by Diana Palmer
“Maybe it was just a little attack,” she persisted.
“There will be a bigger one, and soon,” he replied grimly. “She won’t take her medicine, she won’t give up salty potato chips and brine-soaked pickles—even if you stop buying them for her, she’ll have them delivered. Face it, Grace, she’s not trying to help herself. You can’t force her to live if she doesn’t want to!”
“But I want her to!” she sobbed.
Coltrain drew a long breath, his gaze drawn to Garon, who hadn’t said a word. He frowned. “Aren’t you Cash’s brother?”
Garon nodded.
“The FBI agent?”
He nodded again.
“I couldn’t get the car to start and the phone didn’t work,” Grace told Coltrain before he could interrogate Garon any further. The redheaded doctor was abrupt and antagonistic to people he didn’t know.
And Mr. Grier here looked like a man who wouldn’t take much prodding before he exploded. “I had to ask him for help,” she concluded.
“I see.” Coltrain was still staring at Garon.
“I could stay with Granny tonight,” she offered.
“No, you couldn’t,” Coltrain said shortly. “Go home and get some sleep. You’ll need it if she gets to come home.”
Her face fell tragically. “What do you mean, ‘if’?”
“When,” he corrected irritably. “I meant, when.”
“You’ll have them call me, if I’m needed?” she persisted.
“Yes, I’ll have them call you. Go to the office and do the paperwork,” he ordered. She hesitated for a minute, glancing at Garon. “He’ll wait,” Coltrain assured her. “Git!”
She went.
Coltrain stared at the taller man through dark-circled eyes. “How well do you know the family?”
“We’ve spoken once until tonight,” he replied.
“They live next door to me.”
“I know where they live. What do you know about Grace?”
Garon’s dark eyes began to take on a glitter. “Nothing. And that’s all I want to know. I did her a favor tonight, but I am not in the mood to take on dependents. Especially spinsters who look like juvenile bag ladies.”
Coltrain was indignant. “That attitude won’t get you far in Jacobsville. Grace is special.”
“If you say so.” Garon didn’t blink.
Coltrain drew in a long breath and cursed under it. He stared after Grace. “She’ll go to pieces if the old lady dies. And she’s going to,” he added coldly. “Along with the other tests I ordered, I had them run an echocardiogram. Half her heart muscle’s dead already, and she’ll finish off the rest of it the minute I let her out—if she even lives that long. Grace thinks I sedated her. I didn’t. She’s in a coma. I didn’t have the heart to tell her. That’s why I can’t let her see Mrs. Collier—she’s in ICU. I don’t think she’ll come out of it. And Grace has nobody.”
Garon frowned. “Everybody has relatives.”
Coltrain glanced at him. “Her mother and father divorced when Grace was ten. Mrs. Collier had to take Grace,” he added without explanation, “and never let the girl forget what a favor she did her. Her mother was living out of town when she died of a drug overdose, when Grace was twelve,” he said. “Her father had been killed in a light plane crash two years before that. There are no uncles or aunts, nobody except a distant cousin in Victoria who’s elderly and disabled.”
“Why does she need anyone? She’s a grown woman.”
Coltrain looked as if he was biting his tongue. “Grace is an innocent. She’s younger than she seems,” he said enigmatically. He sighed. “Well, if you can drive her home, I’ll be grateful. Maybe Lou and I can manage something, if we have to.”
Lou was his wife, another doctor. They were in practice together with Dr. Drew Morris.
Garon scowled. He felt as if he was being put in charge, and he didn’t like it. But he couldn’t just walk off and leave Grace, he supposed. Then he had an inspiration. Someone had to be sacrificed, but it didn’t necessarily have to be himself. “Miss Turner works for me. She knows Miss Carver,” he began.
“Yes,” he replied. “Jane was her teacher once. She’s the closest thing Grace has to family in Jacobsville, even though there’s no blood relationship.”
So that was it. He shrugged. “I can spare Miss Turner to help out. She can stay with Miss Carver tonight.”
“Kind of you.” It was said with faint sarcasm.
Garon didn’t even blink. His dark eyes were glittering. He didn’t give an inch.
Coltrain, having met his match, drew in a slow breath. “All right. But I’m going to sedate Grace before I send her home. If Miss Turner can stay with her tonight, I’ll appreciate it.”
“No problem,” Garon returned.
COLTRAIN DREW GRACE into the emergency room, into a cubicle, and listened to her heart.
“I’m okay,” she fussed.
“Sure you are,” he agreed as he turned to pick up a syringe that he’d already filled. He swabbed Grace’s arm and shot the needle in. “Go home. You’ll sleep.”
“I didn’t call Judy at the florist to tell her I couldn’t make it in the morning,” she said dully. “She’ll fire me.”
“Not likely. She’ll understand. Besides, Jill, who works in the ER, is Judy’s cousin. She’ll tell her what happened long before you can call her,” he added with a kind smile.
“Thanks, Dr. Coltrain,” she said, standing.
“Your neighbor is going to loan Miss Turner to you. She’ll stay with you tonight,” he added.
“That’s nice of him,” she said. She made a face. “He’s uncomfortable to be around.”
He frowned slightly. “He’s in law enforcement. In fact, from what his brother, Cash, told me, he’s good at homicide detection…”
“I have to go,” she broke in, avoiding his eyes.
“You don’t have to like him, Grace,” Coltrain reminded her. “But you need someone to help you through this.”
“Miss Turner will do that.” She turned toward the door of the cubicle. “Thanks.”
“You’ll get through this, Grace,” he said quietly. “We all have to face the loss of people we care about. It’s a natural part of life. After all,” he added, joining her in the hallway, “nobody gets out of the world alive.”
She smiled softly. “It’s good to remember that.”
“Yes. It is.”
GARON WAS WAITING, his hands in the pockets of his jeans, pacing. He glanced up as she and Coltrain reappeared. He looked tired as well as irritated.
“I’m ready,” she said without meeting his dark eyes. “Thanks for waiting.”
He nodded curtly.
“I’ll call you if there’s a change,” Coltrain assured her. “Honest.”
“Okay. Thanks, Dr. Coltrain.”
“You’re welcome. Get some rest.”
She started toward the door without another word. She’d forgotten that her phone didn’t work, so how could Coltrain call her?
Garon followed behind her, his hands still in his pockets. He hadn’t said another word to Coltrain, who glared after him until a nurse caught his attention.
GARON OPENED THE DOOR for Grace and settled her into the passenger seat. By the time they pulled out of the parking lot, she still hadn’t spoken a word.
He glanced at her as he drove. “You know the doctor well, do you?”
She nodded without looking at him.
“He’s abrasive.”
Pot calling the kettle black, she thought amusedly, but she was too shy to say it. She nodded again.
His eyebrow jerked. It was like talking to himself. He wondered why Coltrain had given her a shot instead of something to take by mouth. Hell, he wondered why the doctor was so concerned about her that he wanted someone with her at night. A lot of people had serious illness in their families. Most people got through it without tranquilizers. Especially women as young as this one looked.
Well, it was none
of his business, he thought. He pulled out his cell phone and called Miss Turner. She answered at once, obviously still up.
“Can you go home with Miss Carver for the night?” he asked her.
“Of course,” she replied without a second’s hesitation. “I’ll be ready when you get here.” She hung up.
He flipped the cell phone shut and laid it in the empty cup holder. “We’ll pick Miss Turner up at the house and I’ll drive you both over there. Tomorrow, Miss Turner can use the Expedition and drive you to work and then to the hospital. I’ll have one of the boys run it over first thing tomorrow and leave the keys with Miss Turner.” The SUV was his second vehicle, which he used primarily around the ranch. His foreman and the rest of his cowboys had their own transportation. He didn’t tell Grace, but he was going to have one of his mechanics overhaul her car as well. He didn’t like having her as a responsibility longer than he had to.
He didn’t mind helping out this neighbor, as long as it didn’t require any personal involvement with her beyond the minimum. Still, he did feel sorry for her. She seemed to be a misfit in this small town. Obviously she wasn’t overly interested in him. She was as far over in her seat as she could get, and she did nothing to try and attract his attention. He hadn’t missed the way she flinched when Coltrain had started to lay a compassionate hand on her shoulder. It raised a red flag in his mind, but he was too worn-out from the travel and the interrupted sleep to pursue it. The sooner he had her settled, the sooner he could go back to bed.
They pulled up at the front door of the ranch house and Miss Turner came out with a small satchel and her purse. She got into the back seat.
“I locked up,” she told him. “You’ll have your house key with you, of course.”
“Of course,” he drawled.
“Grace, are you all right? How’s your grandmother?”
“She’s not well, Miss Turner,” Grace replied drowsily. “Dr. Coltrain thinks it’s a heart attack. He won’t give me a lot of hope.”
“Never you mind. He’s the best we have. He’ll do whatever he can, you know that.”
“Yes, I do. Thank you for coming home with me,” she added. “It’s a big house.”
“It is,” Miss Turner agreed.
He pulled up at the front door of the rickety old white Victorian house, making a face at the lack of fresh paint. Presumably there wasn’t any spare cash for upkeep. Pity. It was a pretty house.
“Thank you for all you’ve done,” Grace said formally, “and for letting Miss Turner stay with me.”
She looked as if it were like pulling teeth to say that. She had a fiercely independent stubborn streak that he was just meeting. His estimation of her changed a little.
“Lock the doors,” Garon cautioned Miss Turner after she’d exited the car and was helping Grace toward the front porch.
“We will. I’ll get up early and come over to fix breakfast, as soon as the Expedition gets here.”
“Okay. Good night.”
He drove off, already going over the next day’s routine in his mind. He didn’t give Grace a second thought.
BUT THE NEXT MORNING, awake and rested, he felt badly about the way he’d treated Grace the night before. He remembered how he’d felt when his mother had died; but especially, when the woman he loved had died. He remembered how sad and depressed those events had made him. At the time, he’d had no one to help him get through it. His family was back in Texas, and he’d been living in Georgia, working out of Atlanta, when it happened. He should have remembered how alone he’d felt. He’d been less than sympathetic with Grace.
So he got up earlier than usual, made biscuits, fried bacon and scrambled eggs. He phoned the Collier house and only then recalled that the phone was out of order. He climbed into the car, dressed in city clothes and drove over to get Grace and Miss Turner.
They were dressed, just coming down the steps. Grace was wearing jeans and the floppy sweatshirt again, with her hair in a bun. They both looked surprised to see him.
“I made breakfast,” he said without preamble. “Let’s go.”
“But you didn’t have to do that,” Grace protested.
He started to take her arm, to herd her out the door, but she stepped back in an instant, her eyes wide, her cheeks rosy.
He glowered at her. “It’s only breakfast. I’m not proposing,” he added sarcastically.
Her eyebrows went up. “Well, thank God for that,” she replied carelessly. “I’ll consider it a lucky escape.” She hesitated when he gave her a blank stare. “Or shouldn’t I have said that until after breakfast?”
He didn’t smile, but his eyes did. He made a rough sound in his throat, avoided Miss Turner’s amused gaze and led the way out to the car.
Grace ate with apparent enjoyment, but she was wary of her big, taciturn neighbor. She’d never met anyone quite like him. If he had a sense of humor, it must be very deeply hidden.
“It was very nice,” she said when she finished the last strip of bacon. “Do you mind if I use your phone to call the hospital?”
“Help yourself,” he said. “There’s an extension in the hall.”
She got up, wiping her mouth gently, and went to find the phone.
“How’s she doing?” Garon asked Miss Turner.
“She’s going to take it badly,” she replied. “Mrs. Collier is a nightmare of a mother substitute, but Grace has lived with her so long that I think she just overlooks the bad attitude.”
“I noticed that the old lady seems to dislike her.”
Miss Turner grimaced. “It’s even worse than it seems. Mrs. Collier failed Grace at a time when she needed her most. I think it’s guilt that makes the old woman treat her so hatefully.”
“What happened?” he asked curiously.
“It’s not my business to talk about Grace’s business,” came the terse reply.
He sighed and finished his coffee. Apparently secrets were part of small town life.
Grace came back subdued. “She’s in ICU,” she said as she sat back down at the table. “He didn’t tell me that last night.”
“I’m sure he had his reasons. Are you going to work?”
“I have to,” Grace said baldly. “Granny’s social security check barely pays for the utilities. I have to get in as many hours as I can.”
“No ambition to go to college or learn a profession?” Garon asked.
Grace gave him a bald stare. “And where would I get the money to do that, even if I didn’t have to take care of Granny? She’s been an invalid since I graduated from high school, and I’m all she has.” She scowled. “You know, for a man who wants everybody else to mind their own business, you sure spend a lot of time prying into other people’s.”
His eyebrows arched. “See here, I’m loaning you my housekeeper…”
“Miss Turner doesn’t have to be loaned,” Grace replied. “She has a heart.”
He glowered. “So do I.”
“You must keep it put up in a safe place, so that it doesn’t get used much,” she returned. She got up. “Thanks for breakfast. You’re not a very pleasant person, but you are a good cook.”
“Thank you the hell for small favors,” he gritted.
“You’re nasty, I’m nasty,” she returned. “If you ever develop a pleasant personality, I’ll even smile at you.”
Miss Turner was trying very hard not to smile. She did like this job, despite the odd behavior of her boss.
“I won’t hold my breath,” Garon assured her. “I have to go. I’m up to my neck in meetings today. The keys to the Expedition are on the key rack by the front door,” he told Miss Turner. “Use it as much as you need to.” He hesitated. “Try not to run over her with it unless you absolutely have to,” he added, nodding toward Grace. “She’d probably puncture a tire with her attitude.”
“It’s no surprise to me that you’re not married,” Grace observed. “But thank you for the use of your vehicle. I’ll see about getting mine fixed.”
“Most mechanics won’t work for free,” he pointed out.
She glared at him. Her eyes sparkled when she was mad, and her soft complexion took on a pretty blush. “I can trade eggs and cakes for a tune-up with Jerry down at the filling station,” she told him.
“Bartering?” he said, astonished. “What century are you people living in?”
“A better one than yours, I guarantee,” she replied. “Around here, we’re people, not numbers in a case book.”
“I’m amazed you’re not a number in a home for the unbalanced,” he said under his breath.
“We’ll go when you’re ready, Grace,” Miss Turner interrupted, sensing an explosion.
“I’m ready now, Miss Turner.”
Garon glanced at her disapprovingly. “You go to a job looking like that?” he exclaimed.
She frowned, glancing down at her neat, clean jeans and spotless white sweatshirt. “What should I wear to work in the back of a florist’s shop, a ball gown?” she asked.
He shook his head. “The women in my office wear pantsuits and makeup.”
“That’s probably because they think you’re eligible, and they want to impress you,” she retorted. “My boss is a woman and she dresses the same way I do.”
His eyebrow jerked. “To each his own. I’ll be home late tonight, Miss Turner. Just put some cold cuts in the fridge for me.”
“I’ll do that, boss,” she replied.
He turned at the front door. “I hope your grandmother improves,” he told Grace quietly.
“Coals of fire?” she muttered.
“Glad you noticed.” He went out and closed the door.
Grace felt an odd sensation in the pit of her stomach. She hoped she wouldn’t have too much more contact with her taciturn neighbor. And she really hoped that Granny would get better as the day wore on.
JUDY, in the florist shop, was all kindness and compassion. She offered to let Grace off, with pay, to stay with her grandmother.
Grace shook her head. “Thanks, but Dr. Coltrain would have a cow,” she murmured as she constructed a wreath for a funeral. “He doesn’t want me hanging around ICU. I can’t go in, you know, except for a few minutes three times a day. She’s really bad, Judy. I’m afraid.”