The Colonel's Daughter by Debby Giusti

and smiled, not only with his lips but also with his eyes. For a brief moment, his gaze bathed her in a warmth that took away the chilling fear that had blanketed her for too long.
    “You’ll be with me at the hospital?” she asked, needing assurance he wouldn’t leave her.
    “Ah, sir,” the medic interrupted. “You can drive your own vehicle and meet us at the E.R.”
    Releasing her hand, Jamison took a step toward the surprised EMT and jammed his finger into the guy’s chest.
    “Let’s get this straight. I’m riding in the ambulance with the patient.”
    The medic’s eyes widened for a moment before he shrugged. “Whatever you say, sir.”
    True to his word, Jamison hovered close to her side not only during the drive to the hospital, but also while she waited in the exam room to see the doctor. Once the physician appeared, Jamison moved into the hallway. He stood guard outside her door while the doctor completed his assessment and ordered a battery of laboratory tests and X-rays.
    “You can come back in here,” Michele said to Jamison through the half-opened door after the doc had moved on to the next patient.
    “Thanks, but I’ll stay put.” Jamison’s stance, his pursed lips and the tight pull on his square jaw were outward signs he was in full bodyguard mode. Had something else happened that had put him on high alert?
    Before she had time to ask, an aide appeared and pushed her to X-ray. Jamison followed close behind the stretcher. His focused gaze swept the corridor. Every few seconds, he turned to scan the hallway behind them.
    Surely he was being overly cautious. Although after Yolanda’s death and her own run-in with the driver at the cemetery, Michele was relieved to have someone watching her back, a very stoic someone who said little and kept his facial expressions to a minimum.
    A friendly tech x-rayed her legs and spinal column, after which Michele returned to the exam room. Just as before, Jamison remained in the hallway, eyeing the flow of medical personnel and patients.
    “Did something happen?” Michele finally asked, no longer able to keep her curiosity in check.
    Jamison leaned into her room. “While you were with the doc, one of the nurses mentioned some strange dudes in the waiting area.”
    Michele rolled her eyes. “Are you always on duty?”
    His lips twitched ever so slightly before he returned to his guard post.
    She glanced at her watch. What was taking so long? A few minutes later, she checked the time again. And then again.
    Everything moved slowly in the emergency room, which frustrated Michele. She had told her mother she planned to run a few errands when she left the house earlier in the day. By now, Roberta would be worried something had happened.
    Closing her eyes, Michele tried to stave off the growing anxiety and opened them seconds later to find Jamison next to her, cell phone in hand. “Time to call home.”
    “How...how did you know what I was thinking?”
    “You kept checking your watch.”
    Her mother sounded relieved when she heard Michele’s voice. Choosing her words carefully, Michele relayed what had happened in an upbeat, breezy way.
    Of course, Roberta instantly picked up on Michele’s attempt to soft-pedal the news. Before she could completely reassure her mother, a lab tech appeared, needing one more vial of blood.
    “Don’t say anything to worry her,” Michele mouthed as she passed the phone to Jamison and then fisted her hand for the blood draw. He retreated to the hallway and finished the conversation there.
    “You were on the phone for a long time,” Michele said once the tech returned to the lab and Jamison pocketed his phone. “You didn’t make matters worse, did you?”
    “Michele, please. Your mother can handle the truth.”
    Truth? She turned her gaze to the lime-green walls and the Norman Rockwell knockoff hanging over the stretcher.
    Mildly annoyed with Jamison’s reticence, Michele was more irritated at herself for causing the