Healing Her Heart

Gabe barely noticed the various pairs of eyes boring into him as he kissed

Larissa. Only when he needed to breathe did he break away and lower his

forehead to rest on hers. His pulse thundered in his ear, and he realized he didn’t

want to let her go.

“I prayed for your safety,” he confessed in a low voice. “And God answered

my prayers.”

“Me, too,” she admitted. “I prayed for us and for Annie.”

“At least Annie is safe from Kurt now,” he said. “Kurt will be stuck behind

bars for a long time.”

“I know.” Larissa ducked her head and leaned back as if trying to put more

distance between them. “Gabe, we’re attracting too much attention.”

“I don’t care.” And he was surprised to realize he truly didn’t care. Larissa

wasn’t Rebecca, and no matter what happened, he knew Larissa would never

spread lies about him. It was ridiculous it took him this long to realize that. Or

maybe he was just hiding behind the idea because it was a good excuse. “I care

about you, and I don’t mind if the whole world knows it.”

Her green eyes widened in surprise. “But Gabe, you never date any of the ER

nurses. Ever.”

He couldn’t help but smile. “Until you.”

She looked flabbergasted by his response, but Deputy Thomas interrupted

them. “Dr. Allen? Larissa? Do you have time to give your statements?”

“Of course,” Larissa said.

He didn’t want to let her go but had to be content with holding her hand.

“Could we sit down somewhere? It was a long night, and I’m sure Larissa is

exhausted.”

“No problem. Let’s head over to the patio outside the dining room.”

Once they were seated at the picnic table, Deputy Thomas took out his

notebook and pen. “Larissa, why don’t you start at the beginning?”

“After we transferred Annie to Madison, I needed a moment alone, so I went

outside and stood beneath the overhang just outside the ambulance doors. I guess

I must have been out there longer than I thought, because when I came back in,

the trauma bay was already clean, and everyone was gone. I was about to head

back to my team of patients when Kurt came in.”

“Did you see him outside?” Deputy Thomas asked.

“No, but I probably wasn’t paying attention. I will admit I thought he was the

one who drove into his wife, but I never expected that he’d come looking for me

armed with a gun.”

Gabe couldn’t bear the fear underlying her tone, and he gave her hand a

reassuring squeeze.

“Then what happened?”

“I tried to talk him into putting the gun down, but he just kept coming closer

and closer. I didn’t have a way to call for help, but then the door leading from the

arena opened, and I saw Gabe standing there.”

“And you went inside?” Deputy Thomas asked, a deep frown furrowing his

brow. “You’re lucky he didn’t kill you.”

“I couldn’t just stand there while he took a shot at her,” Gabe said. “Besides, I

figured I could get him to talk. I needed to try and stall long enough for you and

your guys to get there.”

Deputy Thomas didn’t look happy, but he spared Gabe a lecture, asking a few

more questions before he closed his notebook. “I appreciate your time. Thanks.”

“That’s all you need?” Larissa brightened. “We can go home?”

“Yes, you’re free to go home.”

Deputy Thomas walked away, and Gabe glanced at Larissa. “How about I

drive you home?” he suggested. “We’ll pick up your car later.”

“I’d rather just drive my car home now, if you don’t mind.” Larissa tucked her

hair behind her ear and avoided his direct gaze. “But thanks again, Gabe. For

everything.”

He didn’t want to let her go, but he couldn’t very well force her to allow him

to stay, either. He frowned as she walked to the parking lot alone.

Why was she was pushing him away?

Maybe after everything that had happened, she needed some time alone. So

he’d give her a few hours to sleep and to recharge.

Then he was going to make his feelings known by asking her out on a proper

date. And he could only hope and pray she wouldn’t say no.

____________

Larissa dragged herself out of bed after five hours of sleep, determined to get

back on a regular schedule since she had day shifts scheduled after her day off.

Her ankle was a little sore, so running was out of the question.

A boat ride would have been great, but she quickly veered away from

thoughts of Gabe. She was still struggling with everything that had happened

with Kurt. The way he’d accused and threatened her brought back terrible

memories of life with George.

She hadn’t told anyone about the abuse her mother had suffered. Larissa

hadn’t mentioned the time George had broken her arm, either, since that one

injury had been nothing compared to everything George had put her mother

through.

She’d prayed for the strength to forgive George, but seeing Kurt in the trauma

bay made her realize she really hadn’t forgiven George. Or Kurt. Or Rolland,

who hadn’t hurt her physically but who’d tried to control her just the same.

And she needed to forgive all of them.

Or she’d never be able to move on from her past.

When her buzzer went off, she dragged herself over to the intercom. “Yes?”

“Larissa? It’s Gabe. Can I come up?”

She hesitated but then acquiesced. “Sure.”

The apartment wasn’t too messy, and she smoothed her hair back, wishing

she’d put on a touch of make-up. When Gabe knocked at her door, she took a

deep breath and opened it.

“Hi.” Did he look nervous or was she just imagining it? “I wasn’t sure if

you’d be up yet.”

“I like to try and get back on a day schedule if I can.” She closed the door and

followed him into the living room. “Can I get you a soft drink?”

“No, thanks.” Yep, he definitely looked nervous. “Larissa, would you go out

to dinner with me tonight?”

His abrupt question caught her by surprise. “What made you change your

mind about dating colleagues?” she asked.

Gabe nodded. “You’re right, you deserve an explanation.” He paused for a

minute. “I dated Rebecca, one of the nurses I worked with in Madison. I quickly

figured out that we didn’t have anything in common; in fact, she made it clear

the best thing she liked about me was my title.”

“Your title?” She frowned, not quite following.

“Doctor.” He lifted a shoulder in a half-hearted shrug. “You must know the

type, the ones who only want to marry a doctor because they think we rake in the

big bucks. Rebecca didn’t even like being a nurse; she complained about it all

the time. I broke things off, and that’s when everything turned ugly.”

“Oh, Gabe,” she murmured. Unfortunately, she did know there were nurses

out there who were only interested in marrying a doctor.

“She alleged I sexually harassed her, that I made unwanted advances toward

her. There was a huge investigation, and I thought for sure I’d be vindicated, but

a few of her friends lied for her, and pretty soon it was her word against mine. So

I left and came here, to Hope County Hospital.”

“I don’t blame you for keeping your distance,” she assured him. “That’s a

terrible thing for her to do to you.”

“Thanks, but I think I’ve had it easy compared to others.” Gabe held out his

hand, and she couldn’t resist taking it and moving closer to him. “I understand

now that the reason you related so well to Annie is because you went through

something similar, didn’t you?”

She shouldn’t have been surprised that he’d figured it out. “My mother was

married to an abusive man,” she admitted in a low voice. “I saw the vicious

cycle first-hand, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t seem to stop it.”

His hand tightened on hers, and when she met his gaze, his concern was

obvious. “How did you escape?”

“My mother only cared about the abuse when George started hitting me. The

night he broke my arm, she took me to the hospital, and from there, we went to a

women’s shelter.”

Gabe groaned and pulled her close, wrapping his arm around her shoulder.

“I’m sorry you had to go through that again last night. Thankfully, God was

watching over you. Over both of us.”

Her eyes pricked with tears. He was being too nice; she didn’t deserve his

kindness. Here she’d convinced Gabe to go to church, and she was the one who

was at a crossroad in her faith. “I can’t seem to find a way to forgive him,” she

whispered. “I thought I had, but last night after Kurt was shot, I immediately

thought he deserved to die.”

“A perfectly natural reaction,” Gabe pointed out. He leaned back, put his

finger beneath her chin, and forced her to meet his gaze. “I thought the same

thing.”

“But Gabe, don’t you see? God expects us to forgive our enemies.”

“Yes, He does.” Gabe’s gaze was intense. “But He also promises to help us

learn how to forgive our enemies. He doesn’t necessarily make us figure it out

on our own.”

She wanted to believe him, but really, there was no way of knowing if she’d

ever be able to forgive George for what he did to her mother, or forgive Kurt for

what he did to Annie. And how could she find peace and love if she didn’t?

“Larissa, I’m falling in love with you.”

Gabe’s declaration stole her breath, and she instinctively shook her head. “I

don’t know that I’m ready for that.”

“I’ll give you all the time you need, as long as you give me a chance. Don’t

shut me out, Larissa.”

She pulled away and rose to her feet, threading her fingers through her hair.

“I’ll try, but I can’t make any promises,” she said finally.

“That’s all I can ask,” he said. “So will you have dinner with me tonight? I’ll

pick you up at six.

A reluctant smile tugged at her mouth. “All right, dinner at six.”

“Great. See you soon.” Gabe left, and within minutes, she was second-

guessing her decision.

Restless, she paced the apartment. Remembering the news vans that had been

parked outside the hospital, she called her mother, who answered on the first

ring. “Larissa? I heard about what happened at the hospital on the news. Are you

all right?”

“I’m fine, Mom. Perfectly fine.” She winced, realizing she should have called

her mother sooner. “How are you doing? How are things with Ed?”

“Ed’s fine, he’s always good to me, Larissa. You’re the one I’m worried

about.”

She stared out the front window for a long moment. “Mom, I have a question

for you. Have you forgiven George for everything he’s done?”

“Of course I have,” her mother responded. “In fact, I feel sorry for him.”

She nearly choked at that. “Feel sorry for him? Why?”

“Because he’ll never have true love the way you and I will. He’ll never know

God’s love either. I pray for his soul every day.”

Humbled, Larissa thought her mother was far smarter than she’d ever given

her credit for. “You’re right, Mom,” she said. “George deserves our prayers.”

And so did Kurt. Maybe if she kept thinking about it from her mother’s

perspective, she could really find a way to forgive them both.

____________

Larissa was dressed and ready to go well before six, so she didn’t mind when

Gabe showed up ten minutes early.

“Larissa, you look absolutely beautiful.”

She reached up to give him a quick hug. “You don’t look half bad, yourself.”

He looked surprised yet pleased at her warm embrace. He gave her a quick

kiss on the cheek and then held the door open for her. “After you.”

He drove to a very nice restaurant that was perched high on a hill overlooking

the lake. As fancy as the place was, she decided she preferred the meal they’d

shared on his deck.

“I bet their steaks aren’t nearly as good as yours,” she said in a low tone.

He grinned. “But their lobster is amazing.”

“I still like dining on your deck better,” she insisted, leaning back to peruse

the menu. The lobster was listed as market value so she skipped that one,

looking for something more reasonable.

“Have whatever you like,” he said as if reading her mind. “After last night,

we deserve to splurge.”

She didn’t want him to think she was anything like Rebecca, so she settled on

a more reasonable shrimp dish.

After the server took their order, Gabe reached across the table to take her

hand. “You look happier tonight than you did this afternoon.”

She couldn’t deny the truth. “I am happy.”

“So you must have heard that Annie is still in the ICU but her vitals are

stable.”

“No, I hadn’t heard, but I’m glad to hear she’s hanging on.” She took a sip of

water. “And how’s Kurt doing?”

“He survived, too, and is listed as critical but stable in the ICU.”

She was surprised by the lack of resentment she felt about that news.

“Actually, I talked to my mother, and she made me look at men like Kurt and

George differently.”

“Oh yeah? How?”

She repeated what her mother had told her. “I think I can see now why God

asks us to forgive our enemies. Because He knows that we have His love and

they don’t. And really, what more could we ask for?”

“You’re a very special lady, Larissa,” Gabe said, his hand tightening around

hers. “I’m lucky to have found you.”

She couldn’t deny what was in her heart. “I think you’re pretty great yourself,

Gabe.”

A wide grin split his face, and he stood and came around the table, drawing

her up to her feet. “Does this mean we’re officially dating, Ms. Brockman?” he

asked in a teasing tone, sliding his arms around her waist.

“I believe it does, Dr. Allen,” she agreed, reaching up to wind her arms

around his neck.

The playfulness vanished as he stared deeply into her eyes. “I love you,

Larissa.”

Her heart swelled to the point she feared it might burst with joy. “I love you,

too.”

When he kissed her, the entire restaurant burst into applause, and she found

she didn’t mind one bit.

Thank you, Lord!

THE END