Her neck snapped forward, then back, hitting the headrest hard. The air bag deployed with a deafening pop, pinning her against the seat. Her chest burned.
Tiny dots of silver light floated before her eyes. Her world grew dim then faded into blackness.
Chapter Eleven
“Are you all right, ma'am? Tell me your name,” a man was saying.
She opened her eyes to a uniformed officer standing next to her. Joe? But his face was fuzzy and just out of view. Trying to shift enough so she could see his face, she felt a stabbing pain behind her eyes. Her car door was open and the moon was low in the sky.
The deputy moved aside as a fireman bent down to look at her. She got a better look at the deputy next to him, but it wasn't Joe.
“Can you tell me your name?” the fireman said again.
“Renee Wright.” Her voice was hoarse.
“Let's get you out of here, Renee. Does anything hurt?”
“My neck and my head.” A sharp pinch gripped her back.
“Can you feel your arms and legs?”
She wiggled her toes and moved her fingers. “Yes. They're fine.”
Another fireman came over, reached around her and fastened a cervical collar around her neck. Then two paramedics placed a flat white board with black straps on the ground next to the car. They helped her out of the car, guiding her down onto the board, fastening straps around her chest, waist, legs and ankles.
Then they lifted her onto a waiting stretcher. Her neck ached and her head felt as if she'd been hit with a hammer. All the men were soaked from the rain.
An ambulance was parked nearby, its back doors open and ready like the gaping mouth of a monster full of lights and gadgets. The paramedics loaded her into it and drove her to the hospital. Hours later, she was released to her parents with a neck brace and instructions for her care.
A nurse handed her a list of local orthopedic doctors.
Her father took the paper, wadded it into a ball and threw it in a trashcan. “You'll see one of the guys we use at the office, honey. I'll have my secretary get you an appointment first thing in the morning.” He took her arm and helped her into the backseat of the SUV.
Her mother looked perfect as ever in a pink polo shirt and Bill Blass jeans with a pink and white grosgrain ribbon belt. “Let's take her to the house, Luther. That way I can take care of her. She shouldn't be alone.”
“No, I'm okay. I want to go to my own apartment and sleep in my own bed,” she protested.
“Pumpkin, be realistic here. You're hurt. Whiplash can make even the simplest things much more difficult to do. Believe me, I have lots of experience with this stuff.” He buckled her in then climbed into the front passenger seat.
Her mother steered out of the lot. “You don't even have any transportation. I think your car is totaled.”
Damn it. What was she going to do? She'd have to take time off work to buy a new car. The last time she'd renewed her auto insurance, she'd increased the deductible to lower the premium. That was a great idea. Now she'd have to come up with a thousand dollars just for the deductible. Plus, they'd probably give her less than her car was worth. Yes, this was going to really suck.
Her dad looked over his shoulder at her. “Honey, this is going to cost more than I think you can afford. I'll help you find a car and give you the down payment.”
Tears burned her eyes. “Thank you, Daddy. But I think I should do this on my own.” She’d gotten herself into this mess and she should get herself out. Come to think of it, she was in a lot of messes.
“Renee, honey, there's no need to be stubborn. You're already in debt up to your eyeballs. Your father and I only want to help. So does Cleave. I called him to let him know what's happened. He's meeting us at the house.”
“Mama, why did you do that?” She slowly turned her head to look out the window. Raindrops blurred the streetlights. She didn't want Cleave there. She didn't even want to be there herself. “I need to take care of Apple. Can't you please take me home?”
“Apple will be fine for one night. We'll go and bring her to the house tomorrow,” her mother said.
“I don't plan to stay more than one night.”
“You may not have a choice.” Her mother switched off the radio. “I'll have to take you to the doctor. What if you have another appointment the next day?”
“I'll go look for a car after my appointment.” She folded her arms, pouting.
Her father laughed. “You used to make that face when you were a little girl.”
“You both bring out the helpless child in me.”
They pulled up in front of the house. Cleave was waiting, leaning against his BMW in the drizzle. He hurried over to help her out of the Escalade the second it stopped. “Are you all right, honey? I was scared to death. What happened?” He led her to the door under a big black umbrella.
“I don't know. I guess I took a turn too fast.”
“I wish you'd have stayed with me.”
Elizabeth shot him a disapproving look he ignored. He lowered his voice. “Sorry. Do you want to go back to my house?”
“No. I'll stay here for the night.”
“Luther says your car is totaled. I'll arrange for a rental in the morning. I'll have them bring it here.”
“Will they do that?” She let Cleave help her into the living room.
“Sure they will. You don't need to rush into a new car.”
“That would be a big help. Thank you.”
They followed her mother to Renee's old bedroom, which still looked just as it had when she was in college. Her University of Florida Gators pennant hung on the wall along with her National Honor Society medal from high school and a poster of Denzel Washington she used to stare at for hours.
A collection of nesting dolls lined the shelves over the whitewashed wood desk. The bed had a floral print bedspread that matched the curtains. Suddenly, she was glad to be there. She eased her sore body onto the bed.
“I'll be downstairs. If you need anything, call me.” Elizabeth left the room, leaving the door open, as she had when Renee was a teenager in her room with a boy.
“Some things never change.” Renee smiled.
“The room?” He sat down next to her.
“No, my Mama.”
“I guess I should let you get some sleep. Please consider my offer. I'd love to have you at my house. The housekeeper will be there tomorrow, so you won't be alone during the day.”
“Thanks, but I have to go to the doctor in the morning. Then I'll need to go home to take care of Apple.”
“Why don't you bring her to my house?”
Nice try. “Because your dog would eat her.” She patted his knee. “You're wonderful. I appreciate all you're doing. But I'll be fine.”
“I can take a hint. I'll call you tomorrow. Sleep tight.” He kissed her forehead, then left.
She stared at the ceiling. How had things gotten so out of control? A man she didn’t love wanted to marry her while the one she did love wouldn’t even speak to her. She had no car, a mountain of debt, whiplash and possibly breast cancer.
She cried until she ran out of tears.
* * * * *
“I'll take care of everything here,” Becky assured her the next morning over the phone. “You concentrate on getting well.”
That settled, she called her father at his office to see when and where her doctor’s appointment was. She spoke to his secretary who gave her the information and directions. The rental car, a Lincoln Town Car, was already parked in front of the house, ready to go.
After her appointment with the orthopedic doctor who prescribed physical therapy, she headed home to her attention-starved cat. Her neck brace itched so she removed it and decided to take a long hot shower. As she got undressed, she looked at herself in the mirror for the first time since the accident. A brownish-red line crossed from the left side of her neck to the right side of her chest from where the seatbelt had cut into her skin. Red burns dotted her
shoulders from the airbag. She knew she was lucky, though. Her injuries could have been much worse.
Cleave phoned late in the afternoon. “How are you feeling?” Concern etched his voice.
“A lot better today. Thank you for arranging for the rental car. That made things so much easier. Plus, I didn't have to depend on my mother. That in itself is worth millions.”
He laughed. “She means well. My mother’s the same way. She loves controlling everything she can.”
The apple didn't fall far from the tree.
“Are you up to having your own personal chef this evening?” he asked.
She glanced in the mirror again. “I don't think I'd be very good company. I'd like to get to sleep early. I'm going to work tomorrow and I'm sure my schedule is full after being out for a day.”
“Renee, I don't think you're ready to go to work. Maybe you should take off the rest of the week.”
“I can't. This whole thing is going to cost me so much. I can't do without a week's pay on top of everything else.”
“What if I give you what you would have made this week?”
He was so damn good to her. Why couldn’t she just fall in love with him? “Cleave, you're so generous. I can't take money from you. But that's the kindest thing anyone's ever offered me. Thank you.”
“What are you going to do about a car?”
“I'll go looking Sunday or Monday. I spoke to my insurance company and they're only giving me forty-three hundred for my Jeep. That won't buy me much, will it?”
“It's a decent down payment.”
“I guess. The problem is verifying my income to get a loan. It's always this huge hassle because I'm self-employed. They want my last thirty tax returns and two dozen pay stubs. Of course, I don't have any pay stubs. You see my problem?”
“What if I were to cosign?”
“I can't ask you to do that.” Could he be any sweeter?
“You're not asking. I'm offering.”
She was growing tired of putting off his offers. “I need to take a nap now. Can I call you tomorrow?”
“Sure, sweetheart. Sweet dreams.”
Since she had her finances on her mind, she decided to pay her bills to see exactly how bad the situation really was. After writing checks for the minimum payment on her three credit cards, paying her electric, phone, cell phone, cable bill and her rent check, she had a whopping three dollars left. She laid her head down on the counter keyboard. How could she possibly take on car payments? What the hell was she going to do?
* * * * *
Zoey was in the kitchenette drinking coffee when Renee got to work the next morning. “How's the whiplash?”
“Getting better, thanks, Zoey.”
A smile played at the corners of her mouth. “Was your boyfriend following the ambulance?”
“What do you mean?”
“He's an ambulance chaser, isn't he?”
“Funny—not.” She headed to her station and set up for her first manicure.
Chantelle sat at the next station. “You know, Renee, you really should watch out for those damn lampposts that jump out in front of people. It's the newest hazard on the road.”
So much for sympathy. She got up as quickly as her injury would allow and went to the computer to check her schedule. Antoine was making an appointment when she got there. At least he wouldn't be mean to her.
“Who did you think you were, cupcake? Were you goin' for Jane Mansfield or James Dean? You know, my dog had to wear one of them collars. Pissed him off so bad that he couldn't lick his balls no more. I guess that wouldn't bother you much.”
She frowned. Et tu? “Why are you all being so mean to me?”
“Mean? We're just playing with you, darling. Lighten up baby, you're too tight.” He hugged her before he walked away.
Her first client of the day was Pam.
Renee was surprised that she was already wearing maternity clothes. “I like your outfit.” Speaking with Pam lately was a lot like walking on eggshells.
“It's comfortable. What happened to you?” Pam gestured to her neck brace.
“I had a car accident.”
“Someone hit you?”
“Not exactly. I hit a light pole taking a curve too fast in the rain.” She hoped Pam wouldn't make fun of her as her coworkers had.
“Ouch. We had one in the ER the other day that did the same thing. But he didn't walk out. He's paralyzed.”
Pam’s statement hit her like a jolt of electricity. “Really? Permanently?”
“They think so. Nice guy. He's like twenty-six.”
“God, that's awful.” She realized for the first time how lucky she'd been to escape with only minor injuries.
“I see that stuff all the time. Makes you appreciate your health, you know? Life is short.”
“Yeah.” Hadn’t she just had the same thought after the accident? “Are you feeling well?”
“Physically. Emotionally, I'm a mess.” She sighed.
“Why? Have you spoken to Pablo?” She filed as she spoke.
Pam’s pale skin reddened. “No. He never returns my calls. I went to the firehouse to talk to him and the guys there treated me like a damn pariah. He was on vacation, apparently. Wouldn't you assume a guy would go on vacation with his girlfriend?”
Renee tried to shrug, but her sore neck wouldn't allow it. “Yeah, but maybe he's away with his parents or a friend.”
“No, I have a sixth sense about this stuff.”
Maybe a twelfth sense. She wasn’t quick enough for sixth. “So you think he took another woman somewhere?”
“I'm sure of it. What kind of person does that? He has a loving, caring, and—oh yeah—pregnant girlfriend. And he chooses to go on vacation with someone else. Must be because I'm fat, ugly and boring.”
“You are none of those things. Don't beat yourself up because he's a jerk. You have so much to offer a man.”
“Like someone else's baby?” She wiped under her eyes.
There was no arguing with that. “Some men love kids.”
“They love their own kids. Not another man's. If I wasn't so scared of his parents, I'd go to his house to try to find him.”
“Why are you afraid of them?”
“Because they hate me. They've never made a secret of that. They want him to marry a Hispanic woman. Preferably, one of their choosing. And, I've done some…bad things to them.”
“Like?”
“One day I picked up Pablo at their house because his car was in the shop. His mother called me a fat, white bitch loud enough for the entire neighborhood to hear her.”
“Nice.”
“Yeah, she's a real peach. Anyway, the next day I had their power shut off.” She giggled.
“Oh, Pam, that's awful.” Renee laughed, despite herself. She wished she’d thought to do that to Dan after he left her.
“I told you. But she was a rat to me first.”
“Two rats don't make a right.” They both laughed.
“Thanks, Renee. I needed that.”
She walked Pam to the door after she'd finished her fill. Toy was coming next and Renee was excited to see her friend. She needed her unofficial shrink right about now.
Before Toy got there, Renee’s cell rang. She glanced at the display and frowned at her sister’s name.
“Renee, oh thank God I got you,” Char said.
“What's wrong?”
“I need a huge favor.”
Dread crawled up her spine. “What?”
“Gary and Dad have been invited to a dinner at Senator Hartford's house Saturday night.”
“Yeah?”
“We have to go. It's so important to Gary. You know he has political aspirations. And guess what? Both of my regular sitters are out of town.”
She knew what was coming. There was no way she would agree to baby-sit. “No.”
“Hear me out.”
“Nope.” She hung up.
Her cell rang again. She hit the send button.
“Renee, please listen to me,” Char said quickly.
“Okay. You have one minute.”
“Don't be ridiculous.”
She glanced up at the clock on the wall. “Fifty-five seconds.”
“Okay, okay. Both my sitters are unavailable. Cleave was in Gary's office when I called to tell him about the situation.”
Uh oh.
“He volunteered to watch Alyssa and Gary Junior for the evening. He said they could even spend the night at his house.”
She rubbed the bridge of her nose. “You've got to be kidding.”
“I'm serious as a heart attack. Anyway, he also said he hoped you would help him, since they are your niece and nephew.”
Anger simmered inside her. “Why are you doing this to me, Char? I'm still sore as hell from my accident.”
“You haven't taken them in forever.”
“Do you remember what Gary Junior did the last time I took him?”
“He was only four, Renee.”
“He shaved my poor cat while I was taking a shower and he was supposed to be napping.”
“That was a long time ago. He hasn't done anything like that for…for a long time.”
“He's a menace, Char. Cleave's dog will not put up with anything like that. He'll bite him. And Alyssa's just as bad.”
“She is not. She's gotten over that hiding thing.”
“You know what? My next client just walked in. I've got to go. I'll think about it and call you later.” She hung up and threw her phone into her top drawer.
“What in the world did you do?” Toy slid into the chair at her station.
“It's Char.”
“Did she body slam you or something?” Toy pointed to her neck brace.
“Oh that? I had a car accident and got whiplash. The doctor told me I only have to wear this stupid thing a couple more days.” She told her all about the accident, staying with her parents and the help Cleave had offered.
“Take the man's help,” Toy advised.
She started filing her friend's nails. “I can't. As destitute as I'll be by time I buy a car, I can't do it. He's too good to me. He's even volunteered to watch Char's kids for a night. As long as I help. Can you believe that?”
Wrong Way Renee Page 20
