Almost a Family

by Roxanne Rustand

  Which was cool—except tonight was Halloween, and he’d been looking forward to the school party and the chance to go trick-or-treating for weeks.

  When the other kids in school had talked about buying their costumes at Wal-Mart, he’d opened his big mouth and said he’d never ever had a real, store-bought costume. They’d looked at him as if he’d come from a different planet.

  Every other kid in town was going from house to house right now, with their flashlights and big bags of candy, while he was lying in this stupid bed. Erin had brought him a big bag of treats, and Connor had stopped by with an orange stuffed cat plus a giant sugar cookie decorated like a pumpkin…but it wasn’t the same.

  Tyler looked up at the clock and watched the second hand tick, tick, tick slowly around the big white face. Erin had taken Drew and Lily out for pizza tonight, and he was pretty sure they were getting to go trick-or-treating for a while, though she hadn’t exactly said.

  And now it was a whole ’nother hour until she’d be back, because she had to go out to the cabin and check on the mail and phone messages there.

  A nurse—the nice young one who giggled a lot—came bustling in the door with a small tray. “Almost time for lights-out, buddy.”

  She set the tray on his bedside table and quickly checked his lungs, temp and pulse. “Man, you are in great shape, kid. You’ll be ready for the football team in no time.”

  “Everybody thinks Dr. Jill will let me go home tomorrow.”

  “Well, then I hope that everyone is right. She left orders for us to disconnect the IV at midnight, after your antibiotic. We’ll leave a hep-lock in, so we can still give you an IV antibiotic in the morning, but you don’t have to be connected to all this stuff in between time. Good deal?”

  “Yes!” he said fervently, pumping his arm.

  She laughed. “I’m leaving at eleven, so the next nurse will be in to take care of it.” She winked, turned off his lights and disappeared out into the hallway, leaving his door open a few inches. “Your mom called to say that she’s been held up at home, and she’ll be here by eleven or so. But try to fall asleep before then, okay? Tomorrow will be a big day.”

  Your mom. Tyler nestled down in the covers and wondered what Erin would think if he ever slipped up and called her that. He almost had, once, because it just seemed so right. She hugged him and said she loved him all the time, and she did all the nice things that moms did on TV. Things he’d only imagined, before coming to live with her.

  He stared at the clock, trying to keep his eyes open so he could see her when she came. But his eyes felt so heavy, and the pillow so soft…

  He drifted into the meadow, where Scout ran full speed after a ball and brought it back, time after time. And Connor was there, tipping his head back with that big laugh that made a guy feel good all over just to hear it.

  The door squeaked.

  He burrowed into his covers. Deeper into his dreams…but then he heard the sound again and he sat up eagerly. “Erin!”

  But the shape was bent over and wide, and not like Erin’s at all. The new nurse? The hair at the back of his neck prickled as the figure straightened a little and stared at him, then started across the room.

  He fumbled for the call button clipped to his bed rail, but the clip released and sent it clattering to the floor.

  “No need for that, boy,” the figure whispered. “That little nurse is taking a break, and there’s no one here but me.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  EXHAUSTED, ERIN PULLED on a set of navy sweats, ran a comb through her hair and checked the small overnight case she’d packed for one more night at the hospital.

  Following a long day at work, she’d taken Drew and Lily to supper, where at least a dozen people had come forward to congratulate her on the successful addition of the tax levy to the November ballot.

  Afterward, Erin had ushered the kids around town for some trick-or-treating. Despite Drew’s declaration that it was “kid stuff” and that he wouldn’t do it, he’d finally consented to join Lily.

  At the first house, he’d followed behind her and had stayed well away from the elderly couple standing on their porch with a basket of goodies. At the last second, he’d tentatively stepped forward. Erin chuckled to herself, remembering the boyish grin on his face as he’d finally allowed himself to have fun. After that, it had been all she could do to finally rein the two of them in and take them back to the Adams house.

  The only sad part had been the fact that Tyler couldn’t be with them. “Next year, buddy,” she vowed as she took a last look around her kitchen.

  Next year, maybe things would be easier all around. The kids would be settled in better by then. Tyler would be well. Whatever was going on at the hospital would be long-since solved—and that alone would be a tremendous relief.

  Who would have had the motive to break into her office, and the means? Who but someone close enough to know the day-to-day operations. Her schedule. And who had a lot to hide…

  And then everything fell into place.

  The person who had zeroed in on her office last night had known Erin was hunting for evidence. And a person who knew the hospital that well would also know Tyler was a patient…a perfect victim for the ultimate revenge.

  Erin started to dial the hospital. After nine o’clock, the receptionist was gone and all calls were routed to the nurses’ stations. If there was an accomplice…

  Ending the call, she dialed Connor as she raced for her car. Please, please be there….

  “Erin.” He answered on the second ring, his voice frosty.

  “Please! Meet me at the hospital. I think Tyler’s in trouble. Hurry!” She jerked her van into a fast three-point turn, then rocketed down the narrow lane to the highway. At the stop sign she squealed the vehicle into the turn and punched 911 with one eye on the road.

  The cell phone flickered. Died. No—not now!

  Flooring the accelerator, she flicked on the bright headlights and prayed that her premonition was wrong.

  CONNOR SLAMMED ON HIS brakes at the E.R. entrance and rushed into the hospital building.

  The lone ward clerk in the E.R. looked up at him in surprise. “There’s been no admits down here,” she said, her face filled with confusion. “What—”

  He shook his head and kept going, around the corner and through the E.R. to the closed double doors leading into the hospital wing. The moment he stepped through the doors he saw Erin rushing down the hall from the other end.

  He held up a hand as they met outside Tyler’s door. He carefully, slowly pushed it open.

  From a figure hunched next to the bed, hidden in the shadows, came an odd crooning sound. “You understand, don’t you? It has to be…. She wasn’t going to leave this alone. And people need to learn their lessons.”

  A high, keening sound rose from the bed. “No! Please…”

  Connor signaled Erin with a sharp jerk of his chin and flew into the room at the trespasser, grasping her from behind and pulling her away. A small glass vial shattered against the tiles. A syringe rolled across the floor.

  Erin flipped on the light switch as she raced inside, threw herself at Tyler’s bed and shoved it to safety against the far wall.

  She enfolded the child in a swift, hard embrace, then held him at arm’s length, her heart battering against her ribs and her hands shaking. “Are you okay? Did she do anything to you?”

  His eyes wide and frightened, his face ghost-white with shock, he stared toward the opposite corner of the room, where Connor had pinned the intruder against the wall.

  The woman struggled hard for another moment, then turned limp in Connor’s arms. And then she started chanting a singsong litany of words that no longer made any sense at all.

  ERIN SAT IN THE LOBBY of the hospital with Tyler on her lap, firmly tucked in the shelter of her arms. She was unable to bear the thought of putting the sleeping child back in bed. So close—another few minutes and it would have been too late. What would I have ever
done without him?

  She dropped a kiss on his silky hair, her eyes on the detective who stood talking to Connor across the room.

  Hospital staff members hovered at a distance as several deputies and a detective roamed the hospital wing. Two of them had long since taken Mrs. Banks into custody, though she would soon be transferred to a locked psych ward in Green Bay.

  Connor shook the deputy’s hand, then crossed the lobby and pulled up a chair next to Erin, his face grim. “Apparently she usually injected succinylcholine, a common paralytic drug found in most anesthesia work areas.”

  “But that wasn’t mentioned in the autopsy reports.”

  “It metabolizes so quickly that it doesn’t show up on postmortem labs. This time, because the surgical area and main pharmacy locks were changed, she couldn’t get at her supply.”

  “H-how could she have managed it? They’re supposed to use requisitions. Keep exact records on inventory!”

  “Maybe a bottle turned up missing, maybe she altered records. I’m sure the police will be talking to the pharmacist here.”

  Erin held Tyler closer and shuddered. “H-how did she plan… What did she have…”

  “She had a key for the unit refrigerator. She’d drawn up a dose of insulin over five times the lethal level, and was apparently planning to inject it into Tyler’s IV line.”

  “A child. What sort of monster could think of harming a child? If we hadn’t gotten here when we did…” Unable to form the words, Erin rested her cheek against Tyler’s head and swallowed hard, willing her tears away.

  Connor rested his large, warm hand on her shoulder. “The detective tried to talk to her, but she was pretty incoherent. She was quoting biblical passages and rattling off something about the devil’s voice in her head, telling her that Hadley was evil and she needed to wreak revenge because he didn’t save her husband.”

  “But Tyler…”

  “The police think she knew you were closing in on her with your investigation. This might have been retaliation, or a warning. When they get her calmed down, they’ll probably learn more.”

  “Thank you…for coming. For believing in me enough to make the trip here. If you hadn’t arrived, I might not have been able to stop her. I owe you everything.”

  “No,” he said slowly, rising to his feet and stepping away. “You don’t owe me anything at all.”

  ERIN BROUGHT TYLER HOME Saturday morning. He slept most of the day, but by Sunday afternoon his color looked brighter. He had little to say about his ordeal, though he kept Erin in sight every waking moment.

  The relief over his safe return home was immeasurable, but her emptiness grew when she saw Connor’s Tahoe turn up the drive and pull to a stop in front of the cabin. He’d come to see Lily, no doubt, but Erin’s traitorous heart tripped over itself the moment he got out of the vehicle.

  From the front windows of the cabin, she watched him walk to the back of his SUV and pull out a good-size box, then carry it up onto the porch. The kids must have seen him, too, because all three rushed to the front door to let him in.

  He looked over their heads at Erin. “I suppose I should have talked to you first, but things have been a little hectic over the past few days. I figured you wouldn’t mind.”

  He held open the door. “Come on outside, everyone, I have someone I want you to see.”

  The box on the porch jiggled, then a familiar, furry face appeared over the upraised flaps.

  “Scout!” Drew’s joyous shout rang out as the younger two kids squealed and rushed forward, but Connor held them all back. “He’s not quite ready to play yet. On Wednesday, some hikers found him a couple miles from here with quite a few lacerations and torn ligaments.”

  “So it must have been a wolf that hurt Scout.” Drew’s ear-to-ear smile dimmed, and his voice hardened. “I hope those DNR guys shoot every one of them.”

  “Actually, Scout’s injuries aren’t at all typical of a wolf, and the DNR found large dog prints where someone’s Boston terrier disappeared. Now the county animal control officer is looking for a dog—or possibly a pack of them in the area.”

  “Will Scout be okay?” Tyler asked.

  “He’d lost a lot of blood and was very weak, so the hikers took him to a vet in town. No one remembered seeing your advertisements, though. I happened to call yesterday, and discovered that he was there.”

  Erin looked at him in surprise. “Happened to call?”

  He cleared his throat. “Well…now and then I’ve been checking the local vet offices, just in case Scout showed up.”

  Knowing Connor, he’d probably been calling all of them every day, and scouring the countryside for the puppy in his spare time.

  Lily rushed up to Connor and gave him a hug around the waist. “Thank you!”

  He ran his fingers across her blond hair, then dropped his hands to her shoulders and hugged her back, his eyes troubled and a muscle ticking at the side of his jaw. “I’m just glad to see you happy, Lily.” He raised his head and met Erin’s gaze. “That’s all I want for you.”

  Erin stilled. All?

  “We need to talk, Erin,” he said in a low voice.

  Tension coiled inside her, tighter with every word he spoke. She closed her eyes briefly, not wanting to face what was coming next, then forced herself to stand taller. “Of course. Now?”

  “Maybe right after work tomorrow, while the kids are with Haley.”

  A night to dwell on what he might say. “I’d rather get this over with, if you don’t mind. The kids will be fine here if you want to walk over to the stream. It would be a little more private there.”

  He nodded curtly.

  She walked beside him across the meadow, at a loss for anything to say until they reached the bank of the creek. She dusted off her favorite smooth rock and sat. “I—I’m sorry. For everything.”

  “Sorry? You were just doing your job.” He leaned against a nearby maple, his thumbs jammed in his front pockets and one foot braced against the trunk.

  “I…never should have doubted you. After I got an anonymous call about you, I worried even more about covering every base, making absolutely sure. I should have listened to my heart.”

  His gaze sharpened. “A call?”

  “Looking back, I’m pretty sure it was Stephanie’s dad. I’ve only seen him a couple times in my life, though, so I wouldn’t recognize his voice.”

  “I figured there would be some repercussions after Wayne showed up in town.” Connor tipped his head against the tree and looked up at the canopy of crimson-and-gold leaves overhead. “I’m not sure if he came to find me or it was accidental, but he blames me for some failings in his career, and he’s never let it go. He probably slithered back to Green Bay, tracked Victor down at his golf club and told him where I was.”

  Erin shook her head slowly. “That’s crazy.”

  “Yes, it is.”

  “You could get a lawyer and sue them both for defamation of character. You could have done that long ago.”

  “Until now, I didn’t care. No one could make me feel more guilt than I already had, so I just walked away.”

  “And now?” Erin took a deep breath.

  He swallowed hard, then pushed away from the tree and settled onto a boulder near her. “Now, Ed says he’s on his way back to the States, and he wants an answer about the practice.”

  “You always did plan to move on,” Erin whispered.

  “There was no reason to stay, because nothing really mattered.”

  She felt a faint ember of hope. “And then?”

  “I remembered how much I cared for you years ago, even when I had no right.” A smile tipped up one corner of his mouth. “But then life got a little more complicated.”

  Erin’s heart sank. “Lily.”

  “I barely know her, yet I love her so much. I want her to have everything she’s ever missed.” His voice dropped. “You gave my daughter a loving home, and that’s a debt I can never repay.”

  So what you
feel for me is just gratitude…nothing more. Overwhelmed by a sense of loss, Erin summoned up her brightest smile. “M-maybe we can work on shared custody, so we can both be part of her life.”

  His gaze burned her. “No, not that.”

  Afraid to speak, she watched emotions play across his face. Grief. Loneliness. Longing. No matter how much this hurt her, she knew he deserved more than a lifetime of sharing his only child. “Connor—”

  “You think I care about you because of her, but that’s not true. I love you, Erin. I just need to know if there’s a chance that someday you could feel the same.”

  He brushed a kiss against her mouth, then angled in for a deeper kiss that made her shiver.

  He finally pulled away, and she was able to catch her breath. “Forever, Connor. Always and forever.”

  Then he kissed her again.

  ISBN: 978-1-4592-2448-3

  ALMOST A FAMILY

  Copyright © 2005 by Roxanne Rustand.

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