A real couple. She hadn’t thought of that. She’d been concentrating on herself and Gray as individuals, but rarely on what they would mean together. They’d be looked at differently by friends, relatives, and acquaintances. People would start saying “Gray and Amy” as easily as they now said “Ethan and Robin.”
He turned to her and grinned. “Are you ready to meet your future in-laws?”
Another detail of her new life she’d forgotten.
“We really need to tell them before they find out from someone else,” he added.
“Shouldn’t we invite them to the party?”
“Not unless you want to give my mother a heart attack. We need to break the news very calmly, in person.”
Amy sighed. “I’m looking forward to meeting them, really I am, but I hadn’t thought about having in-laws.”
“My mother will want to take you shopping at her favorite designer stores. My stepfather will insist you meet with his financial advisor to set up a 401K plan for the clinic. My father…well, we’ll have to catch him when he’s between wives or trips abroad.”
“Sounds…interesting.”
“I’m no doctor, but I’d suggest we take my family in small doses.”
Amy laughed. “I’ll remember that. Should we plan a weekend trip to Dallas soon?”
“I need to go up there on business in about two weeks. Why don’t you go with me then and we’ll break the news. We’ll spend one night at my mother’s house, and see if my father is back in town and available for lunch the next day.”
Gray didn’t seem concerned about his family’s reaction to the news he was getting married again. She thought they should tell his parents immediately, but apparently Gray had his reasons. Since everyone in Ranger Springs was elated, Amy wasn’t worried about anyone on her side of the aisle throwing a fit. All in all, the planning was going pretty well. By the second week in January, she even got into a rhythm of shopping, consulting with Gray and decision making.
Amy reserved Bretford House for the ceremony and wedding dinner afterward. They’d decided on an early evening ceremony since June could be brutally hot and they wanted to have the service outside, just like Ethan and Robin’s wedding. Between patient appointments and paperwork, she looked over menus and flowers, paper stock and engraving styles. The wedding plans became a part of her life, and she started believing it was really going to happen.
She was going to be Gray’s wife.
THE ENGAGEMENT PARTY was a huge success, with mutual friends and neighbors from Ranger Springs and surrounding countryside attending. In a rare show of spite, Amy had an invitation sent to Maryanne Bridges and her husband. To her surprise, the couple showed up.
“No, I’m really not interested in selling the clinic,” Amy explained for the second time.
Her father walked up. “Dr. Bridges,” he greeted the man who was only about ten years younger than him. “Maryanne,” he smiled. “Why, I remember when you used to be a cheerleader in Wimberley.”
Maryanne smiled, but she looked uncomfortable. “That was years ago.”
“Seems like yesterday to me.” Amy thought her father was overdoing the country doctor routine a bit, but she wasn’t about to say anything.
“Daddy, Maryanne and her husband are buying up clinics in the area. I told them we weren’t interested in selling.”
“Damn right! Why, that’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. Excuse me. I’ve got to talk to Joyce.” He stalked off, shaking his head.
Gray walked up at that moment, smiling in that devastating way of his, looking far too handsome in a lightweight cashmere sweater and black wool slacks. When she’d touched his shoulders earlier, the fabric had felt so soft she’d wanted to run her hands over every inch of him. Maybe later he’d let her explore the difference between the delicate knit and the hard muscled body beneath.
Maryanne seemed to have noticed too. An audible sigh escaped her before she schooled the dreamy look in her eyes. So, she’s jealous. Amy felt a bit spiteful when she looped her arm through Gray’s, showing her engagement ring, and smiled up at him.
“Having fun?” she asked.
“Now that I’m with you,” he replied easily, bestowing such a hot look that she thought her wine might begin to boil in the glass. Leave it to Gray to come up with the perfect response—especially in front of her old nemesis.
Amy had done a lot of thinking about her past since she’d come home to Ranger Springs. One of her realizations involved Maryanne. She’d never understood until recently why she’d felt so competitive about the other girl. Since they didn’t live in the same town, they hadn’t met until they were in their teens, after Amy’s mother had died. Maryanne had seemed to have it all—two loving parents, the most fashionable clothes, scholastic and sport successes and all the best friends. Amy had been dealing with more mature issues, like taking care of her father. Maryanne had acted as though she was friendly, but Amy soon realized she liked to compare and contrast herself to others, especially around mutual friends. Especially around boys.
She and Gray took their leave from the Bridges, circulating around the party. They talked to Pastor Carl about conducting the ceremony, to Ralph about setting up a joint account at the bank and Thelma about putting the proper notices in the paper. Everyone from Gina Summers, who asked if they were interested in getting a new house, to Jimmy Mack Branson, who suggested an economical honeymoon in nearby Aquarena Springs, congratulated them.
The town was firmly behind this union, and Amy began to relax and believe that any lingering doubts were groundless, and the future was going to be great.
THE POST-NEW YEAR RESPITE from winter came to an end when a windy cold front moved in from the northwest, combining with some gulf moisture. Meteorologists from both San Antonio and Austin predicted bad weather, so Amy and Gladys made sure the clinic was well stocked. More sprains and breaks could always be expected when rare icy precipitation hit the Hill Country. If it snowed, there was even a possibility of a heart attack from someone not accustomed to shoveling his or her steps or walk.
Heavy clouds moved in and icy winds whipped through the bare-branched trees. Amy was just about to leave the clinic for the night, bundled into a downy jacket and scarf, when the phone rang. She almost let the answering machine pick it up, but because she didn’t have plans until later since Gray was gone to a business meeting in Austin, she put her purse down and picked up the phone.
“Wheatley Medical Clinic. Dr. Amy Wheatley speaking.”
“Dr. Wheatley, this is Austin Memorial Hospital. There’s been an accident…”
Chapter Thirteen
Ethan hadn’t come to a complete stop before Amy threw off her seat belt and bolted from the car. He’d driven her in his Bronco to Austin. The hospital’s emergency entrance was illuminated in bright red letters covered in a thin sheet of ice. Only the salt pellets that maintenance had sprinkled on the walkway earlier prevented her from sprawling face-first on the concrete as she ran toward the glass doors.
“Dr. Amy Wheatley,” she said breathlessly to the triage nurse. “You have a patient here, Grayson Phillips. I was called.”
“Yes, he’s in X-ray right now. Down the hall to—”
Amy was already running down the beige tile, looking at the signs. She’d never practiced out of this hospital, so she wasn’t familiar with the floor plan. But they were all similar, these emergency rooms and related services. She’d find Gray.
“Amy, wait!”
She heard Ethan’s voice behind her, and then his footsteps pounding up the hallway, but she didn’t stop. He’d catch up to her soon. She had to find Gray. She had to see his condition for herself.
Fortunately Ethan was still wearing his uniform, so no one would question him. In fact, if anyone gave her any trouble, it was reassuring to know she had an armed law enforcement officer beside her.
The last time she’d been in a hospital emergency room as a visitor, not a physician, she’d been a young girl. She�
��d walked in with Pastor Carl Schlepinger, who’d driven her to the hospital because her daddy was already here. Was already at the bedside of his wife, who’d never gained consciousness after her car accident.
She’d gotten there just after her mother was pronounced dead. Her father had been in shock. She’d never seen him like that, so devastated, so lost.
She imagined she looked very similar at this moment.
“Grayson Phillips,” she asked breathlessly to the person at the X-ray desk. “Car accident.”
The young woman looked slowly through forms attached to clipboards across the desk.
Amy rushed into the hallway leading to the exam rooms.
“You can’t go back there.”
“I’m a doctor,” Amy called back to her.
“Wait!”
“Let her go,” Ethan commanded. “She needs to be near him.”
Although they’d barely spoken on the ride to Austin in his four-wheel-drive vehicle, she knew he was worried about his friend.
“Grayson Phillips?” she asked a technician. The young woman pointed to the second exam room. The red light wasn’t on, so Amy slipped inside.
“Gray?” she whispered.
“We don’t allow visitors back here!”
Amy peered across the room divider. All she could see from this angle was a draped body on a gurney. “I’m a doctor…and his fiancée. Is he conscious?”
“Yes. Now please, stay back. I need to do another film.”
“Amy?” The weak voice sounded so different than Gray’s usual well-modulated, commanding baritone that she wanted to weep.
“I’m here. Just stay still.” Her voice broke. “I’ll be outside when you’re finished.”
She forced herself to turn away, push open the door and stumble into the hallway. Tears stung her eyes as she walked along, staring at the beige speckled tile. She sensed a presence, looked up and found Ethan standing at the intersecting halls.
“How is he?”
“I don’t know. He’s conscious, but he sounds so weak. They were doing a C spine—a skull and cervical spine x-ray—but I couldn’t talk to him because the tech was working on him.”
“How long will he be inside X-ray?”
“I don’t know. Maybe just one more film.” She took a deep breath, wiping her eyes. “I need to find his doctor.”
“Let’s wait for him here. Then we can walk back to the ER with him.”
Amy nodded. Please, let Gray be safe. She felt so helpless, torn between her desire to find medical information and her need to stay by the man she loved.
Oh God, she did love him. She’d fallen in love with Gray despite all her warnings to guard her heart. What would he say if she told him how she felt? Should she tell him? No, she couldn’t put him in the situation where he’d be faced with her feelings. He needed time to figure out how he felt. Time to grow to love her too, without pressure.
First, he needed time to heal.
A few minutes later, the door opened and Gray was wheeled out into the hallway. Amy couldn’t stop herself from running to his side, from laying her palm along his cheek. The other side of his face was bruised, with butterfly closures from his cheekbone to his hairline.
She tried to smile, but failed miserably. “Oh, Gray.”
“I’ll bet I’m a sight.”
“Don’t worry,” she said, trying to hold back her tears as she walked next to the gurney, “you’ll look worse tomorrow.”
“Gee, thanks, Doc,” he said as cheerfully as possible, considering his obviously painful contusions. “I didn’t know you had such a great bedside manner.”
She sniffled. “I do my best to be informative.” She turned to the tech, who continued to push Gray down the hall, back toward the ER. “Who is his attending?”
“Dr. Rashid.”
“I’m going to stay with you. Ethan’s here, too. He’s right ahead,” she explained, because Gray couldn’t turn his head. “He brought me in his four-wheel-drive because I didn’t want to end up in here with you.”
“The roads are terrible.”
She smiled, sniffling again. “You should have stayed in Austin.”
“I wanted to come home to you.”
“Watch out,” the tech said as they reached the double doors into the ER. Amy stayed back, wiping her eyes, crying silently. Ethan came up and put his arm around her.
“He’s going to be okay.”
“He wanted to come home to me,” Amy whispered.
“Of course he did.” He handed her a clean folded handkerchief. “Come on. Let’s go talk to his doctor.”
GRAY WAS ADMITTED TO the hospital overnight for observation due to a concussion, two bruised ribs, a laceration on his face and a dislocated kneecap. All in all, he felt pretty lucky. The Lexus was still at the bottom of the ravine and probably would be until the roads cleared and it could be towed to the dealership. Thank God he’d been able to call for help on his cell phone. They’d had a terrible time getting him out of the car and up the steep embankment, and he’d felt each jarring motion, each pull and tug on his bruised body.
With all the pain medication he’d now been given, he barely felt his various injuries. And Amy was beside him.
“I’m sorry I put you through this. You were right—I should have stayed in Austin when I realized the roads were getting worse.”
“This wasn’t your fault. You’re one of the safest drivers I know.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” she answered, stroking his hand where a stained patch of skin had once held an IV.
“I mean for everything. For coming so quickly, even though the roads must have been worse for you and Ethan than they were when I had the wreck. And for talking to my doctors, checking up on my injuries.”
“It was the least I could do. Besides, that’s what I’m trained for. Believe me, it’s easier to react as a medical professional in a situation like this than when someone you…care for is hurt.”
He turned his hand so he was holding hers. “Your mother died in a car accident, didn’t she? This must have brought back terrible memories.”
Amy nodded. “You’d think the hospital was the last place I’d want to spend any time, but I suppose I reacted just the opposite of some people. I knew the doctors had done everything they could. My father explained her injuries so I wouldn’t wonder how she died. He thought it was better that I understand she wasn’t in any pain at the end.”
She stroked his temple near the butterfly closures. “Like you, she had a head injury, but hers was massive. There were no airbags then, and she hated wearing her seat belt. She always complained that it was uncomfortable and wrinkled her clothes.”
Gray nodded. He’d heard similar complaints from others, but he’d always worn his seat belt. It was the law in Texas, but it also made sense.
“She bled out from internal injuries before paramedics could get her stabilized. At least she was unconscious. She didn’t know what was happening to her.”
“Your father must have been devastated.”
“He was. The experience was so terrible, but it made us closer.”
“And now you want to please him.”
She shrugged. “I suppose I’ve always wanted to please my dad, but I don’t think that’s so bad. He’d a good father. He had a rough time right after my mother died, but he bounced back and we did okay, just the two of us.”
“Are you sure you aren’t marrying me to please him?” Gray wasn’t sure if the medication had loosened his lips, or if the accident had just cast a new light on the situation, but he needed to know.
“I’ve thought about it. Until today, I wasn’t really sure.”
“You mean the accident?” He frowned. “I don’t understand.”
She took a deep breath, looking away from their clasped hands to stare into the darkness outside the window. “When I got the phone call, I was so worried. I have to admit that I thought of my mother, and how it felt to rush to t
he emergency room, only to discover half of your life was gone. But when I saw you lying in X-ray, so weak and pale, so unlike I’d ever seen you before, I realized…”
“Go on,” he said.
She turned back to him, her blue eyes shiny with unshed tears. “I realized I love you.”
He wasn’t ready to hear this. He clasped her hand tighter, but he couldn’t look into her eyes any longer. He couldn’t bear to see what had been right in front of him for days, maybe weeks: Amy believed she was in love with him.
He couldn’t tell her the words she wanted to hear, not without lying. He cared about her, certainly. He enjoyed being with her in every sense. But love? That was a myth, something created to make people believe in fairy-tale endings or keep them committed to each other through guilt.
He wasn’t going to lie to her. He couldn’t say he’d suddenly changed his mind; now he believed in romantic love.
“It’s okay,” she whispered. “I don’t expect you to tell me anything. I know how you feel.”
He looked into her weary, resigned eyes and wondered how she could know something that had eluded him for years: his true feelings.
SHE SHOULDN’T HAVE TOLD him, Amy realized as soon as the words left her mouth. Confessing her love was not the way to make her life calm and secure. Just when wedding activities had subsided to a manageable level, when everyone in town had stopped declaring their amazement that she and Gray were getting married, she’d thrown a monkey wrench into the works.
Now Gray looked at her differently. Oh, he’d never admit it, but she could see his reservations in his stormy eyes. When she’d visited the hospital first thing the next morning, he was polite, warm, but not the Gray she’d known since November. He’d even suggested she go on back to the clinic because he’d asked Ethan to drive him back home when he was released.
She’d tried to keep the hurt out of her voice and hide her expression from his eyes, but she didn’t know if she’d been successful. He was trying even harder to maintain control and she didn’t know what to do.
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