Chapter 12
Gage was aware of being watched even before he was sure he was awake. His first thought was that he was back in the hospital with a nurse hovering over him, about to poke him with one of the needles they wielded with merciless regularity. He stirred, thinking maybe he’d point out that he was tired of being treated like a pincushion. But when he opened his eyes, he didn’t see the sterile whiteness of a hospital room but the soft gray blues of his own room.
He was home. The realization brought with it a wave of relief. He closed his eyes for a moment, savoring the feeling.
“No use closing your eyes. We’re not going away.”
At the sound of Cole’s voice, Gage opened his eyes again, focusing on the small group of people standing at the foot of his bed. He blinked, and what had seemed at first to be a veritable crowd sorted itself into four people. Kelsey, his brother, Cole, and Cole’s daughter, Mary, and Danny all regarded him with varying degrees of concern.
“What are you guys doing here? Am I dying?”
“Not immediately,” Cole assured him.
“Considering the way I feel, I’m not so sure.” Gage started to sit up and stopped when his rib cage issued a distinct warning. In deference to the children, he swallowed the short, pungent curse that rose to his lips but he couldn’t prevent a pained gasp.
“Let me help.” Kelsey was beside him in an instant, reaching for his shoulders.
“I don’t need help,” he said more sharply than he’d intended. He moderated his tone. “I’m okay.”
She gave him the same look he’d seen her give Danny when the boy was being particularly unreasonable. “That’s what you said right before you passed out,” she told him with some asperity as she helped him sit up, stacking the pillows behind his back.
“I didn’t pass out,” he protested.
“You did a good imitation of it.”
“Mama says you fell down, just like a big tree in the forest,” Danny said. “You’re not really going to die, are you, Uncle Gage?”
Gage saw the worry in his eyes and cursed his stupidity in joking about something that must be very real and frightening to Danny. He knew what death meant, more than any child his age should have to.
“Of course not.” Ignoring the pain in his ribs, Gage hitched himself into a sitting position, leaning back against the pillows. He smiled, trying to look as if every bone in his body didn’t ache. “I’m just a little banged up, that’s all.”
“You don’t really want us to go away like Daddy said, do you, Uncle Gage?” That was Mary, her big brown eyes questioning. “You’re glad we’re here, aren’t you?”
“Sure he is.” Cole ruffled his daughter’s fair hair. “Uncle Gage loves his family, don’t you, bro?”
“Some members of it more than others,” Gage said, shooting him a dark look. “I’m very glad you’re here, Mary,” he assured his niece.
“Did you fall down?” she asked, her dark eyes going over the scrape on his face and the sling on his arm.
“Yeah. I fell down big-time.” Gage reached behind his neck, fumbling with the strap of the sling.
“You always were the clumsy one in the family,” Cole said.
“Thanks for your tender concern,” Gage said dryly. “Next time, Mary, leave your dad at home, okay?”
“I can’t drive, Uncle Gage. I had to bring him.” Her resigned tone made Gage laugh and then groan at the pain in his ribs.
“How sharper than a serpent’s tooth,” Cole said. “You’re a rotten kid, Mary Elizabeth Walker. I’m going to have to teach you to show your respect for your elders.” She giggled when he bent and scooped her up under his arm. He looked at Gage and Kelsey. “Excuse me while I go torture my daughter.”
“Certainly.” Kelsey nodded as if this were the most natural thing in the world. “When you’re done, there’s milk and cookies in the refrigerator. Why don’t you show him where to find things, Danny?”
Danny looked uneasily at Cole, as if debating the possibility of torture. Mary’s giggles seemed to reassure him that the threat wasn’t to be taken too seriously, and his eyes shifted to Gage.
“I want to stay here,” he said, edging closer to the bed. Obviously he was leery of letting Gage out of his sight. It wasn’t hard to guess that he was thinking of his father.
“It’s okay, buddy,” Gage told him. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Danny looked doubtful but he allowed himself to be persuaded and led the way out of Gage’s room. The departure of Cole and the children left behind a deep silence. Gage looked at Kelsey.
“I passed out?”
“Like a light.”
“Sorry about that.” He reached back and tried to get hold of the strap again.
“What are you trying to do?”
“I’m trying to get this damned sling off,” he snapped. “What does it look like I’m doing?”
A taut silence followed his words, and he didn’t need to look at Kelsey to know he’d upset her. “Damn,” he said softly. “I’m sorry, Kelsey. I didn’t mean to snarl at you.”
“I suppose if I offered to help, you’d tear my head off,” Kelsey said tartly.
“I’d appreciate some help even if I don’t deserve it.”
“No, you don’t.” But she was already leaning over the bed. “Tilt your head forward.”
Gage felt the brush of her fingers against the back of his neck. She braced one knee on the bed to get close enough to see what she was doing. She smelled of soap and shampoo and coffee, and he had to close his eyes against the urge to put his arms around her and pull her close to him.
Of course, he only had the full use of one arm, and his ribs would scream bloody murder if he made any hasty moves. Not to mention the fact that Kelsey might do the same, figuratively speaking, anyway. When he’d left two months ago, she’d been determined to turn back the clock and forget the one incredible night they’d spent together. In this very bed, he thought, aware that all he had to do was turn his head and his mouth would be almost touching her breast. And maybe then he could add missing teeth to his list of injuries, he thought ruefully.
“There.” Kelsey eased the strap over his head. “What did you do to your arm?”
“I dislocated my shoulder.” Gage used his good hand to strip the sling away, letting his arm rest against his stomach.
“And your face?” Kelsey was still half kneeling on the bed beside him. She reached out, tracing the scraped area with gentle fingers. Gage had to resist the urge to lean into her touch.
“I slid halfway down a mountain,” he said lightly.
“On your face?” Cole’s sardonic inquiry broke the fragile moment as effectively as a hammer striking a bone-china teacup.
Kelsey withdrew immediately, sliding her knee off the bed and bending to smooth the indentation it had left with quick, nervous movements. Gage gave his brother a look fierce enough to send a more sensitive man into a hasty retreat. Cole merely lifted his eyebrows and gave him a crooked—unrepentant, damn him—grin. He sauntered farther into the room.
“I left Danny and Mary feasting on cookies and milk and discussing the current political situation. So, what were you doing sliding down a mountain on your face?”
Forced to accept that fact that he wasn’t going to get any more time alone with Kelsey—at least not right away—Gage gave in to the inevitable but not without another annoyed look in his brother’s direction.
“There’s not a whole lot to tell. We were in the middle of a torrential downpour, and I was trying to get some equipment under cover. I was standing at the top of a slope and lost my footing. I friction-burned my face, cracked a couple of ribs when I hit the bottom and dislocated my shoulder.” If it wouldn’t have been so painful, he would have dismissed his injuries with a shrug.
“You were favoring your right leg earlier,” Kelsey said.
“What did you do to your leg?” There was a sharp note in Cole’s question that belied his casual attitude.
“I caught it on a broken branch and did some damage,” Gage admitted reluctantly. Hell, he was starting to sound like an invalid—a clumsy invalid. “I’m okay.”
He caught Kelsey’s look and amended it slightly. “I’m mostly okay. They wouldn’t have sent me home except I ended up with an infection and spent a little time in the hospital, and they figured I’d better take some time to recuperate.”
No need to mention that the branch had torn a jagged hole in his leg—which had taken more stitches to repair than he could count—or that the infection had proved resistant to antibiotics and there’d been a day or two where the doctors hadn’t been too sure of keeping him alive. Even with what he’d said, Kelsey’s face had drained of color, and her eyes had turned dull gray with fear.
“Hey, it’s over and done, and I’m practically well again,” Gage said, trying to reassure her.
“I’m going to go check on the children,” she said, her voice thin and strained.
She was gone before Gage could say anything more. With a muttered curse, he moved to get off the bed.
“Let her go,” Cole said. He came to sit on the edge of the bed, effectively blocking his brother’s attempt to get up.
“She’s upset.”
“She just needs a couple of minutes to gather herself.”
“Since when did you become such an expert on what Kelsey needs?” Gage snapped. If he hadn’t been so damned sore, he’d have shoved Cole out of the way and gone after Kelsey. But despite his protestations, he was still weak as a kitten. And Cole knew it, damn him.
“I don’t have to be an expert on Kelsey. I just have to use a little common sense,” Cole said with a pointed glance. “This is probably a little too reminiscent of losing Rick. She’ll be okay once she gets it through her head that you’re not dead.”
“I hadn’t stopped to think that seeing me like this might remind her and Danny of what happened to Rick,” Gage said slowly. “It was stupid to come here.”
“They’ll be fine. Of course, it doesn’t help matters that you look like one of Freddy Krueger’s victims,” he added, narrowing his gaze on Gage’s scraped face.
“Thanks, little brother. It’s nice to know I can count on you to reassure me.”
“You’re welcome,” Cole said. He was still grinning, but his dark eyes were sharp with concern when he continued. “How bad was it?”
Gage hesitated a moment and then answered honestly. “It wasn’t good. But the damage isn’t permanent.” He shook his head, his mouth twisting in a rueful smile. “The hell of it was that I was supposed to leave for home the next day.”
“I thought you weren’t coming back until Christmas.”
“I changed my plans.” Gage’s eyes drifted to the doorway through which Kelsey had disappeared.
“Have you told her you love her?” Cole’s casual question snapped his brother’s eyes back to his face. He met Gage’s startled look calmly. “I know you pretty well,” he pointed out.
“Not well enough,” Gage muttered. “I’m not in love with her.”
“Yeah, right. Have you told her?”
“Mind your own business.”
“I didn’t think so. What are you waiting for, an engraved invitation?”
“Who the hell died and made you Ann Landers?” Gage snarled. He would have given a great deal to be able to get up and walk away from this conversation, but getting up was a slow and painful process at the moment, which meant he was stuck.
“Just a piece of friendly advice.” Cole was unperturbed by his brother’s irritation. “Life’s short. Don’t waste it.”
“Now you’re talking like a saying on a T-shirt.”
“Hey, there’s some real wisdom to be found on T-shirts,” Cole protested. “You don’t get much deeper than ‘Beam me up, Scotty. There’s no intelligent life down here.’”
“You should certainly know,” Gage muttered.
“If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were trying to insult me.”
“Maybe you’re not as dumb as I thought.”
“I suppose I’m too old to say ‘It takes one to know one.’” Cole said thoughtfully.
Gage’s laugh was reluctant and ended on a pained groan when his ribs protested. “I don’t know why I didn’t strangle you when we were kids.”
“Because Mom would have given you one of her looks,” Cole suggested.
“Mom. Does she know I’m one of the walking wounded?”
“More like the falling wounded,” Cole said, unable to resist the jab. He shook his head in answer to Gage’s question. “I haven’t talked to her yet. She’s spending the week in L.A. with Sam and Nikki. I figured I’d see just how desperate the situation was before dragging her home early. She claimed she wanted to do some shopping and go to the theater, but I think her visit had more to do with Jason Drummond than a sudden desire to see Phantom of the Opera.”
The brothers exchanged amused glances. Rachel Walker seemed to think that her four sons were oblivious to the fact that she and Jason Drummond were dating. It had been Nikki who’d introduced the courtly older man into her mother-in-law’s life. He was Nikki’s attorney, but it was as a friend of the family that he’d joined the Walkers for Thanksgiving the year before. Since then, he’d found a remarkable number of reasons to visit the little town of Los Olivos, and Rachel had been seized by a sudden fondness for Los Angeles.
“How long do you figure before he asks her to marry him?” Gage asked.
“Christmas.”
“Ten bucks say he asks by Thanksgiving.”
“You’re on.”
Grinning, they shook on it, and then Cole stood. “I’m going to gather up Mary and head home. I’ve got an early flight tomorrow morning, delivering some computer equipment to Sacramento.” Cole was owner, operator and sole pilot of an air delivery service.
“Business is good?”
“I’ve got all I can handle. I’m even thinking about taking on a partner.”
“Congratulations.” Gage’s smile faded, and he nodded toward the front of the house. “Mary’s looking good.”
“Yeah.” Cole’s eyes darkened with concern when he thought about his small daughter. “The doctor says she’s doing okay, but they don’t want to do surgery yet.”
“He’ll tell you when the time is right. She’s getting the best care.”
“That’s what I keep telling myself, but it’s not easy. I want her to be able to run and play like other kids her age.”
“She will.”
“Sure.” With an effort, Cole shook off his pensive mood and focused on his older brother. “Get some rest. You look like hell.”
“Thanks.”
“Anytime.” Cole lifted his hand in farewell and left Gage alone but with plenty to occupy his thoughts.
* * *
Kelsey turned the heat on under the pot she’d just set on the stove, adjusting the flame to high. She’d decided to make a pot of chicken soup. Never mind that it was September and the air-conditioning was working overtime to keep the house cool and that most sane people would have been thinking in terms of cool salads or possibly takeout. Gage needed nourishing food, and chicken soup seemed the only possible choice.
Behind her at the table, Danny and Mary were getting acquainted, their conversation leapfrogging from one topic to another in a way that made her head spin. What did that say about her, she wondered. When she couldn’t follow a conversation that a pair of six-year-olds found perfectly coherent. Of course, at the moment she was having a hard time remembering her own name.
She had to keep struggling against the urge to run back to Gage’s room and reassure herself that he was alive and well. As soon as she’d left his room, she’d felt the need to go back. If she could, she’d have pulled a chair up next to his bed and just sat there, staring at the rise and fall of his chest.
Ridiculous. She twisted the top off a spice jar and tossed a couple of bay leaves into the water with the chicken. Gage had been hurt but he w
as recovering. Her fears were not only unnecessary, but they were stupid. He wasn’t going to die.
Rick had died. The insidious little whisper sent a shiver down her spine.
The situation was entirely different, she argued with herself. Rick had died instantly. He’d never had a chance. But Gage was getting better.
Determined to shake off her fear, she put a lid on the soup-to-be and turned to focus her attention on the children. Danny was talking a mile a minute, telling Mary about the tree house Gage had built for him. From his descriptions and grandiose arm gestures, he seemed to be describing a palace in the clouds. Kelsey bit her lip to hold back a smile. She lifted her eyes and saw Cole standing in the doorway, his eyes bright with laughter as he listened to Danny’s description grow ever more remarkable.
“Sounds neat,” Mary said when he finished, a piece of understatement to which Danny took immediate offense.
“It’s the best tree house ever,” he asserted fiercely. “Come on, I’ll show you.” He slid off his chair and started for the back door.
Mary looked up and saw her father. “Can I, Daddy?”
Cole glanced at Kelsey and, when she offered no objection, he nodded. “Make it a short visit, kiddo. We need to get home soon.”
“I’ll race you to the tree,” Danny said as Mary slid off her chair.
“I can’t,” she told him. “I’m not supposed to run a lot ‘cause there’s a hole in my heart.”
Kelsey sucked in a quick, shocked breath, her eyes jerking to Cole. His face twisted in sharp pain. It seemed to Kelsey as if the air was suddenly thick with tension, but the children were oblivious to it. There was a short pause while Danny absorbed this news about his new acquaintance.
“You really got a hole in your heart?” he asked.
“Uh-huh.” She nodded, evincing no particular concern. “The doctors are goin’ to patch it someday, but I gotta wait till I’m older.”
“Neat,” Danny said, and there was no mistaking the envy in his voice. “We can walk to the tree.”
They disappeared out the back door, and Kelsey released her breath on a sound that hovered close to tears.
“Neat?” Cole said as he came into the kitchen. He shook his head, and she noticed that his eyes seemed a little too bright. “Out of the mouths of babes, huh?”
Another Man's Wife Page 16