One Chance: A Thrilling Christian Fiction Mystery Romance Read Online Free PDF Page A

dismally.
    Penelope interrogated Bill Macos next and was told the same story. The case of the red Buick thieves was now almost closed. The only thing that remained was to cancel the BOLO messages and arrange for the return of the vehicles to the owners.
    She personally called Mrs. Briggs and Mister Fredericks to tell them that arrests had been made and that their cars would be returned as quickly as possible. The gratitude from them both was enough thanks for taking up some of her Saturday.
    But not enough to take her mind off Doug's troubles.

CHAPTER 7
    A little more than an hour later, the paperwork done, Penelope went over to the clinic to check on Pete's condition. The clinic was normally closed on weekends. But today, Doctor Jacob was still there, tending to Pete's wounds.
    She suddenly remembered he had asked her to call when she got home last night. Between Doug and everything else, she'd forgotten. She hoped he'd forgive her. She made her way to exam room two and opened the door.
    Jacob was there, his back to her.
    "Hi Doc," she said by way of greeting.
    As he turned around she could see the bloody gauze bandages in his gloved hand and she started to feel lightheaded. She backed out of the room and returned to the waiting area to sit down. In a few short minutes the swirling dizziness left her and she could breathe normally again. Soon afterward, Jacob came out of the exam room walking quickly to her.
    "I'm sorry, Penny, I—" he began, but she waved a hand in the air at him.
    "My fault," she said. "I should have knocked before I opened the door."
    Jacob let her play the macho police woman, even though he knew why her reaction had been so strong. They had shared just about everything about themselves with each other.
    "Those bandages you were holding from Pete?"
    Jacob nodded. "Yes. And I just don't understand why he's still bleeding so bad." He scrubbed at his face and ran his hands through his thick brown hair. He took a moment to regain his composure before taking the seat next to her.
    "So, this a business or personal visit?" he asked, leaning up against her.
    She grinned and took his hand. "Little of both," she replied, "if you'd be willing to kiss a cop."
    "Well, I don't know. Is this the same cop that forgot to call me last night?"
    She winced, her smile becoming lopsided. "Yeah. About that?"
    "Don't let it worry you, Penny. I know you have a lot going on right now." He was referring to Doug, of course, but everything else, too. Penelope had more than a little bit of a martyr complex and liked to take on the weight of the world.
    "Doesn't mean you weren't in my dreams, Jacob."
    He laughed, enjoying the feel of her hand in his. "You're an incurable woman, Deputy Chance."
    "I don't want to be cured. I only want a kiss," she countered, taking his chin in her free hand. She gently kissed his lips and let him go.
    She savored that touch for a moment before she had to return to business. "Now for the other reason I dropped by. The Sheriff is expecting me to finish this one up quickly. I wanted to see how Pete's doing, see if I could talk to him."
    Jacob sat back and sighed. He had been here since four this morning, after the night nurse had called and said Pete's vitals had slipped. "He's not as well as I first thought, Penny. I'm starting to think it may take a lot longer for him to heal. And, I'm having him transferred to Gainesville for better attention than I can give him."
    "He's going to be okay, though, isn't he?" Penelope asked. "I mean, he's not in danger of dying, right?"
    "I stabilized his vitals this morning and he's got some pretty strong meds on board now," he said. "But I won't know any more until I can get him to Gainesville for testing. I've already called Grace Memorial. The ambulance should actually be here any minute now to transport him. If you want to see him you'll need to do it now."
    She nodded, embarrassed to find herself thinking that this would give her plenty of time to look into the case