A Very Daring Christmas (The Tavonesi Series Book 8)

by Pamela Aares

  “If it’s anybody’s fault it’s mine,” Dimitri said. “I know horses. I shouldn’t have believed either one of them when they said they could ride.”

  The remorse and concern written on the guy’s face told Jake more about the man than he’d been willing to see.

  “She’s an actress, and he’s a rascal,” Jake said, surprising himself with his effort to let Dimitri off the hook. “They would’ve fooled me too.”

  Jake put his hands on Dylan’s shoulders. “Look, it’s okay. There was a snake in the path. You didn’t put that snake there, did you?”

  Dylan shook his head and hauled in a shuddering breath.

  “Some horses always spook at snakes.” He turned back to Cameron. “Please stay as still as you can. You could have a concussion. I’ll stay here with you and wait for the EMTs.”

  He hadn’t said so many damn pleases in his life. Cameron’s tears had stopped, and though she didn’t show it, he knew she had to be in some pretty bad stomach-crunching pain.

  “My head’s okay,” she said. “It’s my arm that hurts. I think I broke it.”

  She started to shiver. Jake took off his jacket and tucked it around her and then turned to Dylan. “Go with Dimitri back to the barn.”

  “I don’t want to go with him. I want to stay with you and with Cameron.”

  “No.” Dylan started to protest, but Jake held up a hand to stop him. “Go with Dimitri.”

  “I can make better time running back if he stays with you,” Dimitri said. “And I believe he would prefer to stay with you.”

  He had a good point. And he was thinking of Dylan’s feelings. Jake stared up at him. Dimitri didn’t blink.

  Maybe the guy was a prince after all.

  “Do they spray something in American hospitals to make the smell repulsive?” Coco asked as she entered Cameron’s room.

  “They have me so doped up I can’t smell a thing. But you look lovely.”

  “Maybe I should try some of those drugs.”

  “Well, I do see two of you.”

  Coco’s eyes went wide, and Cameron added, “Just kidding. I’m really fine. I have this lovely cast, sort of like a new friend. Wait till my director gets a whiff of this. He’ll have a cow.”

  “A cow?”

  Sometimes she forgot that Coco was Italian. She was accustomed to the Tavonesis, thought of them as one big family. And though they were, the recently transplanted Italian branch was still adjusting to life in California.

  “It’s a figure of speech. I have no idea where it came from. It means he’ll be quite upset.”

  “I like ‘have a cow’ better.”

  Cameron crooked her finger, drawing Coco close. “Can you get me out of here?”

  “I barely got myself in here. They’re being very strict with you.”

  “Better than allowing strangers with cameras to run around, I suppose. What’s going on at Trovare?” She wanted to ask about Jake and Dylan, but didn’t feel right about doing so with Coco.

  Coco tapped her bright red nails on the rail of Cameron’s hospital bed. “Where to start?”

  “The suspense, enhanced by the haze of the drugs, is killing me.”

  “Sabrina told me to apologize for her. She had to deal with making room for my sisters and Jackie’s brother, who just arrived. You should have seen Pippa’s eyes go wide when she met Cory. Should be a very interesting Christmas.”

  Holding her bruised ribs, Cameron suppressed her laugh but couldn’t resist a smile. “It already is.”

  “I think you should know that Alex told Sabrina who told me that Jake took the Nike contract so he could send money to your project in Dominia. Alex wrote a check too, she said.” She grinned. “I am the bluebird of good news.”

  “You are indeed the bluebird of good news.” She didn’t correct Coco’s phrase. God knew there was enough bad news in the world. Maybe good news needed a mascot.

  But Coco’s report about Jake’s donation wasn’t just good news. A wave of shame rolled in as Cameron remembered the catty remark she’d made to Jake during the cookie baking. Fooled by her own prejudices, she’d misjudged his motivations. And seeing him with Dylan had shown her once again that Jake was so much more than he appeared. The lens of her fears and the assumptions her defenses had spawned with such force had blurred her ability to see the man. But not anymore. As she’d lain in the hospital bed waiting for word on whether or not she had a concussion, every word, every touch, every moment she’d shared with Jake had come into fine focus. The realization that had flooded her, rearranging what she knew to be true, wasn’t due to the drugs.

  “I brought you something to cover this bed.” Coco pulled a red, green and gold throw from the bag she held and spread it over the plain white hospital-issue blanket. “There. Much cheerier.”

  “I think I love him.”

  Coco tucked the edge of the throw under Cameron’s feet. “Alex? We all love Alex.”

  “Jake.”

  Coco stopped fussing with the throw and put her hands to her hips. “Ah. You finally admit this thing that is so easy for others to see.”

  “But we aren’t compatible. We have different goals for our lives. Completely different.”

  Coco groaned. “Americans! I wonder that you have any people on this continent, you are so stupid in matters of love. What does compatibility have to do with anything? What is love if not to be entangled in separate elations?” She tapped Cameron’s leg. “Differences are the richness of life. If you and Jake were the same, one of you wouldn’t be needed.”

  Cameron lay back onto the rough white linen pillow. She’d been warned about the chimerical young philosopher of the Tavonesi family, yet she hadn’t had a dose of full-on Coco until now. Maybe it was the drugs, but what Coco said sank deep.

  A nurse came in with a tray holding a pain pill and a glass of water. “I think Miss Kelley should rest now.”

  “If you love him, you’d better tell him,” Coco said as she gathered her purse and headed for the door. She peered into the corridor. “And it looks like you just might have a chance right now. I’m tempted to stay for the show.”

  “Coco.”

  “I’m going. But remember what I said.”

  Cameron took the pill from the plastic cup the nurse held out. She popped it into her mouth but was careful to hold it under her tongue. She wanted a clear head. But the energy buzzing in her chest had nothing to do with her head.

  “I had to pretend I was family to get in here,” Jake said as he sailed through the door. His smile faded when he saw the scowling nurse.

  “This is not visiting time. Miss Kelley needs to rest now.”

  “I’ll stay just a few minutes,” Jake said.

  “I’ll be back to make sure.”

  “Alex hired her,” Cameron said after the nurse left the room. “Private duty. She’s driving me mad.” Her hand trembled as she fished the pill out of her mouth. “She would’ve stood here all night until I took this.”

  “You should take the painkillers. You have to stay ahead of pain. Trust me, I know.” He handed her the glass of water from her bedside table. “Down the hatch.”

  It would take more than a little white pill to seal up the heartbreak starting to rumble in her chest. Why would the universe bring her this man at this time and yet have him on a life path so incompatible with what she wanted in her own life? She swallowed the pill and handed the glass back to him. “You may have missed your calling.”

  “Nope. I faint at the sight of blood. I once clipped an umpire with my bat on a backswing. His nose started to bleed, and I fainted in the batter’s box. I think it was an MLB first.”

  He smiled when she laughed and then grimaced as she moaned with pain.

  “I’m sure the nurse wouldn’t approve of my making you laugh.”

  “I have to get out of here.” Not just out of the hospital, but away from Jake. Before she made a fool of herself. He had been honest about what he wanted for his life. She should’
ve listened to her head. But her heart had dodged her common sense.

  “We’ll get you out tomorrow if I have to carry you out. Your brain scans were good, Sabrina told me. No concussion.”

  “Then I have nothing to blame my stupidity on. How is Dylan? I feel so awful about scaring him.”

  “He’ll be better when you come back to Trovare.”

  She couldn’t miss the gentle message. Or was the drug taking effect and allowing her to turn his words into what she wanted to hear? Stay focused. Talk about Dylan. She had plenty to say about her guilt for being so stupid with Dylan.

  “God, scaring him that way on top of his mother dying—I’m worse than my mother, being impulsive like that. I know better.”

  Jake touched her hand. “Hey, you wanted him to have some fun.”

  At his touch, warmth spread through her body. But before she could enjoy the fleeting feeling, a young man in green scrubs entered the room. He eyed Jake but continued moving until he was beside her bed. He darted a look over his shoulder and then leaned in close to her.

  Jake put an arm between them. “Back off, buddy.”

  The man stepped away. The muscles around his eyes twitched. He folded his hands in front of him in an almost prayer-like gesture.

  “I was sent in here to ask you a favor, Miss Kelley.”

  “She’s not in any shape for favors.”

  “It’s for the kids.”

  Cameron put out her hand and waved Jake back. “What is it?”

  “We—the staff—were hoping that you might come in on Christmas Day and help us distribute presents to the kids in the pediatric surgery ward. It wouldn’t take long. And it would mean so much. The kids loved the voiceovers you did for Jungle Tales. Some of these kids don’t have family close enough to visit.”

  The private-duty nurse came in, scowling. “Both of you, out.”

  Cameron reached for the staffer’s arm. “What time?”

  “Noon or shortly after.” The man in scrubs cast her a smile. “Thank you.”

  “Out,” the nurse repeated in a near bark. The staffer scooted out the door as the nurse wedged herself between Cameron’s bed and Jake. “You too, Mr. Ryder.”

  “Night, Cameron.” He looked at the nurse. “Night, Nurse”—he peered at her name tag—“Beatrice.”

  Beatrice crossed her arms and watched him go. Then she turned a tight-lipped smile to Cameron. “That one? He spent fifteen minutes in the children’s ward before coming in here. Doing magic tricks. It’ll take the staff hours to calm them down enough to sleep.”

  Cameron blinked slowly, then blinked again.

  Well, didn’t that just take the cake.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Sabrina tossed Cameron’s bag onto the bed in the guest room. “I thought we’d never get you out of that hospital.”

  “I think it helped that your mother is one of their biggest donors,” Cameron said as she sat on the edge of the bed. A brightly wrapped package was nestled among the pillows. She picked it up with her uninjured hand and read the tag.

  “You shouldn’t have,” she said to Sabrina. “I don’t have a present for you. I meant to go into town yesterday and—”

  “I don’t need a thing. But you need that. Open it.”

  Cameron struggled with the bow.

  “Let me help.” Sabrina made quick work of the ribbon and the paper.

  Cameron lifted an exquisite gold scarf out of the tissue paper.

  “To make a stylish sling to cover your cast. You did say you were wearing a gold dress tonight? You’ll look your gorgeous best.”

  Tears stung Cameron’s eyes. If she could’ve requested the perfect sister, she would’ve asked for Sabrina.

  “I’ve put everyone to so much trouble. I’m so sorry.”

  Sabrina joined Cameron on the bed and slipped her arm around her shoulders. “Hey, making you happy is one of the great joys of my life. Besides, we Oscar survivors have to stick together.”

  Cameron’s laugh made her bruised ribs shudder with pain. She tried to cover her grimace with a quick smile. She wasn’t much in the mood for a party. But the Tavonesis liked to celebrate in high style. The last thing she wanted was to put a damper on their evening. Especially since it was Christmas Eve.

  She fingered the scarf. The weave was so fine it felt like liquid gold against her skin. “It’s beautiful. Thank you.”

  Sabrina released Cameron and stood. “I’ll be back to help you dress. You can relax up here in peace until then. I asked Spencer to have a tray sent up for you.” She bent down and kissed Cameron on the cheek. “Mother has invited half of Sonoma. Jackie will be back from her emergency at the rescue center in about an hour, and Pippa and Amber are already here. It’ll be a bit of a madhouse. But, unfortunately, Kaz’s plane has been delayed. “

  “I’m so sorry. I know you miss him.”

  “He’ll be here tomorrow. Best Christmas present I could ask for.” She nodded to Cameron’s cast. “If you decide you’re not up for so many people—for a party—we’ll just have a glass of champagne here in the room and call it a night.”

  “I want to come down. At least for a while.”

  “Then I’ll be back around seven.” Sabrina’s lips tilted into a smile. “In the meantime, rest that busy brain of yours. I can feel the wheels churning.”

  Cameron took Sabrina’s hand in hers. “I think that’s what therapists call projection.”

  Sabrina laughed. “Takes one madwoman to know another. But I mean it. See if you can rest for a while.”

  “How’s Dylan doing?”

  “See? Worrying is not what the doctor ordered. He’s fine. Cory set up a pool tournament in the game room and is teaching the kids all his tricks. Jake’s down there too,” she added with a sly grin. “He’s fine too. But he’ll be better when he sees you. It was all Alex could do to keep him busy today and not climbing the walls when I went to spring you from the hospital.”

  After Sabrina left, the sounds of arriving guests and the preparations for the party drifted up from below. Cameron opened the door to the balcony and stared out at the post-twilight darkness hugging the hills beyond the vineyard. Sabrina had been right—her thoughts were racing.

  Had it only been a couple of months since she’d met Jake in Dominia? Knowing him had made her ferret out and renounce at least one lie she’d told herself. She did want a man in her life. She wanted a partner, a husband, a father for her children. She wanted committed love and a real family, and she was willing to work for it, change her life if she had to.

  And she had to take hold of what power she had, while she had it, and wield it for the people of the bateyes and for the countless others who would benefit from similar projects. Everybody deserved clean water. Every living being, human or otherwise.

  She couldn’t dig wells or purify the water, but she had a name and she had clout.

  She found her cellphone on the dresser where she’d left it to charge and called her agent.

  The sounds of people in the background told Cameron that Roberta wasn’t alone.

  Might as well cut to the chase. “I need you to set up every single interview you can between now and the end of January,” Cameron said, trying to keep her voice steady. “Radio, TV, tabloids, I’ll do them all.”

  “It’s Christmas Eve, Cameron.”

  “Okay, wait till tomorrow.”

  “Tomorrow is Christmas, honey. Are you okay?”

  “Better than okay.”

  “I’ll get on it right after the holidays. But, Cameron, are you sure you’re up for all this exposure?”

  “Either I control my public face or someone else will. Better it’s me.”

  “I like your spirit.”

  “Merry Christmas, Roberta.”

  “You too, honey. You deserve it.”

  She didn’t deserve anything more than anyone else, but after she clicked off her phone, she felt better than she had for a very long time. She might be an actress, but in her heart
she was a campaigner. And she was tired of waiting for the right conditions, the perfect conditions. Life rolled on, and she wasn’t going to let the waves just pass her by. She’d do what she could. It would have to be enough.

  Her arm throbbed. She tipped a pain pill out of the orange plastic bottle, stared at it in her palm. Then she remembered what Jake had said about staying ahead of pain. Her heart clenched as his image rose in her mind. Jake was wrong about one thing. Some pain you couldn’t get in front of no matter how hard you tried to avoid it. Like the pain that came from loving someone out of reach.

  She put the pill back in the bottle. She’d need a clear mind for what was ahead. Especially since her heart was speaking so darn loudly and trying to crowd out her thoughts. Jake Ryder might not be ready for what she had to say, but that didn’t mean she would back down. She made a vow. Tonight or tomorrow she’d tell the truth that had bloomed in her with a force that wouldn’t be constrained. She loved him, and she intended to tell him that she did. And while she hadn’t dared to let herself believe that he might love her back, still it was a dare she had to step into or she’d never know.

  A knock sounded at her door, making her heart skip a beat. She wasn’t yet ready to face Jake. Relief flooded her when Dylan came in and asked if she’d help him with his bow tie and go downstairs with him. He slid his hand into hers. He too was walking into a world he’d never known before. She imagined the hope and tenuousness shining in his face was mirrored in her own.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Jake tucked another package under the towering Christmas tree. He’d spent most of the afternoon trying to decide on the perfect gift for Cameron. At least the torment of shopping had taken his mind off waiting for Sabrina to bring her home from the hospital. The sight of Cameron in the hospital bed the previous night had shocked a few things home.

  “Never thought I’d see you playing Santa.” Alana’s voice came from behind him.

  “I’m told surprises are the spice of life,” he said as he hugged Alex’s high-spirited cousin.