Private Lives

by Karen Young

  “Seems like we’ve been here days instead of hours,” Louie said. “Time’s moving about as fast as a gallstone.”

  Lindsay chuckled softly. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard that one.”

  “Stick around,” Elizabeth murmured, managing her first near-smile since she left her house. “He’s got a million more where that came from.”

  “Watch out,” Louie said, shaking a finger at her. “I’ll copyright ’em and then you won’t be able to steal ’em and put ’em in your books.”

  “Is he the source for those hokey sayings in Sophia’s Secret? I got such a kick out of them.”

  “Been reading your sister’s books, have you?” Louie looked pleased.

  “Of course. I just finished Sophia’s Christmas Gift,” she said, turning to Elizabeth. “It was wonderful. Sensitive and funny.”

  “Thank you.” It was a distracted response. Elizabeth’s worried gaze strayed again to the door. Seeing it, Lindsay rose and checked for activity in the hall. “I think I’ll try to get a progress report on Jesse.” She gave them both a little wave. “Watch my bag, will you. Back in a jiff.”

  “I’m gonna feel foolish if she’s successful,” Louie said, watching her stride down the hall. “Us sitting here on our thumbs for the last hour and she waltzes in there and comes out holding Jesse’s hand.”

  “She’s a reporter,” Elizabeth said, again feeling a wave of bone-deep weariness. Fear for Gina and worry about Jesse were taking a toll. “She’s supposed to get results.”

  Louie rose to take a look down the hall for himself. “Uh-oh, brace yourself. Austin’s back.”

  “Is he alone?” Elizabeth shook off fatigue and stood up.

  “His lawyer’s still with him, which I take as a good sign.”

  Maybe. Maybe not. In spite of the force of Ryan’s personality, she wasn’t counting on anybody being able to reason with Austin tonight. She stuffed the tissue deep into the pocket of her jeans, then smoothed a hand over her hair and tried to compose herself. Austin would seize upon any trace of tears or exhaustion as a sign of weakness.

  It was Ryan who spoke. “Any word on Gina or Jesse yet?”

  “No.”

  Ryan gave her a sharp look. “You look about ready to collapse, Liz. There’s a vending machine with coffee down the hall. You want some?”

  “I’m okay.” So much for trying to look calm and collected.

  “I insist.”

  Something in his tone made her bite off another irritable refusal. “Why, am I going to need it?” she asked, glancing at Austin, who merely shrugged with indifference.

  “You’ve been cooped up in here for hours,” Ryan said, catching her firmly by the elbow. “C’mon, if you don’t want coffee, you can at least stretch your legs.”

  His hand was warm and bracing. Oddly, she no longer felt skittish at being touched by him. “What if Jesse comes back?”

  “The vending machines are near the elevators. We’ll watch for Jesse.”

  “I promise not to kidnap her,” Austin said with sarcasm.

  Louie, thumbing through an ancient magazine, looked up. “Go, Liz. I wouldn’t mind something wet and cold myself, but none of that diet stuff. I’ll holler if Jesse comes back.” He ignored Austin’s remark.

  After another moment, she nodded and went with Ryan. Actually, it felt good to be walking around a bit. Her head felt stuffed with cotton and her eyes burned as if they’d been washed with acid. She kneaded the small of her back as they passed the bank of elevators, still in sight of everyone in the waiting area. Beyond that was a small snack room with several vending machines. Ryan nudged her toward the first one, waited while she studied the choices, and then slipped a dollar bill into the slot.

  “What’ll it be?”

  “Diet cola, please,” she said. “And root beer for Louie. He loves it.”

  “But not diet.” Ryan’s mouth tilted in a half smile as he pulled the cans from the machine.

  “He’s almost a sugar junkie,” Elizabeth said, still kneading the stiffness from the small of her back. “We nag him about it all the time, Gina especially. She’s always—” She stopped as her throat went tight.

  “Here, let me do that.” Ryan put the cans of soda on top of the vending machine, then gently turned Elizabeth around. Before she could object, his hands were on her shoulders and both thumbs were pressing the knotted muscles along her spine. She made a tiny sound as he began a mesmerizing massage. “I—”

  “Don’t talk,” he ordered in a low tone. “And don’t think for a minute. Just relax….”

  God, it felt so good. As for relaxing, she wasn’t about to—Oh, now his fingers were seeking other places made tight and sore by stress. And she was allowing it. His huge hands, warm and strong, easily spanned her waist, found the small of her back and with his thumbs smoothed the soreness out of the muscles there. Then he moved skillfully up her spine and settled at her neck again where his fingers eased up, up, up into her nape. Nerves stimulated by his touch released such a rush of sensation that it stole the strength from her knees. If there had been a couch handy, she would have collapsed on it. Her head fell forward of its own volition.

  “Feel good?” His voice, very close to her ear, held a smile.

  That broke the spell. It was a spell, wasn’t it? How else to explain that she’d lost sense of time and place for a minute? Maybe more. She straightened up, took in a breath, tried again for the second time in a short while to compose her face, then reached blindly for the can of diet cola still resting on the vending machine.

  “You must have some professional training as a masseuse,” she said, busying herself with the ring top on the can so she wouldn’t have to look at him. “That was extremely…ah, pleasant.”

  “It’s even more pleasant if you’re naked.”

  That brought her eyes up to his in shock. “What?”

  “To give a proper massage, one should be naked.” Holding her gaze, he took a long swallow of his drink. For a long second or two, she watched his throat as he drank. Strong, tan, so…male.

  “We need to get back.” She grabbed Louie’s root beer and turned to go.

  “Wait.” Still smiling, he stepped in front of her, halting her. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t tease you, especially tonight when you’ve got so many serious things on your mind. I wanted to get you away from Austin to tell you what he agreed to.”

  His words banished everything else from her mind. “Tell me.” She held the cans tight against her chest.

  “He’s agreed to let Louie take Jesse home tonight.”

  She released a disgusted sigh. “I’m underwhelmed, to say the least. Where else would she go tonight? He’s forced, more or less, to stay here at least until Gina is out of surgery. There’s no one at his house to leave her with.”

  “Granted.” Ryan nodded. “But he probably could make a good argument to the court to get full custody while Gina recovers—”

  “If she recovers.”

  “Yes, there’s that possibility.”

  “And if she doesn’t, possession is nine-tenths of the law.”

  “Not necessarily, Liz. Listen.” He put a hand on her waist and guided her out of the tiny room. “I have a better idea of who Austin is now than when I took on the case. But you may have to face reality. He’s Jesse’s father and with Gina incapacitated, he wants her.”

  “He doesn’t want her! Can’t you get that through your head? It’s a way of avoiding the financial burden the court has decreed. If, God forbid, something happens to Gina, I want Jesse…just because she’s Jesse and I love her. I don’t care about the cost.”

  “You don’t think Austin loves his own child?”

  She looked at him. “You want an honest answer? No.”

  He was shaking his head. “I don’t know him well enough to argue that, but I have another suggestion if you’ll just hear me out.” They stopped, allowing a nurse wheeling a cart with medications to pass. “You remember my daughter, Jennifer, don’
t you? And you know the details about her accident. Her victim had an expensive bike that was totaled in the wreck. I thought the most effective way to force her to face the consequences of her behavior was to work off the cost of replacing it.”

  Her eyes followed the med cart as it entered the restricted entrance to the ICU. “What does this have to do with anything, Ryan?”

  “Just this. You’re going to be tied up here for some time once Gina is admitted to ICU. Luckily, you have Louie to baby-sit Jesse, but he’s an old man. A kid that age has a lot of energy. How about Jennifer pitching in to help? She’s out of school for the weekend and I think she’ll agree to donate some time after school during the week.”

  The offer was almost too good to be true. In Jesse’s eyes, Jennifer helping out as a baby-sitter, even on a spotty basis, would be second only to Britney Spears. “What makes you think Jennifer would be willing to do it?”

  “She’ll have no choice. She owes Rick for the bike, but I’m the one who’s going to cough up the money. I get to dictate the terms.”

  “If that’s the attitude you’re going to use, I’m glad I’m not going to be around when you pitch it to Jennifer,” Elizabeth said dryly.

  “I’ll be tactful.”

  Not his strong suit, but she wasn’t going to quibble. Louie probably wasn’t up to looking after Jesse 24/7, not that he wouldn’t be willing. She’d have to look for someone to come in on a regular basis, depending on Gina’s recovery period. The alternative—turning Jesse over to Austin—was not an option. Just now, as they approached the waiting room, Austin stood in the doorway looking restless and impatient.

  “How about Austin?” she asked. “He won’t be as easily manipulated as Jennifer.”

  “Let’s take it a day at a time with Austin,” Ryan said. “He’s given in for the next day or so. He’ll need a nanny, too. They don’t grow on trees, which gives us some time.”

  Us?

  “And I don’t plan to offer Jennifer’s services at his place,” Ryan added.

  “I’m glad to hear it.”

  Louie stood aside to let them enter the small room just as the elevator pinged. “Good timing,” he said to Elizabeth, looking beyond her to the corridor. “Here’s Jesse now.”

  Elizabeth turned around and saw Jesse leaving the elevator between Lindsay and a hospital aide in green scrubs. She walked hesitantly, her pink sneakers squeaking on the tile floor. Her small face was streaked with tears and so pale that her tiny freckles stood out like red pepper sprinkled on her nose. Her eyes darted nervously from one adult to another. There was a mark on her cheek and a white bandage circled one knee. Elizabeth’s heart stumbled. She had only one thought and that was to get to Jesse. But Austin was faster.

  “Jesse!” he called, striding toward her. “Come to Daddy, Jesse!”

  One look at him and Jesse screamed, a high piercing sound that was like a shot straight to Elizabeth’s heart. Panicked, Jesse dashed away before the nurse or Lindsay could react. Ryan swore and lunged after Austin, grabbing him in midstride and pulling him up short before he reached Jesse, who then scooted past two people waiting for the elevator and darted inside. Clearly terrified, she cowered inside the elevator with her eyes squeezed shut. A technician inside the elevator had the presence of mind to hold the doors open so that Elizabeth could approach slowly. She took a cautious step into the elevator, then dropped to one knee and held out her arms.

  “Jesse, Jesse, don’t be afraid,” she said in a soft tone. “Open your eyes, darling. It’s me, Aunt Lizzie.”

  It took a moment before Jesse’s panic cleared enough so that she risked opening her eyes. Then, with another high, terrified wail, she hurled herself into Elizabeth’s arms. For a long, long moment, Elizabeth simply crouched in the elevator and held the trembling child tight.

  Fourteen

  Another hour dragged by. Elizabeth rested her head on the back of the small settee. Austin had agreed to let Jesse go with Louie. Any other plan was impossible after everyone witnessed Jesse’s reaction when she saw him. So, at least she was safe for the time being. She’d clung to Elizabeth, trembling and silent, but Ryan had taken Austin aside firmly and in a few minutes both men were gone, Austin still in a snit and Ryan with reluctance, as his daughter was home alone. Jesse’s anxiety had visibly eased once Austin left, although she was still abnormally silent. To Elizabeth, her panic was more revealing than if she’d been able to tell them what happened in words.

  Lindsay, impatient with hospital protocol, paced. She’d already made two trips down to the surgical floor to try to connect with Megan. She paused now to glance at her watch, then moved again to check activity in the corridor. It had been over three hours since they’d had any word about Gina.

  “I don’t know how you can sit so still,” she said, studying Elizabeth as if she were a specimen from outer space. “You haven’t moved in ten minutes. Megan’s like that, too. It’s weird.” When she failed to get any response from Elizabeth, she said, “I wonder if our mother was quiet or vivacious. Was she outgoing or self-contained? Am I the odd one out or was our dad the talkative one and I got that gene?”

  A long moment passed before Elizabeth said, “She looked like Megan.”

  Lindsay’s eyes lit up, encouraged by the first real information ever offered by Elizabeth. “Really? Megan’s quiet…to the extent that I sometimes feel as if I want to reach over and simply jerk a remark out of her, you know?”

  Elizabeth rolled her head on the settee to look at Lindsay. “She’d probably like to do the same to you now and then…in reverse.”

  Lindsay laughed. “Hey, a sense of humor lurks behind that cool mask. Megan’s like that. She lets me rant and rave, then look out. She can really zing me one.” She leaned against the doorjamb, her hands linked behind her. “I wonder about our mother a lot, do you?”

  “Not a lot, but sometimes…sure,” Elizabeth said, after a moment. “But I was only four years old when you were born. I just had the thought when meeting Megan for the first time that she looked like pictures I’ve seen.”

  “Pictures of our parents? Would you consider sharing them sometimes? I’d love to just…you know…check ’em out. See if I feel some connection, you know?”

  “I haven’t looked at that stuff in a long time.” The pictures were in a correspondence box that had been her mother’s, along with the stationery she’d used to write all those letters to her father. She thought about the letters more often than she wanted to. None were ever returned. What had the post office done with them? They wouldn’t have been delivered to a dead man, but she’d been encouraged by Iris Graham to keep writing. She’d been around ten years old when she’d finally realized the futility of it, so she’d closed the lid on the box and its contents, including the few mementoes of her parents. It was the right thing to do to share them with Lindsay and Megan.

  “It must have been horrible for you when the judge died.”

  Elizabeth straightened, reached for the tall drink that Ryan had brought her before hustling Austin out of the room, and took a sip through a straw. “This is too morbid a subject to discuss tonight, Lindsay.”

  Lindsay’s face was suddenly the picture of dismay. “Oh, I’m sorry. It is, it is. I’m just so—so damned clumsy sometimes. I’m all caught up in my own interests. I’m consumed with curiosity about my biological parents…and you, to be honest. You must think I’m just using you when I’m really just—” she spread her hands and gave a wry laugh “—just full of curiosity. It’s the interviewer in me.”

  Elizabeth lifted a hand to shush her. “It’s all right. Really.”

  Lindsay stood up. “I’ll make it up to you by getting some word on Gina,” she said with the light of battle in her eye, “even if I have to barge into the OR and grab my sister by her stethoscope!”

  “You can’t rush people when they’re performing surgery.” Elizabeth patted the settee. “Sit down.”

  Lindsay sat, but with reluctance. “Then let’s talk ab
out Jesse.”

  In spite of herself, Elizabeth managed a smile at that. “Okay.”

  “You really love that little girl, don’t you?”

  “How could I not? I was Gina’s partner during childcare classes, I was her birthing coach during labor and I was in the delivery room when she was born. I’ve seen her at least three times a week since and most of the time, more than that.”

  “Tell me about her.”

  Elizabeth’s face softened. “She’s just a darling. She’s smart and sassy and she has so much energy she makes me tired just watching her. She talks a blue streak and asks a million questions. Her mind is quirky and curious and bright as a star.”

  “She talks a blue streak,” Lindsay repeated thoughtfully. “Then what does it mean that she wouldn’t talk tonight, Liz?”

  Exactly what Elizabeth had been worrying about. She got up and went to the door, restlessly surveying the emptiness. How much longer? “I don’t know. You heard the nurse. Shock. Fear. Trauma. God knows, she’s had so much turmoil in her life lately. Now tonight she’s in an accident where her mother is critically injured and she’s right there to see it. An adult might have the capacity to understand what’s going on and still be bowled over by all that’s happened. For a child…who knows?”

  “It’s probably temporary, don’t you think?”

  “Hopefully. I’ll know more when I can get away from the hospital and be with her, but I can’t leave Gina, not tonight. She might—” Her voice broke. It dawned on her that she was revealing far more to Lindsay than she ever intended. She took a deep breath. “You’re a very good listener.”

  Lindsay smiled. “Not especially, although as I mentioned, I’m a good interviewer.”

  Elizabeth looked at her with quick suspicion. “You’re not—”

  “This is not an interview,” Lindsay said, then rose to pace some more. “Talking helps to pass the hours. You’re my sister.” She put up a hand and stopped Elizabeth’s automatic protest at that. “The reason you’re breaking all your own rules tonight is that you’re traumatized yourself. Except for Jesse, Gina’s the most precious person in your life and her life is in the balance.”