Page 69 of Shadow Redemption
“Food?”
“I’ll wait until we leave here. I want to make sure Ruth eats before she steps in front of the camera again.”
With a nod, the spotter strode to the stairwell. He returned minutes later, four to-go cups of steaming liquid in a cardboard carrier. “I brought herbal tea for Ruth. If you think she’d rather have coffee, I’ll go back and get her a cup.”
“She doesn’t mainline coffee like we do, and I think hot tea will settle better on her stomach.”
“How did she do overnight?”
“Not bad. She’s one tough lady.”
A slow smile curved his friend’s mouth. “You looked comfortable the times I looked in on you.”
Ben didn’t deny it. He loved holding her while she slept and knowing that she was safe in his arms. He’d be the same if he convinced her to marry him. One of the Fortress shrinks would tell him he feared losing someone else he loved like he’d lost his parents within months of each other since he considered his mother choosing Davidson over him as a loss.
Maybe after he and Ruth had been married one hundred years, the feeling would dissipate. Probably not, though. If Ruth agreed to marry him, she’d have to live with his fear until he conquered it.
Twenty minutes later, Dr. Garcia strode toward Ruth’s room. “Mr. Slocum, how was your wife overnight?”
Soft and warm, but not what Garcia wanted to know. “She rested comfortably.” In his arms. Man, he was in so much trouble. He’d promised to be patient and wait for Ruth to be ready for marriage. Ben hadn’t counted on his falling in love with her starting an unquenchable fire inside him.
“Good. I’ll check her, then we’ll take care of the paperwork to release her.”
“She’s changing clothes. Let me see if she’s ready.”
The physician motioned for Ben to proceed.
He tapped on the door and opened it a crack without looking inside. “Sam, the doctor’s here.”
“She’s ready.”
Ben opened the door for Garcia and waited in the hall with Joe, pacing as the minutes crawled by. When he was ready to walk inside to demand an update, Garcia opened the door and stepped out.
“Good news, Mr. Slocum. Your wife is ready to leave. Do you have two epinephrine pens in your possession?”
He nodded, glad that Sam had packed several. She’d slipped him a second one last night when she and Joe took over the watch. “I have her covered.”
“Excellent. Be vigilant about her allergy. We wouldn’t want a repeat.”
“I’ll be careful,” he promised.
“The nurse will arrive soon with your wife’s release papers. Enjoy the rest of your stay in Mexico.” After shaking Ben’s hand and nodding at Joe, he left.
Minutes later, Joe drove them away from the hospital.
“I have to be on the beach in less than an hour,” Ruth said.
Ben’s hand tightened around hers. “Breakfast first.”
She wrinkled her nose. “I’ll gain weight if you keep insisting I eat.”
“You could stand to gain several pounds.”
Ruth smiled. “You’re the first man in over ten years to tell me I was too skinny.”
“Then the rest of the males of your acquaintance are idiots.”
That brought a laugh from Sam and Joe as well as Ruth.