“So her and the blond kid, the one that looks like a lifeguard, are they dating? Is that why you aren’t stepping up? It’s so obvious you like her. At least to me, it is.”
I kept my eyes on the road but managed to give her a sideways look. I wasn’t about to toss her the bone that she was so obviously fishing for. After all, although we’d kissed a couple of times and had great sex on the boat, I still hadn’t asked her out, so we weren’t officially an item. “I have no idea who she’s dating,” I replied, though I hoped she’d be dating me very soon.
“I see. Here come the lies. You don’t want to tell me. That’s okay, Gabe, but don’t forget, I’ve known you a long time. I know you.”
We turned off the highway on to the road to the hospital and I was taken aback by her direct conversation.
“What lies?” I asked. I had no idea what Sophie was referring to since I hadn’t actually lied about Pepper and me—I wasn’t dating her…yet. I quickly thought back to our past and wondered if I’d ever lied to her before. How could she know I was holding back on her?
“You haven’t changed a bit, Gabe. You like her and for whatever reason, you aren’t going after her. You know, you have a habit of doing that.”
“What?” I laughed incredulously. “What are you talking about?”
“Well…” She ran her manicured finger over the seat belt slowly. “You liked me and you never did anything about it. I’d hate for you to repeat that mistake. Sometimes you just have to go for it, Gabriel Gregory.”
If she only knew…Pepper and I had already gone for it. I couldn’t let myself admit it, but I was becoming addicted to Pepper—maybe even falling in love with her.
And God knows…I wasn’t about to admit that.
Chapter Seven — Pepper
“Gabe? Where’s Gabe?” I asked anyone who happened to be listening. My head pounded like I’d been on a three-day drunk and I lay there, unsure of where I was as I fought to stay awake. I felt so dreamy—like I was floating out of my body—then I slowly opened one eye and thought I saw the silhouette of a human. I tried to open the other one but it wouldn’t move. It felt so heavy, as though something was holding it closed, and I struggled to move. My lungs burned inside me. I closed my eyes again and all I heard was a strange beeping noise—then it stopped…
“Gabe?” I whispered. “Is Gabe here?” but no one answered me. Is anybody here? Oh God, am I hallucinating? Am I drunk?
Someone held my hand. “Pepper. Pepper, wake up.”
I opened my eyes and as they got used to the bright light, I saw my dad standing there, patting my hand. “Hey, are you okay?”
I was about to say, “Yes,” but suddenly, I felt sick to my stomach. I moaned a little and thought I was going to throw up. After a few minutes when my eyes had finally focused on my surroundings, I opened my mouth and whispered, “Daddy?”
“Yes, baby. I’m here.”
I wanted to ask him if Gabe was with him, but the words wouldn’t come out.
“Pep, baby. Don’t try to talk, okay? You’ve hit your head and you’re on pain killers. Lift your finger if you can hear me, sweetheart.”
I lifted my finger and saw Daddy smile. He still looked a little blurry and I felt like I was under water. My head was so numb, but after a few minutes I started to come out of the fog and I realized where I was—in the hospital with an IV in my arm.
“Am I okay? Is Gabe here?”
Daddy patted my hand again to soothe me. “Yes, baby. You’re going to be okay. David’s in the waiting room. He rode with you in the ambulance.”
I squinted up at my dad. “Gabe rode with me?” I could barely get the words out, but I was getting better and clearer as the minutes passed.
“No, honey. David did. Shall I get him?”
“Yeah, I guess so. I’m so tired.”
“It’s the medicine. You should probably sleep it off.”
“Is Gabe here?” I put my hand up to my head and felt the bandages. I didn’t know what to do first, cry or throw up. I’d never been in an accident like this before and I’d never been taken to hospital in an ambulance. I wondered how seriously I’d been hurt and I felt so helpless. “Oh, Daddy. I’m sorry. I’ve asked you that already.”
“Yes, you have, honey. Hold on a second. I’ll be right back.” Dad walked out into the hallway and brought David back with him.
“Thank God, you’re awake. I was so worried about you.” I noticed David’s t-shirt was so obviously too small for him, but I didn’t care. I was just glad to see him.
“Yeah, I’m okay. Thanks for helping me out,” I said and he smiled back at me.
Daddy asked, “Can you tell us what happened, David? Pepper can’t remember much at the moment.”
David told us the whole story, using his favorite surfing metaphors, like, “She totally curled up and then wham, she wiped out.”
“So, it was the animal’s fault?”
“I guess so.” David shrugged. “He’s never done that before, though. Maybe we practiced a little too long today. We had the other dolphin in the tank as well, and Tracee was there, too. Singh—that’s the dolphin we’re talking about—he doesn’t like either one of them.”
“Well, that’s it, then. No more dolphin rides for you, Pepper. I think you’ve done enough there. No more Sea Lab. You’re finished there.”
I was shocked that my dad had said that, and I sat up—a little too quickly as it turned out, because the nausea swept over me again. “No, Daddy! I can’t quit. You wanted me to do this in the first place and I’m doing it. They need me. You heard David, it was an accident.” I was ready to cry at the thought of leaving Singh behind. I knew it would come to an end someday, but I wasn’t ready for that yet.
Finally, Gabe’s handsome face appeared around the door. His dark eyes were full of concern and I thought for a second…I really did love him, didn’t I? Or not? …then he walked in holding hands with a beautiful brunette lady—and it wasn’t his mother.
I hated her instantly. I hated her because she was beautiful and healthy and she wasn’t wearing a hospital gown, but mostly I didn’t like her because she was holding Gabe’s hand. I had a hard time putting my thoughts together but this feeling, this jealousy—that was real.
“Pepper, you’re awake. Thank God. They told me downstairs you were unconscious. I’m so glad you’re awake.” Then he turned to my father and I waited for my dad to cuss him out or something, especially since he was still holding Miss Bitch’s hand but he stayed quiet, then Gabe said, “I’m sorry, Mr. Anderson, but I assure you it was an accident—I saw the whole thing.”
My dad stood near me, put a protective hand on my shoulder and with a serious look on his face he said, “I’m sorry, Gabriel. She’s not well. She may even have a concussion, but the doctor says they’re waiting on the results of one more test to come back from the lab. I was just telling my daughter that I think she’s done enough at Sea Lab. It’s time to quit before she really gets hurt, or even killed. I think we should leave the porpoise-wrangling to the professionals.”
Gabe let go of the woman’s hand and moved closer to my bedside. I gazed at his dark, smoldering good looks and saw him looking down at me with a frown on his face. “Is this true? Are you quitting?” My head still pounded and I ignored Miss Bitchy who watched us from the foot of the bed. I felt my lip quiver as I stared into his face and said in the loudest voice I could manage, “I’m not quitting.”
“Pepper!” my dad protested, but I was too much his daughter to quit anything.
“Guys, can we talk about this later?”
David reached over and held my hand. His big hand was warm, like Gabe’s, and I could see Gabe’s jaw pop in anger, but I had no reason to pull away. David was just a friend, and Gabe had a lot of explaining to do, bringing that woman in here, hand-in-hand.
“Singh has done well every other practice. I say we let the girls take solo rides. That way, he has no reason to get aggressive or irritated. I swear, Mr. And
erson, he’s usually very even-tempered.” I wondered if David had any idea just how rich all the people in this room were—besides him. He wasn’t rich at all, but I didn’t care. He had been right by my side the whole way—I was starting to remember it all now. And I remembered that lady from Sea Lab. She was watching me before I bonked my head.
“All right, we’ll talk about this later. Now, let me see what I can find out from the doctor, then I promised Mills I’d call her to let her know what was going on. I’ll be back in a minute.” Dad was fuming, but I was the only one that knew it. He’d never openly display anger, except to my mother. She always brought the worst out of him—out of anyone.
Gabe gave me a smile and said, “It looks like you’re in good hands here, Pepper, so we’ll go now, but I’ll be back to check on you later this evening. Please call me if you need anything, okay?”
David chimed in before I could answer. “Don’t worry, Mr. Gregory. I’m going to stay until she throws me out.” He smiled.
“Gabe, you’re leaving?” I whispered to him. He didn’t say a word and just patted my hand like I was his sister, then left. I guess he didn’t hear me. I couldn’t believe he’d just treated me like that and left with that bitch, who he never even introduced me to. I thought he cared about me, but maybe he was just like every other guy and I was just another conquest to him and now he was on to the next one. Maybe he was more like Church than I wanted to believe. Just a taker—someone who always had an agenda.
“Anyone I should call for you?” David snapped me out of my musing.
“What do you mean, David? Dad’s calling my sister. That’s it, I think.”
“I don’t know. Maybe your publicist? Don’t all you celebrities have a publicist? You should probably put up a Twitter message or something, asking fans not to come.” I felt sick again. So, was this what his so-called concern was all about? David was here not because he was my friend, but because he thought I was some sort of celebrity? I guess he’d known all along what kind of company he was in and that he wasn’t the richest guy in the room.
I smiled at him sweetly, but inwardly I was pissed. I asked, “Could you ask my Dad to come back, please?” He grinned, ready to be of help and was gone in a flash. He came back a few minutes later with my father.
“Please excuse us a minute, David. Thanks.” I smiled sweetly but inside I was ready to vomit again. When I heard the door shut, I whispered to Dad. “Please get him out of here and make sure he doesn’t have a cell phone with my picture on it. He’s not a real friend, Daddy. He’s just like the stupid paparazzi.”
“I’ll take care of it, honey. Don’t you worry,” he said and he left immediately. I knew he’d handle the situation with tact, but how could I ever work with David again? I’d had a funny feeling about him right from the start, and I wasn’t wrong about him. I should have listened to my gut instinct. Dad was back in less than five minutes. “Problem solved. I’ll talk to Gregory as well and let him know.”
“Thank you, Daddy. I’m getting sleepy and it’s cold in here. Can I have another blanket? Is Mills coming? Or Charlotte?” I’d gotten used to having Charlotte around. Not like a Mom—I’d never have one of those—but like someone extra that loved Dad in a real way.
“Your sister is on the way, and I wasn’t sure that you’d want Charlotte here.”
“I love Charlotte, but please don’t tell Mom I’m here. This hospital would be in total chaos.”
Dad laughed at the thought of Evangeline Anderson in a hospital. “Not only that, but she’s such a hypochondriac, she’d have all the doctors running CAT scans and MRI’s on her. I’m afraid you’d be completely forgotten.”
“I forgot to tell you, she came to my work the other day and made a big scene. At Mills’ party, she hooked up with Church. I can’t forgive the woman for being so…so…Evangeline. How did you do it, Dad? Why did you stay with her?” I felt a tear slide down my face as I thought about everything my poor dad had put up with over the years.
“At first, I stayed because I loved her and I thought she’d change. Then I stayed because I loved you two girls so much. I couldn’t just abandon you and your sister. I mean—you know what kind of parenting skills she has. I had to hang in there for your sakes and when I thought the time was right, I filed the paperwork.”
“Then you were in court for five years.”
“Yes, but every court trip was worth it because I have you two. I love you girls more than anything in the world.” He put his arm around me, kissed my cheek and I started to feel better.
A few minutes later, one of my many doctors came in to tell us that I had a mild concussion and that I’d be in the hospital for at least one more day, maybe two, for monitoring. They were concerned that my brain might swell, and the physician wanted to keep me in for observation. It sounded frightening, but the doctor assured us it was just standard procedure with concussions, and that it would probably result in nothing more than a slight scar, a bruise and a bad headache for a while.
After the doctor left, Daddy said, “Mills is on her way with your stuff and, of course, she’s insisting on staying with you. She just sent me another text.”
“That’s great. It’ll be nice to have her here.” We chit-chatted for a few more minutes, then he walked back to the bed and hugged me again.
“You know I’m so proud of you, Pepper. I gave you a challenge and you met it head on. You did exactly as I asked you to, and I think you learned a few things about yourself, like how intelligent you truly are. You don’t have to keep going to Sea Lab. Having said that, if you want to stay and finish the internship, you know I’ll support you. But I may insist you wear a helmet when riding the dolphins.” That was my daddy—always trying to lighten the mood.
“Won’t that be hilarious? Then the people at the gala won’t even recognize me. I’ll be incognito.” I grinned, and added, “I’m not going to embarrass you, Dad, I promise. I’m really good at this.”
“Why would you think this would embarrass me?”
“Because I’ll be riding a dolphin in front of Destiny Beach’s richest people the night of the gala. Everyone is going to be there. Bobbie Jo says the tickets have practically sold out, and it’s going to be a packed house—or aquarium. I totally understand if you don’t want to be there.”
“You must have really hit your head, daughter. Of course I’m going to be there. I’m going to clap and cheer and tell everyone, ‘That’s my daughter’. I’m really very proud of you.”
I squeezed his hand. “Oh, Daddy! I love you. I really like the dolphins, and I’d never have known if it weren’t for you. Thank you!”
He laughed and said, “I’m glad you like it. Glad it turned out well for you. Well…except this. You are in the hospital and you scared the daylights out of me.”
“I know and I’m so sorry. Really, I’m safe there. It was just a freaky accident.” I loved spending time with my dad. He was a great role model, unlike my mom, and I could tell how much he loved me. “You know what? I’m even thinking about going to college. Marine biology. What do you think about that? Do you think I could do it?”
He smiled at me and the creases around his tanned face deepened. “I think you’d be a wonderful marine biologist, and I’ll support you one hundred percent, Pepper.”
“Thanks, Daddy—but keep that to yourself for now. I’m still thinking about it.”
He nodded. “Will do,” he said, just as Charlotte walked into the room. Dad turned around to see who it was and looked surprised. “Hey, look who’s here.” And his face lit up as he caught sight of his girlfriend. She smiled back and he walked over, held her hand and gave her a kiss on the cheek. I don’t know why, but he looked a little nervous from what I could tell. “She’s being a model patient, Charlotte,” he said, then he turned back to me. “Pepper, did you know Charlotte used to be the head nurse here years ago?”
“Hey! Not that many years ago, Doug,” she joked with him. “I’m glad to hear you’re being a good p
atient. Gee, this room is chilly. Are you cold?”
I nodded. “Yes, it is a little chilly in here. How are you? Good of you to come.”
“No, the question is how are you?”
“I guess I’m fine. Little bump on the head. Two stitches.” I reached my hand up to my bandages. “New fashion statement hat!” I chuckled.
Charlotte and Dad both laughed, and she looked at him then back at me. She had sparkles in her eyes and I was so happy for my dad to have found someone that loved him. “Well, I’m glad you’re okay. I’ll go get some more blankets,” she said, and she walked out of the room toward the nurse’s station.
“I really like her, Daddy. You should marry her.”
“What? You really did whack your head, didn’t you?”
Charlotte came back with blankets and pillows and fussed around the room for a little while as I told her the story of what had landed me in hospital. After a few minutes, Mills finally walked in carrying two bags, and to my surprise she’d brought Aven with her.
“Are you all right, Pep? Ow, that looks like it hurts.”
I saw Mills roll her eyes then she gave me a hug and said, “I’m going down to the cafeteria real quick to grab a sandwich. I’m starving. You want anything, Pepper? Anyone else?”
“Yes, a coffee please,” I said. No one else wanted anything so my sister left and Aven sat in the chair by my bed. I really wished those two could get along. It would make my life so much easier to be around them. “What did you do to piss Mills off?”
“I’m not sure,” Aven lied. I could tell she was lying, because she always did that weird thing with her nose. It crinkled a little bit when she lied, but I let it go. They’d have to figure it out themselves. I wasn’t up to it right now.
“How did you know I was here? Mills called you?”
“No, my mom is friends with Charlotte and she was there when Charlotte got the call. Gee, I hope it’s okay that I came by? We are still friends, right?” She ended her question with a nervous laugh.
Destiny Undone: The Complete Series Box Set Page 14