Love in Season

by Thibodeaux, Pamela S. ;

  Paul patted her shoulder, but refrained from comment. He didn’t want to lay blame for something that was clearly not Norma’s fault, but in his present state of mind, doubted he could say anything that wouldn’t add to her guilt, much less relieve it. Walking back to the cubicle, he stood just inside the curtain and watched while the doctors and nurses worked on his mother, taking vital signs, drawing blood, hooking up IVs.

  Oh, God, I’m not ready to let her go, yet. Please don’t make me.

  When she stirred and mumbled his name, Paul moved in closer and took her hand. “I’m here, Mom. I’m here. Hang on.”

  The minutes dragged by at an agonizing pace. Paul prayed with each tick of the clock. He had no idea whether it was moments or an eternity later, but was by her side the moment Rosalie opened her eyes, more alert than she’d been since the whole ordeal began.

  “Paul? What are you doing here? It’s not Sunday, is it?”

  His hands shook when he brushed the hair back off her face. “No, Mom. It’s not Sunday. It’s Friday evening. How are you feeling?”

  “Tired,” she sighed, closing her eyes. They flew open, instantly aware. “Where am I? What’s going on?”

  “You’re in the emergency room, Mom. Your blood sugar dropped to dangerous levels. Why didn’t you tell me you were diabetic?”

  Her eyes narrowed, cheeks flushed. “Because I am not a diabetic; I keep telling that woman Jesus has healed me, but she won’t believe me. Just keeps giving me those shots. You have to make her stop, Paul. I don’t need them anymore.”

  Paul frowned, but refrained from questioning her further when she closed her eyes once more. “I’ll talk to her,” he promised. “You rest now.”

  He was sitting by the bed with her hand in his when he felt another on his shoulder and heard his name spoken in a soft voice. Not until that moment did he remember Jessica was in the waiting room. He turned, rising as he did so, and bumped right into her. He gasped, the shock of contact searing the greeting from his tongue.

  “How is she?” Jessica whispered, stepping back.

  “She’s OK, doing better. I am so sorry. I forgot about you being here. Let me call you a cab or…” His words trailed off when she placed a finger on his lips.

  “It’s OK. Don’t fret over it. Are they going to admit her or what?”

  Paul shook his head. “I don’t know yet.”

  “Can I get you something, coffee or juice?”

  Again he shook his head. “No. Thank you.”

  “Well, hello, Dear.” His mother’s voice stopped further conversation. She held out a hand to Jessica. “It’s so nice of you to come,” she continued, when Jessica took it. “Did you two come together?”

  “Yes, Ma’am, how are you feeling?”

  “Oh, I’m so glad! I knew you were special the first time I saw you. You two go on now, and continue your date, I’ll be fine.”

  Paul chuckled as color infused Jessica’s cheeks. “It wasn’t a date Mom, it was a business meeting.”

  “Oh, pooh,” she said, waving a hand at him. “I know the flush of love when I see it, and it’s written all over her face.”

  Paul shook his head. “More like embarrassment,” he argued. “Besides, we hardly know each other.”

  “That’s nonsense,” his mother insisted. “I fell in love with your father the moment I laid eyes on him, and he, me. All this malarkey about finding your soul mate is ridiculous, you know your soul mate the minute you lay eyes on them. Now, go,” she commanded, closing her eyes to signify the end of the conversation.

  Paul brushed his lips over her cheek, took Jessica gently by the arm and escorted her out of the room. “I’m sorry; she always seems to put you on the spot.”

  “It’s OK,” Jessica assured. “I wish I had a mother to fuss over me like that,” she admitted, her tone wistful.

  Paul knew from his research that Jessica’s mother had died when she was thirteen, after which various housekeepers and nannies raised her. Her father, a busy politician, reportedly loved her but was unable to devote the time necessary to nurture a teenage daughter. He smiled. “Would you like for me to call you a cab?”

  Jessica hesitated in answering. The last thing she wanted was to spend the evening with just her characters for company. What she really wanted was to hang around and see how his mother fared. But how could she tell him that? Before she had a chance to worry over the words, a physician approached them.

  “Mr. Seville?” he queried, offering Paul his hand.

  “Yes,” Paul said, shaking it.

  “I’m Dr. Edwards. I’ll be keeping an eye on your mother this evening. I’m sure you have a lot of questions, so I’ll do my best to answer them. Your mother was on the verge of a diabetic coma, which resulted from low blood sugar. We’ve got it up now, and she’s stable,” he assured. “But I’d like to keep her overnight and run a few tests.”

  “What kind of tests?”

  “Well, the comprehensive blood glucose tests we’ve run shows her sugar levels have been on the low end of normal for three months, which is the goal of diabetics. However, in her ramblings both in the ambulance and here, she said she was healed. I’d like to run blood glucose tests throughout the evening and night, periodically and after she eats, as well as another comprehensive or two.” He took a deep breath, and continued when Paul didn’t question him.

  “If her levels stay low, I’m going to recommend no more insulin injections. I will, however, prescribe a fast acting shot for the instance that it is high and remains high for any length of time. She should be able to go home tomorrow, but her blood sugar levels will have to be checked at least three times a day for a while.”

  “That’s no problem,” Paul assured. “We already employ a home health nurse.”

  Dr. Edwards nodded in approval. “Good. If they go up and stay up, she’ll need to see her regular doctor as soon as possible. I’m going to fax these reports over to him on Monday. Other than that, she should be fine.”

  “Thank you,” Paul said, shaking the doctor’s hand again. He turned to Jessica when the doctor entered his mother’s room. “The offer of a cab is still open, unless you’d rather have dinner.”

  She smiled. “I’d love to. But no talking business,” she insisted.

  “You’ve got a deal,” he promised.

  His grin, charming, boyish, lethal touched her like no other had. Her heart made a slow swirl into her stomach, executed a happy little flip and settled there.

  ****

  Saturday morning found Paul pacing the corridor outside his mother’s hospital room instead of enjoying his normal morning run. It had not been a peaceful night with nurses in and out of his mother’s room, checking her vital signs and drawing blood. Now, he was anxious to get home, take a run, get a shower, and then call Jessica. To report his mother’s progress, of course.

  Paul chuckled to himself at the lie, hoping she’d requested the call for the same reasons he wanted to make it. Dinner last night had been sweet, slightly romantic, and not at all awkward. His heart stuttered as it had each time he thought about her—which was nearly every moment since they met. Everything about the woman touched something deep inside, and he wondered if she was what his heart was searching for. His soul mate. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and felt the truth all the way to his toes. Never one for the fanciful, but rather always practical, he wondered how he’d fallen so deeply so fast. The revelation that he loved her incited more primitive emotions and brought to light unanswered questions.

  Though, as promised, they hadn’t talked business last night, uncertainty plagued him now; he wanted to know who Jasper Tanner was and what kind of hold he had over Jessica.

  Hearing footsteps and his name called, Paul turned and waited as Norma approached.

  “How is she?” Norma asked.

  “She’s fine,” Paul answered. “The doctor only kept her overnight to run some tests. She should go home sometime today.”

  “What kind of tests
?”

  “Well, seems he took her ramblings about being healed seriously. He decided to run periodic glucose tests throughout the evening and night.”

  “What did they show?”

  Before Paul could answer, Dr. Edwards approached them. “Well, she shows no signs of being diabetic,” he assured Paul. “We’ll watch her throughout the day, but I’m sure everything will remain the same. She’ll be released this afternoon.”

  Paul thanked him again then turned to Norma, his brow arched in expectation.

  “Oh, Paul, I’m so sorry. I’ve been a nurse for over twenty years and never heard of such a thing.”

  “She’s been a Christian for over forty years,” Paul countered.

  Norma drew herself to her full five-feet-six-inch height. “Do you want me to recommend another nurse?”

  Paul saw the fear in her eyes and shook his head. “No, Norma. I don’t want another nurse. I do want you to promise to take her seriously if she ever starts talking like this again, though.”

  “You can be assured I will. I mean, I’ve heard of miracle healings, but never dreamed I’d witness one.”

  “Is checking on her three times a day going to be a problem for you?” Paul asked.

  “Not a bit,” Norma assured. “Do you mind if I visit with her now?”

  Paul shook his head. “No. I need to run home anyway.” He opened the door to the hospital room. “Mom, look who’s here to see you.” Stepping back, he allowed Norma to enter first.

  “Hi, Rosalie, I hear you’ve received a miracle!”

  His mother beamed in response, her smile glowing. Paul took her hand in his then kissed her cheek. “I need to go home for a while, Mom. I’ll see you later.”

  “Get some rest,” she ordered. “And bring that pretty writer back with you this afternoon. I’d like to get to know her better.”

  Paul chuckled at the command, “Me too, Mom, me too.”

  Three hours later he slammed down the phone with disgust. He’d been unable to reach Jessica all morning. Frustrated at the lack of progress in getting answers to his questions about Jasper Tanner, he’d searched the Internet, but found nothing substantial.

  Deciding it could wait until he saw her again, he left his apartment with the intent to return to the hospital to await his mother’s release. He arrived to find her and Jessica laughing over a story his mother had read in the latest anthology she’d purchased.

  “Oh, Paul, look who’s come to visit,” she exclaimed, reaching for his hand and lifting her cheek for his kiss.

  “I see,” Paul remarked, obliging. “No wonder I couldn’t reach you,” he added, nodding at Jessica. “I figured you’d be pounding away on the keyboard.”

  “Couldn’t concentrate,” Jessica told him.

  “Makes two of us,” Paul admitted, feeling like a teenager in the throes of his first crush.

  “Why don’t you two go have lunch somewhere?” his mother suggested. “I’m kind of tired.”

  Paul chuckled. “You shouldn’t be so subtle, Mother.”

  She flushed. “And you shouldn’t be so uppity, young man. I’m not too old or too feeble to take you to task,” she warned. “Besides, I’m just trying to be mindful of the fact that your business meeting was interrupted yesterday, and so I’m offering you the chance to continue it.”

  This time Paul did more than chuckle he doubled over with mirth. “Right,” he breathed, wiping tears of hilarity off his cheeks. “And I’m the Pope.”

  “You see what I have to put up with?” she exclaimed, and turned an imploring gaze at Jessica, “An ungrateful and disrespectful son.”

  “You should be ashamed of yourself,” Jessica chided Paul.

  Though she tried to tease, Paul heard the sharp stab of longing in her voice. “Scold me over lunch,” he remarked, and held a hand out to her. She hesitated but a moment before taking it.

  “Where are we going?” Jessica asked moments later when he pushed the button for the elevator.

  “Out,” he said. “The cafeteria’s atmosphere is about as good for conducting business as its fare.”

  Before she could respond, the elevator doors swooshed open. Paul was thrilled to find they were alone. It took every ounce of self-control he possessed not to push the emergency stop button and corner her in the tiny booth. When the doors opened to let them out into the covered parking garage, he wondered why he’d hesitated. Keeping her hand firmly in his, he led her over to his car.

  Fishing in his pocket for his keys, he pressed the remote button and unlocked the car. When he stepped back to open the door, his body brushed hers just lightly enough to send lightening sparks of desire shooting through his entire system, galvanizing him in their wake.

  “One kiss,” he murmured, and cupped her face in his hand while lowering his lips to hers in a thorough caress. By the time he regained his senses, she was plastered against him, her hands fisted in his hair, his arm like a steel manacle around her waist.

  Parting was actually painful.

  When he released her, Jessica leaned against the sleek BMW for support. He stepped back, her cheek still cupped in one hand, her waist in the other. A myriad of emotions glittered in his dark gaze. Her finger on his lips stopped the apology hovering there.

  “Don’t,” she said, with a slight shake of her head. “That’s the kind of kiss I’ve searched for my entire life,” she admitted, her voice whisper soft and filled with awe. Something in her words must have struck a chord. Paul stiffened, took another step back, his hand dropping from her waist then face.

  “Really?” he queried. She nodded. “Then who the heck is Jasper Tanner and what does he want?”

  Jessica fought the tremble of fear, which threatened to weaken her already shaky legs. The time had come for truth. She laid her hand against his cheek, thrilled when he didn’t pull away. “Take me someplace quiet, where we can talk, and I’ll tell you a story.”

  Paul guided her onto the passenger seat, closed the car door then walked around to the driver’s side and climbed in beside her. The engine purred to life with a single stroke of the ignition.

  A heavy silence accompanied them on the drive, followed them into the restaurant and hung over their table like a nasty cloud: Thick, odorless, deadly. Jessica waited until Paul had ordered the wine before deigning to speak. She studied him a moment, the strands of silver slipping like wisps of smoke through his dark hair, the brooding midnight eyes, and the sensual mouth. She could all but feel his impatience, tightly leashed, and smiled.

  “Once upon a time there was a lonely princess...” She let her words trail off when his eyebrow shot up in surprise.

  “A princess?”

  “It’s my story, I’ll tell it as I please.”

  Paul nodded, took a sip of his wine and sat back in his chair. Jessica knew there were no pretty words to dress up this story; best to just get it out in the open. She opened her mouth, but Paul’s cell phone chimed.

  “I’m sorry,” he said as he reached for the phone. “I have to take this; I’m waiting for a call from a judge.”

  It wasn’t the judge. Though static muffled the caller’s voice, Paul understood the word ‘wife.’ He moved the phone to his other ear and tried to listen to the caller’s mumbling.

  “I’m sorry, you’re breaking up. What did you say?”

  “I said, stay away from my wife,” the voice answered.

  “Who is this?”

  “You know who this is. Consider yourself warned,” the caller insisted before he hung up.

  Paul shook his head, and frowned. He checked the caller ID, but the caller had blocked the information. He turned his attention back to Jessica, “Must have been a wrong number. Some nut telling me to stay away from his wife. I’m sorry, go back to what you were telling me.”

  “Jasper Tanner is my husband.”

  The whispered admission got his full attention; he nearly choked on his wine.

  “What did you just say?”

  “Call it child
hood folly, teenage madness, a huge mistake and a total disaster.”

  “After that kiss we shared and what you said, I’d call it adultery.”

  He watched emotions flicker over her face. Her hand trembled when she took a sip of wine. “Will you sit in judgment, Paul over a slip of sanity on the part of a fifteen-year-old, or would you rather hear the whole story first?”

  He had hurt her. He could see that, and it bothered him, but he couldn’t help it. She’d lied to him, and the betrayal tore him up inside.

  ****

  Noxious silence followed them back to the hospital. Jessica wanted to know his thoughts but was too afraid to ask. Ridicule and judgment she’d endured in spades since that fateful day when a lonely girl ran off with the one she thought to be her knight in shining armor. The woman in her mourned the destruction of that fantasy, while the girl in her still searched for her hero, the one man who would love her and fulfill those youthful dreams of happy-ever-after. He would have to be a strong man, her hero, one who could stand up to Jasper and put an end to his mischief and vengeful attempts to humiliate, disgrace and discredit her since the dissolution of their marriage. She remembered the pleasure, the total abandonment she felt in Paul’s arms less than two hours ago and wondered if he were the champion of her dreams. He was certainly strong enough, intelligent enough, and handsome to enough. Hope flared in her spirit, curled around her dreams, and slipped through the doubts in her mind. Her heart did a little happy dance then settled like dead weight in her stomach. Paul was everything she’d ever wanted in a man, but would he take on the challenge her shattered dreams presented?

  Arriving in the parking garage, he escorted her to her car, and promised to give her a call soon, but she wasn’t sure he would.

  ****

  Paul’s mind whirled at what all Jessica had revealed to him. Although he’d never spoken to the man, there was no doubt in his mind that the phone call he received came from Jasper Tanner. The memory of her reaction to Tanner at the bookstore and church led credence to her claims of harassment and stalking. Determination replaced the anger and betrayal he initially felt and he vowed to get to the bottom of the situation and see what he could do to free her from Jasper’s clutches for good.