by HELEN HARDT
“He’s sitting in prison, waiting for his trial.”
“Has Jade been up to see him again?”
“No, but my brother Joe went up to see him.”
I widened my eyes, hoping Talon didn’t notice. “Jonah? Why would he go up?”
“For the same reason Jade did. He wanted to try to talk Larry into naming the two guys so we can get them put away.”
“And how did that go?”
“It didn’t. The asshole won’t budge.”
I wasn’t surprised. Talon probably wasn’t either. “Did Jonah manage to get anything out of him at all?”
Talon shook his head. “Because of something Larry said, Joe is now convinced that his friend Bryce Simpson might know one of the attackers personally. But I doubt it. I still think one of them is that boyfriend of Jade’s mother, Nico Kostas. Pretty strange that he just disappeared. And in all likelihood, he tried to kill Jade’s mom.”
I had heard the whole story of the insurance policy and accident. “There’s no way to know for sure.”
“I know, Doc. But it all makes so much sense.”
I couldn’t fault him there. Either this was a huge coincidence, or the man wanted to collect on insurance money. But I didn’t know.
“What about Jade’s ex-boyfriend, Colin?”
“The cops are looking into that right now. Since they found his belongings on Larry, they figure they got the right guy. They just don’t have a body, and Larry’s maintaining his innocence. But Larry’s such a liar, so I have no idea.”
“Do you think Larry was set up?”
“It’s possible. If he was set up, it was probably by the other two sickos who took me.”
What Talon said did make sense, but there was no way to be certain, unless we found out who the other two were.
“Okay, Talon, so we have one who has a phoenix on his left forearm, and the other has a birthmark on his arm that looks kind of like the state of Texas.”
“Yeah.”
“And you’re still determined to find them.”
“I will find them, Doc. I swear.”
I had talked to Talon before about not mistaking vengeance for healing, that he needed to heal whether he found the others or not. I thought he understood, but it wouldn’t do any harm to say it again. “You need to continue your healing, whether the others are caught or not.”
“Yeah, I know that. You’ve told me.”
“I don’t mean to repeat myself, but sometimes I think you get so caught up in finding the others that you put that goal over your own healing. You’ve come so far already, and I’d hate to see you slide backward. Revenge is not healing.”
Talon leaned forward. “I do hear what you’re saying. I really do. I know you think I’m looking for a needle in a haystack. And maybe I am. I promise, I am healing. I’m sleeping in the same bed with Jade every night now, and I don’t fear I’m going to hurt her. I know I would never hurt her. And my dreams, well, they haven’t disappeared altogether, but they are lessening.”
I nodded. It had been a while since Talon had told me about a dream. “When was the last time you had a dream?”
He shook his head. “Wow, I think it’s been about a week at least.”
“That’s good. Do you remember what you dreamed about?”
“No. I normally don’t. Unless I wake up right in the middle of it. Usually what happens is I wake up agitated and know I had one, but I don’t remember the content. Then I look next to me, and I see Jade sleeping peacefully. I caress her soft shoulder, maybe give her a kiss on the cheek. And I go back to sleep.”
“That’s great. Really.”
“Thanks.”
“So how are things going at home? I mean with Jade’s mom being there.”
He rolled his eyes. “I don’t like to say this, but she’s kind of a diva. She keeps Felicia running. And Jade, when she’s there. She doesn’t ask me for much of anything. I gave Felicia a significant raise for dealing with her.”
I smiled. “That’s generous of you.”
“No, not generous. Believe me, Felicia earns it.”
“I don’t doubt it. What do you think of Jade’s mother? Other than that she’s a diva.”
“I only really know what Jade and her father have said. She does seem to want to make amends with Jade, and I appreciate that. I don’t want Jade to have any bad feelings in her life.”
“And Jade? How is she doing?”
“There are days when she wants to strangle her mother. I try to talk her down from it, and I’m usually successful. But it’s important to her that Brooke be there and that we help her. A nurse comes in once a day for a few hours to check on her, do some PT, give her meds, and the nurse also takes her into the city overnight for more therapy once a week. It’s great for Jade to get that time off from Brooke.”
“And what will happen when Brooke is ready to live on her own?”
Talon sighed. “Jade and I haven’t had that talk yet, so I don’t know. I can set her up somewhere on the ranch, but I really don’t want to.”
“I understand. You can figure that out later.”
“Yeah. She’s getting better. Although I wouldn’t put it past her to hold on to being taken care of for as long as she can.”
I smiled. “Some people are like that.”
“I’ll tell you, Doc. Jade and her mom both have those gorgeous steely blue eyes, but other than that, I can’t imagine how this woman gave birth to Jade. They’re nothing alike. Not just in looks but in personality and demeanor. So completely different.”
“From what you told me, Jade is more like her father.”
He nodded. “Yeah, he’s a great guy. She looks more like him too.”
I glanced at the clock on the table. My time with Talon was nearly up. I appreciated his need to talk about Jade’s mom staying at the house, but that wasn’t really what we were here for. So I got ready to change the subject.
I was startled by a knock on the door. Randi knew better than to interrupt me when I was in session.
“I’m very sorry, Talon. Would you excuse me for a moment?” I went to the door. Instead of letting Randi in, I walked out into the reception area. A man I didn’t recognize sat on a chair, leafing through a magazine.
“What’s going on?” I asked Randi.
“I’m so sorry, Dr. Carmichael,” Randi said, “but he insists upon seeing you right now. I tried to explain that I couldn’t interrupt a session, but he threatened to make a scene.”
I looked over to the man. “Sir, I have no idea who you are, but this is entirely inappropriate.”
He stood, staring at me with intense blue eyes. He didn’t look happy. “I don’t rightly care about the rules, Dr. Carmichael. I came to talk to you, and I aim to do so.”
“Who are you?”
“I’m Rodney Cates, Gina’s father.”
Talon had been very gracious when I cut his session short. Now I sat in my office across from Gina Cates’s father. He was a tall, muscular man, average-looking, with sandy-brown hair and blue eyes. He wore a tweed jacket and jeans. He was a professor at the University of Colorado. Gina had told me all about him. I probably knew more about him than he would be comfortable with.
“Dr. Cates, I would be happy to talk to you anytime. You know that. But it’s not appropriate for you to come storming into my office and interrupt a session with one of my patients.”
“As I see it, the patient who left here is still very much alive. So I think I take precedence.”
Clearly there was going to be no reasoning with him. I mentally berated myself. He was no doubt here because of the stupid phone call I’d made the other night.
“I am so very sorry for your loss, and I am happy to discuss anything you would like to discuss. You’ll have to make an appointment. I have another patient coming in fifteen minutes.”
“Cancel.”
“Why would I do that?”
“Because again, that patient happens to be alive. He or she can
reschedule.”
“Need I remind you, Dr. Cates, that you are also alive? Therefore, you can call my office and schedule a time to talk to me.” I stood, hoping I was pulling off an image of control when inside I was shaking. “Make sure you leave your number with Randi.”
He stood as well, towering over me. “I don’t think you’re understanding me. I came to talk to you now, and that is what I’m going to do.”
My pulse started racing. I wasn’t exactly frightened. After all, Randi was right outside, and my cell phone sat on the table next to me. However, I did not like this man or his tone, and I was experiencing discomfort. No. Definitely more than that. Goosebumps prickled my flesh. I was frightened. But showing my fear would only give him what he wanted.
I picked up my cell, my knuckles white with tension, and stood. “You will make an appointment.”
He came toward me, closing in on my space. I sat back down in my chair.
Now my heart started thumping. “I’m going to have to ask you to back off,” I said.
“I did not come here to harm you. I am not a violent man. But I lost my daughter, Dr. Carmichael, and you will hear me out.”
Anxiety coursed through me. “Fine,” I relented. “You have ten minutes. After that, I have a patient who booked this time in advance. I will be happy to speak to you further, but we will have to decide on a time that is mutually agreeable.”
He sat down, and I breathed a sigh of relief. I gave myself a mental pat on the back for not losing it. Hopefully he could say what he wanted to say in ten minutes.
“All right.”
“Now, what was so important that you barged into my office and interrupted my session?”
He sighed. “I had to take my wife to the hospital today.”
“I’m very sorry. Is she ill?”
He shook his head. “No. At least not in the way you mean. I had to admit her to the mental wing here at Valleycrest.”
“I’m very sorry to hear that.”
“What did you expect? The woman lost her child. She hasn’t been able to cope. We’ve tried therapy. We’ve tried medication. First the psychiatrist thought she had situational depression and that it would run its course. That she was grieving. Well, of course she was grieving, but it didn’t get any better.”
“Again, I’m sorry.” I didn’t know what else to say.
“Anyway, yesterday morning, I got out of bed to get myself off to work. She hasn’t been getting out of bed until noon, not since Gina died. So I didn’t think anything of it. But then I came home for lunch, and she wasn’t there. The car was there, but no sign of her. I found her still in bed, nearly catatonic.”
“I’m sorry.”
“All she would say was ‘Dr. Car, Dr. Car.’ I assumed she was trying to say Carmichael, and that she wanted to see you, so I packed her up and drove here. We stayed at a hotel last night. Then, this morning, I woke up, and she wasn’t in bed next to me. I found her in the bathroom. She was cutting herself.”
I sucked in a breath. “Cutting can be a normal reaction when one is in a lot of emotional pain. It’s good that you took her to the hospital. She’ll get the help she needs.”
“You don’t understand, Dr. Carmichael. She wasn’t just cutting herself to alleviate emotional pain. She was slitting her wrists.”
Chapter Eleven
Jonah
Walking alone at night. Again.
My ribs were still a little sore from my last encounter, but here I was again. Nights were growing cooler now that autumn was turning, and not as many vagrants were out in the dark alleyways. So I headed to the main street. I continued walking until I came to a bar. I walked in and sat down.
The barkeep sidled up to me. “What’ll it be?”
“A CapRock martini.”
“What the hell is a CapRock martini?”
“A martini made with CapRock gin.”
“Never heard of it.”
“It’s organic gin, made here in Colorado.”
The barkeep let out a guffaw. “Organic? You gotta be kidding me. We’ve got our basic well stuff. And no vermouth. I can give you well gin in a martini glass.” He smiled. He was missing one of his cuspids.
“Sure. What the hell?”
The old guy a couple seats away was eyeing me.
I turned to him. “You got a problem?”
He shook his head, smiling. “Nope, no problems. You just look a little familiar to me.” He stood and closed the gap between us, sitting on the stool next to me. He held out his hand. “Name is Mike.”
“Jonah Steel.”
“Met another Steel in here a while back. Funny name, too.”
Funny name… “Talon Steel?”
“Yep, that’s the one. Guy was dressed a lot like you, expensive boots and all.”
“He’s my brother.”
“Nice guy. Had a big chip on his shoulder. Something was eating him but good.”
The geezer had no idea.
“Good man, though. He sent me a case of this great bourbon called Peach Street.”
This guy must be something else if Talon had sent him a case of his favorite whiskey. “If you’ve got a case of that at home, what are you doing in this dump?”
“Oh, this place gets to be home when you come in enough. You never know who you’ll meet in here. I come in about once a week and let Lucky over there pour me a glass of rotgut, and I watch the people coming in and out of this place. You’d be surprised who ducks through that door.”
“Someone like me, you mean?”
He nodded. “I haven’t seen boots like those in here since your brother. But believe it or not, we get a wide variety of different people in this little dive. It’s nice to have someone to talk to. I’ve been widowed now for a while.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. Here, let me buy you another drink.”
“I’d be obliged.” He signaled to Lucky. “I’ll have another.”
Lucky sent a drink sliding across the bar. Then he set my “martini” in front of me. “Take it slow,” he said. “Shit’s a little rough around the edges.”
I took a sip. Stung my throat. Smooth this was not.
“So if my brother sent you a case of Peach Street, you must have done something pretty amazing to earn it.”
Mike shook his head, laughing. “Nope. Just talked to him. He was going through a rough patch.”
Rough patch. Seemed to belittle what my brother had been through. But I didn’t know exactly what he’d told Mike, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to elaborate.
“He’s doing better now,” I said.
“Good to hear. Ever hook up with the girl he talked about?”
“If you mean Jade, then yes, he did.”
“I’m not sure he gave me her name. Good for him. A good woman is a man’s better half, I’ve always said. I sure do miss my Melanie.”
My heart thumped. “Melanie?”
“Yup. My wife’s name was Melanie. Melanie Rose Mitchell, before she met me. The prettiest thing around. I sure do miss her.”
“Melanie,” I said again.
“Yep, that was her name.”
“Beautiful name.”
“For a beautiful woman. Never met a woman with a bigger heart either. We never had much. I wish I’d been able to provide for her better. But even with as little as we had, she was always ready to lend a hand, always willing to give to someone who had less. Woman was a saint.”
“She sounds wonderful.”
“Yeah, she was.”
“I know a woman named Melanie.”
“Do you now?”
“She sounds a lot like your Melanie. She helps people.”
“Is she yours?”
How I wished she were, but that wouldn’t happen. “No, I’m not that lucky. I don’t have a woman right now.”
“So why’d you walk in here…Jonah, did you say?”
“Yeah. You can call me Joe.”
“So why’d you walk in here, Joe?”
&nb
sp; Should I tell him I’d been skulking around, trying to find someone to kick my ass? All the times I’d been down here, and never once had I stopped in this little bar. What had led me here tonight?
I took a drink of my gin—not CapRock by a long shot—and looked Mike in his rheumy eyes. “If I could tell you, I would, but I don’t have a fucking clue why I’m here.”
Mike chuckled. “You sure do remind me of your brother.”
“How can you say that? You only met him once.”
“Well, you probably heard this before, but you look a lot like him. The two of you could be—well—brothers.”
That got a smile out of me. This guy was all right. “Yeah, we do look alike. We have a younger brother too, and he looks a lot like both of us. We all favor our dad.”
“He must be a good-looking man.”
“He was. He passed away a while ago.”
“I’m sure sorry to hear that.”
Mike had no idea. If my dad were still alive, we might be able to get some real answers about what had happened to Talon. Like why the hell our father had swept it under the rug for so long. But nope, we were stuck figuring it out on our own. And I was stuck trying to figure myself out on my own. I had effectively screwed up the doctor-patient relationship with Melanie. Not that I regretted sleeping with her. I hadn’t had anyone like her for a long time. I wasn’t sure if I ever had.
That was bullshit. I had never had a woman like her, and I never would again.
“Hey, people die.” I took another sip of rotgut gin.
Mike sighed. “That they do. I sure miss my Melanie.”
“You ever think of dating again?”
He laughed so hard I thought he might choke. “An old goat like me? Who would be interested?”
I couldn’t help a smile. “A woman your age maybe? You seem like a nice enough guy.”
“No, I’m good by myself these days. No one could ever replace Melanie. I’m not looking for advice on my life. I’d rather go about giving advice to people who need it. Like you.”
“What do you think I need advice about?”
“Well, when I said you reminded me of your brother, I didn’t just mean in looks—although you do look just like him. He ended up here one day not too long ago, and I asked him point-blank what the hell he was doing hanging out down here when he could obviously afford a better place. And now here you are. What the hell are you doing out here, son?”