Deception by Design

by Tara Wentz

  ****

  Bob pulled up beside the ambulance and ran to Kellen’s car. They already had the netting down and were trying to assess her condition. From what he could see and hear they had removed her helmet because there was so much blood on her face they couldn’t see where to stop it. The paramedic had also placed a collar around her neck and an oxygen mask over her nose and mouth.

  “Can you tell if she’s awake, Bob?” Joshlyn asked.

  “Her eyes are closed. I don’t think she’s awake right now.”

  The firefighters worked on extricating Kellen from the car so Bob and Joshlyn backed up to give them more room. They slowly slid Kellen onto a hard backboard, strapped her down, and placed her on the stretcher. One of the paramedics was busy starting an IV while another was trying to clean the blood from her face. Once the IV was started, they tried to go to her other hand to start another. Kellen groaned when the paramedic grabbed her wrist.

  “We’ve got a fracture in this wrist. Toss me an arm board.” The paramedic secured Kellen’s left forearm so it wouldn’t get jostled or bumped before an orthopedic doctor could take a look at it.

  Kellen fought the fogginess and tried to open her eyes. There was something obscuring her vision so she reached up to move it so she could see what was going on.

  “Hang on there, ma’am. We’ve got some gauze covering your eyes a little because you’ve got a laceration above your left eye.” The paramedic adjusted the gauze some so she could at least see out of one eye.

  Kellen dropped her arm back to her chest. “What happened?”

  Joshlyn could hear Kellen talking as they wheeled her to the ambulance. She didn’t realize how relieved she was until she reached up and wiped the tears from her face. She and Bob followed them to the ambulance and watched as they loaded her inside.

  “Where are you taking her?” Bob asked.

  “University Hospital, sir.”

  Bob nodded. “We’ll meet you there.” He took Joshlyn’s arm and headed back to the truck. He waited for her to climb in and closed the door. Once he climbed in himself, he took a deep breath. “Lordy B, what a night!”

  “She’s going to be all right, don’t you think, Bob?” Joshlyn bit her lip and winced. Her hands were still shaking but she felt better knowing that Kellen was awake.

  “We’ll know more once we get to the hospital, darlin’.” Bob patted her hand. “You just hang in there. I have a feeling Kellen’s gonna need you once the dust all settles down here.”

  Joshlyn looked pointedly at Bob before asking, “He did that on purpose, didn’t he?”

  “I’d like to say no, but I’m afraid it was on purpose. He had no reason to do that; none whatsoever!” Bob started the truck and followed the ambulance out of the speedway.

  ****

  “How are you doing, ma’am?”

  “Please, call me Kellen. My chest hurts a little and so does my wrist. Otherwise, everything else feels okay. Can you tell me what happened?” Kellen pleaded.

  The paramedic recorded the most recent vitals before responding. “You don’t remember anything?”

  “Oh, I remember the race and then the crash, but after the car flipped it’s all a blank.” Kellen hesitated before continuing. “Wait a minute, Baker caused that accident, didn’t he?”

  “I’m not really sure of the details other than I do know your car flipped twice before landing. Sounds like you were only out for about ten minutes total based on what you last remember, though.”

  Kellen listened to the steady beep of the heart monitor and tried to take shallow breaths. She felt sore overall, but it hurt to take deep breaths. She knew Billy had caused the accident. Him hitting the back of her bumper told her everything she needed to know.

  “That son of a bitch,” Kellen whispered.

  “All right, Kellen, we are pulling into the hospital emergency entrance so it might be a little bumpy for a bit while we get you out and settled into the trauma bay.”

  “Thank you for everything you’ve done.” Kellen smiled sincerely.

  “No worries, you just hang in there.”

  The paramedic wasn’t kidding when he said it was going to be a little bumpy. Kellen held her breath a couple times to keep the pain at a minimum. She knew they were being as gentle as they could, but it still hurt like a son of a bitch. There was so much activity going on around her that Kellen just closed her eyes.

  “Ms. Reynolds, I’m Dr. Murphy and we’re going to move you from the stretcher to the bed now.” Kellen opened her eyes long enough to glance up at who was talking and then closed them again. “On three, guys.”

  Once they got her moved to the bed, Dr. Murphy started talking to her again and telling her everything they were going to do. “We’re just going to roll you up a bit here and check your spine, make sure nothing seems out of place.” They rolled her to her right and kept her left arm at her side. “Looks good…roll her back.” Someone looked in her eyes and flashed a light in each one.

  Kellen groaned. “Feels like you’re sticking a hot poker in my eyes.”

  “I wouldn’t be surprised if you’ve got, at the least, a mild concussion but we’ll get a CT scan and make sure nothing else is going on in there. Do you feel nauseated?” Dr. Murphy asked.

  “A little bit, yeah.”

  “How about anything else? Do you hurt anywhere specific?”

  “My chest is sore and my left arm hurts,” Kellen commented, lifting her arm up a fraction.

  Dr. Murphy listened to both sides of her chest and then draped the stethoscope back around his neck. “Breath sounds are good bilaterally. We’ll check everything out in CT while up there, but your lungs sound good. As for your arm, you’ve got a fracture there that we’ll get x-rayed and taken care of, too. Are you allergic to anything that you know of, Ms. Reynolds?”

  “No, nothing.”

  “All right, we’re gonna give you some Morphine now, which should help with the pain and we’ll get you up to CT.”

  Kellen smiled. “Thanks, doc.”

  Dr. Murphy smiled down at her. “We’ll get you taken care of here,” he said with a wink. “Let’s roll, ladies and gentlemen.”

  ****

  Joshlyn couldn’t sit still. The doctors had been with Kellen for almost an hour now and nobody had heard a word about Kellen’s condition or what was going on. She paced back and forth in front of Bob until he grabbed her hand.

  “Have a seat, kiddo. As soon as they have her stabilized and taken care of we’ll find out more info.”

  Joshlyn started to open her mouth, but Bob stopped her with a tug on her arm. She sat down beside him and turned to face him.

  “I know it’s hard and with the way things are hanging in limbo with you two it makes it even harder.” Bob tucked his head so he could get a better look directly into Joshlyn’s eyes. “Trust me when I say that things will be okay. Just hang in there a little longer. I called Erin because she’s listed on Kellen’s ‘In Case of Emergency’ papers. She’ll be here shortly, too.”

  Joshlyn nodded her head and tried in vain to blink the tears in her eyes away. She swiped a hand across her face and wiped it on her pant leg. Glancing around the waiting room, she realized that she wasn’t the only one worried about Kellen’s condition. The rest of her crew, Emerson, and the rest of his crew were all sitting and waiting. She’d given Ami a call on her way to the hospital, but she had yet to arrive. The last time Joshlyn had been inside a hospital it was the start of a whole new life for her. She didn’t want this time to go down that same road. Joshlyn jerked around in her chair when she heard rapid footsteps coming her way from down the hall. She stood as Ami rounded the corner.

  Ami pulled Joshlyn into a hug. “What on earth happened?” She leaned back and looked at Joshlyn.

  “There was an accident at the track. We still don’t know much of anything other than she was awake and talking when they put her into the ambulance.”

  Emerson walked over to stand beside his sister and gave J
oshlyn a supportive smile. “Hey, sis.”

  “Hey, Em. Sorry I got here so late, guys. I had to drop Jaxon off at the airport.”

  Joshlyn leaned into Ami for warmth and support. “I’m just glad you’re here now. Thank you so much for coming.”

  “Hey, I’d have been upset with you if you hadn’t called me. Do you all need coffee or anything while we wait?” Ami wrapped her arm around Joshlyn and walked her over to sit down.

  “I’m good, thanks though, Ami.” Joshlyn rubbed her hands together and smiled. She was so thankful to be here with people who cared…not just for Kellen but for herself as well.

  Emerson pulled a chair closer to Ami, Joshlyn, and Bob and leaned in a little. “Bob, what’s the deal with Billy? They stopped the race completely and when we left the track they were questioning him.”

  “Em, I’m telling you that boy was a menace from the get go, but tonight took the cake. I think one of the other guys must have told the officials what we suspected. I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets some sort of charges filed on him for this one.”

  “Can they prove it?”

  “All they gotta do is look at the tapes. The proof is right there in front of their noses. It’s crazy, but after all this time—” Bob stopped abruptly when the doctor from the trauma room came walking around the corner.

  “Family for Kellen Reynolds.”

  Joshlyn jumped to her feet as well as Emerson, Bob, and Ami. “That’s us.”

  Just before the doctor started to speak, a small auburn-haired woman raced up to the group and enveloped Bob in a hug. Joshlyn assumed this had to be Erin. Bob gave her a one armed hug and they both turned towards the doctor.

  Dr. Murphy pulled his surgical cap off and ran a hand through his hair. “All her tests are back and they look good. I don’t see any need for any type of surgery. She’s a very lucky woman, though. Her ribs and sternum are bruised so she’ll be sore for a few days with that. We stitched the laceration through her left eyebrow and forehead. She didn’t have any debris inside the cut so best we can figure is that the shield from her helmet impacted that area and caused the laceration. She has a mild concussion for which we are going to keep her at least overnight and reevaluate her tomorrow. The biggest issue is the fracture to her left wrist. She’s going to be out of commission with that for at least six to eight weeks. As I said, overall she is a very lucky woman. Any questions?”

  Joshlyn stepped forward a little. “When can we see her, doctor?”

  “They are getting her settled in a room and then you can have a brief visit. I want her to get some rest tonight. If you’ll follow me I’ll show you to the waiting room on the unit.”

  ****

  Kellen struggled to get comfortable. It didn’t matter which way she turned because at this moment it seemed her entire body was one big bruise. She finally gave up and blew an exasperated breath out. Luckily, she didn’t have a roommate. According to her nurse on duty, almost all the rooms were private now. She glanced around the room and sighed. The doctor explained that the splint on her left wrist would be removed in a couple days and a real cast would be put in place as soon as the swelling had gone down. By tomorrow her left eye would look like she went a few rounds in a boxing ring. It was already swollen and tender. She was reaching towards it when there was a quiet knock on her door. She didn’t answer but waited for the door to open.

  Bob opened the door slowly in case Kellen was asleep. When he peeked through the opening, he could see Kellen and she was giving him a lop-sided grin. “Hey there, kiddo.” Bob and Erin walked further into the room and stood next to the bed. “How ya doin?”

  “You mean aside from looking like hell?” Kellen chuckled and groaned. “Oh, don’t make me laugh. Right now everything hurts.”

  “You scared the shit out of me, girl.” Bob smiled affectionately down at Kellen. He placed a hand on her arm and rubbed lightly. “Don’t ever do that again!”

  “Bob, I can guarantee you it wasn’t on my agenda tonight. Speaking of, please tell me that someone else saw that Billy was responsible this time?”

  “Honey, when the boys left the track the police already had Billy aside and were questioning him. At this point I have no idea what is going on because we’ve all been here since you came in.”

  “Are you kidding me? Bob, tell them all to go home. I’m fine!”

  “Kellen, when are you going to learn that we all consider you family? I’m not just talking about me and the crew. I’m talking about Emerson and his boys, too. Ami is out there as well.” Bob purposefully didn’t mention Joshlyn. Right now, he wanted to keep Kellen’s emotions at a minimum.

  Kellen didn’t even bother trying to hide the tears welling up in her eyes. “I…ahem…I’m sorry, Bob.”

  “Don’t be sorry. Just know we all care very much for you. I’m gonna get on outta here, but are you up for one more visitor?”

  “Sure.”

  “All right then. I’m going to go by and check on Chigger, but I’ll be back tomorrow. Sleep well.”

  Kellen smiled at Bob as he left and cleared her throat. She wasn’t used to fighting down this much emotion. Hell, Bob probably wouldn’t know what to do with her if she’d gone into a full-blown crying jag. The thought made her smile again. She glanced back over where Erin quietly stood.

  “Hey, Erin. Why are you being so quiet? I don’t think I’ve ever heard you not say anything for this long.”

  “Very funny, woman,” Erin replied, wiping a tear from her cheek. “You scared the shit out of me!”

  “I’m sorry, Erin. I promise I didn’t do this on purpose.”

  “I know, honey. I’ve already talked to Bob as we were walking in here.” Erin stopped briefly when the door started to open. “Listen, I’m going to head out, but you need anything you call, okay?”

  “Okay, thank you, Erin.”

  “Any time, sweetheart.” Erin leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. She smiled at Joshlyn on the way out.

  Joshlyn stepped into the room, smiled at Erin in return, and walked straight up to Kellen’s bed. Even with all the bumps and bruises, she was still the most beautiful person Josh had ever seen. All Kellen could do was look at her so Joshlyn decided to just jump right in.

  “I’m so sorry, Kellen,” Joshlyn whispered. “I know you have no right to forgive me for what I said and did, but I hope once you are home that you will let me explain or at least hear me out. Once I do, if you never want to see me again I will totally understand.”

  Kellen didn’t say anything, but continued to stare. Joshlyn knew she had to still be upset over everything, but was hoping Kellen would talk to her some. When she made no effort, a sob broke free from Joshlyn and she put a hand to her mouth to try to tamp it down.

  Kellen’s resolve broke and she reached out with her good hand. “Ssshhh, Josh, right now all I care about is that you are here. I’m very happy to see you despite the reason behind it. Or maybe I should say in spite of, huh?”

  Joshlyn gave her a watery smile and gently took her hand. “I was so scared when you hit that wall, Kellen. I don’t think I’ve ever been more scared in my entire life.”

  “You were there? You saw what happened?”

  “Oh yeah, I wanted to get there between time trials and the start of the race, but alas, traffic was not cooperating. I wanted to explain some things to you then.”

  “Josh, when I get home I will most definitely listen to what you have to say, but you also have to listen to me and hear me out.”

  Joshlyn studied Kellen for a minute before responding. “Okay, I can do that. Fair is fair. Right now though, you look like it’s taking everything you have to stay awake. Why don’t you go ahead and rest and we can talk more later.”

  “I, uh, please don’t go yet…please?” Kellen grasped Joshlyn’s hand tighter.

  “I won’t. Go ahead and close your eyes. I’ll be here. I’m just going to pull this chair closer.”

  “Will you lean close for just a minute?” />
  Joshlyn moved up closer to the head of the bed and leaned down. “What is it?”

  “Thank you. Thank you so much for being here,” Kellen raised her head a bit and kissed Joshlyn’s cheek.

  “Oh honey, there’s no place else I’d rather be. Wherever you are is where I want to be.” Joshlyn placed her palm against the side of Kellen’s cheek and kissed her lightly on the lips. “Now rest before the nurses come in and throw me out.”

  Kellen grinned. “Yes ma’am.”

  Joshlyn pulled the chair closer, sat down, and reached for Kellen’s hand again. Kellen’s eyes closed before Joshlyn even got the chair back by the bed. She rubbed her thumb lightly over the back of Kellen’s hand. The worst possible scenario could have happened tonight, but Joshlyn was so thankful it didn’t. At least now she’d have the opportunity to tell Kellen everything. Then she could make her own decision about whether to stick around or not. It wasn’t going to be easy, but by the grace of luck, maybe she could finally really settle down and not look over her shoulder all the time.

  Chapter Twenty

  Two days, well, actually thirty-eight hours, seem to drag on forever for Kellen. She was more than ready to get out of this hospital room and back to her own house. Not to mention she was missing Chigger like crazy. Joshlyn was supposed to be by within the hour to pick her up and it couldn’t come soon enough. Kellen had a lot of time to think over the last day or so and came to the decision that, no matter what Joshlyn had to say, they would work things out…one way or the other. Whatever Joshlyn had to say Kellen knew it was something big. Why else would she have pushed her away? Kellen couldn’t stop loving Joshlyn if she tried and all she had to do was figure out a way to convince her that she really meant it.