by J. G. Sumner
Laney blushed. “I’m going to have to take a rain check on the smothering, but I would love your kisses.” Laney’s mouth curved up at the corners providing Josh with a playful smile. He leaned in, placing his lips to Laney’s. The warmth and softness of them sent electricity surging through his body and his arousal pressing against his pants.
“You’re so beautiful.”
“I think you’re delusional. I have dragon breath and serious bed head. What could be beautiful about that?”
“You’ve always been beautiful to me. I think, even more so now.”
Laney laughed. “We really do need to get you some help. Peyton, call a doctor. I think Josh needs his head examined.”
Josh scowled as he motioned to Jillian. “That’s not funny.”
Laney glanced from Josh to Jillian. “Oh gosh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“It’s fine, don’t worry about me. There’s nothing wrong with me.” Jillian turned in the opposite direction and stared at the wall.
Josh put his hand on his sister’s leg and squeezed it. Jillian was handling things pretty well, despite not wanting to be there. He had some business to tend to before they could leave.
“There has been some things going on while you’ve been asleep. Your parents have been trying to relocate you to Missouri. Peyton and I believed you would be opposed to it. So, I’ve been doing everything in my power to make sure it wouldn’t happen. I wanted you to be awake and make the decision for yourself.”
Laney sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. “Unfortunately, I’m well aware of what my mother has been up to. She didn’t hesitate to let me know as soon as you left the room earlier. I don’t know what you’ve done, but I’m sure you’ve had my best interests at heart, and I want to thank you for that. You’re right, though. I have no interest in moving. Fortunately, Peyton said I could live with her.”
Josh paused staring into the eyes of the Pacific Ocean as he prepared himself for what was coming next. He was confident he could talk Laney into moving in with him, but she was hard-headed and he would have to convince her it was what she needed—what they needed.
“I want you to move in with me. Before you can give me an answer, hear me out.”
Laney’s mouth was already moving, but Josh was able to cut her off before she could respond.
“I’ve thought this through thoroughly, and I know you’d be worried about my schedule. I know you wouldn’t want me to take time off to care for you. I figure it would be best to take time off when you are better and we can go on a nice trip somewhere.” Josh paused. “I’ve digressed. I’d like to hire a private nurse for the first couple of weeks after you’re home. Then as you progress, we’ll get a physical therapist and anyone else who you may need to help you. I’m willing to allow this to be a temporary situation. However, I’d like you to consider making it permanent.”
Laney’s bottom lip trembled. “What about you, Jillian? Would this situation be okay with you?”
Jillian turned toward Laney. “Ha! Like I have a choice in the matter.”
Josh’s eyes grew wide as he clenched his jaw. The color washed from Laney’s as her eyes widened. “God dammit! What’s wrong with you?” Josh turned back to Laney. “It’s fine with Jillian. It’s a big house and you’re welcome to have your own room. I’d prefer you shared mine, but if you’re more comfortable in your own, I understand. I just don’t want to waste any more time getting our life together started.”
“I think I need to be alone. I need you to go.” Laney pulled up the blankets to cover herself a bit more. The color had not returned to her face and she was trembling.
“What is it? What’s wrong?”
“I just need you to go. Please!”
“What did I do? Did I say something wrong?” Josh reached for Laney’s hand, but she tucked it under the sheets.
“Just go!”
“No, this is insane. What’s wrong? I need you to tell me! I didn’t mean to make you feel pressured. We can work this out.”
Peyton rushed to Laney’s bedside. “I think it’s better if you two took off for a while. Let me take care of Laney. Everything will be fine. I’ll call you later.”
“No! I’m not leaving! Laney, don’t just shut down on me. We can find a reasonable solution to this.”
Laney looked the other way and refused to make eye contact with him.
Josh pulled his hands through his hair resigned to the fact that their conversation was over. “Fine, I’ll leave. Please think about what I’ve said. Know I love you.”
Laney still wouldn’t look at him. Josh looked to Peyton who motioned for him to leave. Josh grabbed Jillian’s arm and pulled her out the door.
“See? I told you she’s not the one for you.”
“Not another word!”
Chapter 34
Laney
“Are you okay?”
Laney knew Peyton was talking to her, but it sounded as if she were in a tunnel. There was too much to process. The fragrant smell of peppermint flooded Laney with a host of memories and feelings. Someone had been in her room. At the time, she was so drugged up she wasn’t sure if she were dreaming or if it was real. When she finally woke from her sedation, she had no recollection of what had happened—at least not until she smelled the peppermint.
It was Jillian. She tried to kill me. Laney remembered the ventilator not working and the panic of not being able to breathe. Why? Why would she want to hurt me? How on earth do I tell Josh? God, poor Josh. He already looked so panicked when she told him to leave.
“Talk to me.” Peyton was staring at Laney with a frantic look on her face. “What’s wrong? You look like you’ve just seen a ghost!”
“It’s bad. It’s really bad. I don’t know what to do.”
“What’s bad? Please tell me what’s going on. Did Josh do something wrong?”
Laney was unsure if she should share the revelation with Peyton. If she didn’t tell her, who could she? She certainly needed advice on how to approach the situation. What would she say? How would she tell Peyton that Jillian was her stalker, let alone tell Josh? It would probably be best just to come out with it. There was no easy way around it. Hopefully, there would be some good advice.
“It’s her. It’s Jillian.”
“What do you mean? What about Jillian?” Peyton crossed her arms and cocked her head to the side.
“Jillian’s the one who’s been stalking me and sending those letters. She did something with my ventilator so I couldn’t breathe. She tried to kill me!”
Peyton gasped for air. “Oh my God Laney, are you sure? How do you know?”
“When Jillian was just sitting here, I smelled peppermint on her breath. While I was sedated, I kept having what I thought were dreams of someone coming into my room. This someone always smelled like peppermint. At first, I couldn’t tell if it was a man or a woman. She would come in and say mean things to me trying to get me to stay away from Josh. The last time I remember, she said it was going to be the end of me. Next thing I know, I couldn’t breathe.”
“That makes sense. She must’ve been coming the same time every night. You had these episodes of tachycardia when the night nurse left to get your meds. We couldn’t figure out what was causing it. I wonder how she’s been getting in here. Do you think he knows it’s his sister?”
Laney thought about it for a minute. “I don’t think he would bring her here if he suspected her. But, then again, he left here to take his sister to the doctor. Maybe he knows something is up with her. Maybe Josh is protecting Jillian.”
“Or maybe it’s something else. When your parents started receiving notes, Josh was pretty upset. We thought it was someone who worked in the hospital he had dated previously. He was very cooperative and even offered a list of names to the detective.”
“I can’t imagine what this will do to him when he finds out. Do you think we should call the detective?”
“Absolutely! We can’t let her
remain on the loose. Who knows what she’ll do next time? You need to call him now!”
“Maybe I should talk to Josh first. I really don’t want him to hear about this from anyone else. Why would she do this to me? I’ve never done anything to her much less even had a conversation.”
“I don’t know, but you need to make sure it stops.” Peyton dug through her pocket and located her cell phone. She handed it to Laney.
“Is it all right if I look up the phone number on your phone?”
“Yeah, go for it.”
Laney searched for the number for the San Diego Police Department. She called the main line and asked to be patched through. She only had to wait a couple of minutes before she heard Detective Neal’s voice.
He immediately asked her how she was feeling. They exchanged some pleasantries before Laney got to the reason for the call. She spent several minutes rehashing everything she could remember. When Laney hung up with the officer, she stared quietly at the phone.
“Well?”
“He’s putting a warrant out for her arrest.”
“Wow! He’s serious. What else did he say?”
“He said thanks.”
“That’s it?”
“I don’t know how much he can really say.”
“I just think it’s weird.”
“Why?”
“Because you’d think he’d want to reassure you.”
Laney swallowed hard. “He did mention it was now an attempted murder investigation.”
“God, when you say it like that, it sounds so horrible.”
“Yeah, it makes it very real.” Laney looked up to find her parents entering the room.
“Oh, I’m glad you’re awake.” Eileen marched past Peyton and took a seat next to Laney’s bed.
Laney rolled her eyes. The last thing she needed was another argument with her mom. Laney pulled her fingers across her lips indicating to Peyton she was to keep her mouth shut.
“Hi, Mom. Dad.”
“How are you feeling?”
Laney loved her dad. He could melt her heart and make her feel like she was the only person who mattered. He was special. He had a twinkle in his eye, would tell corny jokes, and was the kindest person she knew. He would do anything to help someone in need.
“I’m feeling good. A little sore, but good.”
“How about your throat? Are you able to talk better?”
Laney swallowed and could feel it getting scratchy again. “It hurts, but it’s tolerable.”
“Good. Maybe we can talk some more about your living arrangements.” Eileen didn’t waste any time broaching the subject.
“Do we have to start this again?”
“The movers are at your apartment. We need to know where to send your stuff.”
“I still can’t believe you got me kicked out of my apartment. What did you think you were going to do with my stuff?”
“Let’s not exaggerate. I did not get you kicked out of your apartment. You have rent coming up, and I didn’t know how you would pay it when you aren’t working.”
“I don’t know, Mom. Maybe you could’ve paid it for me until I woke up. Then, I could’ve told you to go get the money out of my savings. Or maybe since you were going to pay to move me across the country, you could’ve used that money to help me out.”
“I wasn’t finished. It’s not polite to interrupt.”
Laney was annoyed by how convenient it was for her mom to say that to her. After all, her mom was the queen of interrupting. She never listened to a word anyone else said.
“What I was going to say is we were planning on having your stuff shipped to Missouri. We have transport all arranged. We can leave tomorrow morning. Won’t that be great?”
“What part of ‘I’m not moving’ don’t you understand? Really, when were you planning on moving me? Were you waiting for me to wake up or were you going to do it while I was out so I wouldn’t be able to fight you on it?”
Herb and Eileen exchanged looks with one another.
“You were, weren’t you? I can’t believe this!”
“Your mom and I felt it was in your best interest for you to come home with us.”
“Why? Why would you think that?” Laney sat upright in the bed.
“Why are you getting so worked up? We were just trying to help. There’s no one else who can take care of you as well as I can. I don’t work. I can be with you and help you through all of this.”
“Let’s not kid ourselves. You weren’t doing this to help me. You were doing this to help yourself! You’ve never wanted me to move out of the house. You’ve treated me like I was a child since…well, since what happened with Scott. That situation made me grow up, not turn into a child. I’m an adult. I’m almost thirty years old. I have a steady job, I was looking at buying a house, and I’m in a serious relationship. This is where I want to stay. Please listen to me. As far as having people help me, I have a whole host of friends who will be here for me, not to mention my boyfriend who’s willing to provide around-the-clock nurses to help. One last time, I’ll make things perfectly clear, I’m. Never. Moving. There. Not now, not ever.”
Laney took a deep breath. Her parents sat motionless with their mouths agape. She thought her mom would break into fake woe-is-me tears at any minute to draw the attention back on herself. Her dad looked as though he were waiting for her mom to lose it so he could go and console her. Peyton’s eyes were big. A smirk had formed at the corners of her mouth.
“I’m sorry. We’ve been going back and forth trying to figure out what is best for you. We aren’t trying to control your life.” Herb continued to rub Eileen’s shoulders and he focused on Laney.
“Thank you.” Laney reached for Herb’s hand.
“So, would you like us to get a storage unit for you or would you like us to send your stuff to one of your friend’s houses?”
“Quite honestly, I’d like you to get my apartment back.”
“Fine. I’ll get a hold of your property manager today.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. So, where’s that boyfriend of yours?”
Laney looked to Peyton. “Ah, I think he went home for a while. He was on call last night, and he needed to let his dog out and take care of a few things.”
“Oh? He has a dog? What kind?”
“He’s a Great Dane. You’d love this dog. His name is Duke, and he’s seriously the coolest one I’ve met.” Peyton cleared her throat. “I mean with the exception of Peyton’s dog.”
Everyone laughed except Eileen who was watching the interactions. Judging was more like it.
That was one of the things that drove Laney nuts about her mom. If someone said anything she didn’t like, she would clam up and act as though she were deeply hurt and whatever the person had said to her was the worst thing imaginable on the planet. She did this to make people feel guilty and ultimately get her way. Most of the time it worked. As Laney got older and moved out on her own, she had grown far too tired of Eileen’s antics and had little patience. For the most part, Laney just ignored her mom when she acted this way. It seemed to work.
“When does Josh find time to take care of Duke? It seems like he’s always here at the hospital.”
“His sister lives with him and helps out.” Laney thought about Jillian and what part she would play in Josh’s life if it truly were her who had tried to kill Laney. Would Josh forgive Laney for reporting Jillian? Would it destroy his relationship with his sister? Laney wasn’t sure what the outcome would be, but she hoped she and Josh could work through it.
“Laney…did you hear me?”
“Uh? What? I’m sorry. I was just thinking.”
“Well, you seemed pretty far away. What were you thinking about?”
“Oh, nothing. What was it you asked?”
“I asked what Josh’s sister did for a living and how they came about living together.”
Laney wasn’t interested in going into the entire family dynamics
of Josh and Jillian. So she kept it as simple as possible.
“Jillian works as a bartender. I guess her younger years were kind of tough. Josh took her in to help her get her back on track. I’m not entirely sure of the details. Josh and I haven’t had the chance to talk too much about Jillian. I think it’s kind of a rough topic for him.”
“Sounds like a good upstanding guy to me,” Herb said with a smile.
“It sounds like he has too much on his plate, and he won’t have time to take care of you. Maybe you’d better make other arrangements rather than stay with him while you’re recovering.” Eileen had found her voice again.
“Right now, I’d just like to see about getting my apartment back.”
Eileen crossed her arms and took another vow of silence.
“Well, I think that’s our cue to leave you alone so you can get some rest. I’ll go talk to your apartment manager. If I’m unable to get your apartment back, where would you like your things to go?”
“Can you put them in storage for me?”
“Sure. You get some rest. You look very tired.”
Laney was fatigued. She hadn’t been awake all that long, but her energy was zapped. “Thanks. I think you’re probably right. I could use a nap.”
“We’ll come back around dinner time. Can we bring you anything?”
Laney saw her dad look toward Peyton for approval.
“I know she can only have clear liquids. Is there any place around here where I can pick you up some soup?”
Laney thought of her favorite chicken soup restaurant. Her tummy growled. “Daddy, there’s a place called Lourdes’ just down the road on Escondido Boulevard. They have the best chicken soup. Just tell them to hold the chicken and the avocado.”
“Okay, I’ll bring you some later.”
“Thanks.”
Herb put his arm out for Eileen. “Shall we go?”
Eileen got up, never uncrossing her arms and ignoring Herb completely. She looked and acted like a petulant child. “I’ll see you later.”