As Long As You Love Me ✓

5. Everything's Alright

He bristled, but chalked it up to how he'd felt when his dad had ran around on his mom, before finally running out. No one deserved that. "Argument or not, if my girlfriend was in the hospital, I'd drop everything to see her."

Lily raised her brows. "Oh, so you have a girlfriend? What does she think about you helping Zari?"

"No, I was talking in general. Just seems odd to me this guy is satisfied with just texts."

"I agree. There may be more going on than what he's telling us. Time will tell. When Zari wakes, she can fill in the blanks."

Gabriel didn't know what he'd expected Lily to say, but was glad his first impression of Zari had been right. With a little luck, she'd wake sooner than later and go back to Dallas, and his life would get back to normal. A part of him disliked the idea. Before he could give that more thought, someone behind him spoke.

"You can go back in now, Mrs. Filgard."

Gabriel turned to face Harper. She'd been working at the hospital since she graduated high school. "Hey, Harper."

"Hey, yourself. Grapevine says you're gonna get another hero award for the rescue. Good for you."

"Thanks, but Cole was just as instrumental as I was."

"Hear he's getting one, too. A group of us plans to nominate you for that Bachelor TV show."

Christ Almighty. Would it ever stop? Parkers Prairie residents were so damn bored with their lives, they latched onto any bit of news they could and blew it out of proportion.

"No. Don't do that. I'm flattered, but I have no desire to be on TV."

She snorted. "But Gabriel. You're the town's favorite son and just about the most eligible bachelor."

He shook his head so fast his vision blurred. "Harper, I'm putting you in charge of killing that notion. I mean it. If you want to nominate someone, Riley is your best candidate. He'd welcome the opportunity to put Parkers Prairie on the map."

She narrowed her eyes and tilted her head as if weighing the possibility. "Well, if you're dead set against it, I guess I can throw his name in for consideration. But, he's never saved anyone."

"Not true. He saves people money on their insurance all the time."

Harper laughed out loud, then caught her breath. "Good Lord, Gabriel. You tickle me."

"Yeah, well just promise me you'll withdraw my name."

"The girls won't be happy, but okay."

She disappeared, and Gabriel relaxed. He hoped he'd put that fire out for good. He turned back to Lily. She had an odd expression.

"So, you're a local hero and saving Zari was all in a day's work?"

"It doesn't take much to earn that title in a town this small."

"I don't believe that for a minute. But I can see how uncomfortable the subject makes you, so I'll let it drop. If you don't mind, I'll go back to the motel and let you visit with Zari. I've been here since four o'clock this morning."

"Sure. That's fine. I'll stay with her until another family member shows up."

Gabriel grabbed the bag, headed back down the hallway, and into her room. It was scary seeing her hooked up to all the machines, with tubes and needles seemingly all over the place. She had a breathing tube that hooked into her nose, and an IV drip with a shunt in her arm. With all the blipping and beeping machines hooked into her, Zari looked smaller, paler, and frailer than he'd seen her the night of the accident. Her hair was a shockingly blond mess piled on the top of her head in a lumpy bun that made her look too pale for his liking.