Reclaiming His Legacy

by Dani Wade

  She doubted Blake could say the same.

  This time she placed her hand over the phone as he reached for it. “Blake.”

  “What?” he asked, the word sounding short and clipped. He never lifted his eyes from the phone.

  “Do you know which hospital?”

  That had him glancing up. He gave a short shake of his head.

  “When you do, do you know how to get there in the quickest way possible?”

  “No,” he admitted through clenched teeth.

  “Then why don’t you find out while I get some clothes on?”

  She could actually see the gears start to turn before he gave a quick nod. Madison left him to his phone while she ran upstairs. A quick splash of water on the face was all she dared take the time for, then clean clothes and a ponytail holder she would put her hair in on the way. To her surprise, he was still in the kitchen when she ran in with her tennis shoes in her hand.

  “She’s at Children’s Hospital. Her doctor was already there.”

  Madison paused for a mere second, then forced herself to finish putting on her shoes. “Let’s go.”

  As much as it hurt, she wasn’t surprised when he started to argue on the way to the car. “Just tell me the shortcuts. I’ll get myself there.”

  “And get in a wreck because you’re upset behind the wheel.”

  “I’m perfectly capable of driving right now.”

  Madison glided around the car until she reached the passenger door, then swung around to face him. “But you are upset, right? Shaken, maybe? In need of a friend?” She grimaced, feeling her anger slip the bounds of her control. “If you don’t actually consider me as one, I get it. But I still feel some responsibility to fill that role, since ten minutes ago we were still having sex on my countertop.”

  Without waiting for an answer, she gave the car hood a quick slap, then slid around the door and into the seat. As she buckled her belt, she called herself every kind of fool. Blake still stood beside the car. Had all of this been just about the sex? If she got any more mixed signals, she wouldn’t know which way was up.

  Maybe he didn’t, either.

  Madison tried to hold onto that thought while dragging in a deep breath. For a moment, surprise streaked through her. She’d dealt with any number of medical emergencies in her lifetime...none of which had caused her to lose her cool. Of course, she was usually the person in charge. Not simply along for the ride.

  Still, she shouldn’t have struck out at him like that.

  Thirty seconds later, he slid into the driver’s seat. “I’m sorry, Madison—” he started.

  “Don’t be. Let’s just go.”

  Maybe that wasn’t the way to handle this. But she just couldn’t go through with helping him if he actually said again out loud that he didn’t want her.

  She wanted to be a good person who would help him regardless. But she couldn’t. Better to just do her part, then deal with the fallout later. After she’d had time to process her own emotions over sleeping with him, then discovering he had a whole family she wasn’t aware of. And what man his age had siblings young enough to be treated at Children’s Hospital? Was this child really a sister? Or something else?

  Madison quickly cut off that line of thinking. She was here. She needed to focus on the job at hand. Speculation would get her nothing but upset.

  Madison directed him toward the least busy streets she could think of at this time of the morning. The only saving grace was the absence of school traffic. She watched him closely for any signs that he wasn’t in control, but those few moments by himself outside of the car seemed to have calmed him.

  She only wished she could get all of her suspicions under control just as easily.

  * * *

  Blake locked down his emotions as tightly as he could, just as tightly as he held the steering wheel. He executed the turns with precision, utilizing every ounce of experience he’d gotten on the autobahn, to maneuver the vehicle without slowing down.

  “Call Father’s housekeeper,” he said, not daring to take his eyes off the road. His phone automatically rang the number, which went straight to voice mail.

  Blake wanted to hit something, but he refused to slow down long enough to do so. To his surprise, Madison didn’t complain. No gasps, no quick grabs for the door handle. She was just a solid, quiet presence in the car who gave the occasional direction to turn.

  “Call Father’s housekeeper.”

  When this call also went to voice mail, he let out a string of expletives that would’ve had a sailor blushing. Still, Madison remained silent.

  “Where is she?” he growled.

  Madison pointed out the entryway for the parking deck, and Blake pulled squarely into the valet spot.

  Madison waved him through to the ER entrance while she paused next to the valet podium.

  Blake felt a flash of gratitude, tossed her the keys, then stepped up his pace to get to the ER desk.

  “I need to see my sister. Abigail Boudreaux,” he told the nurse at the desk.

  A part of him was surprised by the shaky, out-of-breath quality of his voice. This wasn’t a Blake that he knew. But he didn’t have time to think about that right now. The nurse nodded and calmly asked to see his ID. Her entire demeanor was a counterpoint to his.

  Madison arrived as the nurse clicked away on the computer.

  “Blake?” she asked. “Isn’t there a parent you can call?”

  “Good luck getting through to him,” Blake murmured. Luckily the nurse looked up before he had to explain his words.

  “Sir, I’m afraid I can’t help you.”

  Blake froze. “What do you mean you can’t help me? I know my sister was brought here.”

  Madison tugged at his shirtsleeve, but he ignored her. He focused entirely on the nurse, the person who would get him to his sister the fastest. “I want to see my sister. Abigail Boudreaux.”

  “I’m afraid I can’t help you, sir.”

  For a moment, Blake was almost certain he was going to climb across the counter. What the hell was going on with him? All he knew was he had to make sure his sister was okay.

  Just as Blake opened his mouth to start yelling, Madison intervened. “Blake.” Her tone was firm and hard enough to catch his attention. He turned her way.

  “Blake,” she said in a softer voice. “Let me speak to you for a moment, please.”

  He gave the nurse a hard stare before following Madison over to the side. “I don’t have time for this. I need to see my sister.”

  “I realize that,” Madison said. “The thing is, if you’re not listed specifically as someone who should be told she’s here, they can’t tell you her information. They can’t let you up to see her.”

  “What?”

  “It’s considered an invasion of privacy and it’s against federal regulations. Why don’t you try the housekeeper again? Or maybe your father? Your mother?”

  He ignored the question implied in her words, and tried to dial Sherry again. The call went straight to voice mail.

  Blake felt scattered, like his racing heartbeat was pulling him away from information that was very important but he couldn’t focus on. Instead he did the only other thing he knew: he dialed his father again.

  “Yes?”

  The calm sound of his father’s voice only raised his irritation even higher. “Where is Abigail? Are you here at the hospital?”

  “Hospital? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “The housekeeper called me. Abigail had to be taken to the emergency room but they won’t let me see her.”

  “Well, why would we list you as family? Until recently, I hadn’t seen you in nearly twenty years. But I guess that’s what the message on my phone is for. I haven’t had a chance to listen to it yet.”

  “She called me almost two hou
rs ago. How come you’re not down here?”

  “I’m in New York. Besides, it’s probably just a fake episode to get attention.”

  “Abigail’s epilepsy is not fake.”

  Blake knew he was yelling at this point but couldn’t control himself. Beside him he sensed Madison shift on her feet. Then a warm weight settled at the small of his back. In all the chaos that raced through his mind and his body, that warm contact became a focal point. Her touch sent a wave of peace over him.

  His father was in New York. He wasn’t here—not that he would care if he was. Instead of trying to understand that, Blake just hung up the phone. He stared at it in his hand for a moment, wondering if throwing it across the room would make him feel any better. Except it was the only way he could find out any information about Abigail.

  “What do I do?” he moaned, bending over to press his palms against his knees. How did he find his baby sister?

  “Blake.”

  The softly spoken word brought his attention back to his surroundings. Blake straightened up, drew in a hard breath, then looked at her. “I need to find her, Madison.”

  “I know. Let me help you.”

  Just as she had been since they’d gotten in the car. Her words centered him, just like her touch had. “I don’t know what to do.”

  “What kind of episode did your sister have?”

  “She has epilepsy. All the housekeeper said was that she was unresponsive this morning. Maybe some kind of seizure?”

  Maddie nodded. Her hand ran down his arm, only stopping when she reached his hand and curled her fingers around his. “Come with me.”

  As she headed out the door of the emergency room, he glanced back at the nurse at the desk who watched them walk away. “Wait a minute,” he said. “Where are we going?”

  Madison paused once they reached the other side of the automatic doors. Then she looked up at him. “I know of another waiting room for pediatrics that might be helpful. Let’s go in the front of the hospital and see if we can possibly find the housekeeper there. That’ll be the quickest way,” she said, “even though it doesn’t seem like it. Badgering the nurse will get us nowhere. I know—I have plenty of experience.”

  He walked with her along the sidewalks outside the huge buildings. Impatience bubbled up inside of him, but there were no other options for him at this moment. “How do you know this?” he asked.

  “The staff at Maison de Jardin sometimes has to come to the hospital to help residents who’ve been injured, whose spouses have abused them. And their children.” She tossed him a quick glance. “I’ve been here quite a few times.”

  She maintained a quick pace, not letting her shorter stature keep her from matching his longer strides. “Plus some of our residents actually come to work here.”

  Blake paused a step. “Can’t you ask one of them to help us?”

  “Unfortunately no. I can’t ask them to risk their jobs when they’ve worked so hard to get into a better place.”

  As much as the logic made sense, Blake could only see as far as his needs in this moment.

  Madison led him in the front door proper and took him around to a large bank of elevators. No sooner were they in one than she hit the button for the third floor.

  “Has your...sister...always had epilepsy?”

  There it was, the guilt that he couldn’t figure out how to shake. “I don’t know. I know this particular diagnosis is recent, but I’m not sure how long her symptoms have been occurring.”

  He shifted on his feet, uncomfortable with the knowledge that he had no idea what was happening, he had no control over the situation, and if he ever found that blasted diamond, he would find himself completely responsible for a child with an illness that could land her in the hospital. What the hell was he even doing here?

  They came out of the elevator to a long hallway. Madison rushed down until it opened into a nurses station. “Tamika,” she exclaimed. “I wasn’t sure if you were working today.”

  Blake paused behind her as the young black woman in scrubs gave him a good eyeing.

  He simply stared back.

  “What are you doing here, Madison?” she asked.

  “We’re looking for... Blake’s sister. I was just going to take him across to the waiting room.”

  Hearing her words, Blake turned abruptly and saw a waiting room behind them. He strode across the hall into the doorway.

  “Mr. Boudreaux!”

  Blake was so relieved to see Sherry rising from one of the chairs that he thought he might melt into a puddle. “Where is she?” he asked, rushing over to help her. “Is she okay?”

  “Oh, Mr. Boudreaux. They haven’t come to tell me anything.” Tears overflowed the woman’s eyes to trickle down her cheeks. “I can’t imagine that little poppet all alone.”

  So he was one step closer but still knew nothing. Soon Blake found himself with an armful of weeping housekeeper, and his fear for his sister was even higher than ever.

  Nine

  “Is that really him?” Tamika asked, straining her neck to see behind Madison into the waiting room.

  “Stop it.” Madison wasn’t sure how she felt about Blake in this moment, but she certainly didn’t feel comfortable with her friend ogling him. She drew in a calming breath, only to wince at the antiseptic scent of the hospital halls. “We’re just trying to find out where the little girl is. The housekeeper brought her in. All I know is that it has something to do with her epilepsy.”

  “Why would a housekeeper bring her in? Where are the parents?” Tamika asked, bracing her hands on her hips. Tamika’s passion lay in caring for the children on this floor—and making sure none of them were mistreated.

  Madison shook her head. “Blake tried to call someone while we were downstairs. I guess his father? I’m really not sure. It sounded like he might be out of town.”

  “How could he not have any information about his child? Are you sure this little girl is his sister?”

  Madison did not want to go there. “I’ve been told very little.”

  Tamika looked sideways at her for a moment, confirming Madison’s own fears.

  “That’s all I know. He tried to call the housekeeper and couldn’t get her on the phone.”

  “Cell reception up here is terrible,” Tamika said. “Her phone probably wouldn’t work in that waiting room.”

  “That’s what it sounds like.” Madison glanced over her shoulder to see Blake holding a woman wearing a maid’s uniform in his arms. “But I’m guessing he’s found her now.”

  Her friend grumbled beneath her breath as she watched them. Then Madison and Tamika shared a glance. Madison felt awkward. She’d done what she told Blake she would. Should she join him now? The housekeeper appeared to be crying, definitely distraught. Should she offer some kind of help?

  “I don’t know what to do,” Madison said. About any of it, but she didn’t say that part out loud. She guessed maybe she could have gone online and looked into his family, but the excruciating effect of the gossip surrounding her friend Trinity had left a bad taste in her mouth. Besides, she hadn’t wanted anything else to mess with her self-esteem. Guess she’d shot herself in the foot there?

  “Should I go in there? Should I ask if I can help?”

  “Girl, I’d help him all day long,” Tamika teased with a saucy wink. “He’s very pretty. Even prettier in person than he was online.”

  “Tamika!”

  “Well, he is.” She offered her typical shrug when she was misbehaving, then glanced over her monitors for a moment.

  “Don’t you have a job to do?”

  “Not at the moment. All’s quiet.”

  “We need to find you a boyfriend,” Madison grumbled. Then maybe she would stay out of Madison’s love life.

  “Well, if Blake has any friends...”

  She’d wa
lked right into that one. She gave her friend a quelling look. “I’m serious, Tamika. I had no idea he even had a sister. He hasn’t spoken much about his family.”

  “What do you talk about?”

  At first Madison thought she was being facetious again, but then realized her friend was serious. “We’ve talked about my family, the house, my job.”

  “But he’s giving no information about himself?” She shook her head. “Girl, you’d better be careful.”

  Madison knew that. She just didn’t know if she was in a position to be careful anymore. Blake’s possession of her body had sealed what her spirit already knew. But was he on the same page?

  He’d said he wanted to be with her. But he hadn’t really shared himself with her, had he? Other than his art, and hints that his childhood had been quite bad, he hadn’t really shared much. It was all about the present...and her. Looking back, that didn’t seem right.

  “I recognize that expression,” Tamika said. “I see more cookies in our future.”

  Madison arched an eyebrow at her friend but was afraid Tamika wasn’t far from right. “Any requests?”

  “You know I’m good with any chocolate, and I’ve got finals coming up.”

  “I’m glad my pain can feed your success.” Madison could already feel the depression sinking in. She should have known that last night was too good to be true.

  “I hope not,” Tamika said, a frown between her brows. “I know I tease you a lot, but you’re the last person who deserves any more grief.”

  Madison wished she could hug her friend, but the nurses station desk between them prevented that. “Thank you, Tamika.”

  “My pleasure.”

  Then a patient pressed a call button in one of the rooms and Tamika went to answer it. Madison stared after her friend for long moments. She’d been so blessed in her life. Yes, she’d lost both her parents. But they’d been a blessing to her while they’d been alive. And her friends, they helped keep her going. She drew in a deep, long breath. She could only do what she knew, which was to help people, including Blake. That was what she would do for now. The rest could be worried about later. She turned back toward the waiting room, only to find it empty.