Anna removed two slabs of pork ribs from the grill and placed them on the stack of plates she’d put out earlier. She was using the heavy-duty paper plates that, according to the manufacturer, were the best on the market. According to the commercials, they’d hold just about anything. Though she hadn’t mentioned this to anyone, she was testing these out today, and if they were all that they claimed to be, she’d accept a sponsorship and, possibly, a feature in an upcoming commercial.
When she returned to the table, Patrick had consumed half of the food. “These are hot; you’ll have to tell me if they’re any good,” she said, placing the two large racks of ribs beside the other two plates. He ate as though he were starving. Hard to believe this was the kid Ryan worried about eating.
“Thanks, Anna.”
“My pleasure. There’s plenty, so eat as much as you want,” she added.
Not speaking to Ryan wasn’t going to work, given there were others to consider, so she asked, “You want to try them? I haven’t put the corn on the grill, but if you’re hungry, I’ll fix you a plate.”
“I’ll mind my manners and wait,” he said, getting in a dig at Patrick.
“All that swimming burns calories. I couldn’t let a guest in my home starve,” Anna said, meeting his icy gaze. More and more, she had doubts about continuing her relationship with this man. However, there was that one little issue she had to settle before making any decisions. She’d bite her tongue for now. She’d already witnessed his temper in the studio—once was enough.
“He’s not starving,” Ryan said. “But thanks for this.” He nodded at the plates of food.
“No worries.”
As Anna headed back inside, she heard a terrifying scream. She ran into the house, through the kitchen. “Mandy?” she called out. “What’s . . .”
“Oh my God, call nine-one-one. Go, my phone’s on the counter!” Mandy shouted, as she held Christina’s seemingly lifeless body. “Go, damn it!”
Paralyzed with fear, no one moved. Mandy yelled again, “Call nine-one-one now!”
Anna glanced up to see Renée looking down. She just stood there. A rush of adrenaline forced Anna into action. Running to the kitchen, she found Mandy’s cell phone. With shaking hands, she dialed 911.
“What’s your emergency,” a calm and pleasant female voice asked.
“My daughter. I . . . she’s hurt. I need an ambulance. Now!” She recited her address by rote, dropped the phone on the floor, and raced back to the foot of the stairs. Dropping to her knees, she saw that Christina was still breathing, “Christina, it’s Mommy,” she said, tears streaming down her face. “It’s okay, you’re going to be okay.”
“I think her leg is broken,” Mandy said. “She’s gonna be fine. I want you to calm down. Anna, listen to me.”
“How . . . what happened?” She stared at her daughter, her bright orange bathing suit still damp from the pool. She smelled of chlorine and mesquite smoke.
Christina moaned, turning her head to the side. A single tear fell from her eyes. “Mommy,” she whispered.
“It’s okay, baby. The ambulance is on its way. I’m right here. I’m not going to let anything happen to you, I promise.” She held her daughter’s slender body, gently wiping her hair from her tear-stained cheeks. Her thick lashes were clumped together, as though she’d been crying before.
“I’m going to open the gates,” Mandy said.
Anna squeezed back tears. “Go, quickly.”
“What’s going on in here?” came Ryan’s voice from the doorway in the kitchen. “Where’s Renée?”
“I’m here,” Renée said from the top of the staircase.
“Anna, what the hell happened to her?” he said, bending beside Christina. She wanted to push him away, tell him to get out, but she couldn’t.
“I don’t know. I’ve called for an ambulance. Please move back,” she said, her motherly instinct kicking in. He moved a few inches away.
Anna heard the sirens in the distance. “We’re going to get you to the hospital, sweetie. Can you hear me?”
“Mommy?” Christina said again, then blacked out.
Mandy ran through the front door, the paramedics trailing behind.
“Out of the way, please,” a man about Anna’s age said as he stooped to attend to Christina.
“What happened?” he asked, as he assessed her injuries. “Anyone?” he said, running expert fingers up and down her spine. “Ma’am, you need to move. Let me take over.”
Anna scooted a few inches back, allowing the paramedic to slide a plastic board beneath Christina. “I heard a scream when I came inside,” Anna said. “Mandy, did you see what happened?”
By this time, Christina was moaning again. Anna guessed she’d blacked out because she was in so much pain. “Please, just help my daughter,” Anna said, her voice several octaves higher than normal.
“All I saw was Christina at the bottom of the stairs. Maybe ask her?” She pointed to the top of the stairs, where Renée was sitting on the top step, looking down at all the activity below.
“Get down here now!” Ryan shouted.
“Okay, okay, geez,” Renée said, taking her time walking down the stairs. “What?” she asked when she finally reached the bottom.
Mandy took charge. “What happened?” Her voice was stern, no-nonsense.
Renée shrugged. “I don’t know. One minute, she was showing me her Harry Potter books, then she said she had to go to the bathroom. And then”—she pointed to Christina’s crumpled body as the paramedics lifted the board onto the gurney—“that.”
“Bullshit,” Mandy said. “Her bathroom is in her bedroom. You can’t leave that room through the bathroom door!” Mandy looked at Ryan. “Ask your daughter what happened—this is important, damn it!”
“Mandy,” Anna said, following the paramedics to the front door. “Later. Take care of the food. The grills are on, so turn them off. Mona and Jeb should be back any minute to help. I’ll call you from the hospital.”
Anna followed the paramedics to the waiting ambulance. Fear ripped through her, her heart rate increased, and her vision blurred. She was about to have a full-blown panic attack. Just when her daughter needed her the most.
Chapter 14
“She has a fractured tibia, though it’s a clean break,” Dr. Laird explained. “There’s a slight break in the fibula, here”—he pointed to the X-ray image on the computer with a pen—“this small bone. She’ll be in a bit of pain for a few days, which we can manage with low-dose pain meds. Then we can ease off with acetaminophen. I want to keep her here for the next twenty-four hours. She has a slight concussion that I’d like to monitor. It’s just routine. She’ll be good as new in a few weeks,” he explained to Anna.
“This is all my fault,” she said to him.
“Anna, kids fall all the time. If they didn’t, I’d be out of business.” Ed Laird was a pediatric orthopedic surgeon. She’d met him and his wife, Susan, when she was building her house, and they’d become fast friends when Susan learned she was the Anna Campbell from The Simple Life.
On the ride to the hospital, she’d borrowed a cell phone from one of the paramedics, called Ed Laird, and asked him to meet her at the emergency room. Thankfully, he was home. He’d arrived within minutes of the ambulance.
“How is this your fault?” He tucked his pen into his shirt pocket.
“I don’t know. I just feel responsible. She’s my daughter; you know how parents can be.” She cast a wan smile. “Probably more so than most.”
Susan and Ed had four boys under the age of ten.
He smiled. “I do. Kyle broke his arm twice, roughhousing with Keith. It’s a constant battle trying to keep them alive. This isn’t your fault; get that idea out of your head. I’ll arrange for you to stay in a special suite, so you can stay here with Christina, maybe get a bit of rest yourself?”
“Thanks, Ed. I’ll take you up on that. You should have all of my insurance information on file.”
; “I’ll let Admissions know.”
He explained what she could expect throughout the night, told her the nurses would keep a close eye on Christina, and they could both leave first thing in the morning, barring no unexpected complications.
An hour later, Christina was in a private room, was groggy from the pain medication but able to talk. “Sweetie, I’m so sorry you’re hurt. I wish I could take away your pain.”
“I’ll be okay,” she said, though Anna thought she sounded horrible. Alarm bells started to ring. Christina was so out of it, but Anna knew it was the meds talking. She had to stay calm for Christina’s sake.
“Of course you will,” Anna said. She adjusted her pillow and smoothed the sheets. She was totally out from the pain medication.
A small pull-out sofa gave her a bird’s-eye view of Christina in her hospital bed. With a sigh of relief, she sat down and stretched her legs. She still wore the tank top and shorts with her sandals. Not that she cared. Right now, Christina was her only concern. They would get through this, just as Ed had told her.
Though now that she was alone with her thoughts, she couldn’t help but wonder if Renée had had anything to do with Christina’s fall. They’d been in her room for almost an hour. She needed to talk with Mandy. Luckily, there was a phone in the room.
The hospital operator connected her to an outside line. She called Mandy’s cell phone. “I’m on my way to the hospital now. Mona and Jeb are taking care of your place. I’ll see you in half an hour. We need to talk.”
She hung up the phone. So much for asking questions on her terms, but she knew Mandy was concerned about Christina, and they’d talk as soon as she arrived. Meanwhile, Anna went to the small bathroom, leaving the door open, so she could hear her daughter. She washed her face, took her hair out of the topknot, raked her fingers through the tangles, then put her hair up in a messy bun. She rinsed her mouth and looked at herself in the mirror. “What have I done?” she whispered. Just a few months ago, her life was as predictable as the days of the week. She thought back to the cruise. That was when her life started falling apart. She should have gone to Orlando and enjoyed the time with Mandy and Christina.
“Mom,” Christina called. “Can I have some water?”
Anna moved at the speed of light. A pitcher of fresh ice water had been placed on the bedside table minutes after they’d brought her in. Several plastic-wrapped cups were provided. She took the waxy paper off and poured a small amount in the cup so she wouldn’t spill it. “Here, sweetie.” Anna held the cup for Christina, then raised the bed just enough so that she could drink without spilling the water.
“Thanks.”
She lowered the bed and watched her daughter fall back into a drug-induced sleep. Anna dimmed the lights in the room, then positioned herself on the sofa so she could watch Christina.
She must’ve dozed for a few minutes, when she was awakened by a creaking sound. “Mandy,” she said, beyond thrilled to see her best friend.
“How’s she doing?” Mandy whispered.
Anna quickly ran through the list of her injuries. “Ed thinks she’ll be fine in a few weeks. I hate this, Mandy. I feel responsible.”
“Can we sit?”
“Over here.” Anna sat back down, making room for Mandy.
“First things first. I brought your cell phone, purse, a change of clothes, and a toothbrush. You can thank me later. If there’s anything else you need, I’ll call Mona.”
“No, no, this is fine. I wasn’t thinking clearly in the ambulance. That was horrible, seeing her in pain and not being able to do anything about it.” Tears filled her eyes. Mandy gave her a tissue from a box on the small table beside the sofa.
“Thanks.” She blew her nose and balled the tissue up in her hand.
“Anna, I know this isn’t what you want to hear, especially in your condition, but it has to be said. I was on my way upstairs to grab some things I’d left in the room a few nights ago, and it was a good thing I did. Who knows what else would’ve happened had I not been there? I don’t feel good about this. While I didn’t see her actually fall, I saw that little snot standing at the top of the stairs watching Christina just lie at the bottom of the steps. When I screamed out, ‘Call nine-one-one,’ she had a damned cell phone in her hand, yet she just watched, Anna. Do you see where I’m heading with this? I’m not riding any kid’s ass. I’m just giving you my take on what I did see.”
“You’re sure she had a phone? Maybe it wasn’t charged,” Anna added, because if she let Mandy’s assumptions guide her in the direction she was leading her, Christina’s fall couldn’t have been an accident.
“I can’t say for sure, but tell me what thirteen-year-old kid walks around with a cell phone that’s not charged?”
Anna nodded. She agreed with Mandy’s assumptions. “What happened after I left?”
“Ryan was pissed. Big-time. He ripped the son good, blaming him, said if he’d had any manners, he would have waited to eat with everyone else, and Christina would have been where she belonged. It didn’t make sense. He was in such a rage, I truly don’t know if he knew what he was saying. He dragged those kids out, cussing ninety miles a minute. Lucky for him, Mona and Jeb only arrived after he left. It’s just weird. I know you think he’s all that, and maybe to you, he is, but Anna, there’s something that’s not right about him.”
She’d had similar thoughts herself. “Look, about the . . . you know.” She nodded toward the bed, placing a finger to her mouth indicating Mandy should not say that word. “I don’t even know if I am, you know. I haven’t tested. I’m just late, and a couple times I’ve felt nauseated like I was with Christina.”
Mandy leaned as close as she could. “If you suspect you’re . . . whatever you’re calling it . . . then you need to find out and make a decision. One way or the other, this could . . . No, it already has affected your daughter, and you need to take charge of this now. I know you don’t like it when I speak badly of Ryan and those kids, but I don’t care. You’re feeling sorry for them, why I have no clue, but while you’re viewing them through rose-colored glasses, ask yourself this: How well do you really know him? His kids? Today was the second time you’ve seen them. And something else, and I know it’s not really my business, but I’m making it my business anyway. What the hell happened to Ryan’s wife? Have you two discussed your histories with each other?”
Mandy held up her hand. “Don’t say it. I’m trying to look out for you and your daughter. Think about it. How did she die? When did she die? Has he given you details? I don’t think so, because knowing you as well as I do, you would’ve told me. Don’t say you wouldn’t either.” Mandy was breathing hard, her emotions on full display.
Guilt tore through Anna’s gut like a sharp blade. All she knew about Ryan’s wife was . . . nothing.
“I haven’t told him about Wade.”
“Why not?”
“We met on a singles cruise, Mandy. I don’t know. I guess we were focusing on getting to know each other, not reminiscing over our dead spouses!” Tears rivered down her cheeks. She let them flow, cleansing the hateful words she’d just spewed.
“Okay, I get that, but that was three months ago. If you’re serious about this guy, if you’re carrying his child, I’d want to know details about his life before you.”
Anna nodded. They should’ve discussed their past lives, shared what made them the people they’d become.
“Look, there’s a twenty-four-hour drugstore across the street. I’m going to get a you know test. Sit here and think about your life.” And with that, Mandy got up and walked out of the room without saying another word.
Her life was a total mess. Wishing she could erase the past few weeks as easily as she erased the whiteboard in her studio, as much as she disliked Mandy’s sermon, and it was a sermon, she was right. Anna was responsible for bringing Ryan and his children into their lives. It was up to her to make this right, to do whatever she had to in order to return her life to normal. Mandy w
as brutal, and her words hurt, but though the truth was sometimes a hard slap in the face, she’d needed to hear this. Taking a deep breath, she slowly released it, and sat there watching Christina’s steady breathing, in and out. She reached for her Louis Vuitton bag on the table. Inside, she located the amber-colored bottle of pills. If ever there was a time for an anxiety crusher, it was now. She removed the childproof cap; a dozen or so small oval, yellow pills were just waiting to work their magic.
No, Anna thought, this is not the answer. She replaced the cap and dropped the bottle into the bottom of her purse.
What the hell was I thinking? No way should I even consider popping any kind of pill in my mouth, given my suspected condition. It was another problem she didn’t need and, honestly, didn’t want. She enjoyed her life at this stage—being Christina’s mom and doing what she loved was enough. At least for now. Thoughts of another child, Ryan’s child, frightened her. While she’d never terminate a pregnancy, just the fact that she was even contemplating doing so unnerved her. Why she’d thrown caution to the wind eluded her, though why it did, she had no answer. Ryan was persuasive, attractive, and intelligent—all attributes any woman could desire. His temper was a huge obstacle, the way he shouted at Renée and Patrick, in her opinion, unforgivable. It was more than obvious that she hadn’t been thinking with her mind as opposed to other parts. As she stood next to Christina, whose leg was encased in plaster and who had a concussion, Anna had no one to blame but herself. Mandy was right. Though it had barely been three months since she and Ryan had started dating, it was time to make a major decision.
She’d put off the test that would confirm what she apparently didn’t want to acknowledge way too long.
As soon as Mandy returned with the test, she’d find out, one way or the other, and deal with the results regardless. At this point, she didn’t have much of a choice.
Chapter 15
“Her vitals are excellent,” the nurse told Anna. “Try and get some rest, Ms. Campbell. We’re watching Christina at the desk, via closed circuit, plus Dr. Laird instructed the folks at Tele-Screen to monitor her room.”
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