Chapter Thirteen
Isaac had to let Cosette go as the Vegas police took them into the station and separated them for questioning. It was late Saturday afternoon when they were finally released. He was starving and tired and ready to eat and then hold Cosette close and sleep, but they decided first to go see her father at the hospital.
Blaine was asleep when they got there. Cosette stood by his bedside and took his hand. Tears slid down her face, and Isaac knew she was reliving the nightmare of almost losing him. Isaac didn’t know what to do besides stand close by and wrap his arm around her waist. She leaned into him, and it made him feel like the king of the world. How was he going to leave her tomorrow?
They didn’t speak or move for a while as she held her dad’s hand and Isaac kept her close. Finally, her dad stirred and then opened his eyes. He blinked up at Cosette, and then his gaze shifted to Isaac. Isaac wondered briefly if he should step away, but he refused to. He wasn’t a teenager, and he refused to hide his love for Cosette from her dad.
Her dad’s face cracked into a smile. “Look at the two of you,” he murmured.
Cosette squeezed his hand. “Are you all right? Can I get you anything?”
He waved his other hand. “The nurses came in earlier and got me all comfortable and gave me a drink. I just want to look at you, my beautiful girl. Are you all right?”
“Yes.” She smiled worshipfully up at Isaac. “Thanks to Isaac.”
Isaac returned her smile.
“Yes, I hear we owe a lot to Isaac. One of the nurses relayed the entire story. Apparently she heard it from the paramedics that came for me, who heard it from the police …” He chuckled dryly. “Thank you, Isaac,” he murmured. “Thank you for rescuing both of us.”
Isaac nodded. “I’d do anything for Cosette, sir.”
Her dad’s eyebrow arched up. “Anything?”
Cosette stiffened in his arms, and Isaac was very concerned where Blaine was going to lead him.
“Leave the military?”
Cosette sucked in a breath. “Dad … I appreciate you always being concerned about me, but I’m an adult now. Isaac and I will work this out on our own.”
Her dad’s eyebrows lifted. “I’m sorry I’m so overprotective.”
She shrugged. “I love you being there for me, but you need to trust me also. I’m not a flighty teenager anymore.”
He nodded. “I do trust you, and I love you very much. I apologize, love. I’m just a man, and without your mother around, I don’t understand girls very well.”
“Women,” Isaac corrected, his eyebrows tilting in a warning.
Cosette smiled at him.
“I’m with you on the not understandingwomen, sir,” Isaac commiserated.
Blaine chuckled. “Okay, my little girl’s a woman. Don’t rub it in.”
The subject changed back to the kidnapping and rescue, and Cosette told him all about Tattoo Guy and how tough Isaac was. Isaac listened and smiled and commented, but his mind was scrambling to figure out how to be with Cosette. He wasn’t leaving the Air Force. His team needed him. He was proud to be serving his country, and he lived to be part of the action, fighting and protecting others.
Yet leaving her might rip him in two. His grip tightened around Cosette. Why did life have to be so hard?
* * *
Cosette watched Isaac’s profile as they sat at a table in their suite at the MGM Grand that night and ate through several orders of room service. She’d ordered a raspberry-chicken salad. Isaac had ordered steak and shrimp with a baked potato, veggies, a roll, a salad, and a side of a full chicken alfredo entrée with an entire cake for dessert.
She smiled as she watched him eat, smelling the hearty flavor of the steak. She’d loved cooking for him at their protected beach bungalow in Vieques.That time seemed far away. Even though Isaac was still right here with her, he felt far away as well. Like she was already losing him.
He ate several bites of cake and then sat back. “Sorry if I acted like a pig. I was starved.”
She smiled. “I’ll tell your mom you still showed very good manners, even starved.”
“Thank you.” Isaac stood, and she helped him pile all of the empty and half-empty plates onto the tray. He made an exception for the cake, which he carried over to the small counter. When he returned from taking the tray into the hallway, he extended his hand and looked at her very seriously. “Can we talk?”