Finding Miranda

Chapter 24: The Awakening

She wrapped his hand in both of hers and hugged it to her. She sobered, then asked, "Hurt?"

"Would you think me unmanly if I whimpered just a little?" he asked with a wry half-smile.

Miranda hit the call button before he even finished speaking. "We'll take care of that right now," she vowed.

"Patience," he soothed. "Hospitals are understaffed, nurses are super busy, they'll come when th—"

"Yes, Miss Ogilvy," interrupted a nurse, who seemed to have sprinted to the room.

"Mr. Krausse is awake and he's in pain," Miranda said imperiously. "He needs something right away, please."

"I'll be right back," said the nurse, and she disappeared.

Miranda relaxed against the bedside and kissed Shepard's hand again.

Shepard was mystified by the exchange between Miranda and the nurse. He was still agape when the nurse rushed again into the room. She injected something into Shepard's intravenous tube. "If that's not better in five minutes, just let me know," she said kindly. She smiled at Miranda and left.

He pulled free of Miranda's hands and placed his hand under her chin. He turned her face toward him and ran his fingers over her features. "Who is this person who has terrorized the nursing staff, and what have you done with Miranda Ogilvy?" he said.

"It just got to the point where there was too much at stake to sit back and be unseen," she said. "I was so afraid for you. I had to stand up and make people take notice. I had to make things happen; I couldn't wait for someone to 'get around to it.' You could've ... you really scared me."

He picked up her hand and brought it to his lips. "I'm sorry," he said, and kissed each finger in turn, saying "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

"Not your fault," she said. "Great apology, though. I think my toes just curled right up." She watched his eyes. They seemed to be only half open.

"How's the pain now?" she asked.

"Ooh, baby, we got to get a bottle of this stuff to take home," he said. "I can't even remember what was hurting. Great stuff."

"Shepard, don't go to sleep, okay? Stay with me a few more minutes," Miranda said, chafing his hand. "I need to tell you some things."

He forced his chin up and shoved more energy into his shoulders and arms. "Bad news," he said. "All right. I'm ready."

"I'm sorry to have to tell you, but your uncle, the governor, has been killed," Miranda said. She watched him for a reaction. There was nothing.

"They arrested a man named Westlake—a building contractor. The police said Westlake defrauded the State of millions, and the governor was getting ready to expose it, so Westlake killed him." She waited for Shepard's response.

"Westlake killed him," Shepard repeated softly. When he didn't say more, Miranda continued.

"Yeah, and then it gets really weird," Miranda said. "You remember when that guy set the fire in my house, and my shotgun went missing? And we reported it stolen, and the police assumed the arsonist took it. But I thought the arsonist wasn't carrying anything when he ran out, and I didn't think he had been in that part of the house even, but the only other person who had been in my house was your mother, and she didn't take my shotgun, I promise you, so I guess the police were right. Right?"

"I think I followed all that," Shepard said.

"The police think the arsonist was one of the guys who tried to kill us in the woods the other night. And they think those two guys were working for—get this now—"