Hollywood House Call

by Jules Bennett

  Callie nodded. “I know they are,” she whispered.

  Noah stroked her smooth, unmarred cheek and laid a gentle kiss on her lips. “You’re amazing, Callie.”

  “Why?”

  “To stay here, to come back tomorrow in order to help a young boy. You just amaze me over and over.”

  Callie shook her head. “Noah, if I can help this one boy have something to cling to, something that will give him the inspiration to believe that he’s the same kid with or without the burns, then my staying here is totally worth it.”

  “He’s the same kid, huh?” Noah asked with a slight grin. “Sound like something I told you before?”

  Callie shook her head. “This is a kid, Noah. I’m not the same person now. Something changed in me, something I’m not sure I’ll ever get back.”

  Her heart clenched when he pulled her against him, careful of her shoulder, and lightly touched his lips to hers.

  “You’ll get it back,” he murmured against her mouth. “We’ll get it back.”

  How could she not cling to his strength, his faith? How could she give up when Noah was giving all he had for her?

  Callie knew that if a little boy had faith, and Noah had this grand amount of confidence, she should feel the same. Fate might have taken her off her path, but she was on a new path now, and the decisions she made would alter the next course she took.

  * * *

  Callie waited in Noah’s office while he had the consultation the following day with Blake. She didn’t want to see the young boy, didn’t want to be reminded that people had worse problems than her. She knew that. She even felt guilty for her self-induced pity parties. But she just couldn’t see Blake, though she was eager to hear Noah’s prognosis.

  Thankfully, Marie was heading up the reception desk and Callie could hide back here. She didn’t want to be out front again for a while, though now that her stitches were out and the bandage off, she didn’t feel as much like Frankenstein, but she still had a sling and a long, red scar on her face.

  Callie glanced at the clock and wondered what her parents were doing. She hadn’t told them about the accident. She still didn’t want to, but they were her parents and she’d always prided herself on her honesty.

  She pulled her cell from her pocket and resigned herself to the fact she’d probably be having one of the most depressing phone conversations ever.

  Her parents’ phone rang and she tightened her grip on her cell.

  “Hello.”

  “Mom?”

  “Callie? Darling, it’s so good to hear from you.”

  Her mother’s smile sounded in her tone and Callie could picture the woman standing by the stove cooking, as she often did.

  “I didn’t expect to catch you home, Mom. Are you not working today?”

  Erma Matthews sighed. “Well, they had to cut my hours back at the grocery, so I’m only doing single shifts now.”

  Callie closed her eyes, rubbed her temple and eased back in Noah’s cushy leather office chair. “I’m so sorry, Mom. I assume since the phone is back on you got the money from the account.”

  “Yes, honey. Thank you. I just hate you’re spending your hard-earned money on us. Hopefully, your father will find something soon. He’s actually got a job interview in two days at a factory about an hour away. It would be a commute, but the pay is even better than what he was making before the layoff.”

  A sliver of hope slid through her. “That’s wonderful, Mom.”

  For a moment, silence entered their conversation. Callie toyed with the dark buttons on the brown leather chair, knowing she was going to have to come clean.

  “Mom, I need to tell you something and I don’t want you to worry.”

  “What’s wrong? Are you all right? You can’t tell a mother not to worry and expect her not to, Callie.”

  Callie swallowed and eased forward in the chair, resting her elbow on the desk while holding the phone to her ear on her uninjured side.

  “I was in an accident a couple weeks ago. But I’m fine,” she quickly added. “I have a broken collarbone and I had some stitches, but I’m fine.”

  “Good heavens, honey. Why didn’t you text your brother and have him tell us?”

  Shame. Humiliation. Risk of sounding like a failure.

  “I didn’t want you all to worry. But because of the timing of the accident, I won’t be able to fulfill my role in the Anthony Price movie I told you about.”

  “Oh, honey.” Erma’s tone softened and Callie imagined that tilt of the head most mothers got when they felt a twinge of regret. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart. I know how much you wanted that.”

  Wanted? No. She craved it, ached for it.

  “There will be other roles,” her mother assured her. “What’s meant to be is what will happen.”

  “Listen, Mom,” Callie said, trying to hold back tears, “I’m at the office and I need to go. I just wanted to touch base and let you know what was going on.”

  “I’m so glad you called. I love you so much.”

  “Love you, too, Mom.”

  Callie disconnected the call, calling herself all kinds of coward for not disclosing the full extent of her injuries. But she just couldn’t. She’d left her mother with the hope that there would be more roles, more movies. But the reality was there probably wouldn’t be.

  A moment later, Noah stepped into the office and hung his lab coat on the back of his door. Without a word he moved to the desk, opened the side drawer and pulled out his keys.

  “I’m ready.”

  Callie watched as he walked out the door and turned to head out the back way.

  Um…okay. Apparently, something was wrong, but since he was already walking away, she couldn’t ask.

  She nearly chased him out the back door and into his car, which he had already started. After getting in and barely having time to put on her seat belt, she glanced over.

  “I assume Marie will lock up?”

  Noah nodded and maneuvered into traffic.

  “Would you like to tell me what happened to make you so upset?”

  “No.”

  He didn’t look at her, didn’t elaborate, simply drove toward his home. Callie knew when to keep her mouth shut, though she hated that he was obviously at war with himself and it didn’t take a genius to figure out it more than likely had something to do with the young boy he’d just had a consultation with.

  Callie only prayed that the boy and his mother hadn’t left on the same upsetting note that Noah had.

  By the time they pulled into his garage, the tension was thick and Callie thought it best if she just went into the house. If he wanted to talk, he would. Though she wasn’t counting on it. He was closed off when it came to anything personal.

  Before she could grip her door handle, he turned off the ignition and slammed his palm onto the steering wheel with a loud thump.

  “Damn it.”

  Callie sat still, waiting to see if he was going to open up and vent.

  “I don’t know if I can do this, Callie.” Noah stared straight ahead to the white garage wall. “I can’t work on that little boy and not get attached.”

  Callie bit her lip, not wanting to interrupt.

  “He sat there looking at me with all that hope in his eyes and I want to deliver on promises his mother has made to make him well again. I want to be the hero he seems to think I am.”

  Callie reached over, touched his arm. “Then what’s stopping you?” she asked.

  “What if I fail?”

  Noah turned, meeting her gaze. And there was that pain she’d seen a glimpse of before. Now it was raw, no longer hiding, and he wasn’t trying to keep it under control.

  “I refuse to fail another person, Callie.”

  Another person? Who had he failed before?

  “Noah—”

  He got out of the car and went into the house, slamming the door as he went. Callie sighed and rested her head against the leather seat. The man was going to break. If
he didn’t open up soon, he was going to shatter, and then all of his secrets, all of his feelings, were going to be laid open for all to see and there would be nothing he could do about it. She prayed that he’d let her help, but he was too stubborn, too strong-willed.

  Ironically, some of those qualities that annoyed her she could relate to all too easily.

  Eleven

  Over a week had passed since the showing of his home and Noah still couldn’t call his real-estate agent back with an answer. Yes, the amount the newlyweds had offered was very close to the asking price and higher than any other offers, but he just couldn’t bring himself to make that call and get the ball rolling.

  Added to that, he’d talked with colleagues about Blake’s case and met with the little boy and he was certain he was the best one for the job. But the thought of being the one that little guy pinned his hope on was almost more than Noah thought he could bear. He was still dealing with Callie and all that hero worship she had in her eyes when he discussed her healing process. Both Callie and Blake were looking for something within Noah that he just didn’t know if he could give.

  For right now, though, he needed to take a step back from being a doctor. He needed to get back to being Callie’s friend and letting his workload ease from his mind for just a bit. And he knew just the thing to get them back on friendly footing. He’d had something delivered earlier today and he couldn’t wait to show Callie.

  She’d laid back down for a nap just after lunch when she’d taken a pain pill. She hadn’t had one in a while, but he knew she’d been in pain. She’d been trying to work on her arm exercises even when he’d told her to take it slow.

  That pain medication always made her so tired and Noah encouraged her to sleep because resting would help her body heal faster, as well.

  She’d taken her sling off today and had promised to go easy on her arm, but he would be keeping a close eye on her. He’d done the microdermabrasion last week and he was hoping to do more next week. If he could work on her wound as often as medically possible, perhaps her healing time would lessen and her scar would not be so visible.

  It was so hard to shut down his doctor mind-set. Right now, though, he had something else in mind. Something fun.

  He wanted to show Callie her surprise, but she was still asleep. He walked into the kitchen and saw the painkiller bottle on the counter. A sick feeling overcame him. For so long he’d lived with bottles floating around…usually empty ones that had just been prescribed only days before.

  But this sick feeling didn’t stem from his past; it came from the fact that Noah knew he hadn’t left the bottle out when he’d given her a pill earlier that morning. He glanced at the clock on the stove and knew it was just now time for another pill, so why was this bottle out?

  He twisted the cap off and counted the pills. It was two short compared to what should’ve been in there.

  She’d taken that extra one the other day, which meant she’d taken another one today At this point, she shouldn’t be taking two pills in the same day. Her pain had to have significantly lightened, so she should be able to get by with just an over-the-counter medication.

  He’d thought he could leave them out and not treat her like a child. Apparently, he was wrong.

  Not taking any more chances, Noah put the lid back in place and gripped the bottle as he set off for her bedroom. By the time he reached the second floor, he was angry, upset and feeling a little betrayed. If she was lying to him, he wasn’t going to help her anymore. He couldn’t live like that again. Not to mention the fact he couldn’t be her doctor if she wouldn’t follow orders.

  He eased the door open and saw her lying on her side, her hands tucked beneath her uninjured cheek. The covers had been kicked off and she’d opened her window to let the afternoon breeze blow in. Crimson strands danced around her shoulders and her breathing was slow, soft.

  Moving into the room, he placed the bottle on the nightstand and eased down onto the edge of her bed. The movement caused her to stir and soon her lids fluttered open until she focused on him. She looked like she had the other night, just before he’d made love to her with his mouth. So much for putting distance between them.

  “Did you take a pill without telling me?” he asked, not even trying to hide his irritation.

  She blinked, eased up onto her side and looked him in the eye. “I took one just before I lay down. I think I overdid it with taking my sling off. I only did a few more exercises than usual with my arm, but it started hurting more than it had been.”

  He picked up the bottle, marched into her adjoining bathroom and flushed the pills. When he came back out she was on her feet and angry.

  “Why did you do that?” she cried.

  “Because I’m afraid you’ll get hooked. These are highly addictive. And I told you if you did that again I’d flush them.”

  Callie laughed. “I won’t get addicted, Noah. I took a pill only a little before it was due. I’d had the other one in my system for over six hours. It’s not like I was going to OD.”

  Even the term made him ill. The image of how he’d found Malinda was embedded in his head for the rest of his life. He found himself instantly seeing Callie that way and the thought made him want to vomit.

  “If you’re going to stay in my house and allow me to be your doctor, you will do exactly what I say, when I say it, or I won’t help you anymore. I thought we’d already settled this.”

  Callie stepped back, blinking. “Wow. Um…okay. Calm down. I promise not to do anything else without asking.”

  He stared at her for several seconds. He needed to get a grip.

  What he really needed to do was remember this wasn’t Malinda and he truly didn’t believe Callie had a drug problem. He needed to lighten up before he drove her away. Then what good would he be to her?

  God, his past had consumed him and overtaken his emotions, fueling his anger. Callie still had nearly a whole bottle of pills, and if this were Malinda, that bottle would’ve been gone within a few days. Callie had been here a few weeks.

  He took a deep breath, trying to erase the previous images of fighting with Malinda.

  Remembering the surprise, he told her, “I had something delivered and I was hoping you’d be awake when it came, but you slept through it all.”

  She tilted her head and grinned. And just like that she’d forgiven him for bursting in and yelling at her. Yeah, she was quite different from Malinda.

  “What is it?” she asked, smile beaming. “Did you get a dog? I’ve always wanted a dog like the one I left back in Kansas.”

  He laughed. “Um, no dog. This is something else you left back in Kansas.”

  Her brows drew together and she shook her head. “My old beat-up Jeep with the broken horn and busted grill?”

  Taking her hand, he pulled her toward the door. “Just follow me and stop guessing. You’re taking the fun out of the moment.”

  She shuffled her bare feet along behind him as he led her down the stairs and through the wide hallway toward the back of the house where he had a game room.

  When he entered the room, he flicked the light on and stepped aside so she could see.

  “Oh, my God,” she squealed. “Noah, you didn’t!”

  Seeing her reaction was so worth paying extra to have the pool table delivered and set up so quickly. “I’m a fan myself and had thought of adding one to the game room, so when you mentioned it, I knew I needed to get one. Max and I used to play in college.”

  She stood staring and he almost felt a fool at her silence, so he kept rambling.

  “Of course, we played while killing a case of beer and talking about women.”

  Her eyes darted to his and she smiled. “It’s nice you two are still so close.”

  “He’s like family,” he told her.

  She moved farther into the room and ran her hand along the green felt of the pool table. “It’s going to be hard to do this with one bad arm.”

  Stepping closer to her, he gr
inned and rested a hip on the table beside where her delicate hand roamed. “That’s what I’m here for, isn’t it? To assist you with things you can’t do?”

  Her body visibly shivered and he was glad he had that effect on her, because she sure as hell had some amazing sort of power over him.

  “Are we going to play now?” she asked, her voice husky.

  Noah knew an opportunity when he saw one. Even though he knew in his mind he needed to be her doctor and friend above all else, his libido wasn’t receiving that memo. Damn, he wanted her. She was still all rumpled from sleep with her dark crimson hair tumbling around her shoulders, her face free of makeup and the oversize shirt of his hanging nearly off one slender shoulder. He knew beneath that well-worn cotton she wore no bra, because since that first day with her bath, she hadn’t asked him to put one on her. She wore these tiny little denim shorts with the frayed edging flirting with her bare thighs.

  He assumed she’d managed the zipper and button them without his assistance.

  “Yeah,” he told her, keeping his gaze on her lips. “We’re going to play now.”

  Callie started to ease forward, but Noah stepped back and cleared his throat. “I’ll get a stick.”

  God, could there be more metaphors between sex and a game of pool? He’d never been turned on playing before. Then again, he’d been playing with Max or other guys from college and they were too busy trash-talking and comparing their previous dates.

  Callie maneuvered the balls into the triangle while he chalked up the tip of the stick. “I’ll stand behind you,” he told her.

  She stayed against the table and smiled. “I’ll have to push with my left arm, if you can reach around and hold it with your right.”

  “Gladly.”

  He was torturing himself. Actually, he’d been torturing himself since he’d completely overstepped his patient/doctor bounds on his sofa the other evening, but that was uncontrollable and he’d gotten swept into the moment.