Her Perfect Proposal Read online

  “Do you know what shanghaied means?” He broke into her thoughts.

  “Yes.” She’d heard that term in regards to Heartlandia before, but more in a fanciful way, more like an urban legend from Mr. Lincoln at his grill. Now this guy was insisting it was true.

  “My relative had come through immigration not more than two weeks earlier. See, the pirates who ruled this place, not those peaceful fisherman and Indians like everyone yaps on about, found their marks in the holding area. They all worked for the captain who discovered the inlet here. They controlled everything and looked for young men with muscles. Then they’d crimp them by getting them drunk, so drunk they didn’t know they were getting sent out to sea. Work them half to death and not give a damn.”

  So Roald was exacting revenge for his relative three centuries later? Was the ancient building that housed the microbrewery the place where his relative had been shanghaied? Her head was twirling with the wacky information. Pirates?

  Where had this dark past come from? Certainly this wasn’t the history she’d read about Heartlandia.

  Under different circumstances Lilly would be salivating to research and run with a story like this, but her conscience and newfound fondness for the Heartlandia people, and loving one over-bossy resident in particular, sobered her. Too many things needed to be checked out first. This wild story could be a figment of the arsonist’s twisted imagination.

  She should have asked the ER nurse if the guy had been given a psych evaluation before agreeing to hear him out. Of course, since Elke confirmed they had genealogy classes at the college, Lilly could ask what the source of their information was. If anyone would know, a historian like Elke would.

  Wasn’t it interesting that this new information came on top of the secret meetings at city hall, meetings that were important enough for Gunnar to break up with her over?

  Snap! Elke had been attending those meetings, too. She’d seen her with her own eyes when she’d spied on Gunnar.

  A police officer entered the room with an ambulance technician and broke up her powwow with Roald the avenger. Thank goodness!

  “You’ve got to believe me,” he pleaded as the officer asked her to leave when he unlocked the handcuffs.

  “I’ll look into your story, Mr. Lindstrom.” Though unlike her usual self, she felt completely halfhearted about the promise.

  Without trying she’d stumbled upon the meatiest information of her career—provided it was true. Could those secret meetings be about pirates? Then where did those aerial views at Gunnar’s house come in? They were of the sacred burial ground. How did one have anything to do with the other? That was the question of the day.

  This could be the huge story she’d been hoping for! This could seal her reputation as a top-notch journalist. This story, if she could parse it out, and if it was true, could even get national coverage or go viral on the internet.

  Sleepy Little Oregon Town Founded by Pirates. Or better yet, Ancient Revenge!

  It could be her ticket to stardom. Damn it. Her father had taken over her conscience again.

  Her stomach was tied in a knot and she felt a little sick at the thought. You don’t have to be the person your dad tried to make you. Was she so success-oriented and hard-hearted that she’d betray Gunnar while he was injured and in the hospital, and ruin any chance of ever getting back together with him? What about being in love with him? Was success really all about the goal and doing anything to achieve it? Just how big a price was she willing to pay for recognition?

  Her parents may have raised her to be this way, but after meeting Gunnar, did she really want to hold on to the tail of a dragon and miss out on the important things in life, like the love of a good man?

  She wasn’t sure how she’d get to the bottom of this potential news-breaking story, but it was her duty as a journalist, and she knew she’d start by talking to Elke.

  Not tonight, though. Nope.

  Tonight was all about Gunnar. The man she loved.

  After Lilly stepped out of the patient room, she strode back to the elevator. Her head still spun from the crazy story, but her mind immediately compartmentalized the information. Thinking only of Gunnar, his surgery and, more importantly, his recovery, she rushed back to see him.

  Hopefully, this time he’d want to see her, too.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Elke was exactly where Lilly had left her in the waiting room. She sat quietly reading a decade-old magazine from a nearby table piled high with them. The blonde woman glanced up and smiled. “Anything interesting?”

  Lilly inhaled and raised her brows. “You wouldn’t believe what that guy told me.”

  “Try me.” Elke glanced at her watch—it had only been a couple of hours since Gunnar had been taken to surgery. “We’ve got time.”

  “You said he went to Heartlandia CC, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, according to him that genealogy extension class your school offers gave him the key to finding out a lot more than he expected.” Lilly took out her bottled water and took a sip. “Have you ever heard about people getting shanghaied here in Heartlandia?”

  Elke went quiet briefly, as though planning what to say. “Oh, we’ve got a rich supply of seafaring stories to pass along to tourists, if that’s what they’re after. They’re more like urban legends than truth, though.”

  “So you think this guy’s story is off base.”

  “Could be.”

  Lilly wasn’t sure if Elke would lie straight-faced to her or if she was the sane person who Lilly should believe, rather than the whack-job arsonist. She’d always prided herself on being a solid judge of character, and her gut told her Elke was the one to trust. But those darn secret meetings stirred up all kinds of doubt about who she could believe or why.

  Lilly shuddered and rubbed her arms.

  “You okay?” Elke asked.

  “I hate hospitals.”

  “Most people do.”

  “My dad wanted me to be a surgeon. I was afraid if I ever set foot in one he’d lock me inside and never let me out. Made for quite a struggle when I needed my tonsils out at twelve.” Lilly gave a doleful laugh and was surprised when Elke reached over to hug her.

  The phone in the surgery waiting room wall rang and Elke jumped to answer it. Her eyes widened and overflowed with relief as she listened to the person on the other end. She hung up. “He’s out of surgery. Everything went great, and I can see him as soon as they get him settled in recovery.”

  What about me?

  Elke must have read the disappointment on Lilly’s face. “After I see him, I’ll see if you can go in for a quick visit, too. Okay?”

  Lilly grabbed her forearm and squeezed. “Thank you so much.” Maybe the anesthesia would make him forget they’d broken up just hours earlier. A girl could always hope. “I’m not just his fly-by-night girlfriend, you know.”

  “You’re not.” Elke’s kind expression and confident words reassured Lilly, even though technically she wasn’t Gunnar’s girlfriend at all anymore. At least until she could change things.

  “He’s a great guy, and maybe a little hotheaded when it comes to Heartlandia.” Lilly leveled a gaze at Elke. “You may as well know that he thought I was snooping when I wasn’t. Not on purpose anyway. I swear on a stack of Bibles I wasn’t.”

  “Didn’t you write that article mentioning how he may have become a policeman to make up for our father being a criminal?”

  “I did.” Lilly winced, now realizing firsthand the implications her story had had, the very ones Gunnar was so upset about.

  “And the story about Mayor Rask?”

  “Yes, but…”

  “He was probably ticked off about that, too,” Elke said.

  “Tell me about it. He broke up with me over it!” That wasn’t the whole reason, but for the sake of conversation, she’d leave trust out of it for now.

  But that was only half of her problem. She’d let herself fall in love with him. He could al
ways make her laugh, and he was a great match of wits with her. He’d opened up a whole new world showing her around Heartlandia and introducing her to the inhabitants. He made her feel protected and cherished, and above all accepted for who she was—such a foreign feeling. And their lovemaking was like nothing she’d ever experienced. The list went on and on.

  The hole in Lilly’s chest widened as she thought about actually losing Gunnar because of her mistakes. It wouldn’t be fair. Her first blunder was before she’d completely fallen for him. Then the mix-up about the aerial views of the sacred burial ground was completely unintentional.

  If he loved her he’d believe her. She’d thought that mailing tube had held the blueprints for the next phase of his house, that’s all. That was the honest-to-God truth, yet she’d never managed to convince him. His natural instinct to mistrust people until proven otherwise had driven a wedge between them. Soon enough she’d pushed everything over the ledge. She’d run the article on Mayor Rask, heavily hinting at town secrets.

  She’d ruined everything—broken his trust.

  Since the scene in the restaurant, she’d had time to calm down and come to her senses. Gunnar had driven home some very important points. Success at all cost was a loser idea. Gee, thanks, Mom and Dad.

  The big question was, could Gunnar think things through and decide what they had was worth keeping?

  Of course not! He didn’t have time! He’d had to rush off to a fire and he’d gotten shot.

  Every thought must have played across her face because she snapped out of it and noticed Elke’s empathetic expression. Lilly decided to lay it all out there.

  “I love your brother, and I kind of thought he’d fallen for me, too. That is until this afternoon when he read me the riot act and walked off.”

  “He has a way of flying off the handle. Basically, he likes to be in control, has ever since our father left. He’s got a lot of pride, too.” Elke smiled. “Give him some time. If I know my brother, falling in love would mean he’d lost control of his heart. The last thing he ever wants to be is out of control. He’d be primed for finding ways to avoid it.” The smile changed to a sad downward turn of her lips. “You picked a guy who prefers to be married to his job, trusts only himself and insists on testing people all the time, so it won’t be easy, but something tells me, with your determination, you’ll work this out.”

  The phone rang again, and in a flash, Elke had answered it. “Okay. Thanks.” She turned. “I can go see him now. Give me a few minutes to make sure he’s okay, then I’ll ask them to let you in.”

  “Thanks.”

  Lilly watched Gunnar’s sister disappear behind a door operated by pressing a metal plate on the wall. Elke had decided Lilly was determined enough to make things right again. She only hoped Elke was right. But at the moment, the last thing she felt was determined. Truth was, she felt defeated and hated every second of not being in charge of her life the way her parents had taught her to be. She’d have to throw everything she ever knew out the window in order to regain his trust.

  She and Gunnar weren’t exactly a match made in heaven, with his lack of trust in her and her old habits tripping her up at every turn, yet she’d finally found a guy to be crazy about. Too bad he’d dropped her on circumstantial evidence.

  Fifteen minutes later Elke reappeared looking relieved. “He’s doing great. Still pretty out of it from the drugs, but he’s coming around. They said you can see him for five minutes.” She pointed to the double doors she’d just come through. “Push that plate and once you’re inside, he’s in recovery bed four.”

  “Thanks.” After a quick squeezing of each other’s hands, Lilly set out to see Gunnar, her heart tap-dancing inside her chest. What if he kicked her out? How could she save face after that?

  The thought was too painful to consider. She trudged into the recovery room pasting false confidence onto her face.

  Gunnar nearly took up the entire hospital bed. His eyes were closed and a huge white dressing covered most of his chest. His left arm was in a black sling. A little round bulb hung from the middle of the bandages. It was some kind of drain, and it was half-full of bright red blood already. His blood. Her heart squeezed.

  An IV machine with several plastic bags in varying sizes attached took up one side of the bed, and assorted medical equipment filled most of the rest of the space on the other side. The sight of him looking so vulnerable made her dizzy. She found a wheelchair nearby and pushed it forward to sit on. But she couldn’t sit and wait for him to notice her. She only had five minutes. She’d hoped to look into his eyes. To see if he truly hated her or if there was a chance he could forgive her. Since he was under the influence, maybe his true feelings would show.

  She ran her hand down his forearm, the side without the IV. His thumb twitched.

  He was okay, and the knowledge filled her heart with gladness. She exhaled her relief, not realizing until then she’d been holding her breath. His safety and health were all that mattered right this moment. She studied him with a huge bubble of love welling in her chest.

  One of his eyes cracked open. It took a moment for him to focus on her.

  “Lilly?”

  “Yes. I’m here.”

  He went silent again for a few moments. “I thought we broke up.” His voice was raspy from surgery and whatever they must have shoved down his throat to help him breathe.

  She couldn’t let on how shook-up she was, so she kept face. “That’s your side of the story.”

  A tiny smile stretched his lips. “Just like Wolverine.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “He won’t go away.”

  She’d seen the way Gunnar adored his huge cat. This hard-ass facade was just an act. “I’m not going to go away, either, until you forgive me.” She took and squeezed his hand. He gently squeezed back.

  He inhaled deeply as if unable to fight off sleep. “We’ll see about that,” he mumbled and finally gave in to the sedation.

  At least she knew he’d made it through surgery. He was all right. And hopefully he’d remember she’d been here by his side.

  “I’ll take care of Wolverine. Don’t worry,” she said, then let go of his hand leaving him to sleep.

  She nodded her thanks to the nurse and left the recovery room, finding Elke right where she’d left her.

  “I’m going to go to Gunnar’s house and feed Wolverine.”

  “Thanks. I’m staying here until they transfer him to his room. I’ll text you the number.”

  “Great. Thanks.”

  Lilly approached Elke, she stood, and they hugged, like new friends. Two people who both cared for the same man. One as a blood relative, the other as a crazy mixed-up blabbermouthed lover.

  Riding down the elevator, Lilly felt trembly. Her world had been knocked on its head tonight. Though, having Elke put things in perspective on the Gunnar side of the equation gave Lilly a flicker of hope. His being married to the job didn’t have nearly the benefits of a living, breathing warm body. Surely he knew that.

  It wouldn’t be easy to get a guy like him to forgive her, especially if he was looking for ways to avoid getting attached to anything outside of work, but she wouldn’t give up. She’d find a way to get back into his good graces no matter what it took. There had to be a way to make Gunnar trust her again.

  Right now she’d start by taking care of his cat.

  *

  Gunnar woke to sharp, stabbing pain in his shoulder. It took him a moment to realize he was in the hospital. He nearly knocked over a Styrofoam cup of ice reaching for the bedside call button for the nurse so he could get some relief. He’d had crazy dreams all night. Starting with visions of fire and chasing after someone. He remembered getting shot, stun-gun-level pain and feeling helpless, a feeling he hated more than anything. Then the smell of a hospital, and clattering noise, people talking over him as if he wasn’t there.

  His sister’s face came into view, her voice sounding as if she were under water.
r />   And he’d seen Lilly, or maybe he’d only imagined it. Yeah, it was probably a dream. She’d stood beside him and said something sassy. Wasn’t that just like her, too? But having her near had settled him down, seeing her face warming his aching chest.

  He shook his head, still trying to fully wake up. Why had Wolverine come into his thoughts? Oh, yeah, someone needed to feed him.

  He massaged his temples with his one good hand. Ah, right. Lilly would. Feed Wolverine. Yeah.

  But he’d broken up with her. She’d gone over the line printing that information about the meetings, even though Mayor Rask said she could, and he couldn’t trust her. Wasn’t trust the most basic element for any successful relationship?

  So why did he trust her to feed his cat?

  The nurse appeared and he was grateful to be distracted from his jumbled-up thoughts. “What day is it?”

  “Friday.”

  He’d lost a day. “I need something for pain.”

  “Sure. I’ll be right back.”

  Gunnar opened and closed his left hand, tried to bend his elbow just to make sure he could still use it, but the sling prevented him. When he tried to lift his entire arm, sling and all, he let out an involuntary groan.

  A doctor who looked like a teenager appeared. “Sergeant Norling? How’re you feeling today?”

  “I could be a lot better, thanks.”

  “You’re a lucky man. The bullet lodged in the lateral pectoralis major muscle and went through the scapularis.”

  “Whoa, whoa, Doc, come again?”

  “Bottom line, we were able to remove the bullet and all of the fragments in your left outer shoulder. However, the impact of the shot did fracture your clavicle. You’ll need to wear a sling for several weeks.”

  “So my shoulder socket’s okay?”

  “Amazingly, yes. I’ll see about having you released for home by this afternoon.”

  “I’m in a lot of pain.”

  “That’s to be expected, and we’ll send you home with pain relief.”