Mistletoe Rescue (Mistletoe Kisses)

Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

A s they made their slow return trip to Canyondale, Holly remained silent beside Zack. He could only imagine what kinds of thoughts she must be having and probably beating herself up for having remained estranged from her family for so long. And knowing the ex hadn’t made the trip with them probably added to her guilt.

“Holly, what can I do to help?” Zack finally asked as they crawled toward the hospital lights. The snow appeared to be slowing.

“I’m so sorry.” She put a hand on his leg. “I’ve been sitting here having a mental pity party. What if they had died?”

“But they didn’t and now you have a chance to heal things. Do you want to call your brother or wait until you have word about the exact state of their condition?”

“Oh, Jason.” She fumbled in her purse but then hesitated once she had the phone in her hands. “He’s in Florida, so it’s two hours later there. It could be a long time before we have a final diagnosis. Should I let him get some sleep before I call?”

“It probably depends on him. What do you think?”

“I would want to know, even if it meant a sleepless night,” Holly said.

“I would too, but then I’m a spiritual man, and I’d be praying for them.” Zack shrugged. “At the very least, your brother could send positive vibes out to the universe.”

“Good answer.” Holly grinned for the first time since she had received the phone call. “Because that sounds like something Jason would say.” She woke her phone and placed the call.

Zack tried to focus on the road, wondering how the appearance of Holly’s family might change things. Would they push for her to return home? What would it mean for them as a couple if she wanted to live closer to her family?

It usually took a little over five hours to get to Denver from Canyondale, so not a terrible drive, but not always an easy one either, depending on the weather. As evidenced by her parents’ attempt today.

“That went better than I expected,” Holly said, after disconnecting the call. “I promised to let him know as soon as I have more information on their conditions. Oh, Zack, what if they had died, and I hadn’t fixed things with them?”

“You have to stop thinking that. But you may want to consider something before you talk to them,” he said, choosing his words carefully.

“Brett.”

So she had already gotten there. Good. “I keep asking myself how I would feel in your position if they had brought him with them.”

“Right. What if Brett not coming with them is because he and Ivy split up? The last I’d heard before breaking off all contact, they were talking about marriage. It honestly kind of blows my mind. I don’t know how to have a normal family relationship with him between us.” Holly rubbed her temples. “But I still want to make peace. I’m tired of the anger and the bitterness and the hurt.

“You’re in a tough situation, and I wish I could take this pain from you.” Zack eased into a parking space at the hospital.

“I wouldn’t wish this on anyone I cared about.”

He killed the engine and shifted in his seat to face her. “I can only offer you a healthy relationship to push the bad memories away.” Zack took her hand and brought it to his chest. “More than anything in the world, I want to make you happy.”

Tears glistened in her eyes but before she could reply, the ambulance arrived, followed by a sheriff’s vehicle, probably with Holly’s dad.

“They got here fast. That’s good.” Zack opened his door.

He hurried around to help Holly on the slippery walk. Staff had kept the snow from getting too deep, but it was still slick to walk on. They even had a While You Were Sleeping moment where, slipping and sliding, they barely stayed on their feet. If not for the situation, it could have been funny.

Once Zack and Holly stepped into the entry, both gave a sigh of relief. They stomped their feet on the rug, and holding hands, hurried to the front desk.

“My sister and mom are in the ambulance, and I’m guessing my father is close behind,” Holly said.

Dr. Miller stepped out of his office. “I’m so sorry. You sit out here with Zack, and I’ll make sure you’re kept up to date on everyone’s condition.” He frowned, taking in her still-wet dress. “Why don’t you change into some scrubs? I know you keep an extra set here.”

Holly gave a dark chuckle. “I’ve been too worried to pay attention.” She turned to Zack. As if she was about to say something, she paused, frowning as she scanned his body. “Your clothes are still wet too. You should go home and change into dry clothes.”

“I’m not leaving.” Even though he’d worn snow boots, the depth of the snow had let it get inside. It was a good thing he’d put on a pair of wool socks one of his younger brothers had given Zack for Christmas last year. He took her hands in his. “Holly, I’m here for the long haul.” And he never meant any statement as much as he did this one. “Go change. Your family will need you.”

With unease, Zack watched as Holly hurried away. What would he do if she left? He loved Canyondale again now that the residents weren’t at each other’s throats anymore. And he hated large cities. Heck, Denver and the surrounding communities had a population close to that of the entire state of Utah.

Would he be willing to live in a place he detested if it was the only way to keep Holly in his life?

“Holly,” the charge nurse said, peeking into the dressing room, “Dr. Miller said you can talk to your father.”

“Thanks. I’ll be right there.”

With shaking hands, she shoved her damp clothes in the locker and closed it. Fighting down her horribly conflicted feelings, she took a deep breath and went to face one of the people responsible for her biggest betrayal.

“We’ve transferred your sister to the ICU,” Dr. Miller said. “Your parents are waiting for an x-ray of your mother’s arm—it’s likely broken—and your father hit his head. Most of the townsfolk have stayed home tonight, so we haven’t been swamped. Would you like me to come in with you?” Dr. Miller offered kindly, his expression worried. Late one night, when things were quiet in the ER, Holly had confided in him about her wedding fiasco. His outrage on her behalf had been unbelievably satisfying.

“Thank you.” She gave his cheek a quick kiss. “But I almost lost them all tonight, so I have to do this.”

“All right.” Dr. Miller nodded toward the nurses’ station. “We’re here if you need anything.”

Holly patted his arm, touched by his worry and support. It was a shame her own family hadn’t been willing to give her the same thing. With resolve, she headed to the examination room.

She carefully opened the door and paused, giving her parents time to realize she was there. Her mother lay on the examination table, while her father sat nearby holding her hand. He was the first one to see Holly and struggled to stand, a bruise already growing on his cheek where he must have hit the window or been struck when the airbag deployed.

“Sit.” Holly hurried forward to put a hand on his shoulder, relief crossing his face.

“Oh, Holly,” Mom cried from the bed, tears running down the side of her face.

Memories of all the times her mother had comforted Holly or shared in a celebration pushed against the wall of pain she carried inside. She took the uninjured hand her father had released. He covered both, and the three of them sobbed.

Holly was the first to get control of herself. She reached for a box of tissues and asked, “Why did you keep driving when the storm was so bad?”

“Because your sister was desperate to see you.” Dad wiped his eyes and blew his nose.

And now Ivy was in the ICU. “You still should have waited until it was safe. But that’s beside the point. I had no idea you knew where I lived. What could have brought you here?”

Her parents looked at each other, and her mother’s lips trembled, tears running down her face again.

“We came to tell you we were wrong.” Her father’s voice was so choked with emotion he could barely get the words out. “We want you to come home.”

Holly stared at them, trying to get her brain to make sense of what they were saying. Of course, they had been wrong. After promising Holly his undying love, Brett had gone behind her back and stepped out with her sister. Holly rubbed her temples. Her twin sister. Somehow, being twins made it worse because of the close connection they had once shared.

“He deceived us all,” her mother said with a sniff.

Duh. A part of Holly wanted to lash out at them. Of course, Brett had deceived all of them. What had stunned her was how her parents justified what he and Ivy had done. They chose deceit and infidelity over honesty. Had they all really believed that, if he cheated on Holly, he wouldn’t eventually do the same to Ivy? Because that must have happened and was why they had come.

Holly prayed for the strength of discretion. There might come a time in the future when she could give voice to the pain she had carried for the last year, but the deep hurt they had inflicted on her didn’t just go away because they said I’m sorry .

And they wanted her to move back to Denver? Once upon a time, they all lived there happily. Holly had enjoyed residing close to her family. Until a year ago, it had always been her desire to live near her parents, so when she married and had a family of her own, at least half the grandparents would be close. Was there a chance she could reclaim that dream?

Before she could decide what to say, two orderlies appeared at the open door with wheelchairs.

“Hey, Holly,” one of the young men said. “We’re here to take the Richardsons to x-ray.”

“Of course.” Her emotions raw and exposed, she could barely speak. “I’ll come back later.” She turned and left the room.

Zack paced the waiting room. From experience, he knew how long it could take to do any tests. He called his friends to let them know they’d made it safely to the hospital and thanked them again for helping track down the car.

Suddenly, the door from the ER opened and Holly burst through it. He had barely turned toward her when she threw herself in his arms and sobbed. What had happened? As before, Zack just held her until she was ready to speak.

She lifted her face to meet his gaze, her eyes red rimmed and swollen, her cheeks wet. “Am I a horrible person?”

Zack stiffened, fury growing inside him. What had those people said to her? He would give them a piece of his mind. He dropped his arms from around her, but Holly tightened her grip around his waist.

“It’s not them. It’s me. Thank you so much for believing in me and coming to my defense. I can’t tell you how important that is to me after what I’ve experienced at the hands of the people I thought loved me.”

He took her to a chair and sat down, pulling her onto his lap. “Tell me what upset you, then.”

She buried her face in his neck and cried a little more. To keep his anger in check, Zack did some visualization. The police academy had taught several techniques to ease stress and calm down, something he needed at the moment. Holding Holly, he imagined his quiet place, inspired by a parcel of land he had seen some years ago overlooking the Green River. Trees provided shade for a log cabin, but this time he wasn’t there alone.

In Zack’s mind, Holly came out of the door, dressed in comfortable clothes, her long hair pulled back in a loose ponytail. When he realized the bundle she held in her arms was a baby, his pulse went wild.

In his arms at the hospital, Holly straightened. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing at all.” He brushed a tear from her cheek. “Are you ready to talk?”

Holly looked calmer now and nodded. She explained about her parents’ request for her to return to Denver. Just what Zack had feared.

“I’ll come with you,” he said without hesitation. “If that’s okay with you.”

A crease formed between her brows. “To visit my family?”

“No, if you move back to Denver.”

“Oh, Zack. You hate big cities. I remember you talked about it all those years ago at camp, and you’ve mentioned it more than once since I moved here.” Holly cupped his cheeks. “You would hate it.”

“Not if you were there.”

“You would do that for me?”

The muscles in his stomach tightened, but he nodded. “I told you I’m in this for the long haul.”

“Well, look at that,” Dr. Miller called from the nurses’ station. When they glanced at him, they found him pointing up at the mistletoe hanging from the ceiling, his eyebrows arched expectantly.

“I mean, Holly,” Zack said, his voice soft and full of the vision he just had of the cabin and what it said about a future with her. “I want to be wherever you are.”

“That’s good.” She leaned her forehead against his. “Because I feel the same way about you. And I want it to be right here in Canyondale.”

“Kiss her,” the charge nurse urged.

So Zack lowered his mouth to meet hers. Those warm sweet tender lips tasted like cherry and love.