“You haven’t heard what I have to say,” Ben said. “At least give me a chance.”
“It doesn’t matter what you’re offering. I’m not interested.”
Adam could imagine Ben in his big office overlooking the Potomac. He knew Ben had deliberately used this line. Adam had been home for a few weeks one summer and done some work from here. He’d called Ben and left the number for him to return the call. Apparently, he’d kept it. If he’d called on Adam’s cell phone, his name and number would display on the tiny screen and Adam wouldn’t answer the call.
“It’ll make your career,” Ben insisted.
“I don’t have a career,” Adam said. “Get someone else. I’m out of the business. Good-bye.”
Without waiting for Ben to ring off, Adam hung up. Turning around, he saw Rosa staring at him perplexed. He could tell she wanted an explanation. But he wasn’t ready to explain himself.
“Why?” she asked.
“Why what?”
“Why don’t you have a career? You were the fair-haired boy, moving up the ranks, the anchor’s chair practically had your name stitched into the fabric. And without warning you’re gone.”
“How do you know so much about me? You aren’t even in the business.”
“According to my family, I’m a news junkie. I watch the news. And I read. You know, inquiring minds…”
“My life isn’t exactly written up in grocery store rags.”
“No, it isn’t. On the road, one of the models read a lot of Variety and news magazines. She had a brother in sportscasting and he’d fill her in. So of course, she’d tell the rest of us all the juicy gossip.”
He didn’t nod, but Rosa could see agreement in his actions.
“I have to go now,” he said.
“Coward,” Rosa said when he began walking toward the exit.
Adam stopped in midstride. He turned back to her. “I am not a coward.”
“Touched a nerve, did I?” She smiled and he understood why men thought she was delicious enough to eat.
“You’ve dodged two of my questions by retreating. Sounds like a coward to me.”
Adam’s life was personal. He didn’t have to answer to anyone. His reasons for leaving the rat race behind were his own. And the beautiful women in his past had let him down. But when he saw Rosa standing there, he could think of nothing to say. Only something to do. Before he knew what was happening, he’d crossed the room and cupped her face in his hands.
He saw the flash of surprise in her eyes, quickly replaced by awareness. Adam’s heart was racing, and his mind was on sensory overload. In one fell swoop he lowered his mouth to hers. Adam intended to satisfy an itch. He understood as soon as their lips touched that the itch was greater than he’d known. His arms went around her slender body and he gathered her close. His tongue dove into her mouth, the two mating and dancing the ancient tango. Rosa relaxed in his arms. He felt her body melt into his as if they were made for each other. The thought should have had him forcing her away, but the truth was he wanted her close. He hadn’t felt anything so good in years. She wasn’t enamored by his looks or his celebrity. She’d just as soon throw him out as she would feed him ice cream.
Lifting his head slightly, he repositioned it, still holding her as close as possible. He felt her push back, but they didn’t separate. Her eyes were closed. They opened slowly like someone waking from a pleasant dream. Adam lowered his mouth and took hers again.
What had gotten into him? He was holding fire in his arms and he knew it. The flame was bright, beautiful, enticing, but he’d dealt with fire before and he knew better than to put his hand in the flame. So why did she feel so good? Why did her mere presence send his hormones into overdrive? Why did her mouth tantalize his like a drug he couldn’t get enough of? Adam had no answers. Maybe he did, but he was unwilling to let them have a voice. At least not now. He pulled her even closer, never thinking two people could withstand this much closeness without passing through each other.
His head bobbed with hers. Their mouths danced in unison. Every inch of them touched. Her arms were around him, his circumventing her. He could feel her heart beating, his own thundering in his head. Knowing this was a different experience for him, Adam didn’t consider stopping. He deepened the kiss, his hands running long, slow strokes down her back, gathering her closer, caressing her, feeling her muscles contract and relax under his touch. It aroused him just to feel her, smell the exotic scent of her hair and body.
Suddenly he lifted his head, breaking contact as if they’d been forced to separate.
Adam wanted to hold her, to put her head on his shoulder and stand like this for the rest of the day. But logic caught up with him. He stepped back, putting some distance between them. He wasn’t sorry he’d kissed her. He’d wanted to kiss her since she came off the plane, looking tired and worn. She no longer looked like that. Her face was healthy, her eyes drowsy, and he could think of nothing other than the huge bed in the loft and carrying her up the stairs.
But this was wrong. She was the wrong woman.
The thought of taking a jacket occurred to Rosa when she left the house. After Adam’s exit, she couldn’t stay there. Her mind kept replaying the kiss, the feel of his arms around her, the imprint of his body aligned with hers. She got in the car and started driving. She would have gone to Vida’s, but her friend would have known something had changed and within minutes Rosa would have been pouring out all the details.
So she headed the car away from Adam and let the engine take her as far as it would go without leaving the state. She was in the mountains. The air was thin. She’d forgotten how far above sea level she was. Her lungs labored to maintain breath. Rosa stopped and looked out. The scenery was awesome. Dark mountains in the distance were as imposing in height as the Grand Canyon was in depth. Slipping out of the car, Rosa leaned against a boulder.
She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Instantly Adam’s image surfaced against her closed lids. She could see his face coming toward her, blurring as it lowered to kiss her. Her body went hot against the chill in the air. Her eyes flew open, and she pushed herself away from the rock. She swallowed to wet her throat and took several deep breaths.
Rosa remained there until she started to shiver. She walked back through the paths to the place she’d left the shiny new car. Starting the engine, she turned on the heater to dispel the coldness that seemed to seep into her bones. It was irresponsible to come out without a jacket and drive into the hills. Rosa hadn’t been thinking rationally at the time. She was running, getting away from Adam and the memory of the scene in her living room.
The Corvette drove like a dream. Being raised with older brothers had its rewards. They’d taught her about cars. The four-hundred-horsepower engine with 542 foot-pounds of torque purred with the smoothness of water running down a straight glass pane. Rosa sped along the road, the speedometer needle well past the limit. With the top down, the wind ripped her hair back from her face.
She gave it no thought. The radio blared a country-western song and she belted out the lyrics as if she were on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry.
She was almost home when she saw a truck parked along the side of the road. It had pulled over, too far over, she thought. In fact, the pitch of the truck must have been forty degrees off normal. She slowed down. Usually she would have passed it without a backward thought. She was a woman alone and while she could defend herself, there was no need courting danger. But this wasn’t one of the major crime capitals of the world. This was Waymon Valley where crime was low and people helped each other.
As she was passed the truck, she saw a man inside. He was slumped against the steering wheel. She recognized him. Stopping, Rosa jumped from the car, not bothering to stop the engine or close the door. She ran back to the truck and pulled at the door. It was locked. Tapping on the window, she called to the man inside. Slowly he raised his head. His body fell back against the seat as if it were a grocery bag shifting from a sud
den stop.
“Bailey,” she shouted. “Open the door.” His movements were sluggish, but he eventually touched the button and she heard the click as the locks released. Yanking the door outward, she touched his head and looked him over, trying to see if he had any visible injuries. “Are you all right?”
He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. A moment later he tried again, but the words came out garbled. She remembered quickly that Adam had told her he’d had a heart attack. And Bailey had said he had a bad ticker. He was having another one now. Rosa recognized it. Her mother had had a heart attack, too. Rosa hadn’t been in the room when it happened, but she knew the symptoms. Her mind raced as she tried to remember what to do. She had a brother and a sister-in-law who were doctors, but none of their medical training had rubbed off on her. What should I do? she asked herself. Then she remembered her sister-in-law Stephanie. Aspirin. Rachel had given her mother aspirin. Rosa didn’t have aspirin. She usually took Tylenol and she had none in the car.
“Medicine, Bailey?” She controlled her voice, forcing herself not to shout. “Do you have any medicine?”
He said nothing. She rifled through his pockets frantically, but came up empty.
She needed to get him to a hospital. And fast. Seconds could mean the difference between living and dying.
“Move over,” she ordered.
He didn’t budge. He couldn’t. She wasn’t going to be able to lift him or carry him or get him around to the other side of the truck. And she couldn’t get him out and into her car. Releasing his seat belt, she pushed him over as far as she could, then climbed into the driver’s seat, thankful that she was a skinny girl. Rosa turned the key. The engine groaned, but didn’t catch. She tried it again. This time it started, but the moment she moved the gearshift, it sputtered and stopped.
“Come on,” Rosa coaxed, trying to get the truck to start by the force of her will. She tried the key again. The motor roared loudly. Rosa tapped the accelerator several times, giving gas to the engine.
Gingerly putting the truck into gear, she pressed the accelerator. The tires spun on the unpaved surface; then suddenly the truck leapt forward.
Rosa quickly moved her foot from the gas pedal. She didn’t want the truck to die on her again. She followed the uneven ground until she got the four tires on paved road.
She could drive anything. Growing up with her brothers, she and her sister Luanne had learned a lot about driving. Rosa had tackled everything from a minibike and a tractor to a big rig. Rosa pulled out of the ditch and scuttled around her own car, then headed toward town as fast as she dared.
The truck needed overhauling. The engine chugged and Rosa couldn’t get much acceleration out of it. She pushed the pedal closer to the floor. The truck groaned in protest and she backed off. She couldn’t afford for the engine to cut out on her before she found the hospital.
Her mind raced to remember where she’d seen the sign with the huge white H on it. Where was the hospital?
Bailey groaned. Rosa wasn’t sure if that was due to the position he was in or if it was his heart. She spoke softly to him. “It’s going to be all right,” she said. “I’m getting help. Just hold on. We’ll be at the hospital in no time.” All the while she was praying the truck kept going.
She put a hand on his back and rubbed it soothingly while continuing to drive as fast as she could. Finally she saw the sign. Turning, she had to use both hands on the steering wheel of the big, unfamiliar truck. She pulled into the circular driveway below the lighted EMERGENCY ROOM sign. Jumping down, she rushed inside and yelled, “Heart attack! I need help.”
Within seconds the place was filled with people rushing toward the door. Rosa followed them. She pointed to the truck.
“Bailey Osborne,” she said. “He needs help. He’s having a heart attack.” She sucked in air as she spoke, giving each word a full breath. “I couldn’t give him anything. I didn’t know anything to give him. He had no medicine on him. I had no time to search the truck.”
“We’ll take care of him,” a nurse said. Her voice was soft and calm, although their feet sped across the ground to the truck. Rosa knew the tactic was to calm her down. She took a long breath.
They got him out of the truck and on to a gurney. Immediately, he was hurried away. Rosa started to follow. A nurse turned to her. “Park the truck,” she said.
It was the first time she’d thought of the vehicle. Rosa got back in the driver’s seat. She hadn’t turned the engine off. White smoke came from the exhaust system. The engine coughed. Biting her bottom lip, she eased it into gear, but it protested. It was hard to steer and as heavy as an eighteen-wheeler. Slowly it rolled into a parking space. Before she could turn the key, the engine died. Rosa gave it little thought. She left it, running back inside the sliding doors and searching for Bailey. Her head swung from right to left. She didn’t see him. At the desk, she asked, “Where is he?”
“Exam room one,” the nurse said.
Rosa turned to leave, but the nurse stopped her. “Do you need some information?” Rosa asked. “His name is Bailey Osborne and he lives at—”
The nurse stopped her. “We know who he is,” she said. “We have all his information.”
Rosa had forgotten how small this town was. Naturally, they would know who he was.
“You’re not a relative, are you?”
Rosa shook her head. She must be the only person in the Valley who didn’t know who Rosa was and why she was here.
“Could you tell us when this happened? The doctors will need as much information as possible.”
“I don’t know,” Rosa said. “His truck was parked along the side of the road, not far from his ranch. I stopped when I saw it and found him.”
“How long ago was that?”
“About ten minutes. When I didn’t find any medicine, I drove straight here. It was all I could think to do.”
“You did fine,” the nurse assured her. “He’s with the best doctors we have.”
“When can I see him?”
“The doctors will let you know. In the meantime, we need to get in touch with a relative. There’s a phone over there. You might want to call someone.” The nurse nodded at a few chairs that were placed against a wall outside the area.
The woman, who was a fortyish blonde with deep wrinkles in her face from years of too much sun, assumed Rosa knew the Osbornes well enough to know where to find Adam. Rosa knew nothing. She didn’t even have a phone number for the house. But she would start there.
She reached for her purse to get her cell phone and found the space on her shoulder empty. She’d forgotten it, left it in the car. When she saw Bailey, all other thoughts had gone out of her head. The pay phone stared at her. At least she didn’t need money to make a call.
Adam’s pickup skidded to a stop in front of the Corvette. Something was wrong. The door was open and the car was empty. Quickly he jumped down from his seat and strode back to the car. The engine was running. Rosa’s purse lay on the passenger seat, her cell phone next to it. Picking the phone up reminded him of his own. He’d run over it when he finally calmed down enough to return home. He’d been cursing himself for going mad this afternoon.
Now he was scared. Where was she? He looked around, scanning the land for Rosa. She was nowhere to be seen. His heart stopped, then beat faster.
“Rosa,” he called, hoping she was nearby. He couldn’t think of a reason she should leave the car running and her personal items behind. He looked around, calling her name louder. There was no response. A coldness ran through him.
“Where is she?” he muttered. There was nothing here but open range. He could see clear to the mountains, his view unobstructed.
Reaching down, he turned the car off and pulled the keys out. Gathering her personal items, he opened her phone and dialed Vida’s number. If anyone would know where she was, it was Vida. The phone was smaller than his hand.
“Vida,” he said when she answered.
“Adam, I
’m so glad you called. Rosa has been trying to find you.”
“I’m at her car. Where is she?”
“The hospital.”
“Hospital?” He stood up straighter, his throat closing, his body rigid as if it were waiting for a punch. “Is she all right?” His voice was tight.
“It’s not her,” Vida said. There was a long pause. “Adam, it’s Bailey.”
“Dad?”
“He’s had another heart attack. Rosa found him along the side of the road. She got him to the hospital. She’s been trying to find you for about an hour. I’ve been calling your cell phone, too.”
“It doesn’t work,” he shouted into the phone. As soon as Vida had said Bailey, Adam had climbed into the truck and turned it around.
“I’m on my way.” He clicked the phone shut and spun the tires as he burned up the road leading to the Valley’s only hospital.
In one fluid motion, as Adam pulled into the hospital lot, he was out of the truck and running toward the door. Rosa hung up the pay phone as she saw him come inside. She ran toward him. Adam grabbed her and pulled her against him. “Is he all right?”
“I don’t know,” she told him. “They haven’t let me see him since we arrived.”
Taking her hand, he went to the desk and spoke to the nurse. He had to leave Rosa behind when he went to ICU to see his father. Bailey lay pale and small in the bed. He was asleep and Adam was only allowed to stay ten minutes. Adam said nothing, knowing his dad needed to rest. They’d run the scenario before. Bailey had to take better care of himself. Anger leaked into Adam’s thoughts, but he pushed it aside. There was plenty of time later to discuss Bailey’s regiment of needs.
Returning to the waiting room, he looked for Rosa. She was gone.
Don’t panic, Rosa told herself as she walked. Her shoes were flat and she was wearing pants. She was thankful she’d donned them this morning instead of the heels and skirts she wore to the point of them being a uniform. Darkness had fallen. That big sky was filled with stars, but no moon, and frankly at this point, it was scary. The beauty of it escaped her. She knew where she was. At least she thought she knew, but she’d just as soon have a bright light to steer her.
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