Mended Hearts (New Beginnings Series) Read online

  Except for Trace. He had his hands full with an almost hysterical Meg. She’d been a rock through the whole ordeal, taking care of everyone at Savannah’s. It wasn’t until they were in his Jeep on the way to the hospital that she went completely over the bend. Trace had looked helplessly at Tobi in the rearview mirror and she wedged herself between the front seats the best she could to hold on to Meg. After they parked in the parking lot, Trace pushed his seat back as far as it would go and pulled her into his lap, soothing her as she blubbered all over him. He could make neither heads nor tails of her mutterings . . . something about mimosas, flower swags, handkerchief hems and sleep overs. Well, he could kind of figure out what she meant by the last one. Now they were in the waiting room and she was finally calmed down. Her sobs had turned to hiccups and he and Tobi were looking at one another—shell-shocked. They’d never seen her like that before.

  A couple of detectives walked in and asked where they might find the Laurent family. Since her parents’ flight hadn’t made it in yet, that consisted of Mathias—and Sonny. Mathias insisted he be included. They were informed that they did indeed have Rob Chilton in custody. He had surrendered after he’d accidentally shot Gracie, who was trying to keep him from shooting at a SWAT officer. They also mentioned that Rob was under suicide watch, apparently distraught over Gracie’s shooting. Sonny looked over at Mathias and snorted. It was impossible for either of them to feel sorry for Rob Chilton.

  The detectives informed them that Rob’s parole officer had arrived and was waiting for the state police to send someone over to help him transport Rob back to the prison in Sacramento. His parole had been revoked and there would be new charges pending. They needed to interview Gracie first. They also wanted to interview Kelli again. The investigation was just beginning and they were asking for patience from the family. They left their business cards and told them they were welcome to call if they ever needed more information.

  Finally, Gracie’s doctor came in looking for Mathias and Sonny. He took them into the hallway and gave them the news. She would be fine. She had been shot at close range with a small caliber bullet that had gone completely through her shoulder. She’d lost a lot of blood, and they wanted to do surgery to repair some of the damage. They had started blood transfusions and she was being prepped for surgery. If they wanted, they could accompany her up to the surgical floor. She’d been sedated, but was still conscious.

  Of course, they wanted to see her, so the doctor started to walk them back to where she was being prepped. Mathias stopped him and asked if they could bring her best friend along. The doctor chuckled and asked if there was any chance this best friend’s name was Kelli. Gracie had apparently been asking about her since she’d arrived. The doctor thought it would be good for her see that Kelli was fine—it would calm her down before her surgery.

  When Mathias escorted Kelli out of the waiting room, the doctor’s eyes widened, and he started having second thoughts about Gracie seeing her. She looked horrible and he must have winced, because she looked up at him and cracked, “Are you sure my makeup looks okay?” Then she winked at him with her good eye—the one that wasn’t swollen shut. He decide it would be good for Gracie to see her after all.

  They got to the doorway of her trauma room just as the orderlies and nurses were wheeling her toward the door. Mathias pushed Sonny forward and Sonny approached her first.

  “Hey, angel . . .” he couldn’t think what to say to her.

  “Luca . . .” she was slurring a bit from the sedative. “Did ya catch any?”

  He looked confused. “Catch any what, baby?”

  “Fish.”

  He smiled. Yeah, she was loopy alright. “A few. Nothing to write home about.” Had the fishing trip only been one day ago? It seemed like a lifetime. “The real excitement didn’t start ‘til later.”

  “I know. Right?” She chuckled, then said seriously, “Have you seen Kelli? Nobody knows about Kelli.”

  “She’s right here, Gracie.” He pulled Kelli up to take his place beside the gurney.

  Gracie’s eyes filled with tears when she saw her. “Oh, Kelli . . .”

  “Stop, Gracie. I’m fine. They’re not even keeping me overnight.” Kelli didn’t say that the doctors wanted to keep her, but she was refusing to stay.

  “Okay. That’s good. Hey, Kel?”

  “What, Gracie?”

  “Good thing we decided against that strapless wedding gown.” Her laugh caused her to wince in pain.

  Kelli laughed, then winced too. She pointed to her face. “How do you feel about your maid of honor wearing a veil?”

  Mathias couldn’t wait any longer and walked around to her other side. “Hey, Gracie.”

  “Matty, how you holding up?” She took his hand. “They let ‘im out.”

  “I know, honey, but he’s headed back to prison—for a good long time. Don’t even think about him now.”

  “Good idea.” Her eyes were starting to drift shut. “I’m really sleepy.”

  Sonny kissed her cheek. “You go on to sleep, angel. We’re all here. No one’s going anywhere.” She was gone before he could get out the words “I love you,” but he said them anyway. She must have heard them, though, because she smiled the tiniest smile.

  • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

  Trace and Meg took Kelli home with them so they could take care of her. The rest of the SEAL family drifted home, along with some of the Sugar Creek family. Colby and Maggie stayed, though. Phil and Kitty arrived by mid-morning. Shortly after her parents came in, a young police officer and his wife showed up.

  “Hi. Are you Gracie Laurent’s family?” he asked.

  “Yes.” Mathias stood up to shake his hand. “I’m her brother, Mathias.” He introduced everyone else in the room.

  “I’m Officer Wilcox and this is my wife, Cindy. I’m an SDPD SWAT officer. I was positioned near the side door to Ms Laurent’s apartment this morning and, apparently when the subject spotted me, she jumped in to keep him from shooting me. I hope she’s going to be okay.”

  Mathias filled him in on her condition and that she was expected to make a full recovery.

  Officer Wilcox seemed relieved. “I’m so glad to hear that. I feel terrible. I guess she didn’t realize that I was in full body armor and even if he had taken a shot, I probably would have been fine.” He smiled. “She must be something, though—that she tried to protect me. I hope to meet her when she feels better.”

  • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

  Early Wednesday morning, Sonny walked into Gracie’s hospital room. Kitty was resting in the recliner by Gracie’s bed, but she was awake. She smiled at Sonny.

  “What’re you doing here so early?” she asked. “I was hoping you were catching up on your sleep. What time is it?”

  Sonny glanced at his watch. “Almost seven. And I did do some catching up. I was out by nine last night.” He walked over to offer Kitty a cup of Starbucks coffee. “I brought you coffee, but if you don’t want it I’m sure I can find one of the nurses who will. Maybe you shouldn’t drink it. You should go back to the hotel and get some rest yourself.”

  Kitty had chased Sonny, Mathias and Phil out of the hospital the evening before so they could all get some much-needed rest. They fought her, but she could be ferocious when she needed to be. “I’ll take the coffee, Luca. Thank you.” She took a sip and sighed. “That’s just what I needed.”

  Sonny walked over to the bed to watch Gracie sleep. “How is she?”

  “We had a really good night. She rested well. Only woke up when the nurses were in with her meds or to check her vitals. She was able to get back to sleep when they left, though.” Kitty smiled. “So—with her resting well—I was able to get some sleep too.”

  “Good.” Sonny walked over to sit in the chair beside her. “You need to get out of here for awhile. I’ll sit with her.”

  Kitty looked over at Gracie, then back at
Sonny. She knew he wanted—no, needed—to spend some time alone with Gracie, so she decided to play along. “I think I will get out of here for awhile. I’ll go back to the hotel and have breakfast with Phil and Matty. Get some fresh air. If you’re sure you don’t mind.”

  “Of course not,” Sonny assured her.

  Kitty gathered her things together, kissed Sonny on the cheek, and moved toward the door. She blew a kiss to Gracie on her way out, not wanting to wake her. Sonny moved over to the more comfortable recliner and stretched out to enjoy his coffee and watch Gracie sleep. Kitty had a Third Day CD playing quietly in the background. Mathias had gone over to pick up the CD player and a stack of CDs from Gracie’s apartment the day before. Music was so important to her, they thought it might make her more comfortable.

  Sonny watched Gracie and listened to the music until his eyes eventually drifted closed. After awhile the soft sound of the CD changer switching from Third Day to David Crowder Band registered and he opened his eyes to see warm brown eyes watching him.

  He straightened in his seat. “Hey!”

  “’Morning, Luca,” she smiled. “How long have you been here?”

  He glanced at his watch and noticed not much time had passed. “Not long. I chased your mom out so she could meet your dad and brother for breakfast.”

  “Good.” She shifted and started to sit up, swinging her legs over the side of the bed.

  “Whoa! What do you think you’re doing?”

  “Um . . .” She pointed to the restroom in the corner of the room near the door.

  “Aren’t you going to ask for help?”

  Gracie rolled her eyes. She was sick of being so dependent on everyone. “Fine,” she huffed. She batted her eyelashes at him and said with false sweetness, “Luca, my love, would you mind helping me to the facilities? I’d appreciate it ever so much.”

  He just shook his head at her and stood up to steady her as she slid off the bed until her feet hit the floor. She leaned on him, her other hand rolling the IV stand along with them while he leaned on his cane. They took a few steps until she stopped and started laughing. She laughed until tears ran down her face and she winced in pain.

  Sonny looked at her like she’d gone crazy. “What’s so funny?” he demanded.

  She gestured from herself to him and his cane. “This is a new version of the blind leading the blind,” she choked out. “The lame leading the lame? Come on, Luca . . . you have to admit this is funny.”

  He snickered. “Yeah, yeah. Whatever.”

  They eventually made it to and from the restroom, neither one of them hitting the floor—so the excursion had been a success. After she was tucked back into bed, her breakfast arrived and it appeared her appetite was back. She seemed worlds better to Sonny than she had been the day before.

  “What day is this?” she asked.

  “Wednesday.”

  “Wednesday? What are you doing here, then? You have therapy on Wednesday mornings.”

  “I can skip out today. I want to stick around here—hear what the doctor has to say when he makes his rounds.”

  “No. You missed therapy on Monday and I don’t want you to skip out again,” she insisted. “I can fill you in if the doctor comes by before you get back.”

  “Gracie—” he began before she cut him off.

  “No, Luca . . . please. We’re getting married in less than three weeks, and I want us both as strong as we can be by then.”

  “About that . . . maybe we should push the wedding back. I don’t think . . .” he trailed off as her eyes welled up with tears. “Gracie, what is it?” He moved over to sit on the side of her bed.

  “Have you changed your mind, Luca?” she asked, her lip trembling.

  “No! Of course not!”

  “Are you sure? Maybe I have too much baggage.”

  “Angel . . . I’d get married today if we could, but . . . you need to recover and planning this wedding will be a lot of work. I don’t want you to do too much. We can get married when you’re stronger.”

  “No, please, Luca. Don’t make me push it back. Please!” she pleaded. “I can do it. Meg and my mom and Kelli will help.”

  “Okay . . . okay, angel. We’ll make it happen. I can do whatever you need me to. Just please don’t cry.”

  “Thank you, babe. I just don’t want Rob to win. If we change our plans, he will.” She knew it was irrational, but she couldn’t help it.

  “Are you going to be okay here alone for awhile? If you’re insisting I go to PT, I’ll have to leave you alone.”

  “No, you won’t,” Kelli said as she came through the door. “I can stay.” She was looking a little better—the swelling around her eye had gone down. But the Technicolor rainbow of bruises was spectacular. People winced every time they saw her.

  She took her post in the recliner, Sonny said his goodbyes, and Gracie finished her breakfast as Kelli pulled the wedding planner out of a tote bag. Meg came by for a few minutes on her way to work and promised she was still on track with the wedding plans. When Kitty showed up, she took up some of the slack and the plans were going on full steam ahead. There would indeed be a wedding in less than three weeks.

  It was a busy morning in Gracie’s hospital room. Colby and Maggie came by. Mathias and Phil had come in with Kitty. There was a steady stream of Sonny’s friends’ wives. They didn’t stay long, but just wanted Gracie to know they were there for her and Sonny—and to bring practical gifts like slipper socks, lotions and lip balm. A couple of the ministers from Bayside Christian Church stopped by to pray with the family too. The candy stripers brought in lots of flower arrangements, plants, and a balloon bouquet from the daycare kids.

  The doctor was late making his rounds due to an emergency case that morning, and came in around lunchtime. Sonny had gotten back after his therapy by then. The doctor was pleased with her progress and informed them that if her temperature stayed down the rest of the day and night, he’d consider sending her home the next day.

  • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

  By that weekend, Gracie was feeling much better. She’d been home since Thursday morning and was resting well. The wedding plans were moving forward, and she had so much help, she wasn’t stressing out—well . . . too much anyway.

  Sonny was in and out, spending as much time as possible with her—though, she had insisted he get back to his regular schedule of therapy and working a few hours on Friday. She had also insisted Mathias go on home. His trip had been extended and she knew he needed to get back to work. Her parents had been there to help her out, but were planning to fly home Saturday evening. Kitty worried a little, but knew Kelli, Meg and Sonny could handle things.

  So, by Sunday things were much quieter. Sonny took Gracie over to his place so she’d have a change of scenery, and because his sectional was bigger and more comfortable for the movie marathon they had planned for the day. He’d had her pick out a pile of her favorite DVDs to share with him and they settled in to watch. It was quite an eclectic list . . . Hitchcock’s Rear Window, the musical Godspell, Tender Mercies, and Mystery Science Theatre 3000: The Movie—which was a lot fun, but caused her some pain from laughing too hard. When Sonny worried about that, Gracie reminded him that his Gran had always said “laughter was good for what ails you.” She’d brought over Sense and Sensibility too, but had mercy on him when he blanched at the thought of being introduced to Jane Austen. He suggested she share that with Meg sometime, because she was an Austen fan too.

  • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

  The following week, all of the charges had been filed against Rob and his arraignment had been set for Friday afternoon. Gracie, Sonny and Kelli sat in the courtroom, along with several members of his SEAL team. To his credit, Rob pled guilty to all charges in return for the state agreeing to get him some psychological help. He was ordered to not make any contact with Gracie—even by mail. The judge gave him an additional twenty
-year sentence and it was all over.

  Gracie felt like she could start her life with a clean slate and never look back at the past again. She’d always remember Jolie, but she never had to think of Rob. After court adjourned they left the courtroom and Sonny wrapped his arms around her, holding her close for a good long time.

  He pulled back and looked into her eyes. “Ready to start our new life, angel?”

  “More than ready,” her brown eyes sparkling.

  They turned to follow their friends out of the building, and dove headfirst into that new life.

  EPILOGUE

  Several years later, Sonny sat in his seat at Bayside Christian Church surrounded by little bodies—all with dark hair, and huge amber-brown eyes—listening to Gracie sing her Easter solo, Revelation Song. The twins—a boy and a girl—were almost five, and his younger daughter was two-and-a-half. Gracie would be giving birth to their baby boy in a couple of months. Life, and his heart, were full.

  After the babies started coming, Gracie had given up singing at Savannah’s. Colby had opened a recording studio and used her as a studio musician part-time. She also taught a few private vocal students and sang with the praise team and the choir at their church. She’d never been without music in her life and she never would be.

  Sonny’s knee injury did, in fact, keep him from going back to his team as an active member. He moved into BUD/S training, which was still physically demanding, but at least he wouldn’t be putting his teammates at risk out in the field. It turned out that he was as fulfilled as he’d ever been, even with the changes in his life. He gave Gracie credit for that.

  After he left the Navy, he opened a security consultation firm with Trace and Charley. They worked with private companies, but also had several military contracts.

  Gracie finished her solo, and he was filled with pride—as he always was when he heard her sing. He turned to shush the twins, who’d decided this was a good time to visit with the McKenna kids seated in front of them. Trace leaned over to warn his kids that the Easter bunny could still take those baskets away, and all of the kids—McKennas and Ionescus—settled right down. It was another blessed Easter.