“I’m not crazy about what happened to you today, but I’m sure glad this is where it ended.”
He kissed her arm and she closed her eyes again. “Are you hungry?” he asked.
“I’m starving. What do you have?” She stacked a couple pillows and pulled herself up on them.
“I have anything you want.” He got out of bed and felt for the wall.
Ben turned the hall light on and Elise shielded her eyes. “Just bring me anything. Crackers and cheese would even be fine. Oh, and can you bring my bag. I’d better call Melanie and tell her I’ll be home in a little bit.”
Ben’s posture lost conformity. “You’re not leaving, are you? Can’t you stay with me?”
She would stay the rest of her life if she could. One night with him could fix anything that was wrong with her.
It wasn’t right, though. Not now. There were too many unsettled things and people in her life. On the other hand, what were a few more hours? What could she do in the night at Melanie’s, except stay awake longing to be with Ben?
“Just bring me my bag. I’ll see what she’s doing. She’s probably wondering where I’m at. And if she’s talked to Mom, she should at least hear my side of the story.” She pulled the sheet up under her arms.
He stood in the hall, naked. Looking at him was something she would never tire of. He stepped inside and pulled a pair of boxer shorts from the drawer. He snapped them on his waist and went downstairs.
The sound of the crickets chirped through the walls of the house. Steam settled on the windows from the temperature change outside. His room felt like home to her. He came back, holding her pocketbook and a bag of chips with two drinks.
“I was out of crackers. I’m sorry, but I can go back and find something else. Would you like some popcorn or maybe cereal? I’ve got your favorite, with marshmallows.” He smiled.
“I can get dressed and go down. I think I’m actually hungrier than I thought. Maybe something like a fried egg or something more filling.” She opened the sheet to get out of bed and looked at him. “Do you have something dry I can wear?”
“Do you have to get dressed? You’re already wearing my favorite thing on you.” He smiled with pleasure.
“Ben, hurry, I’m hungry.”
His closet was full of button down shirts of every color and design. All the latest fashions for the cowboy of Kentucky. He pulled a brown striped one off the hanger and tossed it to Elise. She buttoned it up and pulled her underwear from the floor and slipped into them. The phone in her bag was still buzzing. She pulled it out and looked at the number with a concentrative look.
“Who is it?” Ben asked.
“It’s my secretary, Janine. What time is it, anyway?” The digital clock on his bed stand read six thirty. What did Janine want? She never called when Elise was out of town. It was three thirty back in California. Curiosity forced her to answer.
“Hello.”
“Miss Newton, thank goodness you finally answered. I’ve been calling for hours.” Her voice was rushed and exhausted.
“Janine, calm down. What’s the matter?” Elise put her hand to her mouth, waiting to hear what seemed to be rattling the very calm secretary she had left a few days ago. Maybe the printer was out of paper.
“Miss Newton, I’m so sorry to call. It’s just that when the hospital called this morning and couldn’t get a hold of you, I didn’t know what to do.”
“Janine, what are you talking about? Why is the hospital calling me?” The image of Darren slammed into her thoughts. Oh, Lord. What happened?
“It was a woman. She was trying to get a hold of you to tell you there was an accident with Dr. Masterson. He was in surgery. I didn’t know your mother’s phone number. It’s not in your personnel file. I’ve been a nervous wreck all day, Miss Newton.” Her words stumbled into each other as they fell through the telephone connection.
Ben stared at Elise who was now trembling with shock. Emptiness echoed in her stomach. God was punishing Darren for her sin of cheating. The horrible day that ended better than it started was now gone. She had to get to Darren. He had no one else.
“Okay, Janine. You did well. I know about it now and I’m coming home. Did she tell you anything else? Why is he in surgery?”
“All she said was that you needed to be found and he was being operated on.” Her words blew around like snow flurries in Elise’s mind, putting a white haze on all her rational thoughts.
“Thank you, Janine. I’ve got to go, but I’ll be in contact with you tomorrow.”
Ben stood in the doorway, waiting for Elise to finish. She clicked the phone off and grabbed her wet clothes from the floor, stuffing them into the crux of her arm and shaking her head left and right.
“What’s wrong, Elise?” He rushed over, touching her busied arm.
“Darren’s been in an accident. Why in the hell didn’t I check my phone earlier? I’ve got to get back home.”
Ben watched her as she talked cursively to herself. There were no words he could have said. Nothing that could ease her guilt or expel her worry for Darren. Their reunion was overturned by fate.
The phone wasn’t cooperating with her commands as she banged on the number pad. “All I want is the freaking number for Tennessee International,” she screamed at the device.
“I’ll take you, if you want.”
“I have to take Mom’s car back to Melanie. She can take me, I hope. Maybe, if you don’t mind, you could stay with the kids while she drives me.”
“Why won’t you let me take you?” He bent over and picked up the wad of clothes that was slipping from her grasp.
“All I’ve done is ask things of you today. I can’t ask you anymore. Especially for this.” She began walking down the stairs punching out more numbers on her phone.
“I want to take you, Elise. If you need me, I can even go back with you.”
The words hung like a bad odor in the air. She stopped dead in her tracks and turned around. “Ben, you can’t go back with me.”
“You’re obviously upset. And after everything else that’s happened today, I think you need someone to be with you.”
“I’m going to the hospital to see Darren. I’m sure as hell not ready to answer the question of who you are.” The words slipped past the sugar coating room in her brain. The truth stung both of them.
“Who am I, Elise?” He stood three steps up from where she was.
“I can’t do this now, Ben. I can’t.” Her wet clothes were seeping through the dry shirt of Ben’s she was wearing.
She shoved the phone in her bag and pounded her feet into her wet shoes. One had flung all the way over by the sofa. The memory for the reason of its trajectory humbled her curtness. Ben slowly moved down the stairs.
“I’m just a little shaken, I guess. Don’t bother watching the kids. I’ll work it out. I’ve just got to go now.” She was wise not to look directly into his eyes. She had gotten stuck there once before.
The evening of complete passion had turned into a sea of insecurity in a matter of a three-minute phone call. How did she leave things with him? There was no need to promise what she didn’t know or was unsure of. It wasn’t her style, anyway. But just a few minutes ago, she would have slipped a ring on her left hand for him. What now?
“I’ll call you when I get back. I’m sorry for everything.” He nodded, but hadn’t moved an inch in her direction. She’d re-opened the wounds, probably leaving him with the image of her running. Again. Running from, running to. Google Elise Newton, there was probably an icon of winged feet in the block for her picture. When would she ever stop?
She opened the creaky door and disappeared into the fresh evening. Crisp air brushed her thighs, reminding her she was half dressed in only Ben’s shirt. The car lights bumped off the fence posts as she sped down the road. The airline reservation’s desk finally answered and she managed to book the flight back home. It departed in an hour and a half. There was no time to waste getting her bags packed and
leaving. She hoped Melanie was ready for a road trip. Thoughts of Ben’s empty eyes would have to wait till later.
“Hello, Melanie?”
“Elise, what is going on? Mom said you went to her house and you had a fight.”
The car hydroplaned as anger welled up inside her. “I don’t have time to talk about Mom and her sad life right now, Melanie. Darren’s been in an accident and I have to get back home. Can you drive me to the airport?”
“I’ll have to take the kids, but we can manage. Is he all right?” Thankfully, she diverted from her inquisition of their mother and focused on the help Elise needed at the moment.
“I don’t know. I haven’t called the hospital yet. I’m just trying to make the flight. I’ll be there in about five minutes. Can you pack my bag? Just throw everything in the suitcase. I’ve got to make the eight fifteen flight.”
“I’ll start right now. Be careful, the roads are really wet.”
Elise got to Melanie’s house and dragged her bags out the front door. She pulled a pair of jeans out of one of the cases and put them on. There was no time to dig for a bra. The shirt she had on was baggy and she had her wet one wadded up and tucked in her pocketbook. It might get some looks at baggage claims, but she didn’t care.
They hurried the kids to the car and quickly sped out of the town of Bowling Green. She scribbled a note and tucked it in the glove box of Ben’s truck. Melanie was still driving it until hers got fixed. She hoped he’d find it after Melanie switched cars with him.
The hour trip seemed to take five hours to get there. Finding Nemo was playing for the kids in the back seat, and Melanie didn’t ask Elise any more questions. She must have sensed how nervous her sister seemed. Elise rested her head on the cold window, her forehead leaving a skin mark on the glass. Thoughts of both Ben and Darren plagued her stress levels, soaring them to new heights.
When they finally made it to the front of the airport, Elise jumped out and put her bags on the sidewalk. Feeling conscious of being braless, she closed another button and reached in the back to give the kids a quick kiss goodbye. Melanie got an extra hug.
“Thank you so much, Melanie. I’m sorry to leave you like this.”
“Don’t worry about it. I hope he’s all right. Please call and let me know.” She hesitated, seeming to want to say more. “Elise?”
“Yeah?”
“How’s Ben?”
“He’s fine. Why are you asking me that?” She stopped pulling at her rolling cart handles and stared at her sister. She imagined her look carried all the guilt of a mug shot.
“I just remember how he was the last time you caught a plane out of here, and I’m pretty sure that’s the shirt the kids bought him on Father’s Day.”
“He’s fine, Melanie. I’ll call you tomorrow.” She brushed the assumption under the surface and ran away waving good-bye.
When the flight attendant finished her instructions for seatbelts, Elise rested her head back and closed her eyes. What was she leaving behind and what was awaiting her? She wasn’t ready for any more surprises.
It was twelve thirty when the cab dropped her at County General Hospital. She wheeled her bags through the front door and was stopped abruptly at the front information desk. The sign clearly stated the hours of visitation.
“I’m sorry, ma’am, visiting hours are over,” a large man with a flattop and too much authority said, coming around the desk.
“I just flew in from Kentucky. I’m tired, I’m on a different time zone, and I’m freaking out about my boyfriend who was in surgery today. Don’t make me say things that will make us both regret how I don’t give a shit what time it is right now.”
“Ma’am, you can enter through the emergency room entrance. This one is closed.” His eyes wavered and the shine on his metal badge nearly blinded her.
She looked around at the empty hospital entrance and then at her feet. Her still damp shoes had worn a wound on the back of her heel. There was no way she was going to drag her tired, sorry butt to the back where the emergency entrance was, just to please this do-gooder. She began whipping up sarcasm as the dead seconds hung in mid-air. “Funny, because I think I’m inside the hospital. It doesn’t seem closed to me.”
Her head ached. The time difference, the fact she had only peanuts and a vodka in her belly, and a louse for a mother, gave Elise all she needed to get locked up for the night. Just try her.
“Fine. Who is the patient?” He got the drift she was not going to go quietly.
“It’s Darren Masterson. He’s a cardiologist here.”
“Oh, Dr. Masterson.” His pinched lips and his hand on his hip slowly gave way to a sympathetic head shake. Back and forth with plenty of lamentation. “I was sorry to hear he was in an accident. He’s up on the fourth floor. I just checked on him, myself, before I started my shift.”
Her eyes widened with fear and relief. “Then he’s okay?”
“He’s still unconscious, but I think he’s all right. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be such a jerk. It’s just that the hospital is technically closed right now. I’m supposed to direct any visitor to the emergency entrance. You go right on up and be with him.”
“That’s all right. I didn’t mean to snap, it’s just that I’m tired and very concerned about him.” She wheeled her bags past him, aiming for the elevators. Time stood still as long as it took for the red light to blink green for her to get on. The security guard must have called ahead, because when she got off on the fourth floor, a nurse came down the hall to guide her back to Darren’s room.
“Thank you, so much. Is he all right? What happened? Is he awake?” She was pulling her noisy luggage as fast as she could, trying to keep up with the fast-paced walking nurse.
“He has suffered a concussion and his left leg was broken. We are observing him until he regains consciousness. We’ll know more then.” She turned her head slightly to the left while she talked, making Elise listen closely without the comfort of eye contact.
The nurse opened the door and slid the curtain back. Elise was surprised to see the Dr. Cindy Crawford look-alike sitting next to him, her hand resting on his arm. She quickly withdrew when the curtain revealed her.
“Elise,” she said, with wide eyes.
“Hello.” Elise parked her baggage next to the wall and walked over to Darren. Her nasty hair, cowboy shirt, and jeans made her shrink a little bit from her obvious competition. “Has he woken up?”
“No. But he will. He’s a strong man.” She stood up, backing away from the bed.
“Yes, I know he is.” Elise touched his hand, trying to avoid the IV stuck in his arm.
He lay there quietly, his head bandaged and a machine in steady balance with his heaving chest. His countenance seemed peaceful. He had no clue what the day had brought to them both. She should have been the one lying unconscious for her tawdry act of cheating. Guilt floated inside her like deathly mercury in calming waters, making her soul completely void of any light. How could she have done this to him?
“Well, I’ll go. I’m sure you’re going to stay.” It was a statement, but Elise was certain a question mark laid at the end of it.
“Of course.”
“I wasn’t sure when you’d get the message. I called your office several times. Your secretary said she’d been trying your cell phone all day.”
“I was detained and didn’t get the message until late. But I’m here now. Thank you for staying with him. Have you called his mother?”
“She’s overseas with her husband but their housekeeper said she’d give the message as soon as they called in.”
Stacy left her post, where she’d been the entire day waiting for Darren to wake up. Elise sat down in the already warmed chair beside Darren and resumed watch. Perhaps she had leaned back too far into it, or accepted the faux leather as goose down, because when she opened her eyes again, a nurse was covering her up with a stiff green blanket. Elise sat straight up, forgetting where she was. Forgetting what day it was.
She quickly remembered when she saw Darren beside her, behind the silver bedrail.
“Is he awake?”
“No, ma’am. I’m just checking him. Would you like to move to the lounge chair?”
“No, thank you. I’m fine.”
After the nurse shut the door behind her, Elise settled back and dozed off again. The next time she woke up, early sunlight was streaming through the blinds. Her back cracked as she stretched to the ceiling. Darren was still unconscious.
A trial size toothbrush and a tiny tube of toothpaste sat in an ugly beige plastic container by the sink. Elise strolled over and indulged in the taste of the mint. The brush slipped from her grip, dropping in the sink. Elise noticed in the mirror, Darren began to move. She rushed over to him and took his hand, wiping her mouth with the other one.
Back and forth, his head rolled on the pillow. Slowly his eyelids unglued from each other. The beeping machine changed rhythm as he looked at Elise. She touched his forehead, being careful not to hurt whatever wound lay beneath.
“Darren? Honey, you had an accident.”
Darren seemed to be in a fog, as if trying his best to understand his surroundings. A nurse came in and began poking at the buttons on the machine. She took his wrist and checked the IV, then placed a call to the doctor on duty with her portable phone. “Dr. Masterson is awake, sir.”
He opened his mouth, trying to say something. A sour look took over and he stopped.
“His mouth is probably dry. I’ll get him some ice chips,” the nurse said before leaving the room.
Elise rubbed his hair. His dark curls fell over her fingers. She was so glad he was all right. What had she done to this poor man? The nurse came back and placed some ice chips to his mouth with a spoon. He parted his lips to the size of a pea hole to accept it. After he allowed it to melt, he tried out his voice.
“What happened?” It sounded like he was gargling gravel.
“You were in a car accident, Dr. Masterson. Your left leg was broken and you suffered a concussion. Other than that, you’re going to be fine.”
Bewilderment still lurked in his eyes. Elise knew he was unsure what had happened. He took her hand, speaking to her with his eyes, his majestic blue eyes.
The Kentucky Cure Page 18