by Anna Howard
Across from me Christian seems to be having a good time too. He and my father talk shop and he laughs along with the other men at their jokes. But I can see in his eyes that he is still hurting.
Over dessert I send him a questioning look and he just shrugs. So when we are all back in the entertainment room I drop down onto the sofa beside of him instead of taking up my usual place beside of Keith.
Tucking my legs under me I pull one of the many pillows into my lap and hug it close. “What’s up?” I ask quietly, while the other men get involved in the seven o’clock football game.
“I need your help.” He says, his voice just a as quiet.
“Of course. What can I do?”
He shakes his head. “I can’t talk about it now. Can we have lunch tomorrow?”
I sneak a glance at Keith and find him frowning at me. I give him a smile and after a long moment he returns it before getting back into the game. “I can’t tomorrow.” I tell Christian. “I have to go back into the city on Saturday, though. I’ll stop by your place then, okay?”
He gives me a relieved smile and reaches over to give my hand a quick squeeze. “Thanks Kari.”
“You and Christian were looking really chummy.”
I turn from brushing out my hair to find Keith standing in the doorway of the bathroom. He is dressed only in a pair of boxers, which I know won’t be on for much longer, and a dark frown. He looks distracted and sexy as sin.
“We were just talking about Bianca.” I put the brush down and reach for my toothbrush. I don’t want to tell him that I am meeting Christian on Saturday. Keith doesn’t want me to spend time with my hurting friend and I don’t want to start another argument. So I don’t mention it.
“Kari…” Keith wraps his arms around me from behind as I scrub my mouth. “Kari, I don’t know what I would do if I lost you.”
I quickly rinse my mouth and turn in his arms. “What has brought this on?” I demand.
His eyes look troubled. “You and Christian have gotten close lately. And I can’t help feeling that I’m about to lose you.”
I shake my head at him. “Keith, no one is going to take me away from you. I love you, you crazy man. I always will.” I cup his face in my hands, forcing him to keep eye contact so that he knows I am speaking from the heart. “The only way you will lose me is if you want to lose me. Otherwise it’s going to be hard to get rid of me.”
He rests his forehead against mine and closes his troubled green eyes. “Kari…I…”
I kiss his mouth to hush him. “I know.” I whisper. “I know.”
Saturday was crazy. With Christmas less than a month away everyone was rushing to do their shopping and get the best deals. I have to fight for a cab and am nearly ran over by the crowds on the Manhattan streets several times before I even get any shopping of my own done.
But by mid-afternoon I have accomplished quite a bit and drop everything off at mine and Bianca’s apartment before I make my way to Christian’s apartment across from Central Park. When I get there the doorman has to punch in the access code for Christian’s floor and gives me a hard frown when I leave three hours later.
I don’t bother with a cab because I am only a few blocks from Keith’s apartment. I pull my coat tighter around me to fight the November chill and smile as I start the short walk home.
Christian is an incredibly sweet guy, I’ll give him that. He has asked me to help him win Bianca back. The first thing on the list was a ring. I am going to help him find the perfect ring for my bestie and then at the annual Christmas Gala he will bare his soul for everyone to see and ask Bianca the one question I was sure would bring her running back into his arms.
I was so happy for my two dearest friends that I enter Keith’s apartment humming.
“Kari?” Keith calls out from the living room and I find him stretched out on the sofa in a pair of sweat pants and an old tee shirt. His bare feet are crossed and propped up on the arm of the sofa and I slap at them playfully before dropping down onto him.
“Hello my love.” I greet with a lingering kiss across his sexy mouth. “Enjoying having a day to yourself?”
He gives me a long, searching look. “No, not really. I missed you.”
I kiss him again. “I missed you too.” I stretch out beside of him and cuddle close. “But I got you something special for Christmas. So it was worth being away from you for a little while.”
His eyes light up. “Special? What is it?”
With a laugh I roll my eyes. “Not telling. You will just have to wait until Christmas morning.”
“You know, I have ways to make you talk.” Suddenly I am under him and his lower body is pressing deliciously against mine. “Shall I torture it out of you, baby?”
I gasp as his stone hard erection pushes against the spot that always drives me crazy. But I give him a killer, seductive smile. “You can torture me all you want, Mr. Winthrop. And please, really make me beg for it…But I still will never tell.”
Oh, how me makes me beg for it!
There is only a week before Christmas and I have a million and one things to do. Work is crazy because this is the biggest time for giving. There is so much to do and not enough hours in the day to do them all.
What spare time I have I am getting things in order for Christian’s big proposal. What little time I have left over I try to spend with Keith, but he seems distant lately. Something is wrong and I don’t have five minutes to stop and ask what is going on. But I promise myself that I will get it out of him as soon as the big Christmas Gala is over.
I get a text just as I enter the jewelry store where I am supposed to be meeting Christian. He had called me earlier in the day to tell me he thought he had finally found the ring, so I had had to cancel dinner plans with Keith. Distractedly I glance down at my iPhone to find the message is from Bianca.
I have been avoiding my bestie for a while now. All my excitement is eating at me and I know that if I see her or spend more than a few minutes on the phone with her that I will end up spoiling the surprise. So I have only been responding through e-mails and text messages.
With only three more days until the Christmas Gala I am only holding on by a thread. Muttering a curse under my breath I turn off my phone and give Christian a warm smile. “Hey.”
“Hey yourself.” He grasps my hand and tugs me toward the sales lady who already has a selection of rings placed on top of the display case.
I glance down at the beautiful engagement rings, dazzled by all the diamonds, the glitter of the gold and silver. “Take a good look and tell me if anything screams Bianca.” Christian urges with a grin.
I take a closer look. There are several rings that I think by bestie would like, but even as I am thinking that one pops out at me. I reach for it in a daze, knowing that this ring was meant for Bianca.
Christian laughs delightedly as he takes the ring from me and places it on my finger. Bianca and I have the exact ring size and it fits perfectly. “I knew it.” He mutters fiercely and beams at the sales lady. “I want it.”
“Of course Mr. Marshall.” The sales lady gives us a teary smile. “I just love it when couples find the perfect ring. You two will make such a lovely bride and groom.”
I am so overcome with excitement for my bestie that I don’t even think to correct the sales woman. I have goose bumps starting down at the gorgeous ring and I can’t help imagining what it would be like to have Keith slide the heirloom engagement ring his grandmother had left him onto my finger.
My chest tightens at the thought but I quickly push it away. I was ready to marry Keith tomorrow. But he still hasn’t been able to get the words ‘I love you’ out. Maybe when he can face saying those words without them getting stuck in throat he will be able to ask me to marry him. For now I am happy having him to go home to every night…
Chapter 11
The Beep…Beep…Beeping is annoying.
I moan,
wanting the thing to stop bothering me. All I want is to sleep and it keeps waking me up. But I learn that moaning makes my entire body hurt. Just the small sound is like a bomb going off in my head. The vibrations from the sound cause my chest to throb and my throat to feel as if there is glass cutting along the inner walls. My lips are dry and crack when I open my mouth to let the moan out.
Slowly I open my eyes, unable to understand why I hurt so much. But the room is almost completely dark. There are no lights on in the windowless room. There is a dim light coming from the machine to my left that is also producing the constant Beep…Beep…Beeping.
A hospital? I think as I try to make out shapes in the near darkness. The smell of antiseptic is overpowering and makes me gag. But I try to breath painfully through my mouth to reduce the gag reflex. I am in a very uncomfortable bed with poor excuses for pillows behind my head. I don’t think I am wearing any clothes but there is a sheet tucked under my arms.
Beside of the uncomfortable bed is a chair with a large body slumped over asleep in it. I frown, not sure who it is. “Hello?” I whisper only to wish I hadn’t as the small sound and movement sends my body into agonizing pain.
Suddenly a door to the left opens and lets in a small stream of light that hurts my eyes and makes my head hurt to the point I think I might black out. But just as quickly the door is shut and the light is gone as a small figure crosses to my bed. “Miss Brandon?” A soft, quiet voice murmurs my name.
“Help…me…” I whisper, fighting the blinding pain that is causing my stomach to roll with nausea.
The sleeping person in the chair is awake, on his feet and by my side within half a second. “Kari.”
I blink, trying to fight the pain long enough to make out who it is. But even as the name flashes across my mind I have a sudden urge to hide. This is a stranger. What is a stranger doing in my hospital room? Why am I in a hospital?
The pain and the fear of the unknown makes me shake and I pull away from the hand that reaches out to touch my cheek. “No...!” I whisper. “No!”
“Kari..?” That deep voice trembles with emotion. “What’s wrong with her?” He demands of the nurse.
“She just woke up from a three week coma.” The nurse’s soft voice is now laced with steel. “She doesn’t know where she is and she’s in pain. Please, Mr. Winthrop. Calm down so that I can tend to Miss Brandon or you will have to leave. And I don’t care how much money you have given this hospital!”
Their voices only make the pain in my head worse and I cannot contain the tears that stream down my cheeks. The man sees the tears and wipes them away, not knowing that he is hurting me more and frightening me. “Kari…It’s okay, baby. I’m here. The nurse will make all the pain go away, I promise.”
Before I can even wonder why this man is calling me baby, or saying my name in a way that makes my heart skip a beat the nurse is injecting my IV line with meds and I am soon floating away from all of the unbearable pain and fear of the unknown.
The next time I open my eyes the pain is less intense, but still there.
The room is less dark than it was the first time and I can see a little better. My vision isn’t nearly as blurry and I can actually move my head without the blinding pain behind my eyes. The annoying beeping isn’t nearly as annoying.
Quiet voices attract me and I find three men standing a few feet away from the foot of my bed. The stranger from before, a man in dark scrubs and a white doctor’s coat, and…Thank God, someone I know! My father.
“Da…” My throat still hurts but at least there isn’t the feel of glass this time. “Da-Daddy?”
All three heads turn at the sound of my voice. They are frowning down at me as if they can’t really believe that I have spoken. “Da-da-daddy?” I whisper, scared as they continue to frown.
Baxter Brandon moves toward me, relief on his face. He is pale and there are new lines on his face…And his hair is longer than I remember. That confuses me but I can’t really focus on it. He carefully grasps my hand and bends to give me the lightest kiss on my forehead.
“Kari.” This close I can see his eyes are glazed with tears and I can’t understand why. “How do you feel, sweetheart?”
“I hurt.” I whisper. “What…What happened? What…” I swallow and take a second to catch my breath. I feel as if I can’t really get enough oxygen. “What…What’s wrong…with me?”
With a slightly trembling hand my father fixes something on my face and oxygen fills my nose and I can breathe once more. “There was an accident, honey. A drunk driver hit…He hit you from behind and you were tossed out of the car…You…” He clenches his jaw. “You weren’t wearing a seatbelt.”
I grimace, knowing that if I hadn’t been laying there in a hospital bed hurting I would be in big trouble. “That explains why I feel as if I was run over.” I try to joke but he doesn’t smile. And that scares me even more. “Daddy?”
“Oh, God Kari.” A tear slips out of his right eye and I watch, horrified as he begins to cry.
“Da…Daddy?” I try to reach for him but find that it hurt too much to move.
The doctor in the dark scrubs and coat appears on the other side of my bed. “Hello, Carry.”
“That isn’t my name.” I whisper. Even in so much pain the wrong pronunciation of my name annoys me. “My name is Kari.”
A smile curves the man’s lips making him look years younger and really quite handsome. “Kari. I am Dr. Shelton. How are you feeling?”
“Horrible.” I whisper.
He nods. “Okay, I will get you some pain meds in just a little bit. But first I would like to examine you. Is that alright with you?”
“I guess.”
Dr. Shelton smiles. “Where do you hurt the most and I will focus there first.”
That is a hard question. Everything hurt. But there was a real contest on which would take first place. My head or my chest. I tell him that and he shines a light into my eyes. Pain stabs though my head, but the urge to vomit isn’t there. The doctor brushes his fingers across my head and I realize for the first time that part my head is practically bald.
I can’t help my cry of distress when I discover this. The doctor immediately stops what he is doing, concerned. “Does that hurt?”
“No-o-o.” I whisper brokenly.
“Then what’s wrong?” He asks confused.
“My hair. It’s gone.”
There is a small, husky chuckle from the man standing at the foot of my bed, watching me. But he scares me and I ignore him. Why does he scare me so much? Why does my chest ache when I look at him?
Dr. Shelton grins. “Sweetheart hair grows back. But I had to shave your head so that I could relieve pressure from your brain.” He slides his fingers across the bald patch again and it hurts just a little this time. “The head ache is normal. It will last a while.”
He pulls his stethoscope from around his neck and carefully presses it to my chest. He closes his eyes while he listens before moving it and listening again. When he opens his eyes again he gives me a smile. “Sounding good. You broke several ribs and one punctured your left lung. That is why it is hard to breathe without the oxygen right now. But now that you are awake it won’t be long before we can get it as good as new again.”
He turns to my father. “Mr. Brandon, if you and Mr. Winthrop could give us a few minutes. I need to check the incisions on Kari’s chest.”
My father nods his head and gives me a reassuring smile. “Keith and I will be right outside, sweetheart.” He slaps the other man on the back as they leave the room. “Let’s go son.”
When the door is closed behind them the doctor pulls down the sheet and I find that my chest has a big bandage wrapped around it. There is a long cut down the center of my chest. “Oh, God!” I whisper.
Dr. Shelton feels around it, checking for swelling or signs of infection. “We had to open you up, Kari.” He tells me once he is satisfied with his exam of the area. “There were a few sha
rds of broken rib to close to your heart…” He re-wraps my bandages and tucks the sheets around me once more.
“Doctor…” There is one thing that keeps bothering me. And I am scared because I fear there is something wrong with me. But this man is a doctor. He could tell me if there was or not.
“What is it Kari?”
“I…” I bite the inside of my jaw. “Who was that man?”
He frowns. “What man?”
I suck in a deep breath for courage. “The man with my father.” I raise scared eyes to meet his which I discover are a warm chocolate. “The big man who was here when I woke up the first time.”
He stares down at me for the longest time. When he speaks again it is with a neutral tone. “You don’t know him?”
“No.”
“Okay.” He gives me a tense, but reassuring smile. “Tell me what you do remember. Do you remember the accident?”
I frown. There is the sound of sirens across my mind followed by flashing lights as I stare up at a snow filled sky. “No.” I answer. “All I remember is being cold.”
“That is a start.” He straightens. “What is the last thing you remember?”
“My mother and I shopping.” For some reason that makes me feel sad. “I couldn’t find the right present for my father at the antique books store…Where is my mother?” Was she in the waiting room worrying about me? Suddenly I wanted to see her with such a devastating desperation my heart ached. “Can you get her for me? I want to see her.”
“Kari…” He shakes his head. “Kari…How old are you?”
“Seventeen.” I frown, thinking about it. The look on Dr. Shelton’s face frightens me. “Doctor?”
He reaches for my hand and gives it a small squeeze but for some reason I don’t feel relieved. “I’m going to go get your nurse, Kari. She will give you something for the pain. I want you to rest, okay?”
