by Sable Hunter
“Angelina! Wake up, sleepyhead. I’ve got a busy day ahead of me and I’d like to share breakfast with my best girl.”
“Okay, be right there!” She wondered at his ability to pretend nothing was wrong. Dressing quickly, Angelina joined him downstairs. “Good morning.” She moved into his arms for a kiss. His embrace was warm, but he seemed preoccupied. “Something wrong?”
“No, I’m good. Hattie fixed blueberry pancakes. They’re in the oven keeping warm.”
“Where is Hattie?” She studied his face, trying to read what he was really thinking.
“Here I am.” The woman in question came bustling in with an armload of groceries. “I wanted to beat everyone else to the store before the best hams were gone. Easter is coming soon, you know.”
“I’d forgotten all about Easter.” Drew mused. “It’s late this year, isn’t it?”
Angelina couldn’t bring herself to participate in the small talk. She debated just asking Drew straight out about Susan, but she was afraid of assuming anything. He had business dealings with women in the medical field and in the oil business. Angelina tried to review what she’d overheard, but when she did, she was no closer to an answer.
Drew ate, but he tasted nothing. Susan had called to tell him that another of their cousins had been diagnosed with GSS. When the young man began stumbling over his own feet, he’d broken down and agreed to the DNA and blood tests. His prognosis was confirmed. Drew was sweating bullets, the not knowing was killing him as much as the knowing would have. Susan, grabbing at straws, wanted constant updates on the lab research. He’d tried to tell her that Angelina had just started. Work like this could go on for decades with no headway at all. His newly discovered family were all looking to him for an answer and he couldn’t make them understand he had no miracle to offer.
“You look worried.” Angelina couldn’t stand it, she had to ask, “Did I do something wrong?”
He put an arm around her. “No, baby, you didn’t do anything wrong. I just didn’t sleep well last night.”
“How about we go on that date tonight?” Yes, she might be acting desperate. Angelina was seeking assurance from him that she was important.
Drew thought for a minute, seeming to weigh his options. “Sure, that sounds fun. I’ll make reservations at the steakhouse and we’ll make an evening of it.” He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “Tell Hattie not to cook this evening and make sure you wear that red dress with the swirly skirt.”
As she told him goodbye, Angelina felt a bit better. She knew she was fast getting in over her head, Drew was more important to her than her next breath. If he ended things with her a second time, she didn’t know how she would handle it.
…At the lab, Angelina kept herself occupied going over parameters and hypotheses. She and her techs established guidelines for diagnosis and a chart to track the stages of the illness. About mid-afternoon, she took a quick break and ran up to the main house to change clothes and get ready for the evening - that way, she could work until Drew finished and not waste any time.
On her way back to the lab, Angelina received a phone call from a local newspaper reporter. He wanted to drop by and take pictures for an article. Glad of the publicity, Angelina invited him over. When he arrived a few minutes later, she proudly gave him the tour. “This is a smaller facility, but we’re very focused on our research. I am utilizing information and contacts from other labs.”
The reporter was listening carefully. “I thought you were the only ones working on this particular disease.”
“There are other prion diseases, they don’t share all the same characteristics, but they are similar enough that any breakthrough in one could lead to advancement in another.”
“Interesting. So, you’re the famed Dr. Montoya who spent some time in a Sheik’s dungeon. Right?”
The question took Angelina by surprise. “Yes, but that has nothing to do with this.”
“Human interest always improves a dry piece like this. Dr. Drew played a part in your rescue, flying over to the Middle East to bring you home?”
“No, that’s not right.” She shook her head. “I was brought over by my captors in exchange…” She stopped talking. “Look, I don’t feel comfortable talking about this. If we’d just restrict our interview to the matter at hand. GSS is a devastating illness, our work here could change people’s lives.”
The reporter nodded. “Dr. Drew Haley has quite the reputation in town. He is the one everyone calls on, he sees a problem and he wants to solve it. We’ve done several articles on his work with abused animals. There’s even talk that he plans to start trying to utilize some of his rescues as therapy animals.”
“Drew does have a way with…things that are hurting. He sees a need and goes about trying to meet it. Dr. Haley is easy to trust.” As they spoke, Angelina grew more uncomfortable. She didn’t think it could be true, but keeping the doubts at bay was almost impossible.
Drew could be trying to fix her.
All of this for the ugly little girl who couldn’t get a boyfriend when she was younger and couldn’t get a lover now unless he had an agenda.
She stepped back and let him take a few more photos. When he was finished snapping shots, she tried once more to steer the encounter to the original purpose. “Our research here is a landmark event, declaring war against a disease no one has challenged before.”
“Great! I think I have everything I need.”
“Will you send a copy over for my approval?”
Her request didn’t seem to sit well with the reporter. “I’ll have to speak with my supervisor.”
“I’d appreciate it if you did, I’d really rather my personal information not be part of the piece.”
The reporter gave her a bland smile. “I’ll see what I can do.”
By the time the day was over, Angelina was in no mood to go on a date. The interview combined with Drew’s phone call she’d overheard earlier had her so confused and nervous that all she wanted was answers. Jumping in her car, she drove straight to the clinic, rushing by the receptionist. “Is he in?”
“Yes, but he’s with…” was all Patsy was able to get out before Angelina was past her and banging on his door.
Drew was just finishing up with Eula Barnes, his favorite hypochondriac. She was in his office once a week, regular as clockwork. In a way, she reminded him of Bailey, telling him every little thing that happened to her and making sure he examined every bruise and cut. If she’d been twenty, Drew would have sworn she had a crush on him, but she was eighty if she was a day. He suspected Eula was just lonely and this was her way of getting attention. “I think you’ll be fine, Eula, just take one of these every four hours for pain.” He handed her a bottle of placebo tablets. When he winked at Eula, she winked back.
“Yes, doctor.”
Drew suspected she knew the pills were pure sugar.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
“What the heck! Eula, could this be a boyfriend of yours who thinks I kept you too long?”
When he opened the door, he found Angelina with a less than happy look on her face. “What’s wrong?”
“I need to talk to you. Now.”
“Absolutely.” He could sense her urgency. “Eula, I think we’re through here.” He escorted her out and gave her chart to Patsy, returning to Angelina as quickly as possible. “Okay, what can I do for you, beautiful?”
“Who’s Susan?” Although that wasn’t the question she anticipated asking him, it was the one that came bursting from her lips when she opened her mouth.
Her enquiry took Drew completely by surprise. “You heard me talking to her on the phone this morning.” Stall. Stall.
“Yes, I did and you were upset. Who is Susan?” she repeated, doing her best to stay calm.
For a moment, he struggled for an answer. “She’s…my cousin.”
His explanation struck Angelina as funny, in not a good way. With a harsh laugh, she challenged him. “Likely story, want to try again?
Are you seeing someone on the side, Drew? Is she the reason that you disappeared from my life so suddenly all those months ago?”
Drew was frustrated. He hated lying to her, he also wasn’t fond of the fact that he was under interrogation. “No, I’m not seeing someone on the side. Susan is my cousin and she’s a good fifteen years older than I am. If I were going to cheat on you with someone, it wouldn’t be her!”
Angelina folded her arms across her breast, completely unsatisfied with his explanation. “If you were going to cheat on me? I heard you, Drew. Whatever you were discussing with her wasn’t the weather or the details of a family reunion!”
Thinking fast, he tried to say as much truth as possible without revealing his secret. Drew could see now that this wasn’t going to work. He was either eventually going to have to tell Angelina the truth or…stop seeing her. The thought was like a knife through his heart. “You know my father was adopted.”
She nodded. “Yes.”
“He never knew who his birth parents were. Susan contacted me late last summer and told me that my dad was her uncle. To make a long story short, I have inherited a new family and a host of problems. They’re driving me crazy.”
“Okay, I can see that. What do they want? Money?”
In a way. God, he hated this. “Yea, money.”
Angelina hugged herself tightly. “Okay. One more question and I’ll leave you alone.”
“I don’t want you to leave me alone.”
Remembering what the reporter said, Angelina poured out her fears. “I know you have a ton of money and a big heart. This research is a good thing. But did you make a job for me so I would come to you, so you could put the broken girl back together again?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Am I a project for you?” She couldn’t resist comparing herself to these animals he’d opened his arms and home to. “Are you sure I’m not just one of your rescues, Drew?”
“Hell, no. You’re the one rescuing me. I wanted you from the first moment I saw you. I fell hard for the promise I saw shining in those lapis blue eyes. I’ve never been more attracted to a woman in my life.” Pulling her close, he kissed her with near desperation. “What more do you want?”
Angelina was crying. “I want forever with you, Drew. I want you to tell me that you love me.”
Until that moment, he thought he was in control. Until that instant, he thought he’d know how to handle the situation, how to reassure her of how important she was to him. But when she asked for his love? A love she owned? He realized he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t continue to lie, to string her along when he might never have anything to offer her…except his love.
Framing her face, he gazed into her eyes with tears in his own. “What do you feel when I touch you? What do you feel each time I hold you to my heart? Do you need the words? Is that what you need, Angelina?” He swallowed hard, visibly shaken. “Sometimes love isn’t enough.” Backing away from her, he threw his hands in the air. “I can’t do this anymore.”
“What do you mean, you can’t do this anymore?” Angelina felt like her world was crashing down.
“Life doesn’t come with guarantees, Spanish Eyes. We don’t all get a happy ever after.” He walked out of his office and out of the clinic, climbed in his truck and drove away.
Shaking, Angelina stared after him, trying to get her bearings. What had just happened? Had she just ruined everything?
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Déjà vu.
In a reenactment of the day he learned about the GSS, Drew drove south. He didn’t stop until he was walking on the beach at Galveston Island once again. Staring out into the churning ocean, Drew questioned his decision. As he trudged through the deep sand, the struggle of his steps seemed fitting. He couldn’t go on this way. He’d been fooling himself. The ever-present dread of not knowing his fate was taking a toll on him. In his quest to protect himself and Angelina, he’d hurt her, maybe more than before. Selfishly, he’d taken from her with no promise of giving back.
Ahead of him, a woman and a little boy walked in the surf. The child scampered ahead, his laughter ringing out. A gull swooped down to pick up something the mother tossed into the waves. The normalcy of the situation seared Drew. He wanted a future. He wanted a family. He wanted Angelina. He owed her the words and he owed her an explanation.
Taking his cell phone from his pocket, his fingers began to move over the keys, but when he glanced down, he saw the phone was dead. Jogging to his truck, he discovered the charger wasn’t in its normal place. With a curse, he remembered removing it to use in the clinic when his own had been misplaced.
He wondered if she’d been trying to contact him. He wondered what she was thinking.
A cold chill ran over him that had nothing to do with the breeze coming off the bay.
…Drew hadn’t come home. Angelina had waited up all night. She’d called his cell, but it said there was no service. What had he meant when he said he couldn’t take this anymore?
Miserable, she attempted to go about her day. In an effort to avoid Hattie and her questions, Angelina left the house as soon as the sun came up, making her way down the scenic walk from the house to the lab. By the time she reached her destination, the canvas shoes she wore were wet with dew.
Once at work, Angelina tried to keep her mind on business. Today was a red-letter day, two of the people who volunteered to be in the study were coming for testing. This particular couple were both carriers, yet had shown no symptoms of the disease so far.
“Are we ready for the evaluation?” she asked Gemma.
“Yes, doctor, I have everything set up,” her lab tech assured her.
Angelina wished she felt better, she’d been so excited to get these appointments set up and going. After the fiasco with Drew, she didn’t know what to do. Quitting her work was probably the right answer. If he truly felt the way he said he did, her remaining in this position would only make things difficult for both of them. She didn’t know if she could stand being this close to him, reporting results to him, and not be a part of his life. Either way, she couldn’t remain at Palo Gaucho, she’d have to move out and find her own place.
As a scientist, Angelina understood the workings of the human body. An incredible piece of machinery, it was capable of phenomenal feats. None were more astounding than the ability to keep functioning when her heart was breaking.
“Dr. Montoya, the case studies have arrived.”
“Thank you, Gemma.” Later, if she stayed, Angelina and her tech would have to have a conversation about depersonalization. These were people, not case studies. Glancing at their charts, she saw the names S. B. Collier and R. Brandt. All right, she took a deep breath, “Here goes.”
“Good morning, I’m Dr. Montoya.” As the interview progressed, Angelina was touched by their complete normality. In her other work, she’d never been responsible for this part. Her role had always been to evaluate the data, not gather it.
“Mrs. Collier, Mr. Brandt, I’m so appreciative of your willingness to help us.”
“Oh, we wanted this, didn’t we Randy? Anytime a person is diagnosed with a deadly disease, their lives are devastated.” Mrs. Collier leaned forward and touched Angelina’s knee. “But when you’re told there is no hope, no cure, no treatment,” she shook her head, “I can’t begin to tell you what that much hopelessness and helplessness feels like.”
“We plan on doing everything we can to help you,” Angelina assured her, her heart going out to the poor people.
“You have our faith and our trust, Dr. Montoya,” the woman said with a serene smile. “We’re just grateful that Drew has been willing to take this on. I know it’s a huge undertaking, but we’ve all got our fingers crossed. We’re expecting a miracle.”
Angelina was struck by the woman’s use of Drew’s name. She hadn’t realized that information had been disclosed. Nevertheless, she wouldn’t embarrass her by making an issue of it. “Can you tell me the history of y
our family and how you became aware of GSS?”
Little by little, the couple, whom she learned were first cousins, began to tell their story. Angelina couldn’t help but admire their courage in the face of the deadly disease.
“I tell you, it’s been hard, watching one member of our family after another suffer. Isn’t that right, Susan?” Randy muttered as he closed his eyes briefly as Gemma drew a blood sample.
Susan.
Angelina was immediately struck by the name. She shrugged the matter off as a coincidence. After an hour of filling out questionnaires and getting DNA samples, they took a break to rest before administering an MRI.
“Would you like some coffee?” she offered. “I think we have some soft drinks also.”
Randy pointed to the door. “I think I’ll step outside for a smoke.”
Angelina didn’t bother to tell him the habit was detrimental to his health. The disease would most likely take him long before the tobacco did.
“How about you, Susan?” she offered the woman. At fifty-three, she was still very attractive and Angelina wondered how her family coped with the impending horror to come.
“Oh, I’ll take coffee,” she laughed wryly, “I’m addicted to caffeine.” She took the cup Angelina offered her and turned slowly in a circle. “You know, this place is truly a miracle.”
“We are very proud of it, yes,” Angelina agreed.
“Quality, dedicated research on GSS has been a long time coming. When I first contacted Drew about his father, I had no idea he was wealthy. We were just trying to contact all our family members and his dad being put up for adoption slowed us down for a while.”
Stirring her own coffee, Angelina didn’t react as the words Susan was muttering slowly began to register.
“I just hope he doesn’t have GSS, I know how his father died and the similarities of his condition to this damn disease are hard to ignore. Drew doesn’t want to get tested and I don’t blame him. But sometimes not knowing is worse, don’t you think?”