “Why?” I turned to him. “I thought you were the badass trooper with no emotions.”

  “I am,” he said, squirming in his seat. “Doesn’t mean I want to see you cry again.”

  “Doesn’t your wife cry?”

  “No,” he said without hesitation.

  “Ever?”

  “I don’t give her a reason to.”

  I sat back in my seat. “I bet she cries. She probably just doesn’t show it. Everybody cries.”

  “I’ve never seen her cry. She laughed a lot when Maya was born.”

  I smiled. “Maya. That’s cute.”

  Huge drops of rain began to spatter on the windshield, prompting Reyes to switch on the wipers. The back and forth and drag across the glass began a cadence that echoed every beat of my heart.

  One corner of his mouth turned up. “She is cute. Head full of black hair. She came out, looking like she was wearing a toupee. She was bright yellow the first week. I thought she just had a naturally great tan … like me.” He smirked. “But it turned out to be jaundice. We took her to the doctor and then the lab. They stabbed her heel with a needle and squeezed her foot for a blood sample. Alexandra didn’t shed a tear. I cried as much as Maya did. You think I’m tough? You haven’t met my wife.”

  “Your wedding day?”

  “Nope.”

  “When she found out she was pregnant?”

  “Nope.”

  I thought about it for a while. “Not even happy tears?”

  He shook his head.

  “What about the women you pull over? Do you let them go if they tear up?”

  “It makes me uncomfortable,” he said simply. “I don’t like it.”

  “Good thing you married a woman who doesn’t cry.”

  “Lucky. Very, very lucky. She’s not overly emotional.”

  “Doesn’t sound like she’s emotional at all,” I teased.

  “You’re not far off.” He laughed once. “I wasn’t sure she even liked me at first. It took me two years and a lot of hours at the gym to even get up the nerve to ask her out. I didn’t think I could love anyone more than I loved Alexandra until a few weeks ago.”

  “When Maya was born?”

  He nodded.

  I smiled. “I was wrong. You’re not a jerk.”

  A shrill tone came over the radio, and the dispatcher began rattling off a weather report.

  “Another tornado?” I asked.

  Then the sirens began to wail.

  “The National Weather Service is reporting a tornado on the ground within Emporia city limits,” the dispatcher said in a monotone voice. “All units be advised, a tornado is on the ground.”

  “How is she so calm?” I asked, looking up at the sky.

  Dark clouds were swirling above us.

  Reyes slowed, looking up. “That’s Delores. It’s her job to be calm, but also, nothing rattles that woman. She’s been doing this since before I was born.”

  Delores’s voice came over the radio again. “All units be advised, a tornado is on the ground, traveling north, northeast. Current location is Prairie Street and South Avenue.”

  Delores continued to repeat the report while Reyes’s eyebrows pulled together, and he began frantically searching the sky.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  “We’re a block north of that location.”

  Shepley

  The wind blew in clusters of rain, soaking the tile and toppling chairs. Several men with hospital badges rushed over with a large piece of plywood, hammers, and nails, and then they got to work covering the broken glass. A few more swept up the glistening pieces of glass that had scattered onto the floor.

  Chief stood and started to walk over to where the maintenance men worked. Just as he began to chat with one of the men, he glanced out the window. Then he turned on his heels and yelled, “Everybody, move!”

  He grabbed a woman and leaped just as a compact car punched through the plywood and the remaining windows, coming to a halt on its side in the middle of the waiting room.

  After a few seconds of stunned silence, wailing and yelling filled the room. Brandi turned the children she’d been holding over to me, and she ran over to the car, checking the workers and some patients who had been mowed down.

  She held her palm on the forehead of a man, blood gushing down his face. “I need a stretcher!”

  Chief stirred and then looked up at me with confused eyes.

  “You all right?” I asked, hugging the children around me.

  He nodded and then helped up the woman he’d pushed out of the way.

  “Thank you,” she said, looking around in a daze.

  Chief peeked out the hole in the wall that the car had created. “It’s passed.”

  He took a step toward the broken bodies around the car but paused when his radio came on.

  A deep voice broke through as a man spoke, “Two-nineteen to Base G.”

  “Base G. Go ahead,” the dispatcher spoke back.

  Chief turned up his radio. He could hear the disguised panic in the officer’s voice.

  “Officer down at Highway Fifty and Sherman. My cruiser has been overturned. Multiple fatalities and injuries in this area, including me. Requesting ten-forty-nine to this location. Over,” he said, grunting the last word.

  “How badly are you injured, Reyes?” the dispatcher said.

  Chief glanced up at me. “I have to go.”

  “Not sure,” the officer said. “I was bringing a young woman to the hospital. She’s unconscious. I think her leg is trapped. We’re going to need some hardware. Over.”

  “Copy that, two-nineteen.”

  “Delores?” Reyes said. “Her boyfriend was reported to be at Newman Regional with the fire chief. Can you radio the hospital to notify?”

  “Ten-four, Reyes. You hang in there. We have units on the way.”

  I gripped Chief’s arm. “That’s her. America is with that cop.”

  “Base G is the Turnpike Highway Patrol. She’s with a state trooper.”

  “It doesn’t matter who she’s with. He’s hurt, and she’s stuck in there. He can’t help her.”

  Chief turned away from me, but I tightened my grip on his arm.

  “Please,” I said. “Take me there.”

  Chief made a face, already against the idea. “By the sounds of it, they’re going to have to cut her out of the cruiser. That could take hours. She’s unconscious. She won’t even know you’re there, and you’ll probably just get in the way.”

  I swallowed and looked around as I thought. Chief pulled his keys out of his pocket.

  “Just …” I sighed. “You don’t have to take me. Just tell me where it is, and I’ll walk.”

  “You’ll walk?” Chief said in disbelief. “It’s dark. No electricity means no streetlights. No moon because of the clouds.”

  “I have to do something!” I yelled.

  “I’m the fire chief. There’s an officer down. I’m going to oversee the extraction and—”

  “I’m begging you,” I said, too tired to fight. “I can’t stay here. She’s unconscious, she might be hurt, and she’ll be scared when she wakes up. I have to be there.”

  Chief thought about it for a few seconds and then sighed. “All right. But stay out of the goddamn way.”

  I nodded once, following when he turned for the parking lot. It was still raining, making me worry about her even more. What if the car was overturned in a drainage ditch, like the Charger? What if she was under water?

  Chief turned on the lights and sirens as he navigated the SUV out of the hospital
parking lot. Downed electrical lines and branches were everywhere, as were beaten vehicles of all shapes and sizes. Even a boat was lying on its side in the middle of the street. Families were making their way to the hospital on foot, and city workers were in high gear, trying to remove the debris to the entrance road of the hospital.

  “Dear God,” Chief whispered, staring at our surroundings in awe. “Hit twice in the same day. Who would have ever thought?”

  “Not me,” I said. “I’m looking right at it, and I still don’t believe it.”

  Chief turned south, heading toward Reyes and America.

  “How far is it—where Reyes said they were?”

  “Six blocks maybe. I’m not sure if we’ll be the first ones on the scene or not, but—”

  “We’re not,” I said, already seeing the flashing lights.

  Chief drove a few more blocks and then pulled to the side of the road. First responders were already blocking the road, and firefighters were crowding the overturned cruiser.

  I ran over to the vehicle. I was stopped at first until Chief gave the word. I fell on my knees, next to a paramedic beside the cruiser. Surrounded by debris, the vehicle was mashed in spots, every window shattered.

  “Mare?” I cried, pressing my face against the wet dirt.

  Half of the car was still in the street, and the other half—America’s side—had settled on the grass.

  Blonde waves snaked out of the small opening that was once the passenger window. The long tendrils were soaked with rain, pink in a small section.

  My breath caught, and I looked over my shoulder to the paramedic. “She’s bleeding!”

  “We’re working on it. You’re going to have to move in a second, so I can start her a line.”

  I nodded. “Mare?” I said again, reaching in.

  I wasn’t sure what I was touching, but I could feel her soft skin. She was still warm.

  “Be careful!” the medic said.

  “America? Can you hear me? It’s Shep. I’m here.”

  “Shepley?” a small voice called from the vehicle.

  The paramedic pushed me out of the way. “She’s awake!” he yelled to his partner.

  The activity of emergency personnel around the car increased.

  “Shepley?” America called, this time louder.

  An officer picked me up off the ground and held me back.

  “I’m here!” I called.

  A small hand reached out into the rain, and I fell on my knees, crawling toward her.

  I grabbed her hand before anyone could stop me. “I’m here, baby. I’m right here.” I kissed her hand, feeling something sharp on my lips.

  On her ring finger was the diamond I had planned to propose to her with—again—this weekend at her parents’ house.

  My bottom lip trembled, and I kissed her fingers again. “Stay awake, Mare. They’re going to get you out of there soon.”

  I lay on the ground, holding her hand, for a few minutes until a firefighter brought over a hydraulic tool to pry open the door. The officer pulled me out of the way, and America reached for me with her fingers again.

  “Shepley?” she cried.

  “He’s going to stand back a bit while we get you out of there, okay? Sit tight, ma’am.”

  The same officer from before patted my shoulder. It was then that I noticed he had bandages on his head.

  “You’re Reyes?” I asked.

  “I’m sorry, sir. I tried to get us out of the way. It was too late.”

  I nodded once.

  Chief approached. “You should let me take you to the hospital, Reyes.”

  “Not until she’s out,” he said, staring at the firefighters positing the tool.

  With a single handle, the firefighter positioned two metal pincers near the door. The high-pitched whine of the hydraulics melded with the loud drone of the fire trucks.

  America cried out, and I lunged toward the cruiser.

  Reyes held on to me. “Stand back, Shepley,” he said. “They’ll get her out faster if you stay out of the way.”

  My jaw clenched tight. “I’m right here!” I called.

  The sun had set, and floodlights had been positioned all around the cruiser. Covered bodies were lying in a line along the sidewalk, barely one hundred yards away. It was almost impossible to stand there and wait for someone else to help America, but there was nothing I could do but let her know that I was still close. Waiting for them to free her was the only option.

  I covered my mouth with my hand, feeling tears burning my eyes. “How long?” I asked.

  “Just a few minutes,” Chief said. “Maybe less.”

  I watched them cut and pry the door off the cruiser, and then they worked to free her leg. She cried out again. Reyes’s grip on my arm grew tighter.

  “She is a firecracker,” he said. “She wouldn’t take no for an answer. Insisted on riding with me, hoping she would find you.”

  Chief laughed once. “I know someone like that.”

  The paramedic reached in with a neck collar, and once he stabilized her neck, he pulled her out, inch by inch. Once I saw her face and her beautiful big eyes looking around in shock and awe, the tears fell.

  I stood a few feet away while they stabilized her on the stretcher, and then I was finally allowed to hold her hand again.

  “She’s going to be okay,” the paramedic said. “She’s got a small cut on the crown of her head. Her left ankle is likely broken. That’s the worst of it.”

  I looked down at America and kissed her cheek, feeling relief wash over me. “You found the ring.”

  She smiled, a tear falling from the corner of her eye and down her temple. “I found the ring.”

  I swallowed. “I know it’s a traumatic situation. I know that you hate that Abby asked Travis after the fire, but—”

  “Yes,” America said without hesitation. “If you’re asking me to marry you, yes.” She sucked in a breath, tears streaming from her eyes.

  “I’m asking you to marry me,” I choked out before kissing the ring on her finger.

  Once the paramedics loaded America’s stretcher into the ambulance, I followed Reyes into the back with her. She winced when we went over bumps, but she never let go of my hand.

  “I can’t believe you’re here,” she said softly. “I can’t believe you’re okay.”

  “I never stay lost for long. I can always find my way back to you.”

  America breathed out a small laugh and closed her eyes, letting herself relax.

  America

  “It’s beautiful,” I said, looking around Travis and Abby’s new home. “Did you say four bedrooms?”

  Abby nodded. “Two downstairs, two up.”

  I lifted my chin, looking up the stairs. They were lined by white wooden spindles and covered by newly laid taupe carpet. The wood floors were sparkling, and the new furniture, rugs, and décor had been placed perfectly.

  “It looks like it’s straight from Better Homes and Gardens magazine,” I said, shaking my head in awe.

  Abby looked around with a smile, sighing and nodding. “We’ve been saving for a long time. I wanted it to be perfect. So did Trav.”

  I twirled my wedding ring around my finger. “It is. You look tired.”

  “Unpacking and organizing will do that to you,” she said, walking into the living room.

  She sat on the ottoman, and I sat on the sofa. It was the second thing Travis had purchased since he’d met Abby.

  “He’s going to love it when he gets home,” I said. “They should be here soon.”

  She looked at her watch, absently twisting a long caramel strand. “Any minute actually. Remind me to thank Shepley for picking him up from the airport. I know he doesn’t like to leave you alone these days.”

  I looked down, running my palm over my round belly. “You know he’d do anything for you and Travis.”

  Abby rested her chin on her fist and shook her head. “It’s hard to believe yours will be Jim’s fourth grandbaby. Ol
ive, Hollis, Hadley, and now …”

  “Still not telling,” I said with a smile.

  “C’mon! It’s killing me not to know! Just tell me the gender.”

  I shook my head, and Abby laughed, only half-frustrated with my secret.

  “It’s still our secret—at least for three more weeks.”

  Abby grew quiet. “Are you afraid?”

  I shook my head. “Looking forward to not being a waddling puffy incubator, to be honest.”

  Abby tilted her head, sympathetic. She reached over to the end table to straighten a frame that held a black-and-white photo from their vow renewal in St. Thomas.

  I touched my belly, pressing in on whatever baby part was stretching against my ribs. “In about six months, you’re going to have to move your breakables to higher ground.”

  Abby grinned. “Looking forward to it.”

  The front door opened, and Travis yelled across the foyer, his voice carrying easily into the living room, “I’m home, Pigeon!”

  “I’ll let you guys catch up,” I said, positioning myself to scoot off the sofa.

  “No, stay,” Abby said, standing.

  “But … he’s been gone for ten days,” I said, watching her saunter across the room to meet Travis in the wide doorway.

  “Hi, baby,” Travis said, slipping both arms around his wife. He pressed his lips against hers, breathing her in through his nose.

  Shepley sat on the sofa next to me, kissing me and then my belly. “Daddy’s here,” he said.

  The baby shifted, and I sat up, trying to allow for more space.

  “Somebody missed you,” I said, running my fingers over Shepley’s hair.

  “How are you feeling?” he asked.

  “Good,” I said, nodding.

  He frowned. “I’m getting impatient.”

  I arched an eyebrow. “You are?”

  He laughed once and then looked up at his cousin.

  “Where you goin’?” Travis asked, watching Abby leave for the kitchen. She came back with two helium balloons on a string and a shoebox. He chuckled, confused, and then read the top of the box. “Welcome home, Daddy.”

  “Oh my God!” I screamed before covering my mouth.

  Holding the box, Travis looked at me, then Shepley, and then back at Abby. “It’s cute. Is it for Shep?”

  Abby slowly shook her head.