Rescued by a Stranger

by Lizbeth Selvig

  MINUTES SEAMED THEMSELVES into hours and hours crawled past midnight before Jill awoke from fitful dozing on a waiting room couch to see Dr. Harper step through the door. The angiogram earlier had confirmed his diagnosis, and they’d taken Robert straight in for bypass surgery. Now a V of sweat stained the chest of the doctor’s blue scrubs, and a haggard shadow hollowed his eyes. Chase, across the small room, snapped to attention, and Jill steeled for the worst.

  “Mr. McCormick survived the surgery,” Dr. Harper said.

  A “but” hung on the end of his announcement. Jill closed her eyes with a heavy sigh, and Chase moved closer.

  “There is a complication. He suffered a mild stroke that seems to have affected motor skills on his right side.”

  “A stroke?” Jill asked in alarm. “Why? How?”

  “We don’t know, I’m afraid. It may have been ready to occur, it may have been caused by the stress of surgery. It’s much too soon to tell if the effects will last, but he’s stable now and appears to be strong and resting easily.”

  “And the prognosis on the bypass?” Chase asked.

  “The surgery went well,” Dr. Harper said. “If he remains stable over the next forty-eight hours, he has a good chance.”

  “When can we see him?” asked Jill.

  “You can glance in on him now, but morning will be the soonest he’ll be alert. Dr. Preston, we’ll get a number where you can be reached if there’s any change.”

  “I’ll be here tonight.”

  “You can’t stay here all night,” Jill shot.

  “It only makes sense. They’ve got an empty bed, and I’ll be right here if anything happens. You can stay at Robert’s, take care of the animals, and get to work in the morning. Come when you can, and you can keep watch then.”

  Of course it made sense, but Jill fumed inwardly anyway. He’d pulled away from making decisions with her and was now pulling rank—a doctor’s rank—to make them for her.

  “Fine.” She wasn’t about to argue like a child in front of Dr. Harper. “But I’m not planning to go to the clinic tomorrow. I’ll be here as soon as the animals are settled.”

  “That’s fine. I’m sure he’ll want to see you.”

  Even when he was being an ass he was still smooth.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  “HOW IS HE?”

  Chase looked up to the sound of Jill’s soft voice from the doorway. He’d been so engrossed in the soft beep of monitors and the effort of thinking about nothing, he hadn’t noticed her arrival.

  “He’s doing great.” He shifted in his chair and glanced at Robert. “He was awake briefly. His vital signs have been good all night. Did you get any sleep?”

  “Only because Angel wouldn’t let me leave the bed. I think she’s the one who didn’t sleep.”

  “You named her appropriately.”

  Jill nodded and drew close to the bed. Chase’s stoic concentration crumbled like a flimsy house of sticks at the sight of her. He wanted so badly to take her in his arms. To wipe the hurt from her face. But he’d disappointed her. He could tell her the story, beg for absolution, and she might give it. But that wasn’t what he wanted.

  “Oh, Robert.” Her tiny gasp wrenched his heart. The effects of Robert’s ordeal looked more devastating than they probably were, but his appearance was shocking. His right eyelid appeared to have slid sideways, and the right side of his mouth drooped like melted candle wax. A trickle of saliva drizzled to the pillow.

  “That’s not him.” Tears blossomed in her eyes, and they nearly undid him. She, who kept her cool over injured animals and sass-mouthed teenagers, who could turn a tickle fight into hot, sweet lovemaking, didn’t deserve to look so utterly sad.

  “He looks worse asleep than he does awake.” Chase tried to make it sound like a promise. “He was actually quite with it for a few minutes. I admit he sounds a little tipsy …” His attempted smile fell flat.

  “He sounded like he’d given up.”

  “He was in pain, and he was frightened. People who have heart attacks that severe are pretty scared.”

  She faced him slowly, but only half met his eyes. “You really are a doctor.”

  “Yes. And I really am sorry this is how you found out.”

  “I’m sure that’s true.” She turned away again. His heart fell a little further. “You should go now. You can’t have gotten much sleep,” she said.

  “I did all right.”

  He didn’t want to tell her that the hospital environment had actually lulled him. Familiar sights and sounds hadn’t exactly caused homesickness, but he definitely knew his way around this setting.

  “Still, you should get a break.”

  So she wanted him to leave. For the first time, anger poked its head out of Chase’s roiling pool of emotions. He was at fault, true. But why was she this angry? A snotty teenager with a rude mouth had received more patience.

  “Fine. Happy to let you take your turn watching.” He stood, holding in a fierce but unjustified need to call her on some kind of double standard. “If you’ll let me take The Creature to the farm, I’ll come back whenever you want me to.”

  His voice must have been harsher than he’d intended because she held up her hands. “You’re calling the shots, Dr. Preston. Come and go when you’re ready.”

  “For crying out loud,” he muttered under his breath.

  Jill pulled the key fob shaped like a snaffle bit out of her purse and held it out to him. He took it and watched her continue searching through her bag, her brow creasing ever more deeply.

  “Crap,” she said at last. “I left my dang phone in the truck.”

  “I’ll bring it back up for you.”

  “No. I’ll come down. He’s sleeping anyhow.” She sighed.

  Chase gave all the monitors around Robert a last glance, then patted him on the shoulder. “Hang in there, old man,” he said. “See you later.”

  The silence that accompanied them to the lobby eroded his anger into deep sadness. When they reached The Creature, his shoulders slumped and he stuffed his hands in his pockets.

  “Jill, this is insane. I don’t know how to deal with a cold war.”

  “No, you don’t,” she agreed tightly. “Why don’t you end it?”

  “And how do you propose I do that? The secret’s out. You chose how you wanted to react to that secret.”

  She choked on affronted laughter. “You sweet-talk and Southern-charm your way through more than two months, until I learn the secret existence of Dr. Preston only because you had no choice but to reveal it. It’s increasingly clear you never intended to explain this to me and still don’t. Yet you blame me for a cold war? Just open your mouth and talk.”

  “Damn it, I had nightmares about baring my soul to someone I thought would love me no matter what. I’m not about to bare it for someone who’s decided to chew me up and spit me out.”

  “Don’t you think I’m the slightest bit justified?”

  Just like that, she clobbered him with the only weapon for which he had no defense. The granite keeping him rigid cracked, and his anger vanished. “Yes.” He heard his own emotionless voice. “I’ve always known you’d have perfect justification to feel exactly the way you do.”

  He pulled open The Creature’s door, grabbed Jill’s phone from the console, and handed it to her. “What time shall I be back?”

  “I have to teach at three-thirty.”

  “I’ll be here by two.”

  Without a reply, she let him climb into her truck and drive away.

  THE ROOM WAS too quiet for noon on the farm. Even the dog, snuggled beneath his arm, didn’t move, snore, or complain about being a canine body pillow. After hours of sleeplessness and fighting the memories, Chase gave up. He let Tiana Washington, all knobby knees, mocha skin, and gorgeous, expressive eyes, run freely through his mind. The skinny little girl had possessed Whoopi Goldberg irreverence with Jennifer Hudson dreams. Every time he’d seen her she’d hugged him with abandon, unaware
of any stupid etiquette between doctor and patient, and she’d belted out the latest song she’d memorized with fervor that made up completely for lack of finesse. Her quick intellect, fed by the attention lavished on her by her grandmother Clara, had astounded him over the years.

  Inevitably, the good memories led to the horrific: Tiana’s body stilled along with her voice. Brody making the legally required pronouncement of death. Clara’s wide face, devastated and accusatory.

  He turned numbly away from the broken grandmother and looked one last time to the table where Tiana lay. An anguished cry broke from his throat. It was not Tiana but Jill lying there—hair disheveled, skin ashen, mouth slack.

  “No!”

  To Angel’s yelp of protest, Chase found himself seated upright in his bed at Robert’s, lungs burning from hyperventilation. He blew short, calming breaths into his cupped palms, then hiked up his knees, folded his arms, and buried his face.

  When had he fallen asleep?

  He’d never put stock in analyzing dreams, but this one was so obvious a five-year-old could grasp its meaning.

  He’d lost Jill, too. God knew she more than deserved an explanation, and he was being a jackass to withhold it when he’d been mere hours from telling her the story. He’d just been so certain she’d love him without any explanation. Instead, she was outraged over the mere fact he’d disguised his identity. What kind of revulsion would she feel if she discovered that his secret included abandoning a child to face her death?

  He’d never planned or wanted to tell the painful story in the first place. He’d nearly taken a chance, but now he was grateful the words and emotions weren’t out there in someone else’s keeping.

  It was only a few minutes past noon, but he was done with sleep. Fifteen minutes later he held a steaming mug of coffee, his mind calmer but not easy. The old sofa in the living room sagged comfortably beneath him, and Angel lay at his feet. He gazed at all the knickknacks and homey colors that had grown familiar during the past weeks. With a little more luck, Robert would soon sit in his recliner again.

  It was time to leave. Time to face what he’d hidden from all summer. It nearly killed him that it had taken hurting a beautiful woman to get to this point.

  He’d known he would hurt her. He’d momentarily fooled himself by making love to her and convincing himself she was his elusive “one.” But she wasn’t. And she would be fine. Once he explained enough to give her closure. Once he left her to pursue the dreams he’d interrupted.

  Angel let out a long, doggy sigh and Chase’s heart broke at the first realization that he’d be leaving the dog, too. He’d never shed real tears over Tiana, but now he fought them, forcing them angrily away. Out of every crap thing in his life he could cry over a stupid stray dog? He really had been here too long.

  The knock at the door startled him. Angel jumped up with one sharp bark and trotted, tail wagging, to investigate. Chase ran a hand through his hair, which needed a good trim, and followed the dog. Surprise turned to shock when he found Duncan Connery standing on the newly finished porch.

  “Hello, Chase.”

  “Mr. Connery. To say this is a surprise wouldn’t cover it. How’s your daughter?”

  “She’s hanging in there, thank you. I’ll be going back as soon as I can, but I had to come home for now because you were right. The problem you discovered is real. I’ve worked too hard to build an honest reputation for my company to let this pass.”

  Chase barely knew what to say. In the midst of all the bad, here was a glimpse of justice.

  “I’m sorry, too, about Robert McCormick,” Connery continued. “The news is all over town. Any word on how he is?”

  “His prognosis is guardedly positive.”

  “I’m glad to hear that. Do you have a few minutes? I’d like to talk away from the office.”

  Chase held the door open. “Come on in.”

  Connery stepped through the door and bent to scratch Angel’s ears. “Nice dog.”

  “Yes, sir. A stray we took in, but she’s a special one.”

  Connery sat at the kitchen table and accepted a mug of coffee.

  “I kept your name out of this until today, but Jim Krieger’s no fool. He figured it out. His story now is that you concocted all this as a personal attack,” Connery said, when Chase sat across from him. “Thirty-plus years of loyalty have made me inclined to believe this is a mistake. But I’ve realized I have some loyalty to your grandfather, too. I needed to give his grandson the benefit of the doubt.”

  “I appreciate that.”

  “I started digging and got some answers from Sandhurst I didn’t like. That brought me home. What brought me to you was Jim coming to me this morning with the news about Mr. McCormick. He made a very cold suggestion that we move to take advantage of the man’s incapacity without his cooperation. I’m still finding it hard to believe he would think in such callous terms. I guess I’ve let him run his projects without much oversight for too long.”

  The man suddenly looked his age. Chase sympathized on a visceral level.

  “He’d already been trying to push Robert harder and faster.”

  “There’s a lot of investigative work ahead. If Sandhurst did lie about the scope of this project, then there are environmental impact statements and pollution control agency studies that must have been falsified. If so, I’ll pull the plug. I have other developers who shed tears when Krieger chose the Sandhurst project.”

  “What kind of development might you be talking about? Hypothetically.”

  “We saw plans for a community center. For office space. For a small housing tract.”

  “With all due respect, Mr. Connery—”

  “Chase, c’mon. About time you call me Duncan.”

  “All right. Duncan. You could make a lot of people very happy by pulling the plug without any more proof at all. Save yourself a passel of aggravation. There are a lot of things this town needs—a swimming pool, a youth center.” He thought of Jamie with a pang. “A local medical clinic.”

  Duncan massaged his chin. “Forget pressing any charges?”

  “Nobody’s been harmed yet, far as I can tell. There might be intent for fraud, but it hasn’t been carried out. You’re the only one who knows how damaging this is for you, but, goodwill goes a long way in a small community.”

  “Spoken like a true businessman.”

  Chase hesitated only briefly, then looked his grandfather’s friend in the eyes. “If you know about Robert, then you know about my background. Krieger wouldn’t have stopped short of telling you about me.”

  Duncan sat back in his chair. “You must have had a reason for keeping quiet. I told that to Jim several times.”

  Hell. Chase’s heart fielded another blow. Where had that attitude been in Jill?

  “That’s kind of you,” he replied. “I did start a clinic on the south side of Memphis and made it work with grants and fund-raisers. Business isn’t my strong suit, but in my opinion, Krieger’s way is never right. Folks don’t take kindly to dishonesty.”

  A fresh stab of regret pierced him.

  “I, ah, don’t suppose you’d be willing to come help me sell that?” Duncan laughed ruefully. “The next town council meeting is in a week. I’ll stay here until then, and I’d planned to tell the truth as I know it and let people voice opinions. But I’m going to think seriously about your advice. I sure would like you to be there. The town has sort of taken to you.”

  Sadness rippled through him. He’d let down enough people. It was tough not to get close to a place like Kennison Falls, but he had nothing more to offer the people here. Time to do the right thing for a change.

  “I have to be honest,” he said, slowly. “I don’t think I’ll be here in a week. I’m going back to Memphis.”

  “Oh.” Duncan’s eyebrows curved into arches of surprise. “I’m … I wish you the best but I am sorry. You know you’ll have a job with me now whenever you want one.”

  For some reason that gave his br
uised ego an infusion of comfort. “That means a lot,” he said. “If anything changes, can I let you know?”

  “I just said you could.” He smiled, stood, and held out his hand. “Chase? Thanks more than I can say. You did me an enormous favor.”

  “I was in the right place at the right time.”

  Connery turned at the door. “May I ask? You and Miss Carpenter? I was given to understand you’re together.”

  Chase forced a nonchalant smile. “Turns out we were just friends.”

  “Ah. Isn’t that the way it goes sometimes? If we don’t see each other before one of us leaves, say hello to your grandfather.”

  “That I will.”

  When Duncan was gone, Chase let out a breath he felt like he’d been holding for twenty minutes. He put his hands on his thighs and hung his head.

  Yeah. It sure as hell was the way it went. Sometimes.

  “OLD MAN, BE happy you’re alive.” Chase teased an ill-tempered Robert, glaring up at him from a bed at Oakwood Nursing Home. “Therapy will get you home in two weeks, but only if you cooperate. Otherwise you better decide you like puke-yellow walls and rolling bedpans.”

  “Cooperate.” Robert’s voice remained gruff, but after another moment he wilted into his pillows, the droop in his face deepening. “I feel like an old, torn pair of pants. Nobody’s quite sure if they’re worth fixing so they’ve thrown ’em on a heap until they decide.”

  “Hey! That one’s good enough for the Preston dinner table. Don’t worry, it’s only been five days since surgery. You’re on the mending pile.”

  For the first time, Robert allowed a smile. “You’re a good boy, Chase.”

  Chase looked away. “Not always.”

  “Dumber than dirt sometimes but a good boy. All right, what’s wrong?”

  Chase found it much harder to form the words than he’d thought it would be. “I’m going home to Memphis for a while,” he said.

  “A while?”

  “I have a practice there with my brother. I’ve been talking to him, and he needs help. I’ve been gone a long time.”

  “Jill knows.” It wasn’t a question.