One Summer in Santa Fe - By Molly Evans Page 0,57

made him want to crumble to his knees.

“Do you think you could extend your assignment for just a little while?”

“Why? I can’t just stay because there’s an opening. Any travel nurse can fill the position.”

Unable to answer right away, he simply breathed and looked at her face. Pain and hurt and somehow hope all were exposed raw. “For Alex. For Caroline. For me.”

“Why?”

The word was harsh in his brain and the searing pain in his chest hadn’t subsided. He opened his mouth, but nothing that made sense formed in his brain. She loved him, that’s all that swam around in his mind. She loved him.

She took a defiant step forward, challenging him. “Tell me why, Taylor. I need to know.”

“Because I need you, Piper. I need you. The right words won’t come, but I need you.” His voice cracked.

“Then I’ll stay. For Alex. For Caroline. And for you. Until Caroline is out of danger, I’ll stay. After that, I can’t make any promises.”

“Thank you, Piper.” He took her hand and squeezed, wanting to drag her into his arms, but if he did, he knew he might not ever let go. “You don’t know what this means to me.”

“No, I don’t. It’s up to you to let me know that.”

“I will. I’ll make it up to you somehow, I promise.”

“No promises you can’t keep, Taylor.” She withdrew her hand. “I’d rather have it honest and painful than be misled.”

“I’d never do that to you, Piper.”

“Time will tell. It’s all up to you now.”

Her arms went around him, and they held on to each other as emotions unnamed swirled around them. Taylor fit Piper against him and squeezed his eyes shut. Everything about her fit, he didn’t care what she said about them being poles apart. In the important things, they fit. Not the little details that they could work out. And he couldn’t let go of that now. Maybe not ever. “I don’t know if I can give you more than that, but if you don’t stay, we’ll never have a chance to find out.”

For long minutes they simply stood there and held on to each other. The noises of the ICU washed over and around them, but they seemed immune to the outside forces moving nearby. Finally, Piper eased back, tear smudges on her face, and she had left a wet mark on Taylor’s shirt. She took a shaky breath and looked up at him. At that moment he knew he felt more for her than he had for any woman. He couldn’t let go of that or his soul would never be the same again. Was that love? He didn’t know, but he couldn’t make himself let her go.

“I’ll go call my company and see what they can arrange.” She took another step back. “At this point, I’m only willing to stay until Caroline’s out of the hospital and rehab, which will likely be just a few weeks.”

“I understand.” What she didn’t say aloud was what he knew in his gut. It was going to be up to him whether she stayed beyond that. From here on out, everything that happened was on his head. Something shifted in Taylor as he looked at her. He knew she loved him. And he felt things for her that he had never felt before. Was that love? Was it simple lust gone wild? Or was it wanting to keep the loneliness at bay? He didn’t know, but he damned sure was going to find out if this thing between them was going to survive the test of time. It was certainly being tested now, which didn’t bode well for a long-term relationship.

“I’ll go talk to Emily, too, and be back in a while.”

“I’ll be waiting for you.”

She gave him a small smile and took the stairs to the ER.

Time ticked by slowly for Taylor as he sat at Caroline’s bedside after the second surgery. Piper had successfully extended her contract for four weeks, starting in one week, which gave her a break of seven days in between. That meant he had five weeks to convince her to stay. Or she was going to leave for good. He knew that.

God, he just hoped that Caroline’s recovery was uncomplicated—no infections, no blood clots, no setbacks. He stared at the monitors, at Caroline’s vital signs displayed in glowing green numbers, illuminating the dark of the room. Stable. The respirator had been removed and the tube taken from her throat so that she would be able