Forgotten Dreams

by Janet Lane-Walters

“I imagine so.”

  At six, Rob arrived with food. Chad opened the plastic container and tasted the spicy shrimp served over saffron rice. “This is great. Is there a new restaurant in town?”

  “It’s Rob’s Kitchen.”

  “You’re kidding.”

  “Not a bit. When a man lives alone, he learns to cook unless he wants to eat out every night or call in fast food.”

  “I see.” He didn’t but if Rob happily produced gourmet meals, good for him. He would enjoy the results of Rob’s culinary skills. “I’ll leave here on Monday.” He groaned. “I’m not ready to face the world.”

  “You won’t have to. Your room is set up at the cabin. Simon will bring your wheelchair here tomorrow. One of his men will take your place in the hospital’s chair while we smuggle you out via the delivery bay.”

  “Sounds wonderful. What about a paparazzi invasion at your place?”

  “Remember the gate?”

  “Too vividly.” Chad swallowed a mouthful of the spicy dish. “I like the ploy.”

  Simon strode into the room. He turned to Rob. “Have you told him about the escape plan?”

  “Just did. Monday is the day.”

  “The motorized chair arrives tomorrow.”

  From the anteroom, Chad heard Janice’s voice. He cringed. Rob laughed. “Has she tried to snare you, too?”

  “She did. I told her to get lost.” He waited to see if she would invade. She didn’t. “She was trying to set me up so a photographer could catch us in a compromising position.

  “Glad you escaped.” Rob leaned back. “You said you planned to do our movie.”

  “I do. We’ll discuss that when I’m at your house.”

  * * *

  Though she’d avoided Chad for days, she heard from the nurses that he was ready for discharge today. Her rounds this morning had taken her to the unit where he was a patient. She completed her notes and paused outside his room. As she entered the anteroom, she saw him seated in a motorized wheelchair.

  He looked up. His smile was the one that sent her heart into overdrive. Why did his presence always make her wish for something she couldn’t have? He would never change his lifestyle. She hated the thought of becoming close and losing him again.

  “Good to see you. Today’s the great escape.”

  “Are you ready to face the crowd?”

  He ran his fingers through his dark hair. “Won’t happen.”

  “Why not?”

  “There’s a plan.”

  “Where are you going?”

  “To Rob’s.”

  She looked toward the window. “Why there?”

  “It’s a safe place. No paparazzi with cameras. No mikes being thrust in my face. His home is on one level. My evening guard will come mornings and evenings to help me. Rob and I have plans to make.”

  She didn’t want to ask about those plans. She wanted him to return to Hollywood so she could have the final end to her impossible dream.

  “How will you escape the crowd outside?”

  He explained the plan. His grin reminded her of a boy planning a prank.

  Emma shook her head. “Glad you’re having fun. Wouldn’t an interview or two give them enough to leave you alone?”

  He laughed. “They’re like sponges soaking up every drop and waiting for more to fall.”

  “Aren’t you responsible for your reputation?”

  “Along with my agent.” He growled. “I’m tired of being a magnet for attention. I’m tired of being Storm, hero impossible.”

  “Hope you can change.” She turned to leave.

  “Hold on a moment.” He moved the chair and nearly knocked her down. She grasped the arms of the chair to steady herself. “We need to talk. I’ll be at Rob’s for a month. Will you come to see me there?” He placed his hands over hers. “You need to know what happened and how much regret I have.”

  “I don’t know.”

  “I’ll give you the combination to the gate.”

  She straightened. “I’ll think about it. I need to go. Office hours start in fifteen minutes.” She slipped him a card. “You can reach me here.”

  Chapter 5

  When Emma reached the office, Claire handed her the list of the day’s patients. “Did you see Chad?”

  “Had patients on the unit where he is so I stopped by. He’s leaving today.”

  “Shame. Did the two of you have that talk?”

  Emma shook her head. For some reason she’d avoided the big tell and tell off day. “I didn’t have the time. I didn’t want to be late for hours.”

  “When are you planning to tell him? Using an email? He would probably never read the note.”

  “He’s going to Rob Grantlan’s cabin until the casts are off. He asked me to visit.”

  “Go for it.”

  Emma scowled. Why should she? “I told him to call. He has the office number.”

  “Why didn’t you give him your cell number? What if he tries to call in the evening?”

  The look on her sister’s face made Emma want to laugh. “The answering service will forward the call.”

  “Why be so coy?” Claire tapped her pen on the desk. “Before you can move forward, you must put the past to rest.”

  Dr. Reid ambled in. “Busy day ahead?”

  Claire handed him the list of patients scheduled for the day. “We’re booked solid.”

  He scanned the list. “Not too bad though. What has you both looking so serious?”

  Claire leaned forward. “Emma’s old boyfriend is in town. He wants to see her. I think she should.”

  The older man studied Emma. “I would guess he’s the reason you’re still single.”

  “Could be.” Emma’s hands curled into fists. Chad Morgan’s hold on her emotions had sent her hurtling into the past.

  Dr. Reid touched her hand. “Take your sister’s advice. See him and be free.”

  Emma shook her head. “Enough advice from both of you.” She hurried to her office for her lab coat. She didn’t know what she wanted to do. Talking to Chad about why he’d stopped calling and texting could show her how foolish hope had been. Maybe his words years ago had been designed to coax her into having sex. Hadn’t worked. They had agreed to wait. She had believed he loved her. Though their petting sessions had enticed, she had remained untouched. Did he just want her now because she was the one who had resisted?

  She left the office and entered the treatment room to see the first patient on her list.

  When her hours ended after going home to shower and change, she drove to Manon’sto deliver more unwrapped presents and to talk about several of the patients. After admiring the baby while Manon opened the bags, Emma settled on a chair across from her friend.

  “I think Mr. Bagrin needs a surgical consult. His tests point to some internal problems.”

  “I agree.” Manon looked up. “Has Chad left the hospital?”

  “This morning. There was an elaborate escape plan devised to avoid the mob outside.”

  “So he’s back to Hollywood and his platoon of women. You’re left hanging again. I’m sure you didn’t talk to him.”

  “You’re right there but no Hollywood yet. He’ll be at Rob Grantlan’s until the casts are off. Guess he didn’t want people to see him as a cripple.”

  “Wasn’t seeing Rob his reason for coming to Fern Lake?”

  “Yes.” Emma scowled. Why else would he be here? Certainly not to see her. Years ago he had walked away leaving her behind. She rose and stood beside the cradle. “When Rafe returned, how did you feel?”

  “Happy. Angry. Then fury when I learned what had happened to him. I think you should talk to Chad.” She held up her hands. “You must. I avoided Rob for days because I was afraid of what he would say.”

  Emma released a sigh. “He wants me to come to Rob’s. I’m wavering. I’m so afraid I’ll cling to an impossible dream.”

  “You won’t know until you talk to him.”

  Her friend was right
but could she accept the truth?

  * * *

  Chad waited for Rob, Simon and the stand-in to arrive. He was getting out of here. He grinned when he thought about the farce about to unfold. A nurse entered and handed him a sheet of paper. “These are your discharge instructions.” She carefully went over cast care and the possible complications. “Don’t hesitate to call Dr. Markham if there’s any extraordinary swelling or pain.”

  “Can I shower?”

  Her forehead wrinkled. “You could but not in this wheelchair. Also, the cast needs to be kept dry. You have no idea how awful the matting smells when it’s wet. Also wet makes a great growing place for mold and bacteria.”

  Chad groaned. “I’m tired of being part of the great unwashed.”

  “Haven’t the care assistants done complete bed baths?”

  “They do but being in the shower and feeling the jets hit my body would feel great.”

  “Put that on your future pleasure list.” She waved and left the room.

  Just before noon, Rob, Simon and a man whose body image was close to his arrived. If you didn’t study his face and hair he might be thought to be Chad for a short time. The look-alike wore a green tee shirt nearly the same color as the one he wore. The bill of the ball cap cast his face in shadows and the dark shades added to the blurring of his image.

  “I wish I could see the reactions of the crowd,” Chad said.

  Simon laughed. “You will. We’ll have a man making a video of the event.” He pulled leg casts from a large bag. “Movie props. Took two days to make them.”

  The nurse arrived and pushed her fake patient into the hall. The day guard followed. Rob lifted the case of Chad’s things. Simon opened the door. They headed to the service elevator and rode to the ground floor, moving pass boxes of supplies. At the end, they reached a ramp where a delivery van waited.

  Chad wheeled the chair to the ground and up a second ramp into the van. Rob followed and secured the chair to keep it in place. Simon gunned the engine and they wren off.

  “Hope all goes well,” Chad said.

  Rob sat beside the wheelchair. “Have no fear. The local cops are there for crowd control.” He opened a tablet and showed Chad the screen. The front of the hospital appeared. “Let’s watch the scene unfold.”

  Chad chuckled. A van from the nursing home parked in the circle. A nurse wheeled the chair with his doppelganger toward the vehicle. Flashbulbs went off. At the top of the ramp into the van, the duplicate pulled off his cap and glasses.

  “Move out,” Rob said. “I’d like to be home before some smart aleck figures where you’ve gone.”

  Twenty minutes later, they reached the gates and the scene of Chad’s accident. Simon pushed the sequence of numbers and the gate slid outward. “Welcome to my refuge,” Rob said.

  Chad’s phone chimed. He hit to see who called, hoping to see Emma’s name. Then he remembered she didn’t know his number. He saw the name and hit answer. “Gregson, what do you want?”

  “How did you escape? When I stopped at the front desk, they said you’d been discharged. I witnessed the farce. We need to talk. I have news about the September shoot.”

  “I won’t be ready for action by then.”

  “They’ve altered the script.”

  “We’ll talk later. I can’t be bothered now.”

  “Where are you?”

  “At a friend’s.”

  “Give me the directions. I’ll come with the altered script and the contracts.”

  “Can’t do that. This is a private estate. My friend frowns on visitors. I’ll call when I can.” He clicked off.

  The rear door of the van opened. Rob and Simon clicked a ramp in place and unlocked the chains. They waited for Chad to reach the ground and then replaced the ramp.

  Simon saluted. “Good luck. I’ll return the van and see you soon.”

  The door of the house opened. A toddler ran out and grabbed Rob’s legs. “You come home.”

  “I did.”

  “I go next time.”

  “We’ll see.” Rob turned to Chad. “This is Tammy. She’s a chatterbox.”

  Chad smiled. “Hello, Tammy.’

  Envy swirled in his thoughts. His life had been full of nothing. He followed the pair into the house. When Andi appeared and kissed Rob, his envy grew. Rob and Andi had rediscovered what they’d shared years ago. Was the same possible for Emma and him?

  Andi stepped away from Rob and stood beside Chad’s wheelchair. “Hello and welcome. It’s great to see you again. Follow me and I’ll show you your room.”

  “Thanks for having me. I’ll try not to be any trouble.”

  “No way to be trouble here.” She led the way from the main room into a hall.

  Chad sent the chair after her down the wide hall. She paused at the last door and then stepped into a huge bedroom. He saw the hospital bed and the Hoyer lift. Blue sheer curtains covered the wide window. A dark blue bedspread covered the bed. He wheeled to the window and looked down at a large swimming pool.

  “I think you’ll be comfortable here,” Andi said.

  “This is great.”

  She opened a door. “Shower here. Bathroom doorway is large enough for the wheelchair or the lift.”

  He looked at the shower. “Sure wish I could use that.”

  She patted his shoulder. “When Jeff comes tomorrow morning, we’ll wrap your casts with plastic wrap and plastic bags and hoist you into a shower chair.”

  “Sounds like heaven,” Chad said. “At the hospital there were bed baths but they never seemed enough.”

  Hs thoughts drifted. What if he’d gone home? There would have been several women fussing over him for the chance of photo ops. That thought left him cold. There was only one woman he wanted fussing over him and he had to find a way to get her to talk to him.

  “Chad, hurry,” Rob said. “You’ve made the local news.’

  He sped down the hall into the main room in time to see the faked guard reveal herself. “Where is Chad Morgan?” the newscaster asked. “He’s been discharged today but no one knows where he has gone.”

  He and Rob laughed. “They showed the entire video Simon’s man took.”

  “The one I saw a bit of.”

  “Yes.”

  Chad studied his friend. His niece sat on his lap. She looked up. “Hungry.”

  Rob lifted her and stood. “Light lunch today. Soup and grilled cheese.”

  After they ate, Andi carried Tammy away. Rob cleaned the kitchen. “Have fun this afternoon. It’s to work for me.”

  Andi returned from putting Tammy down for a nap. “Work for me, too. Janine should be here in ten or fifteen minutes to see to Tammy.”

  Chad remained in the house until the nanny arrived. He left and rode his wheelchair along the path to the swimming pool. He wished he could dive in but even if the casts weren’t that heavy, he figured he would sink.

  When he returned to the house, he found the tablet Rob had loaned him. After attaching the keyboard, he typed in his plan for the movie company he wanted to begin.

  The next day was a repeat of the last. When Rob emerged from his second office stint, he handed Chad a beer. “You okay?”

  Chad shrugged. “Yes and no. I envy you and Andi. I wish…”

  “Emma?”

  “Yah. I blew my chances with her years ago. I can’t see a way to make her listen while I kill a crow and cook it.”

  Rob chuckled. “Don’t charge in like a storm trooper. You need to be ready for a marathon. I’ve been there. Invite her to dinner. I’m cooking.”

  Chad frowned. “The only number I have is for her office.”

  “So call. She probably has hours until five. If you reach the answering service, tell them it’s an emergency.”

  Chad found his smart phone and the card she’d given him. Before making the call, he returned to his bedroom. If he had to beg, he didn’t want his friend to know. He punched the numbers.

  “Medical offices of Marshall an
d Grassi. How can I help you?”

  “I’d like to speak to Emma, please.”

  “I’ll check to see if she’s available. Who’s calling?”

  “An old friend.”

  The woman laughed. “I’m putting you on hold.”

  Some piece of classical music played. The haunting tune intrigued him. He’d never heard it before. Then he heard a voice. “Hello.”

  “Emma, it’s Chad.”

  “I saw the clip of your escape. Guess you had help. How did you manage?”

  “Down the freight elevator to the loading dock and into a van.”

  “I’m glad you managed. Bye.”

  “Don’t hang up. Rob and Andi want you to come to dinner tonight.”

  * * *

  Emma gripped the phone. Chad’s invitation didn’t surprise her but the excitement bubbling through her veins did. She wanted to go. Was that a wise decision? Remember the promises he’d once made. Remember how he abruptly cut off all communication between us. Remember all the nights you cried and the days spent cutting memories of him from your thoughts. They could never regain what they had. Did she really want to try?

  “Emma, are you there?”

  “Yes.”

  “Will you come?”

  She needed to clear the past. “When?”

  “Tonight.”

  Would there be enough time from this moment until this evening to stiffen her spine? His husky voice raised a hope she knew was false. “I don’t…”

  “Emma, please.” He interrupted her refusal. “Don’t say no. We really need to talk about the past and why I dropped an important person in my life. I promise we’ll talk. We need to put the past to rest.”

  She released a sigh. Was this the way to go? If he spoke of why he dropped her and she told him of her hurt would she lose the feelings she’d clung to for years? Those things rushed in. She wasn’t pretty enough. She had no sense of adventure. She hated the thoughts of leaving her home.

  “Emma.”

  “I’ll come. What time?”

  “Around six. Press these numbers in the box beside the gate when you get to it and it’ll open. Six, seventeen, three, nine. The gate will close automatically. Follow the road to the cabin. Not my idea of a cabin but that’s what Rob calls the place. To me the name is an oxymoron. I’ll see you then.”