“Well, I’ll be in touch,” Agent Boon said with a nod as he opened the door, rousing the reporters outside into a noisy frenzy.
Chapter 19
“What are you doing here, Miss Dunmore?” Mrs. Henry asked in a slightly scolding tone even as she raised her arms to embrace Zoe. The new de facto head of the Accounts department had ambushed her just outside her office door. “You should be taking care of yourself at home. Everyone will understand.”
“I couldn’t stay there another minute,” Zoe said as she hugged the woman back. Such casual affection wasn’t something she would have expected from Mrs. Henry but the warmth was welcome and actually comforting. “I thought the reporters couldn’t be any worse than they were when I got home from the airstrip Saturday but this morning…”
Mrs. Henry frowned and nodded. “That’ll be the report last night. Someone in the news finally figured out that Peters went by Warner and was connected to the company. Now they’re wondering if the company is being investigated as well.”
Zoe froze. Their earlier plan for dealing with the media when the embezzlement story finally leaked would need some serious adjustments and the thought of making them alone was terrifying. What would her father suggest? And where was Aiden? He had contributed to the original plan as well.
“Have you heard from Mr. Butler at all?” she asked Mrs. Henry, pushing her way into her office and holding the door for the older woman to follow.
“He hasn’t shown up for work yet, but then with him having taken off that time to take care of his grandmother, I was afraid there might have been something that happened to her over the weekend, a relapse of some kind. I figure we’ll hear from him as soon as things settle down at home,” Mrs. Henry explained.
She didn’t have any real business with Zoe so there was no need to sit down but Zoe could see she was reluctant to leave. Mrs. Henry trailed her fingers along the arm of the sofa pushed against the wall of Zoe’s office. Heat rushed to Zoe’s face as the memory of what had transpired on that couch only a few days before flashed through her mind. She bent over and began riffling around in her purse, avoiding looking up at Mrs. Henry until she could be sure she was no longer trembling.
“If you hear from Ry—Mr. Butler, please let me know,” Zoe requested, pulling a phone charger from her purse and unwinding the cord.
“Of course, Miss Dunmore. If there’s anything you need…” Mrs. Henry offered as she backed out of Zoe’s office.
“Would you mind closing the door?”
She barely heard the click. She could hear Mrs. Henry discourage anyone from disturbing Miss Dunmore as she shuffled down the hall towards the Accounts department.
Zoe walked over to the sofa and flopped down on it, imagining it was still warm from where she and Aiden had lain on Friday night. Maybe Mason had been right and it would have been better for her to stay home. But there was so little to do there now that the arrangements had been made. Her father’s body wouldn’t be released for several days yet as the medical examiners conducted the autopsy – she had spent several minutes close to tears as she dealt with the office over the phone. It wasn’t as though there was any doubt about how he had died. The director at the funeral home had gone a long way to calming her and negotiating with the ME about transferring the body.
She’d been in touch with her father’s lawyer who informed her that Steve had most of the arrangements already settled and paid for – the casket, the plot, the flowers, everything was taken care of except for determining the date, time, and the finishing touches on the obituary. In three days, she’d be burying her father. In one more week, the Board of Directors would meet about appointing a new president for Dunmore Corp and it would be her. She was supposed to have more time to learn the job; she was supposed to have her father there to turn to when she had questions; she wasn’t supposed to be doing all this alone.
Her new cell phone rang in her purse. She picked it up but didn’t recognize the number. She hesitated before answering it, wondering if a reporter might have managed to find her cell phone number. “Hello?”
“Miss Dunmore? It’s Jack… Jack Butler,” a tired voice on the other end responded. “I’m Aiden’s brother.”
“Yes, Jack. We’ve met,” Zoe said, relieved it wasn’t a reporter and confused about why Jack was calling. “I’ve been trying to reach Aiden the last few days…”
“That’s why I’m calling, actually. I should’ve called sooner but had trouble getting your number. The police finally returned Aiden’s phone—”
“The police?” Zoe sat up abruptly.
“Aiden was in a car accident on Saturday morning,” Jack explained. “He was touch and go for a while, but he’s stabilized now.”
Zoe was already gathering her things together again. “Where are you? Which hospital?” Saturday morning? No wonder she hadn’t heard from him. She wondered if it was before or after her father’s accident. Had he heard about the plane crash and been on his way to see her?
“He’s at San Francisco General.”
“I’ll be there as soon as I can,” Zoe said and hung up before Jack could tell her anything else.
She felt like such a fool. She should have known better than to doubt Aiden. Hadn’t she told herself there would be a perfectly reasonable explanation for his silence? Perfectly reasonable and terrifyingly horrible. Mrs. Henry glanced up with concern as Zoe swept past her office on her way to the elevator. Mason’s number was dialed and the phone was ringing as she stepped inside and promptly lost the cell signal. When the elevator moved, the momentary feeling of weightlessness lingered.
Everything was falling apart. First her father, now Aiden. She started to shake as she fought back sobs. She couldn’t cry. Not yet. Not until she knew more about Aiden’s condition and what had happened. Jack had said he was stabilized. That was a good thing. Stable meant alive. But if the accident happened on Saturday morning and it was now Monday… Clearly Aiden wasn’t well enough to call her himself or he would have done. Was he well enough to have mentioned her to Jack? Or had Jack only called her to let her know about Aiden because she was his boss?
And if Aiden had said anything about her to his brother, what had it been? She and Aiden hadn’t exactly talked about what had happened between them. They had been saving that conversation for later Saturday.
When she reached her car, she called Mason again. It was time to tell him about Friday night and get a second opinion.
****
Zoe ended up on a bench outside the hospital. She couldn’t bring herself to go inside. Mason came out through the automatic doors and crossed to her. “I have his room number if you’re interested,” he said, holding out a bland cup of coffee. She sipped and made a small face, setting it on the bench beside her. “It sounds like he’s out of the ICU. Don’t know if that means he’s awake or not.”
“You didn’t talk to Jack?” she asked, desperate for information but reluctant to take any of the steps necessary to acquire it.
“No, but I overheard two nurses talking about what I’m pretty sure was his accident.” Mason took her coffee back and sat on the bench in its place. “There’s still a while left for visiting hours. You should go see him. I’m sure they’ll let you in if you tell them you’re his—”
“I’m not his girlfriend,” she cut him off. “I… I don’t know what I am, what we are.” She sighed and leaned over putting her head in her hands. “We didn’t… We were going to talk about it but then…”
“Well, from what you told me about what you two did Friday night, you’re something,” Mason said balancing a hint of suggestiveness with the sincerity of sentiment. Zoe gave him a half-assed glare but knew he was right. “Look, I know I’ve teased you about him here and there but all kidding aside, it’s clear you like him a lot. And from the little I’ve gotten to know of him, Aiden seems like a pretty good guy. With what happened to your dad and everything…”
“What if he leaves too?
” she whispered as Mason struggled to find the words.
“Zoe…”
“It keeps happening. First Mom died. Then Lucas left me – and I’m not saying I want Lucas back, because I don’t – but he still abandoned me when I was counting on him. Uncle David isn’t who he was supposed to be. Dad… And now Aiden…” She was close to tears and certainly wasn’t moving from the bench until she had herself under better control.
“You’ve got me,” Mason reassured her as he put an arm around her shoulders. “And it doesn’t ‘keep happening.’ Lucas and David maybe but your parents didn’t abandon you and neither is Aiden. Sucky things just happen sometimes and sometimes, they happen all at once. But you haven’t lost everything. Aiden is alive and if you want him – which, I’m pretty sure you do or you wouldn’t be so afraid of losing him – go in there and see him. Tell him. He is going to need you to help him through this as much as you’re going to need him to get through everything that’s happened with your dad.”
“I don’t know if I can,” she admitted. “And what if I can’t? Or what if he doesn’t want me? What if he really only wanted it to be a one-night… thing?”
“You’ll never know unless you go and talk to him about it,” Mason pointed out giving her a nudge towards the hospital entrance. “Go. He’s in room 411. I might head in and check out the gift shop so take your time.”
Zoe rose and moved slowly towards the doors, pausing every few steps to take deep breath before advancing some more. Mason grinned on the bench as he watched patients and staff maneuvering around her on their way in and out of the building. Finally a nurse returning with an empty wheel chair huffed and approached Zoe urging her to hurry it along and get out of everyone else’s way. The scolding brought some color back to Zoe’s face along with some attitude. She strode forward with more determination than she felt, moving decisively to the elevators.
It wasn’t until she caught sight of Jack and his grandmother through the window of Aiden’s door that she hesitated again. The angle of the window didn’t allow her to see Aiden’s face, only the lump of his feet beneath the hospital bed’s sheets and blanket. A nurse swept past her opening the door and entering to check Aiden’s vitals. Zoe found herself carried in along with her.
Jack rose, his hand on his grandmother’s shoulder. “Miss Dunmore. I… You uh… you came.”
“Zoe, dear,” their grandmother said, reaching for her and tugging her closer. The room was becoming rather crowded and the nurse sucked her teeth with minor exasperation as she made notations on the chart. “We heard about your father. I’m so sorry sweetheart. I know that Aiden will… Well, he’ll…” but she couldn’t finish the thought as she looked over to his sleeping form.
The nurse finished her observations and left the room, requesting that they press the button for the nurses’ station if they needed anything or if there were any sudden changes in Aiden’s condition. She closed the door behind her and Jack pulled a chair around for Zoe to take.
Zoe looked over to examine Aiden as Jack launched into an account of everything the doctors had told them about his condition. There were a number of bandages and dressings padding Aiden’s body beneath the blankets and the hospital gown. He’d broken several ribs and his wrist. His legs would be badly bruised from having been crushed and there was some muscle and ligament damage but he’d miraculously failed to break the bones. There had been some internal bleeding as well but surgery had stabilized him. What was most disconcerting was the injury to his head. He had some small contusions on his face and there was a large lump near his temple where the impact had dashed his head against the driver’s side window. He’d only regained consciousness briefly the day before. Brain scans showed some minor bleeding that appeared to be resolving itself. The doctors were hopeful that he would wake again soon and that he would remain conscious long enough to do a full cognitive assessment.
“The cops want to question him when he’s awake but the doctors won’t let them near him again until they’re satisfied he can handle it. One of the officers seems to think Aiden was being reckless but his partner called to say that it looks like someone did something to the car that kept him from being able to slow down. Not that they’ll be able to do too much about it or figure out who did it. They said he was… they said he was lucky the car didn’t ignite on impact… that he swerved and went off the road where he did.”
There was a noise from the bed and all three looked over to see Aiden’s arm moving slowly across the top of the blankets like it was searching for something. He started to shift his head and grimaced in pain. Jack jumped to Aiden’s side and began softly saying his name, urging him to try and open his eyes.
“Give him space,” their grandmother warned. “Don’t crowd him or put too much pressure on him. Let him come ‘round on his own. Do you think we should call the nurse back?”
“Let’s make sure he’s actually waking up first,” Jack said. He took hold of his brother’s hand. “Aiden, you’ll never guess who’s come to see you. You’ve gotta open your eyes though.”
His lids fluttered, closing tighter against the light for a moment before peeking open again. Zoe held her breath and fought the impulse to step back out of his range of sight.
“Aiden,” she said quietly, but it came out as more of a croak. She cleared her throat and spoke again. “It’s Zoe. Zoe Dunmore.”
“Zoe?” his weak voice asked.
Jack squeezed his brother’s hand in encouragement. She took a few steps closer to the bed so he could see her better.
“Aiden,” she repeated, smiling down at him without meaning to. She started to reach for his other hand but he turned and started upon seeing Jack.
“Who’re you?” he weakly tried to pull his hand from Jack’s grasp.
Jack snorted. “What d’you mean, who am I? I’m your brother.”
Aiden’s eyes widened skeptically. His grandmother pulled herself to her feet and shuffled over. “Aiden, honey.”
“Gram? What’s going on? Where’s Jack? Is he okay? Who’s watching him?”
“Aiden, honey, you were in an accident. Do you understand?” she asked, signaling to Jack to push the Call button and summon the nurse. Jack set his jaw stubbornly, pretending he hadn’t noticed the old woman’s signs.
“No, I wasn’t on the boat. I promise I wasn’t. He said Zoe was here. I want to see her; where is she?” Aiden’s eyes were darting around the room, shying away from Jack and Zoe, hesitating and squinting at the woman he was pretty sure was his grandmother.
“Zoe’s right there,” Jack insisted. “She came to see you even with everything that’s happened with her dad.”
“Mr. Dunmore? What happened to him?” Aiden fought to sit up straighter but gasped turning pale and clutching at his bound ribs.
His grandmother nudged Jack aside and took Aiden’s hand. “Steve was in an unfortunate accident this weekend,” she told him. “It was the same morning as your accident and… honey, I’m afraid Steve didn’t make it.”
Zoe felt tears spring to her eyes and turned so no one else would see. It wasn’t an accident, she wanted to shout.
“But I thought it was just Mom, Dad, and Mrs. Dunmore on the boat?” Aiden asked, confused and growing frustrated. “Where’s Zoe? Let me see her.”
“She is Zoe.” Jack’s voice was rising with fear. “She’s right here. And it’s been more than fifteen years since our parents died.”
“Jack,” his grandmother said with warning in her voice.
“Zoe?” Aiden asked again, uncertainty and gentleness imploring her to turn around. She did and stepped closer to his bed.
“It’s me, Aiden,” she assured him. She reached out and clasped his cast-covered wrist.
There was something lost about his expression that caused her chest to tighten. He was trying; looking at her so intently and there was almost recognition there but not quite. He wanted to believe it was her, but he couldn’t force the conne
ction. She looked down so he wouldn’t see how much that distance hurt her. How many weeks had she been pushing him away? And now he was gone. But not really gone. That was what was making it so difficult. She could touch him and the warmth of him seeped into her skin. It set her heart racing and she became hyperaware of everything she felt from the fabric of her skirt rubbing on her thighs to the way her left shoe pinched her toes more than the right.
Watching the way Aiden failed to react to Zoe, Jack froze. He’d only seen the two of them together once or twice, but there had been something tangible in the atmosphere around them. It was impossible to miss. But it was gone now. Or rather, not gone, just… lacking. Zoe still looked at Aiden the ways she had before, with hesitant longing; but Aiden wasn’t there. He was still in awe of her and admired her, but the gentle smile was absent. The tenderness in his eyes and the affection were missing.
Jack reached over and pressed the button to summon the nurse.
“What happened to Mr. Dunmore?” Aiden asked politely.
“His plane… There was… an explosion,” Zoe forced the words out, beginning to recoil from Aiden as she spoke. She was having difficulty breathing.
A nurse burst into the room and startled them all. “Mr. Butler,” the nurse exclaimed, her eyes going wide. “You’re awake. How long has he been conscious?” She moved closer to the patient’s bed and began looking him over. Zoe stepped aside to make room.
“Not more than a few minutes,” Mrs. Butler said. “We were just a bit shocked and relieved when he started talking but there seems to be something wrong…”
The nurse called to a friend of hers in the hallway. A head popped in and was instructed to fetch the doctor right away. “Mr. Butler,” the nurse spoke louder than necessary to get his attention. “I’m Nurse Ryder. You’re in the hospital. Do you understand me, sir?”
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