Love With A Stranger

by Taylor, Janelle

  Jason hurried to Cass’s room and failed again to awaken her. If only he could speak with her and find out if she was being treated willingly, but that was impossible. He knew he couldn’t hang around much longer and risk being discovered before he had proof of wrongdoing, which an analysis of the pills should tell him. If nothing was wrong, he could get into a lot of trouble for being there on the sly.

  Jason withdrew a small pad and pen from his pocket and wrote a message to Cass. He went into the bathroom and opened several drawers until he located the object he needed and placed his note there, praying she would find it soon and with a clear enough head to grasp his warning. Somehow he knew, even if he was mistaken about her being mistreated, she would not tell anyone about his secret visit.

  He returned to the bed and gazed down at Cass, longing for her to open those beautiful chocolate-brown eyes and look at him, smile at him, speak with him. He leaned over and kissed her soft lips, then sneaked from the house to where he had left his BMW down the street. He headed for his office to see what he could discover.

  At six o’clock, Inez helped Cass take a quick bath and slip into a fresh satin nightgown. Afterward, she took a seat in a moiré-covered vanity chair while the woman continued her grooming.

  “Before your next medicine is due at seven, let’s get you fed,” Inez suggested. “I fixed a nice chicken pot pie from scratch, and cut up in small pieces to make it easier for you to eat. Would you like some milk or juice with it?”

  “Either is fine, Inez. Thank you.”

  “Now, let me brush your hair for you. That should feel—There’s the phone. Are you strong enough to sit here while I go answer it?”

  “I’ll be fine. I won’t move a muscle. I doubt I could.”

  After Inez left to go down the hall to answer the phone in another room, since Cass’s bedside one had been removed to prevent disturbing her, Cass opened the drawer to fetch her brush. Mercy, she hated being so weak and helpless. She couldn’t even bathe herself! And sometimes, she even required help eating! Darn it, she wasn’t a baby or an invalid! Today she was going to brush her own hair for a change.

  Cass’s gaze widened as she extracted a small note from the bristles of the brush, and read a shocking message. Her mind was still fuzzy, but not enough for her to realize she had to keep it a secret. She was glad she had found it at the time of day her mind was at its clearest. Quickly, she concealed the paper beneath a box of perfumed powder. She returned the brush and closed the drawer. It hadn’t been a dream, she told herself; Jason Burkman had been in her—

  “I’m back. Are you all right, ma’am?”

  “Doing the best I can, Inez. Who was on the phone?”

  “It was Mr. Peter, calling to check on you. I told him not to worry.”

  “Thank you. Have any visitors come by to see me?”

  “No, ma’am. Remember, everybody thinks you’re away on a trip?”

  “Oh, yes. It’s just that my mind gets so cloudy on those pills.”

  “I know, ma’am, but you won’t have to take them much longer. Now, let’s get your hair done and get you back into bed so you can eat.”

  After Inez left the room with her tray, Cass removed the pills from her mouth, slipped from the bed, and almost staggered into the bathroom. She couldn’t flush them, as Inez would hear the toilet running, so she dropped them down the shower drain. She withdrew Jason’s note and read it again, then concealed it in the pocket of a pair of pants in her closet.

  Back in bed, Cass thought about the physician who somehow had sneaked into her house and hidden a note for her that told her not to take any more medication, to get her head cleared, and to call him when it was.

  Cass wondered how he had carried out his stealthy visit and why. No matter, she was ready and eager to return to the land of the living. This was the clearest her mind had been since she began treatment. Other than feeling weak, she experienced no other symptoms. It was obvious that Dr. Hines’s diagnosis was right and his suggested treatment had worked. She hoped she wouldn’t have a relapse of her condition after she got all of the medication out of her system.

  She closed her eyes, summoned Jason’s image, smiled, and drifted off to sleep thinking about him and his daring behavior.

  When Inez entered her room at eleven and roused her, once more Cass pretended to take the medication in a drowsy state. As soon as the woman left, she disposed of the capsule in the same manner as earlier.

  She curled to her side, took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. She didn’t want to think about any disturbing issues tonight and risk upsetting herself. She wanted to remain calm and relaxed while she waited for her head to clear before she pondered serious matters. Besides, she couldn’t recall the details Peter had mentioned recently about Tom’s will and businesses. Despite her reluctance, persistent thoughts invaded her troubled mind.

  Thomas Grantham…He had hurt, humiliated, embittered, angered, and betrayed her, just as Brad had done years ago. She didn’t know why her husbands had cheated on her or why she hadn’t been enough for them or why her spouses had turned out to be such terrible choices.

  Nor did she have any idea at this point what she was going to do with any troubles with Peter. She didn’t want to think about firing Inez, which would seem heartless of her after the woman had taken such good care of her during her…Had it been a mild nervous breakdown? Had the grim truth about Tom almost driven her over the brink of madness? Surely not. Surely it was only a mild case of depression and delayed shock whose symptoms had been intensified by anxieties, exhaustion, and anger. She had given herself time to calm down and become strong again so she should be fine very soon.

  She didn’t want to think about moving from this house and Sea Island to get rid of all reminders of Tom and their life of deception. She didn’t want to think about seeing a gynecologist soon to make certain she was disease-free. The sorry bastard had done more than risk giving her a STD; with AIDS running loose, he had endangered her life! Years ago, he had charmed and deluded her, had married her to supply him with a facade of respectability while he went on his merry way and did as he pleased on the sly. She never should have allowed him to manipulate and dominate her. She never should have sacrificed her hard-won independence and friends to please him; she had to recover both and her self-respect. She admitted she was partly to blame for what happened to her; without her permission Tom couldn’t have taken over her life or betrayed her for so long and so wickedly.

  Life was filled with choices; and she had made some sorry and costly ones in the last sixteen years. Now, another man was knocking at her emotion’s door. And she didn’t know this one well enough to judge his character and motives. It seemed as if she was always falling in love with a stranger.

  Dr. Jason Burkman…They had never dated or kissed or touched. Yes, he was irresistibly virile and attractive. Yes, he had many superb traits. Yes, he stirred her emotions, her passions, but she had held them in check. Why, she mused, was he trying to…sneak into her life and confuse her? What did he want from her?

  They had met last October at the Ritz Theater while she was attending a play during one of Tom’s many absences. They had sat next to each other that night and chatted genially. She had subsequently seen and spoken to Jason at the club. Jason had been her tennis partner twice, before Tom asked her to stop practicing so she wouldn’t get hurt while he was away. Then she had encountered Jason at the local historical society meeting she had attended several times in hopes of joining and learning more about the area into which they had moved; Tom also had squashed that activity.

  She had seen Jason professionally on three occasions: when she sprained her wrist, contracted an ear infection after swimming, and when she dropped hot grease on her foot. After that last incident, Tom almost had ordered her to stay out of the kitchen before she was injured again. Why she allowed Tom to rule her life so much, she couldn’t say now.

  Cass shoved Tom from her mind and resummoned Jason. He had told her his fi
rst wife had died years ago from breast cancer. She also knew he had divorced his second wife a little over a year ago; the club’s tennis pro had told her that. She knew he had grown children—twins, a boy and a girl—both living elsewhere, and that the daughter had twin sons.

  Cass longed to have at least one child of her own, but there were reasons during both of her past marriages why she didn’t. Now, the only way she could bear a child was to find another man who wanted children and marry him. At thirty-five, had she, Cass fretted, waited too late for that blessing? She would be even older before she could find another man, the right man, and make a new beginning. Could Jason—

  Don’t even think about him in that way! She chastised herself. Men with grown children rarely want to start new families. Besides, I hardly know him. He seems wonderful; he’s handsome; he’s desirable; he’s enjoyable company; he seems to like me. But he could have a hidden dark side like Brad and Tom possessed. Leave me alone, you two snakes in the grass! her mind shouted.

  Cass realized she was getting tense and almost wished she had taken the tranquilizer or sedative. You don’t need drugs, Cass; you have to get off of them completely and deal with your problems in the right way. Go to sleep, she told herself, and soon obeyed that order.

  * * *

  As Cass was having breakfast, Inez smiled and told her, “Doctor Hines phoned earlier and said not to give you your medication this morning because he’s coming over to examine you and he wants you clear-headed.”

  Cass was surprised and pleased to hear that news.

  After Hines arrived, he checked Cass’s pulse, listened to her heart with his stethoscope, took her blood pressure, looked into her eyes, asked her and Inez questions, and then smiled and nodded.

  “You’re doing much better, Mrs. Grantham; all of your readings are almost normal. In fact, you’re doing so well I’m going to reduce your medication to a minimum. It’s time for you to start getting up and around a few times every day; by that, I mean doing a little exercise like walk-ing around in the house to get back your strength. I still want you to take it easy for another week or two; no going out or overexerting yourself. And don’t talk to anybody who might upset you. If you continue to progress, I’ll keep increasing your activities and lowering your dosages until we can stop them completely and you can return to a normal life.”

  “That sounds wonderful, Doctor Hines, thank you. I was getting tired of being confined to bed and staying dopey all the time.”

  “I’m sure this has been difficult and scary for you, but the treatments have worked, am I not right?”

  “I can’t argue with how I feel, which is much better.”

  “Let me know if you experience any headaches, nervousness, panic attacks, loss of energy or appetite, mood swings, or depression.”

  “I will.”

  “Don’t worry, sir, I’ll keep taking good care of her,” Inez said.

  “You have a good woman working for you, Mrs. Grantham; she’s done better than any private nurse could have.”

  Inez smiled and thanked him, though she greatly disliked him.

  “He’s right, Inez, and I’m most grateful for all you’ve done for me.”

  “Thank you, ma’am. Is there anything else I need to do, sir?”

  “We’ll go downstairs and I’ll set up a new treatment schedule. Just keep feeding her well and giving her vitamins and her medication and don’t let her do too much when she’s out of bed. She’ll still be weak and wobbly for a while and we don’t want her falling and injuring herself. Good-bye, Mrs. Grantham; I’ll check on you again Tuesday.”

  After the two left her room, Cass snuggled into the bed and smiled, pleased with her progress and steady recovery. The change in her treatment was just what she needed to carry out her plan.

  Before he left the house, Hines collected the old charts and the two unmarked bottles. He told Inez to begin a new chart with the changes he had made, then departed, leaving only the store-bought prescriptions in Inez’s possession. If Peter got angry with him for allowing the woman to regain her senses, Hines mused, he would explain that she couldn’t stay on those medications for more than a few weeks without them becoming addictive and noticeable to others and to Cassandra. He had already stuck his neck out far enough, too far, for that despicable blackmailer!

  When Inez went to the mailbox later, Cass phoned Jason Burkman. She asked him to come by to see her at two o’clock while Inez was out running errands for her, then she quickly returned to her room and leapt into bed.

  She could hardly believe the date on the newspaper, yesterday’s, that Inez had brought her to read: Saturday, March twenty-ninth! She had lost almost eighteen days of her life! Despite what Hines had told her about lowering her dosages, she pretended to take the anti-depressant and the tranquilizer when Inez brought them to her. The two capsules had joined the others down the shower drain.

  Her head was unfogging more by the hour, and she needed it clear for what she had in mind to do this afternoon. Of course, she had to get Inez to agree to her request and without arousing the woman’s suspicions. Most importantly, it depended upon Jason arriving at their pre-planned time.

  At one-forty-five, Cass summoned Inez and told her, “I want you to go to the grocery store and pick me up some new magazines and some sherbet and ginger ale. I’m in the mood to read and to have a float.”

  “But I shouldn’t leave you alone, ma’am.”

  “I’m doing fine today, Inez, and I’ll rest while you’re gone. I won’t answer the phone or the door. I’ll stay in bed and watch TV or nap.”

  “But, ma’am, you might need me.”

  “Please, Inez, magazines and a float are what I need. Do you have any money left in the household cash box?”

  “Yes, ma’am, plenty. I’ll go, but I’ll return as soon as I can.”

  With obvious reluctance, the housekeeper left to run the errand.

  Cass watched from the window until Inez’s car was out of sight. Her gaze widened as she saw Jason arrive from the other direction and pull into her driveway; since she lived on the main road and the only entrance to the small island was in the direction Inez had taken, Cass assumed he had been waiting down the street for the housekeeper to leave.

  She felt an odd surge of excitement as she checked her satin robe to be sure it was fastened and went to greet Jason at the front door. She smiled and said, “Hello, Doctor Burkman; it’s good to see you again. Please come in.”

  Jason was surprised by her sunny smile and genial greeting, but mostly by her clear eyes and poise. Today, she was the vital woman he had seen on many past occasions, who had stirred his passions and warmed his heart, not the sedated female he had viewed yesterday. “I’m glad you called because I’ve been worried about you since your husband’s death. I’ve tried to reach you several times and stopped by once to see you to extend my condolences. I hope you got my messages.”

  Cass stared at him for a minute in confusion. “I’m afraid I didn’t, but I’ll check into the curious matter. I haven’t been well since Tom died, so Inez and Peter have been protecting me from outside annoyances. I don’t mean you’re one,” she hurriedly added. “Actually, I’m glad to see you; I was beginning to wonder if everyone had forgotten I was alive because I’ve received close to no calls, mail, or visitors since Tom’s accident. I suppose most people just don’t know what to say or do. Also, I don’t know many people here on the island.”

  “Why is that?” Jason asked as he followed her into the house.

  “Since we moved here, Tom was away on business much of the time, and our closest neighbors aren’t permanent residents. It’s hard to socialize as a single woman in a couple’s world. Also, Tom preferred to be around when I met people or took on new activities.”

  In other words, he liked to keep you secluded and all to himself. Since you’re so beautiful and desirable, I can understand his fear of losing you. “As a single man and a local, I know what you mean; it’s hard to make friends in an
area like this. We’re neighbors, because I live toward the end of this street, so perhaps we can help each other out in the future when one of us needs a companion for dinner, a play, or tennis.”

  “That would be a nice arrangement at the proper time.” Cass noticed how appealing he looked in his casual pants and golf shirt whose blue shade enhanced the color of his sapphire eyes and tan. His hair was a mingling of light and dark blond, straight, full, and combed back from his arresting face. When he smiled, he revealed snowy white teeth and engaging laugh lines around a full mouth. She realized she was almost staring at him. She laughed away her embarrassment and said, “Where are my manners today? Have a seat. Would you like a cup of coffee or a cold drink?”

  Jason could hardly take his eyes from her lovely face. Her voice and laughter were like tantalizing treats to his hungry ears; the sight of her, like delicious food to his starving senses. As he followed her into the living room, he tried to ignore how the floral satin robe flowed over her shapely figure or how her brown hair tumbled down her back or how she was wearing a smidgen of flattering cosmetics and a fragrant scent. “No, thanks. I’m relieved to see you looking and sounding so much better; you had me worried.”