The One Worth Waiting For Read Online Free Page A

inside his thick, tortured head. With a primal groan, he forced his eyes open and beat back the flames.
    “Don’t tell,” he whispered fiercely. “Don’t tell. That I’m here.”
    Dr. Jacobs’s white eyebrows shot up over clear blue eyes, then he nodded at Garret sagely. “Sure thing, son. I’m here to save your life.”
    Garret tried to nod, but the momentum was lost already. He fell back, feeling the fire flare again. Slowly, he searched for her eyes, her hands cool upon his face. Suzanne from the rain. Fifteen years…
    He found her hazel eyes, and they met his squarely, the depths level and clear with guarded concern. The fire took him again. From a long ways away, he felt her hand on his shoulder once more. He turned his cheek against her wrist and let the last of his consciousness slip away.
     
    “There’s nothing more for you to do here, Cagney, so you might as well go home. Marina will be worried about you by this time.”
    “But…look at him, Suzanne. He’s still sweating away every damn drop of moisture we can get into him.”
    “Dr. Jacobs says the fever might be breaking now. We got the IV in him, Cagney. It’s the best we can do. One of us at least ought to get some rest. Go home, Cage. I can take it from here.”
    Garret opened his eyes to see them standing in the doorway. Cage was running his hand through his black hair and his face looked tight. Suzanne’s brown hair had escaped in long strands from the knot on top of her head. She looked tired, too. How long had it been? He didn’t know and found he still couldn’t move.
    “Are you sure you’ll be all right?”
    “Now, Cagney, we’ve had this conversation before.”
    “Yeah, yeah. I know.” Cage sighed as his hand went through his hair yet again. “I’ve never seen him look like this before, Suzanne,” he whispered quietly. “He was always the big one, you know? I still remember him taking on the bullies on the playground and thrashing every last one of them. Hell, do you remember what he did to Tank Nemeth?”
    “I know, Cage. I know. He’ll get better, just you wait. And one morning, we’ll both come to check on him and he’ll simply be gone as suddenly as he came. You know Garret.”
    Cagney grinned but it looked strangely sympathetic. “Yeah, I know. I was just wondering if you knew.”
    “Fifteen years is fifteen years, Cagney Guiness. You’ve told me that enough times yourself. Now get home to Marina. This is no way to treat your fiancée.”
    “Don’t you ever get tired of being right?” Cage started to head for the doorway, and Garret struggled to reach out his hand. At the last moment, Cagney stopped. “In three weeks, I’m supposed to be in New York, you know. Marina wants me to meet her folks. Think I should cancel?”
    Suzanne shook her head. “Even if Garret’s not healed enough to go, he’ll still be healed enough not to want anyone’s help. ’Sides, I hear Marina’s parents are real nice.”
    Cagney grimaced. “They have a cappuccino maker.”
    Suzanne patted him on the shoulder. “You’ll do just fine.”
    He grabbed his black cowboy hat from the peg next to the door and placed it on his head. “I’ll be back in a few hours.”
    “You’ll be back in the morning,” she told him firmly. “And then only for a short while. You start spending too much time here after just getting engaged to the prettiest girl in town and people are gonna talk. We don’t want that, now do we, Cage?”
    “Damn it, Suzanne, do you always have to be so practical?”
    “It’s the only way I keep up with you. Now give Marina my best, and get out of my house. I’ve got things to do.”
    “Eight a.m.?”
    “Whatever works best. I’m going to cancel my meetings for the next couple of days. I suppose I can lie and say I’m sick. It’s for a good enough cause.”
    “Thank you, Suzanne. You’ve always been the best.”
    He turned away, and for just one moment, her practical, efficient demeanor slipped.