Where the Forest Meets the Stars(85)

“Let’s have this conversation in the waiting room,” Lenora said.
“Why? Ursa wants to know what’s going on, and you know she can handle it.” Jo turned back to the policemen. “If I’m charged, I may be expelled from the university and graduate school.”
“Are you sure?” Gabe said.
“My advisor confirmed it. Before you decide my fate,” she said, turning to the men, “I want you to know what could happen if you charge me. I admit I made bad decisions with Ursa, but everything I did came from a place of compassion. Please make sure the punishment fits the crime before you completely wreck my life—and Ursa’s—because I’ll have no hope of becoming her foster parent if I’m charged.”
“I want you to be my foster parent!” Ursa said.
“I know, love bug. Let me finish, okay?” She faced Lenora and Dr. Shaley. “I have a lot more to say to you two. I have to be certain Ursa won’t be haunted with doubts about me if someone lies to her in the future.” Jo stepped back so Ursa could clearly see her face. “Right here, in front of Ursa, I’m asking you to please let me be Ursa’s foster parent. I would also like to apply for adoption rights. Let me tell you my qualifications—”
“Joanna,” Lenora said, “this isn’t the time or—”
“Please, hear me out. My number one qualification is that I love her—and I know no other applicant can say that. Number two, she and I are bonded by this tragedy. My understanding of what she’s been through will be healing for her. Number three—my parents left me significant inheritances when they passed away, so I have the financial resources to raise a child as a single parent. Number four, I don’t drink or use drugs, and I’ve never been in trouble with the law—not even for a traffic ticket. Number five—”
“I think we’ve heard enough,” Dr. Shaley said.
“This one is important,” Jo said. “Number five, my parents were scientists who taught me to value nature and be curious about the world. Ursa thrives in natural and scientific realms because they satisfy her need for intellectual stimulation. My goal is to be a professor at a top university, and I can’t imagine a better environment than academia for a child with Ursa’s abilities.”
“Are we done?” Dr. Shaley asked.
“Not yet. I’d like to talk about something you may see as a problem. I’m a cancer survivor. But my cancer was caught at an early stage, and my prognosis is good.”
Jo looked at Ursa. “Do you understand everything I said? No matter what happens, never doubt that I love you and I tried to keep us together. Beyond this, I have no control over what happens.” Jo sat on the bed next to her. “Seems our fates are as topsy-turvy as the characters in Shakespeare’s plays.”
“But this will end like Twelfth Night !” Ursa said. “Everyone will be happy!”
“Good lord, she knows Shakespeare?” Lenora said.
Detective Kellen grinned. “Our wills and fates do so contrary run,” he said.
“Hamlet , great line,” Gabe said.
“My favorite since high school,” Kellen said.
A nurse entered with liquid medication in a cup for Ursa.
“Looks like Ursa is fated to get some rest,” Lenora said. “Let’s take this conversation to the waiting room.”
“I don’t want to rest!” Ursa said. “Jo and Gabe have to stay!”
Jo and Gabe kissed her goodbye and let the nurse handle the imminent clash of will and fate.


36

Gabe’s hotel room was unaccustomed luxury and privacy after Jo’s sit-in at the ICU. The warm shower felt especially extravagant. “Sorry about this,” Jo told Gabe, “but I didn’t bring clothes in the bathroom.” She couldn’t hold the towel around herself while using the crutches.
Gabe looked up from his phone and appraised her naked body. “You’re apologizing?”
“Will you help me rebandage my leg?”
“Sure, I’m up for playing doctor.”
She put the bag of medical supplies on the bed and lay on her stomach.
“Especially when I get to look at your ass while doing it,” he said.
“Does it look okay?”
He stroked her cheeks. “It looks great.”
“What about the wound, Mr. Bottom? How does it look?”
“It looks like someone put a bullet in you.”
“Not infected?”
“Nope, it’s good.”
“First put on the antibiotic ointment—then a gauze pad before you wrap it.”
He touched her gently as he worked. He wrapped her leg, his fingers brushing her inner thighs. “I was badly distracted, but I think that will hold,” he said, taping down the edge of the bandage.
She rolled over. “Take off your clothes.”
He stood over her, staring into her eyes as he pulled off his clothing. He stretched his warm body over hers. “Am I too heavy on your leg? I don’t want to hurt you.”
“I’m not exactly feeling my leg at the moment.”
Afterward, they held each other in a private little galaxy created by blackout curtains and the air-conditioning set on high. Only the loudest sounds of the city reached them.
“Tomorrow I have to go home and take over my mother’s care,” he said. “I was texting with Lacey when you came out. She has to come back to Saint Louis because her sons will be home the day after tomorrow. She wants to spend time with them before they go back to college.”