Chapter 11

Chapter

Eleven

Clint spent another miserable night and forced his tired body out of bed at four a.m. to lift weights for an hour. It helped to push himself physically, but it didn’t alleviate any emotional anguish. Lily was the only cure for his longing, pain, and insomnia, and he had no idea how to tell her how deeply he loved her.

He was showered and waiting by her bedroom door when Lily walked out of her room at five-forty. Her eyes were red-rimmed, her lips plump, and her cheeks looked a little raw from their long kissing sessions last night. The diamond band was back on her left finger.

Ah, Lily. He hit his fist against his leg and tried to riddle out how to prove to her how important she was to him. She was everything to him.

“Good morning,” she said, then brushed past him and headed down the stairs.

He followed her, grabbing the cooler he’d packed in the kitchen while she grabbed a protein shake and a water bottle from the fridge.

The drive to the hospital was far too quiet. He turned on the radio to his favorite country station.

‘God gave me a girl, girl gave me a kiss …’

His eyes widened at the Russell Dickerson song, and he darted a glance to Lily. Her body was stiff as a board, and she didn’t look at him.

‘She gave me her hand, I gave her a ring.’

Lily was playing with the ring on her finger.

Clint groaned and she darted a glance at him. Had the good Lord given him this chance with Lily and he was messing it all up? It felt so right being with her, talking to her, holding her, kissing her. It had to be ordained from above.

The song continued and he focused on driving.

‘Now I’m gonna give her forever.’

If only he could give Lily forever. He pushed the button to shut the music off again. The silence was thick and Lily didn’t look his way.

When Clint pulled into the hospital parking lot, he jammed the truck into park and jumped out, hurrying around to get her door. He helped her out and placed the listening device in her scrubs pocket. She nodded to him and started to walk off.

“Can I bring in lunch again?” he asked.

She turned back, beautiful in the early morning light. “Sure, thanks. Tell Rhett thanks, actually.”

He grinned and leaned against the truck, folding his arms across his chest. “He likes the chance to see me.”

“I bet he does.” Her eyes swept over him as if she liked the chance to see him. “Bye.”

She walked into the hospital. Clint watched her go, his heart clenching. He paced around the truck, unable to sit. He used earbuds to listen to Lily talking to a young mom, her colleagues, giving instructions, sympathy, and support.

A younger man walked by wearing scrubs and glaring at him. Clint didn’t know him. He tilted his chin up and the guy marched past. Odd.

The sun rose and he finally settled into the truck and prayed for insight. He felt strongly that he should call Walker. Lily was talking to a young mom and dad. It sounded like they were in the last stages of labor. She was safe. They hadn’t heard anything from the perp besides the poster. He was probably okay to let down his guard for a few minutes and see if he could figure things out with his brother. Lily had been angry at him last night and he didn’t blame her. He wanted to show her how important she was to him. Could he go back on his word? With Walker’s permission? Would his brother grant it?

He hated silencing Lily’s voice but he clicked on the phone app and Walker’s number. His brother answered after one ring.

“Hey.” Walker’s voice was cautious.

“Bro, I need to …” What did he need to do? “Listen. I am completely in love with Lily, and I think she loves me back. I told her she needed to date you, and she got angry with me. She told me if she wasn’t worth talking things out with you then not to bother calling her when this op is over.” He groaned. “You know I won’t break my word to you, but she’s everything to me. I feel like God brought us together.” He wanted that song to be their song, but first he had to convince Walker to let her go and Lily to love him.

There was silence for a beat. “Clint.” Walker ground out his name and a heavy breath. “If you feel that deeply about her, and she loves you back…” Another pause. “I’ll be happy for you both. No way am I going to hold you to a promise to let me take her out if you feel she’s the right one for you.”

“But you’ve always been interested in Lily,” Clint protested, wishing he’d just shut up, thank his brother, go find Lily and tell her he loved her.

“So have you.”

Clint straightened. “I never said anything.”

“You didn’t have to. I was ticked on Sunday. I stewed about it all afternoon and couldn’t sleep last night. I should’ve been the one to make this call, but selfishly I didn’t want to give up on my dream of being with Lily.”

Clint wanted to protest that his brother wasn’t the selfish one; Clint was.

“At church, I focused on the two of you. The only thing I heard from the entire sermon was the bit about wanting your brother’s happiness above your own,” Walker continued. “Last night those words pounded through my brain, and I couldn’t get it out of my head how she looked at you in church. She’s never looked at me or even Miles like that. It’s obvious you’re the one she wants. I’m not going to compete with you. If you and Lily are in love with each other, no way am I going to take out your girl. I want you to be happy.”

Clint’s heart thumped against his chest. His girl. It could happen. Walker had given him the green light and it hadn’t been near as hard as he’d feared. “Thanks, man.”

“Yep.”

“Do you have somebody …” Clint fished, hoping Walker had somebody else he was interested in, but there weren’t a lot of single ladies in Coleville. Maybe some pretty cowgirl from the rodeo circuit. He knew they ‘fan-girled’ over both his younger brothers.

“Nah, but I got time. You, on the other hand, are an old man.”

Clint chuckled. “Thanks. I better go. I’m listening in while Lily’s at work to keep her safe.”

“Stop wasting time with me, then. Love ya.”

“Um … love you too.” Clint pushed end quick. He and his brothers weren’t ‘love you’ kind of guys, except with the woman they loved.

Clint wanted to tell Lily he loved her.

He clicked on the listening device app again. Lily was still working with the expectant mom about to have a baby. There was some screaming and cursing.

He smiled, then broke into a grin. He got out of the truck, put his earbuds back in, and paced until the baby was born. Lily’s voice was so happy.

How happy would she be when he told her the issue with Walker was done? How great was his brother, putting Clint’s happiness before his own? He got a little choked up listening to the new mom and dad and Lily and the baby crying and everybody so happy and knowing Walker was one of the best guys out there.

He finally climbed back into the truck, drank a couple protein drinks, and dealt with a bunch of emails. He leaned his head back against the seat and closed his eyes as he listened to Lily’s melodious voice.

His phone beeped a text.

I have a lunch break now.

Ah, shoot. He hadn’t drifted off, but he’d let too much time go by in a semi-awake state. It was one-ten. He texted back. Meet you in the cafeteria . Hopefully she wouldn’t mind cafeteria food.

Clint slid out of the truck and stretched, his back and neck stiff. He was getting far too lax. Talking to his brother was one thing; losing track of time was quite another.

He put his hat on and rushed into the hospital and down the hall to the cafeteria. Lily was waiting for him. She looked tired and absolutely irresistible. He couldn’t wait to tell her about his conversation with Walker, but he didn’t want to just spit it out. He wanted to do it some romantic way, prove how much he loved her.

What would she do if he stormed to her and kissed her? The cafeteria was busier than yesterday. Did he need to prove they were engaged? His eyes darted to the ring on her finger then back to her face.

He reached her and restrained himself from kissing her. He didn’t want to kiss her to prove they were fake engaged. He wanted to kiss her to prove how deeply he loved her.

Heart thumping erratically, he was bursting with the news that Walker was the best man on earth and was letting him out of his agreement. Now Clint could pursue Lily without any impediments or guilt.

“How’s your day been?” he managed to ask in a semi-level tone, taking her hand in his and reveling in the softness of her smaller hand that fit perfectly in his.

“Good. A lot slower than Saturday.” She smiled. “How about yours?”

“I sat in the truck and listened to your melodious voice and time flew by.” Some bodyguard he was. At least he hadn’t fallen asleep, but he had been close to drifting off. What if she would’ve said ‘hot sheriff’ and he’d missed it?

He had to find a way to sleep tonight. Rough to do with Lily in the next bedroom over. There was a huge problem with admitting all that he felt for her and pursuing a relationship wholeheartedly … sleeping in the same house. He’d have to pray this case came to a resolution soon or beg her to marry him tonight.

She arched an eyebrow and actually grinned. “Well, at least you weren’t listening to everything I said. My voice put you to sleep.”

“Thankfully not to sleep. I wouldn’t want to miss a single word.” He squeezed her hand. “But I never got ahold of Rhett.” He did get a hold of Walker. Was it time to tell her? Definitely not the romantic spot he craved, but he didn’t know if he could hold the news in much longer. Clint was never impatient or impetuous. With Lily, he was both. “Cafeteria food?”

“Sure.”

They walked up to the counter and ordered, then waited only a few minutes for his sandwich and her salad. He carried the food to a back table, then filled up water cups for both of them.

As he settled in, his pulse quickened and his mouth went dry. He had to tell her about his conversation with Walker. Could he carry her outside and kiss for a long time after? He took a drink of his water to moisten his throat, cleared it, and said, “Li?—”

His phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out to look, cursing the interruption, but maybe that was the Lord’s way of telling him to wait for a better setting and more time to talk through everything after he told her.

“Mark,” he grunted.

“You can take it,” Lily said.

He didn’t like interrupting the little amount of time they had together, but it was probably important. Mark rarely called; a quick text was more his style.

“Yeah?” He took another drink of his water, studying Lily. Would she be ecstatic when he told her the obstacle with Walker was gone? When he admitted he loved her much more than he’d ever loved Sheryl? What if he’d ruined everything last night not fighting for her?

“We got a match on the prints.” Mark’s voice pitched up. Excitement or anxiety? That was weird.

“That’s good.” A resolution to this case would be better than good. Then he could pursue Lily and get engaged for real.

“Disturbing is more like it.”

“Why?” His neck prickled and he shifted his complete focus to his deputy.

“The guy’s name is Landon Trupp. He’s from Boston.”

“Not the doc?”

Lily zeroed in on him and set her fork down.

“Not likely. Though Trupp was an anesthesiologist.”

“Was?”

“He’s been missing for over six months. He kidnapped, raped, and killed a nurse he worked with, blew up her parents’ home, killing both of them, and dropped off the map.”

Clint’s gut turned over. “Disturbing is right.” He focused on Lily. “Let me ask Lily about it. Do you have photos or at least a description?”

“I’ve requested them to email me all the information they have. There are some newspaper articles. I’ll send them over and more info will be coming soon.” Mark hung up.

Clint eased his chair closer to Lily’s and glanced around. The cafeteria had cleared out a bit and nobody was close to their table. He slid his arm around the back of her chair and leaned in, inhaling her unique lily scent, wishing this was the moment to declare his undying love. It wasn’t. Not even close.

“What’s going on?” she whispered, fidgeting with her ring.

“The prints from your fence post match an anesthesiologist from Boston named Landon Trupp.”

Her eyes narrowed. “That makes no sense. I don’t even know a Landon Trupp.”

“Something feels very off about it,” he admitted. “He kidnapped and killed a nurse he worked with, blew up her parents’ home and killed them, and then disappeared.”

Lily gasped and twisted the ring quicker. “That’s horrible.”

“It is.” He wrapped his free hand around her joined hands. She trembled. From his touch or fear, he wasn’t certain. “How many anesthesiologists work at the hospital?”

“Four.”

“Any of them new?”

“Jacob’s only been here a couple months.” Her eyes widened. “He flirts with me a lot, but I always turn him down. The day the poster was at my house, I told him I had a serious boyfriend.” Her hand covered her mouth. “The poster said ‘boyfriend’ not ‘fiancé’ like I told Dr. Hampshire.”

Clint nodded. He remembered Jacob flirting with her at work on Saturday. He’d wanted to put the guy in his place. “Is he here today?”

“No. He’s not even on call.”

He hit his clenched fist against his leg. This was intriguing and scary. He didn’t want to let her go back to work. “Mark sent over some newspaper articles. Let me look at them while you eat.”

“You think I can eat?” She put a hand to her stomach.

“Understood.” Clint slid his chair even closer to hers and clicked on his mail app. The email from Jacob was at the top. He clicked on it and on the first newspaper article. There was a photo of the deceased young lady—Mary Fonnesbeck. A beautiful blonde who terrifyingly bore a strong resemblance to Lily. More photos of her parents. The photo below was their perp—Landon Trupp. He was a dark-haired, chubby man with a large nose, a weak chin, and rounded cheeks. Clint zoomed in on the photo and looked to Lily. “Is this Jacob?”

“No.”

Disappointment stabbed at him. “You’re certain?”

She peered closer and shook her head. “Jacob has wavy blond hair. His nose is not like that at all, and he is thin with a beard. His cheeks are almost hollow-looking.”

“Huh.” He had nothing more eloquent to say than that. The perp sticking with being an anesthesiologist would’ve been too convenient, he supposed. Was the guy even at the hospital? He’d have to get Mark researching anyone who had relocated to Kalispell in the past six months. He’d get a hold of Aiden too, beg another favor, see what he and his people could dig up.

He studied Lily as she looked at the photo on his phone. He’d protect her and find this guy.

Then he could tell her that he loved her.

It would all work out.

So why did he feel so uneasy?