Six years. Six years! He’d tried hard to get over her. But a few months ago, when he’d finally given in and taken the job at Louisville hospital, he’d accepted that he wasn’t over Jane. Not yet.
He remembered the first time he’d seen her. She’d been sitting in the third row of the auditorium and she’d looked so excited, a huge smile on her pretty features. From that moment on, no other woman had even interested him.
She’d been so young though! So out of his league! He was serious and studious, running track in order to relax. While Jane was life and laughter and smiles! She brought sunshine into his life.
One kiss. Just one kiss had messed up his dreams. And he hadn’t even wanted to kiss…he couldn’t remember the girl’s name on that horrible night. All he remembered was how hurt Jane had been, how he wished he could jump on the bus and come to her, beg her to not give up on them. She’d been his whole life and he’d messed it up with just one kiss. One miserable kiss that had ended before it had even begun, but Jane had seen that kiss. He’d been drinking and the stupid woman had just come up to him and kissed him. No conversation. No permission. Just…ugh! He’d pushed her away and gone after Jane, wanting to explain, but she wouldn’t listen. And in the end, he stood there like a drunk idiot as she pulled out of the parking lot and he’d been too inebriated to go after her.
Even the next day, when he’d tried to explain, she wouldn’t listen. She’d broken up with him over one stupid kiss.
Damn it! They’d had it all! And he’d messed it up by kissing a woman after getting too drunk to make good decisions.
He knew that she was just as much at fault. She should have listened to him. She should have stayed and confronted him. If she’d done that, they might have talked it out. He could have introduced her to the woman and gotten that…woman to explain that they didn’t even know each other. He would have told her that he’d only been at that frat party because she’d driven away angry.
So yeah, they were both at fault. But that didn’t make it better. He still wanted her.
He’d dated so many women over the years. He’d tried hard to get over Jane, but no one made him feel like Jane could with just a smile. No one touched his soul like Jane did when she took his hand in hers, laced her fingers through his.
He’d had successes over the years. He was a damn good surgeon now. As one of the top rated trauma surgeons in the country, he could work in any hospital he wanted.
So here he was in Louisville, Kentucky. Great town. Fabulous quality of life. And only thirty minutes away from Jane.
In some weird, stupid way, just being close to Jane helped ease the frozen ache in his chest. So many times, he’d wanted to go into the bakery and talk to her. Maybe ask her out, see if they could start over again. But every time he’d come to LowPoint, that ass was there. The dark haired ass that worked at the damn fancy restaurant down the street.
Caleb didn’t blame the guy. If he could be around Jane and her smiles, he would be too. Hell, he was here across the street just trying to catch another glimpse of the woman he…yeah, he still loved her. He’d learned to live without her, but he hadn’t ever gotten over her.
“Do I know you?”
Caleb looked down, seeing the elderly woman with the crazy hat. “Uh…no. I don’t think so,” he told Ms. Scarlett. Thankfully, he looked different enough that he doubted anyone would recognize him.
“Yes I do!” she argued, adding a cackle in to emphasize her victory. “My mind might be old, but it’s still sharp as a tack!” she told him. “You’re Caleb. And you’re some fancy, famous doctor, aren’t you?”
Caleb sighed, pulling the coat closer around him. No use lying about it. Scarlett Munroe would see through any lies he might try to tell her anyway. The woman might be old, but she was wily and tenacious. “Yes, ma’am. That’s me.”
She sat down next to him on the park bench. “You still love her, don’t ye?” It was a statement, not a question. So Caleb felt no need to answer. “She’s not dating anyone, you know.”
Caleb glanced at the woman, surprise in his eyes. “What about….?”
Ms. Scarlett looked over at the bakery, noticing the other man in the window. When she realized what Caleb was thinking, she cackled again, the sound coming across like nails down a chalkboard. “Tony? Hell no! Tony’s madly in love with Julia but those two…” she waved her hand in the air and shook her head. “Those two have been dancing around each other for too long. But trust me, Tony has eyes only for his assistant manager. He’s not interested in Jane. No way!”
Caleb looked over at the bakery again. There seemed to be a crowd of ladies in there now. “Her business has really taken off, hasn’t it?”
Ms. Scarlett nodded. “A lot of businesses have moved back into LowPoint. It’s because of…well, they keep it a secret,” she said mysteriously. “But yeah. Jane’s done a good job. She’s expanded her mail order business and, during the holidays, she’s a busy woman. They employ about ten people now.” She looked over at the younger man. “You were only part time when things started picking up for Loretta. But as good as Loretta is at baking, it’s Jane’s influence that has really got that business booming. She got her degree in marketing and has really helped that place grow.”
Caleb smiled, thinking about how proud he was of his Jane. “Is she okay?”
Ms. Scarlett nodded. “Lonely, but yeah. She’s okay.”
“Why is she lonely?” he asked. “Jane is beautiful. If that guy isn’t dating her, I know that other men have been in. Surely one of them…”
“Nope. Jane is single and, according to her, she’s given up on dating.” The woman laughed and slapped her knee. “You should hear some of the stories of her dating past. If you need a chuckle, I’ll tell you about some of them.”
Caleb didn’t like to think about Jane dating anyone else. “I’ll pass, thanks.”
The woman cackled again and Caleb was really starting to hate that sound.
“Just as I thought.” She stood up and grabbed a bag that had one of those plastic pipes that plumbers use. Caleb suspected that he didn’t want to know what else was in that bag. “Well, if you ever want some advice, then come talk to me down at the senior center. I’m there pretty much all the time.” She turned, mumbling, “When I’m not in jail, that is.”
Caleb wasn’t sure what she meant by that but he ignored the woman, turning back to look at Jane. It was eight o’clock and the bakery should be closing down now. Suddenly, Jane looked out into the night and Caleb slipped further back into the darkness. His heart pounded as he waited, wondering if she’d seen him. Damn, he was acting like a stalker! This was unacceptable!
And yet, he still pulled back slightly. He didn’t want to scare her, but he needed just…glimpses of Jane. Every once in a while, he needed to see her smile. Just a brief glimpse helped him get through the days ahead.
As he walked back to his car, he smiled, shoving his hands into his pockets. Jane was doing well. He was proud of her. She’d gotten her degree in marketing and obviously, it had paid off. She was doing great!
Chapter 5
“We don’t need new shoes, Janey,” Loretta sighed.
Jane smiled. “Mom, you’ve been wearing the same sneakers for four years now. You need new shoes. You need something that supports your feet more. Your old sneakers are affecting your knees.”
Loretta snorted and Jane pressed her lips together. Jane’s mother was sweet and loving, but spending money was scary. After Jane’s father left, money had been tight. But Loretta had gotten them through it all. Their bakery was thriving and Jane was a partner. She owned fifty percent, her mother having given her the shares several years ago when the business really started booming.
“Well, maybe just one pair,” she acknowledged. “My knees have been aching quite a bit lately.”
“Exactly! How about if we get a pair of heels for church too?” she suggested. She found a parking space close to the entrance. “And maybe a new dress?”
“Now you’re going a bit crazy, dear,” she laughed. They got out and Jane led her mother into the shoe store. A half hour later, she’d convinced her mother to buy a quality pair of sneakers as well as a pair of pumps with kitten heels. “They look amazing, Mom. You’ll feel like a new woman.”
Loretta smiled and Jane knew that her mother was excited about the new church shoes even if she wasn’t willing to admit it.
“Let’s spoil ourselves and grab some lunch at that new place over on Wilson Street,” Loretta suggested.
Jane laughed. “That sounds great!” she agreed and backed out of the parking lot at the mall, heading towards her mother’s second favorite restaurant. “Desire”, Tony Itola’s famous restaurant in LowPoint was everyone’s favorite, but they were still a half hour away from home.
At the traffic light, Jane had a thought and turned to her mother. “Hey, what about…” she stopped and the world slowed down. Coming towards her mother’s side of the car was…another car. An out of control car!
“No!” she screamed, even going so far as to reach out her arm as if that might somehow protect her mother from the unavoidable crash. But the impact happened, the horrible crunching sound reverberating in her ears. Her mother didn’t even have time to scream before the impact happened.
Seconds later, there was just silence. A horrible, deafening silence!
Jane lifted her head and looked around, her mind instantly assessing her arms and legs. Everything seemed to be moving okay. She had a slight headache but she could move.
“Mom? Are you…?”
The entire side of her car was smashed in, her mother’s arm crushed by the door. There was blood on her forehead, on her shoulder and more seeping down her cheek. “Mom!” Jane screamed. She reached out to touch her mother, but pulled back, afraid to move her. “Mom! Oh Mom, please be okay!”
Her door was ripped open. “Are you okay?” a stranger demanded.
“I’m fine! But my mother! She needs an ambulance! Please, call an ambulance!”
The man was already dialing and Jane heard sirens in the distance. More people were rushing over to her but no one knew what to do about her mother.
“It’s going to be okay,” a voice said, but Jane kept looking at her mother and there was more and more blood.
A police officer appeared, his cruiser blocking the intersection. More police cars arrived and then an ambulance.
“Ma’am?” the officer called out to Jane. “Are you hurt?”
“No! I’m not hurt but my mother. She’s…” Jane turned imploring eyes towards the officer. “Please,” she whispered. “Please help my mother. She’s all I have!”
The officer put a hand on her arm. “We’re doing everything we can to help your mom, ma’am. But can I get you out of the way so the firefighters can get your mom out of the car?”
Jane looked around, trying to figure out how to get out.
The officer must have understood because he reached into the car and unlocked her seatbelt. “Just hold onto me,” he soothed. “I’ll help you out. Are you sure you’re not hurt?” he asked again.
Jane shook her head, but then stopped because of the pain shooting through her head. “No,” she lied, wanting the officer to focus on her mother. “I’m fine.”
“Come over here. The firefighters are going to get her out, okay?”
Jane didn’t answer, but watched as the firefighters came over with massive thingamajigs and tore the bumper of the other vehicle away from the passenger side of her car. The thingy then ate the metal of her passenger door away. The firefighters tossed the door aside as if it were a tissue instead of metal and electronics. She didn’t care. All she wanted was her mother out of the car and off to the hospital where someone could tell her that her mother was going to be okay.
The paramedics moved in and put a brace around her mother’s neck. She still wasn’t conscious. Slowly, carefully, they lifted her out of the vehicle and onto a flat board, then hurried her off to the ambulance. “I need to go with her,” she said.
The officer led her over to the ambulance and helped her into the back next to her mother. “Here’s your purse and cell phone. We’ll meet you at the hospital. The emergency room personnel have already been informed and are waiting for you. They’re good. They’ll do whatever they can to help your mother.”
Jane nodded her head, but then stopped when it hurt too much. “Thank you,” she whispered and a moment later, the doors to the ambulance were closed.
“Ma’am, I’m going to check you out for injuries as well, okay?”
Jane started to shake her head, but it hurt. “No, just…help my mom. She’s…I don’t know what’s wrong with her. She hasn’t come out of it.”
The paramedic nodded. “She’s in good hands. We’re three minutes out from the hospital. We have the emergency room doctor on the phone now and we’re calling in your mother’s vitals. Don’t worry about her, okay?”
Impossible to do, Jane thought, irritated with the guy. “But…”
“Ma’am, I’m going to check your pupils, okay? I think you have a pretty severe concussion.”
Jane shook her head, wanting to push the man away so she could look at her mother. “I’m fine,” she told him again.
The paramedic ignored Jane’s assertion and shined a light into her eyes. The pain from that light was so excruciating, she almost passed out. The paramedic called out to someone else, strapped on the seatbelt that was behind her, then moved over to look at her mother again.
Everything happened so fast. The ambulance arrived at the hospital and immediately, the doors opened up. A second later, Jane was surrounded by people. All of them seemed to be talking at once and she didn’t understand any of it. They wheeled her mother into the emergency room and instantly, her mother was gone.
A nurse stepped over to Jane, putting a hand on her arm. “She’s in excellent hands and her vitals are okay.”
Jane realized that the woman didn’t say “good”.
“What’s happening?”
There was a flurry of activity to her right and Jane looked over. Suddenly, she felt faint as she watched Caleb…tall, handsome, amazingly gorgeous Caleb….stride through a set of doors dressed in scrubs with a funny hat on his head. He walked right over to her and she held her breath, thinking that he was a figment of her imagination.
“Caleb?” she whispered. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m going to take care of your mother, Jane.” He bent down and looked at her carefully. “How’s your head? What’s wrong?” He took a pen light out of his pocket and shined it towards her eyes.
Jane cried out, covering her eyes. “Stop! Please.”
He turned to the nurse. “She has a concussion. Get her to an exam room and have Doctor Astrov check her out for other injuries.” He turned back to Jane, his strong hands holding onto her upper arms. “Jane, I want you to listen to me. I’m going to take care of your mother. I will do everything I can to help her, but I need you to take care of yourself too, okay? You’re hurt. You have a head injury and the doctor is going to take care of you. Do you understand?”
Jane leaned into him, tears streaming from her eyes. “Caleb, just save my mother. Please? Help her!”
Caleb wrapped his arms around Jane’s body, closing his eyes briefly as he absorbed her warmth. Just a moment, he told himself. That’s all he needed.
He heard noises behind him and pulled back, his hands taking her upper arms again. “Jane, go get checked out. I’ll feel better once I hear from Doctor Astrov that you’re okay. So go!”
He nodded to the nurse who already had a wheel chair positioned behind Jane. Caleb lowered her down, kneeling so he could look her in the eyes. “We’ll talk once I’m out of surgery, okay?”
“Okay. Thank you!” she whispered, wiping at her tears.
He stood and nodded to the nurse. “Take care of her. She’s special to me,” he told her. The nurse nodded but waited until Caleb walked away. He d
isappeared through the double doors where the other emergency room staff had taken her mother and Jane stared, turning her head as the nurse wheeled her into an exam room.
Less than a minute later, another doctor stepped through the doors while the nurse was helping Jane get up onto the hospital bed. “I hear that you might be having a bit of a headache,” he commented with a kind smile. “How about if we check that out?”
Jane tried to smile, but she was too worried about her mother. “Do you know how my mom is? Is there any news?”
“I’ll get someone to give me a status and will be right back,” the nurse told her. “Just relax and let us take care of you.”
Jane wasn’t very good at letting someone take care of her. She and her mother had been taking care of each other for too long to release her worries just yet.
The doctor gave her a series of tests and Jane failed just about every one of them. Or maybe she passed. She wasn’t really sure about anything.
“You definitely have a concussion. And some severe bruising from the seatbelt. Black eyes from the air bags,” he commented, writing something down on a clipboard. “But other than that, you seemed to have escaped any major injuries.
“Black eyes?” she asked.
The man laughed softly, handing her a mirror. “The bruising will go away soon. But you’ve got some good ones.”
Jane stared at her face, her fingers reaching up to gently touch the bruises around her eyes and cheeks. They were quickly turning purple and she wanted to laugh. She’d never had a black eye before, but now she had two! And this was how Caleb had seen her for the first time in too many years to count?
“Good grief!” she muttered, handing the mirror back to the doctor.
“I’d like to keep you overnight due to the severity of your concussion. Just to make sure there is no additional brain swelling. If that happens, we need to treat it quickly.”
“I was going to be here tonight anyway,” she said. “Any news about my mother?”
Surrender Page 6