Ashes of the Red Heifer by Shannon Baker Read Free Book Online Page B

eyes. “I can’t believe you’d do this. You’ve wanted it since you heard about BA 23.”
    Since before that, she thought. Since she was seventeen and all her dreams were stomped under the soles of size ten cowboy boots and a Bible.
    Hassan shook his head. “That won’t be enough. You don’t understand.”
    She put her hand on his forehead. “You rest now, okay? We can talk about this after you’ve slept for a while. Not until.”
    He closed his eyes, using all his waning strength in his voice. “This is important.”
    “Okay, we’ll talk about it later.”
    She could tell he didn’t want to go to sleep but he couldn’t fight it. Oh, the benefits of modern medicine. She brushed back his curls and gently rubbed his forehead until the worry wrinkles disappeared and his breathing evened out.
    She wanted to gather him up and protect him like she would a small child. His body beaten, face swollen. And for what? This morning she had the end in sight. They’d cure BA23 and save countless human lives, not to mention the entire cattle population. How could it fall apart so quickly? She couldn’t take away Hassan’s pain and she may not be able to do anything about the vaccine, either.
    David stood at the doorway with her coffee cup in his hand. “Annie.”
    She looked at Hassan, his breath coming thankfully even and effortless. She put a finger to her lips and walked toward the doorway in her stocking feet. She accepted the coffee David held.
    She took a sip, padding down the hall to the waiting room. “Poor Hassan. He hurts and he’s confused and scared.”
    David walked beside her. “Scared?”
    She shrugged and crossed the waiting room to a window. “He thinks someone is out to kill him.”
    “I don’t know where he’d get that idea.” Sarcasm tinged David’s voice. “After all, he was targeted by the men on the bus and beaten to a pulp.”
    A fist of worry punched Annie’s gut. “Do you think he’s in danger?”
    David shook his head. “I think the hospital is a safe place.”
    She turned and started for the door. “Maybe we should stay with him.”
    David put his hand out to stop her. “Wait. There’s something I want to say.”
    The serious tone of his voice stopped her. He wrapped his hands lightly around her biceps. The blue in his eyes deepened and he stared into hers. “With everything that’s happened this might not be the time to do this. But then, it’s because of everything that I know for sure this is what I want.”
    Her heart thundered against her ribs. Whatever he was planning to say was going to be big. Maybe he was saying he realized she caused too many problems and was such a loser he didn’t want anything more to do with her.
    David didn’t break eye contact. His grip tightened slightly. “I think you know how I feel about you.”
    How did he feel about her? She had no clue.
    His voice got softer. “I love you, Annie.”
    Wham! Right upside the head. Love. Hassan had just said the same thing and it had washed over her. This confession hit like a tsunami.
    “When I thought I lost you in the bombing I couldn’t imagine going on. This sounds impulsive and it probably seems like it’s coming out of left field. But Annie…”
    He paused.
    Annie was stuck way back at the L word. Suddenly she felt trapped. He said he loved her but what if she believed him and it was a reaction to the bomb and then he decided he didn’t? That kind of pain, on the heels of losing BA 23, was more than she could bear.
    He squeezed tighter and she looked into his eyes, brimming with tears. “Annie, will you marry me?”
    Those words broke her paralysis. She felt a fear that had to be greater than what Hassan felt minutes before. She pulled back. “No,” she said and slid on the heel of her sock, practically running from the room.
    She started down the hall and stopped short. Two armed policemen stood at the nurses’ station outside Hassan’s room. One leaned over the counter speaking to a