Lara Lacombe - Ranger's Baby Rescue

“What did you do before then?”

He slid her a glance. “I was in the army,” he said neutrally.

It was clear Matt wasn’t a big talker, but Emma didn’t care. Anything was better than being trapped in her head at the moment. “Joseph was in the military, too,” she commented. “He joined right out of high school, except he signed on with the navy.”

“Really?” Interest sharpened Matt’s tone, and he looked at her fully now. “How long did he serve?”

“Only a few years. He got into some trouble and was dishonorably discharged.”

“Ah.” Matt nodded as if that made perfect sense. She got the impression he didn’t think much of her brother. Why would he, though? Any man who kidnapped a baby was no better than pond scum.

“He’s always been impulsive,” she said, stepping around a large rock in the path. “Loves to gamble. It used to be under control, but after my dad died a few years ago, Joseph couldn’t be bothered with moderation anymore. And since he was a single man, he didn’t need to worry about sending money home to a wife.” Emma wasn’t sure why she was telling Matt all this, but it was something to talk about. “He set up a gambling ring on his ship. Got caught eventually. The navy didn’t take too kindly to his actions, so they kicked him out.”

“The military is tough like that,” Matt said. “It’s not a perfect institution, but the service does hold its members to a high standard.”

“Yeah.” Emma was quiet for a moment, remembering her mother’s distress when they found out what had happened. “He came home, tail between his legs. We hoped he would learn from the situation, get some help for his addiction. But he refused.” She shook her head, the sound of their arguments still fresh in her mind. She and her family had tried everything to convince Joseph he had a problem and needed to take action, but his denial was too strong to overcome.

“That must have been hard.”

“It was. On my mother, especially. Joseph swore he was in control and didn’t need help, and for a while, he kept his nose clean. But I guess the lure of gambling was too strong to resist.”

“What kind of gambling?” A fallen tree trunk bisected the trail in front of them. Matt stepped over it, then reached back to help her. Emma slipped her hand into his, grateful for his assistance.

“Horse races,” she replied. She stepped carefully onto the trunk, trying to maintain her balance. But the bark was smooth and worn, and her boots lost traction. She began to slide forward, her heart leaping to her throat as she lurched toward the ground.

Suddenly, Matt was there. He stepped in front of her, stopping her fall with his body. His arms slid around her waist, his broad chest absorbing her forward motion. Emma had a split second to register the feel of his strength surrounding her before her head jerked from the sudden stop, her nose smashing into his shoulder. A starburst of pain filled her head, making her cry out.

Matt loosened his grip. “Are you okay? I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

Emma stared up at him through watery eyes. “Not your fault,” she said, holding her nose. “I appreciate you catching me.”

“It’s the least I could do.” He reached out and gently pulled her hand away from her nose. “Let me take a look at that.”

She felt wetness on her skin and figured she was bleeding. Matt’s look of horror confirmed it.

“Here, sit down.” He helped her sink onto the log and quickly wriggled the pack off his back. He dug through it and withdrew a small plastic box, from which he extracted a few squares of gauze.

“Let me,” he said softly. He gently applied the gauze to her nose, then moved her hand into place to keep it from falling. “Here’s an ice pack.” She heard a crunching sound, and he handed her a small pouch that was rapidly growing cold to the touch.

“Thanks,” Emma said, gingerly applying the pouch to her nose. It hurt, but after a moment, the cold seeped into the tissue and numbed it.

“May I see?” At her nod, Matt reached out and gently lifted the cold pack to examine her nose. He frowned.

“That bad, huh?” she asked.

He shook his head. “It’s not pretty, but I don’t think it’s broken.”

“That’s good, then.”

“Yeah,” he replied. But his tone made it sound like the news was anything but.

“Don’t sound so happy,” she joked.

Matt winced. “I’m sorry. I just feel bad. I’ve never made a woman bleed before. It’s not one of my finer moments.”

“It’s not your fault,” Emma said. “If anything, you saved me from much worse. If you hadn’t caught me, I would have fallen flat on my face, and that would have done more damage than a busted nose.”

“I suppose you’re right,” he said.

“Trust me, I’ve had worse,” she said.

“Oh?” His gaze sharpened on her face, his brows drawing together in a slight frown. “Who hurt you?”

Emma realized he had misinterpreted her statement. “It wasn’t deliberate,” she said, wanting to clarify that from the beginning. “But my fiancé and I were moving furniture together once and had a bit of an accident. I thought he was going one way, he thought I was going the other, and we wound up dropping the couch. Onto my foot.” She crinkled her nose at the memory, wincing as a fresh bolt of pain zinged into her brain. “I fell and hit my face on the corner of the table and wound up with a broken foot and two black eyes.”

“Ouch.”

“Yeah, it was like a comedy of errors. Would have been funny if it hadn’t hurt so bad.”

Matt dug two water bottles out of his bag and passed her one. “What happened to him?” he asked softly. “If you don’t mind my asking.”

Emma took a swig from the bottle, stalling for a second as she debated how to answer his question. She didn’t talk about Chris very often, and especially not to people she’d just met. But Matt was different. He was helping her search for Christina, and while they hadn’t been looking very long, she already felt like they were a team. It was a sensation she hadn’t had since Chris was alive, and it made her heart ache a bit.

“He was killed in a car accident,” she said. “We were a week away from the wedding, and he was stopped at a red light. The driver behind him was texting and didn’t see.” Emma took another swallow, trying to dislodge the lump that always formed in her throat whenever she thought of the accident. “His car plowed into the back of Chris’s, sending him into the intersection. He was hit by a bus and then a garbage truck.”

“My God,” Matt said softly.

Emma shook her head and blinked away tears. “The firemen couldn’t even get him out of the car.”

“I’m so sorry.” His big hand covered hers, his skin warm.

She sniffed, immediately regretting it as pain spiked through her nose. “Thanks. I found out I was pregnant a couple weeks later. It was a shock, but I figured it was Chris’s last gift to me.”

“So he didn’t know about the baby?”

“No.” Emma shook her head. It was one of the most painful aspects of his death for her—the fact that he’d been killed before knowing he was going to be a father. Chris would have been over the moon at hearing the news. Another moment she’d never get to share with him, all because someone figured that texting their friend was more important than paying attention to the road.

“Damn,” Matt said softly. “That makes it even worse.”

She nodded, a little pleased to know he saw things the same way.

“What happened to the other driver?”

“Physically? Not more than a few bumps and bruises. There was some legal loophole that he used to keep from going to jail, so I sued him in civil court. Wrongful death. It didn’t seem right that he would get to go on with his life like nothing had ever happened while my life had been shattered into a million pieces.”