Read Heroes (Hollywood Heartthrobs #1) for Free Online Page B

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Jane Doe. That means no one knows who she is?”
    “Correct,”
said the nurse. “Unless someone comes forward, we’ll have to wait until she can
tell us her name.”
    “Didn’t
she have an ID or something?” Dean asked. “Something to say who she is?”
    The
nurse shrugged. “Most people carry some form of identification, but in the
hubbub of an accident, things get lost easily. It’s likely she was separated
from her purse or whatever and someone picked it up.”
    “Picked
it up? Like, stole it?”
    “Possibly.”
    “Who
the hell would steal from a girl hit by a truck?”
    The
nurse gave him a small, slightly sad smile. “Probably more people than you
would imagine. But, then again you’re the kind of man who pulls women back from
in front of trucks, so I suppose you’re pretty far from the thieving type.”
    When
the nurse left, Dean resumed his silent vigil. He took a seat in the chair next
to the girl’s bed, wondering who she was, and how she had gotten to that bus
stop. She looked so still, so helpless. But if he knew nothing else about her,
he knew she had jumped in front of a truck to save a child. A woman with that
kind of strength, that kind of courage, could never possibly be helpless.
    He
couldn’t have explained why, but he reached out and placed his hand over hers. She
felt warm to his touch. He gently slid his middle finger under her wrist. He
could feel her pulse, slow and regular. The steady rhythm of it calmed him more
than he could say. She would be alright, he thought, as though he could will it
into being. She would be fine, and he would be right here when she woke, for
his own sake much more than hers. He needed her to be alright, needed to tell
her how grateful he was, how grateful he would always be, for what she had done
for Alec, and how sorry he was that he failed, that he had put Alec in harm’s
way. All these thoughts were brimming over in his soul, and he didn’t know what
he would ever do if he didn’t get the chance to tell her. It was unthinkable.
    ****
    Marjorie
Jensen had been volunteering at the hospital ever since retiring. After four
decades of secretarial work, she had found retirement a dreadful bore. So she
was often found at the hospital reading to patients, walking them out to the
grassy lawn out back she generously referred to as the garden, and occasionally
sneaking sweets in to the kids in the pediatric ward. This evening, she had
just finished reading to kindly old Mr. Haymitch, whom she always thought of as
old even though he was actually only six years her senior (Marjorie was
amazingly well-preserved for a woman about to turn seventy). Walking past an
open door, she noticed a young couple inside. A pretty woman with bandages on
her head was asleep on the bed, while her handsome swain held her left hand.
They looked almost like Sleeping Beauty and her prince. It was one of the
bright spots of volunteering in a hospital, no one was ever reserved at the
bedside of someone they cared about. The man’s eyes held such love and concern,
she felt drawn to the display of youthful devotion. She knocked gently at the
door. The man started.
    “Sorry,
dear, I didn’t mean to startle you,” she said. “I’m Marjorie. I’m one of the
volunteers on this ward and I wanted to ask if you were alright. Anything you
need?”
    “No,
thanks. We’re fine,” Dean answered.
    “You
should try to get some rest, you look peaky.” Poor thing, Marjorie thought,
eyes for no one but her, of course. She noticed neither of them wore a ring.
Well, that won’t take long, she thought, unable to resist enjoying their
courtship vicariously in her own imagination. 
    “I
want to be here when she wakes up,” Dean said without much thought.
    Marjorie
smiled at him. “Young man, volunteering at this hospital I’ve seen more than a
few fellows in your position. Sitting there, wishing there was more to be done.
You can’t help her by hurting yourself. A girl lucky enough to have a