A Time for Us - By Amy Knupp Page 0,57

prevent. What she hadn’t done for nineteen months and six days.

She let the tears come.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CALE HAD HAD all night on duty to debate with himself, and he’d decided to hell with honoring Rachel’s wishes. To hell with leaving her alone.

When his shift with the asthma patient had ended, he’d gone home, taken a shower and gotten some breakfast after a busy night that had left no time to grab a bite to eat. He was relieved to see Rachel’s Honda in the open garage at her house. Even though it’d been almost two hours since she’d gotten off work, it wasn’t unheard of for her to still be at the hospital this much later.

He made his way through the light rain up the wet stairs toward the Culvers’ front door. It appeared that Rachel was alone, since hers was the only vehicle on the property. It didn’t surprise him, but it did concern him. Today might not be a good day for her to be alone.

When he got to the door, he knocked and waited. He rang the doorbell, beginning to wonder if she’d gone to sleep, as most people would do after working an overnight. Somehow he didn’t think she’d be able to sleep after what had happened last night, though.

After ringing the bell twice more, he tried the knob and found the door locked. The misty rain had picked up, and water dripped down his face from his hair. He went back down the stairs, into the garage and up those steps to the door that led to the kitchen. Without bothering to knock, he turned the handle and was relieved when it opened.

“Rachel?”

There was no sign that she’d been in the spotless kitchen.

“Rachel, where are you?” he called again as he walked into the deserted living room. Hearing a faint sound from above, he took the stairs two at a time, keeping his step light and quiet so as not to scare her if she was sleeping.

At the top of the stairs, he stepped into Sawyer’s bedroom, knowing she’d claimed it as hers for the time being. It was empty, as well, so he stopped and listened for a second, then turned and crossed the hall.

What he saw when he cleared the doorway stopped him cold for a fraction of a second, and then he rushed forward.

“Rachel, baby, what happened?” His heart raced as his mind sifted at lightning speed through possibilities of injuries or accidents that might be the cause of her condition.

She was doubled over on the bed—Noelle’s bed—her back to him, sobbing uncontrollably. Fighting for air. Or maybe...hyperventilating? She gave no indication that she’d heard him come in.

He sat on the bed next to her and touched her shoulder from behind, still not certain she knew he was there but beginning to sense this was no physical pain she was dealing with.

“Are you hurt?” he asked quietly, close to her ear, as he wrapped his arms around her from behind.

To his surprise—and adding to his concern—Rachel, the woman who seemed determined to handle her personal pain on her own, turned around and curled into him, grasping his shirt as if she were afraid she might sink into quicksand if she let go.

Cale cradled her to his chest and pressed his lips to her temple. “Shh, baby. You need to slow down. It’s okay. I’m here.”

“Can’t...stop...” she said between gasps. “Can’t...stand it... Help...me...”

He pulled her head away from him and forced eye contact. “You’re hyperventilating, Rachel. You need to slow your breathing down. Everything’s okay. Hear me?” He stared into her beautiful blue eyes and saw so much pain and sadness in them his chest constricted with the need to take the bad stuff away. “It’s okay, baby. Shh. Deep breaths.”

She tried to do what he said, nodding her head and inhaling slowly. Her breath hitched a few times. Cale continued to coach her through several slow, counted breaths, and she seemed to calm down a little.

He eased his way farther onto the bed on his side and pulled her with him, keeping his arms around her. She felt so small and vulnerable, her shoulders still jerking periodically as she continued to work to calm her breathing. Holding her tighter, he inhaled deeply, his nose buried in her hair, and felt the softness of her body beneath his fingertips.

He hadn’t held a woman this way for so long. He was supposed to be comforting her, but, God, it felt good. She felt good. He