by Melody Anne
“Do you remember anything that’s happened recently?” The woman, who Cassie figured was a nurse, asked. Cassie’s eyes squinted as she concentrated on remembering the last few days. They were a total blank.
“The last thing I remember is getting off work and then going for a walk. I don’t understand why my mind’s so fuzzy. What’s going on?” Cassie asked, trying to push down the panic wanting to erupt inside her. The longer she laid in the bed, the more afraid she became. To top that off, the loud jazz band rehearsing in her head didn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon. The pain was so intense it felt as if the skin was actually pushing away from her temples.
“I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this, but you’ve been in an auto accident. “I know it doesn’t seem like it right now, but you’re actually very lucky. Your entire body probably hurts at the moment, but you could’ve been killed. You have a fractured rib, a few scrapes and bruises, and a concussion, but there are no life-threatening injuries.” She took Cassie’s hand as she said the last part.
Cassie wasn’t thinking she was too lucky at that moment. Her body hurt badly and she found herself wanting to fall back asleep. If she could pass out then maybe it would all turn out to be nothing but a bad nightmare.
“Where am I? How long have I been here? How much longer will I have to stay?” Cassie fired question after question at the nurse. She was fighting the panic, but maybe if she got some answers her fears would recede.
“You’ve been with us for eight days. Do you have any recollection of what happened?” the woman asked. She was moving around the room, tidying things up as she spoke in a nonchalant manner. Cassie felt like she’d been hit by lightning. How did someone tell you you’d lost a week as if it was no big deal?
She concentrated hard, trying to push her mind to open up and explain why she’d been unconscious for so long, why her body hurt so much. The harder she fought with her mind, the more it seemed to shut down. She couldn’t even manage to say anything.
“Do you have family we can contact?”
“No, there’s no one left except for me. I have a best friend, but she’s a nurse doing some work in Brazil right now,” Cassie sadly replied. “I just moved to Seattle from back East and I haven’t had time to make any other friends,” she finished. Another thought hit her as she lay there. “Oh my gosh, my job. I’m sure they’ve fired me by now. They must think that I walked out on them,” she moaned as she laid her head back and fought the nausea. She was beyond frustrated.
“I’m sorry, Cassie, for all of this. You aren’t going to be able to leave the hospital for at least another few days, and there will be no way for you to work for at least a month. You’ve had some bad injuries. In order to heal, you have to take care of yourself. You must think only of your health right now. Don’t worry about any of the medical expenses. They’re being covered by the Anderson Family.”
“What expenses? And why would the Anderson Family cover them?”
“You’re in a private hospital, the best one in the City of Seattle, if not the country,” the nurse said proudly, while seeming to stand up a bit straighter. She ignored the other question, entirely.
Cassie looked around the room with more awareness. She should have figured out she wasn’t in a regular hospital. For one thing, it was a large room with only one bed. There was a big flat-screen television, fresh flowers in a nice vase, curtains instead of blinds, and the same nurse didn’t seem to be in a hurry to leave. In a public hospital, the nurses had such a large list of clients they wouldn’t have time to visit for so long.
“Why are the Anderson’s paying for me? And, are we talking about the Andersons?”
“The Andersons are paying for your stay because I was the one who hit you with my car,” a man’s voice said, startling both her and the nurse. They turned in unison to see none other than Max Anderson filling out the doorway.
Cassie gawked wide-eyed at the man she’d been chasing for an interview for the last several weeks. She’d wanted to get his attention, but hadn’t wanted him to run her over in order to do it. She suddenly had to fight the giggle that wanted to escape.
“I’ve had many women fall at my feet, but never jump out in front of my moving vehicle,” he said with a cocky raise of his brows. The mixture of arrogance and horror in his expression was too much for her, and she couldn’t help the laughter from escaping. Both he and the nurse looked at her as if she needed to be transferred to the mental hospital. Heck, she thought, she may need to be.
“I’m so sorry,” she said between breaths of air. “I really don’t know why I’m laughing. This isn’t funny in the least. I…I just don’t know what else to do,” she gasped. The laughter started to die down as the pain in her body seemed to throb in pulsing rhythms from the shaking. She felt as if she may pass out.
She took a moment to really look at Max. She’d never actually met him in person. He was tall, much taller than she’d originally thought. He had to be at least six foot three, maybe four. His hair was dark, shining in the pale room, and expertly cut, not too short, nor too long. There was an endearing cowlick that caused his otherwise perfect hairstyle to seem a bit ruffled.
Her eyes traveled over his face, noticing the five o’clock shadow that only added to his rugged good looks. He was disturbingly attractive in a way that would easily make women throw themselves at him, or possibly his moving vehicle. She knew she wouldn’t have done it on purpose, though. An interview wasn’t that important to her. She continued her unabashed perusal of him, noting his strong cheekbones, pursed lips, and then lower, to his broad shoulders, contained in his midnight blue suit that was tailor made for him. If she had to come up with one word to describe him, it would be, delicious.
He started to cross the room as if he owned the place. For all she knew, he could own it. The Anderson Family owned half the city, and then some. They were an incredibly powerful family, but they were known for the good things they did in their community and around the world. He came up to her bed, his midnight blue eyes connecting with her own startled blue ones. His lips turned up in a lazy smile, as if he could see into her mind and knew exactly what she was thinking. It must be nice to be so confident, she thought.
“Max Anderson, but I’m assuming you already know that from your expression,” he said as he stuck out his hand for her to shake. She took it automatically and gasped as his strong fingers tightened around hers. She could practically feel a live pulse traveling from his hand, up her arm, and straight to her stomach. She had to fight the shiver as he held on far too long to be appropriate. He was playing with her, which she was more than aware of. She shook her head to clear it and lifted her head, as much as the bed would allow. She wasn’t a weakling and wouldn’t cower to him.
“Cassie McIntyre, but I’m sure you’re already aware of that,” she said with a confident smile plastered on her face. She tugged her hand, letting him know it was time to release her. His smile grew at her tone.
“Why does that name sound familiar?” he asked, as the smile started to fade. She could see that he was trying to figure out exactly who she was. She’d left at least a dozen messages with his secretary, and she was a bit offended he hadn’t picked up on her name right away. She guessed she had her answer as to how he felt about the interview she wanted to do with him.
“Probably because I’ve been trying to get an interview with you for a couple of weeks,” she said. She watched as he put it together, and then his smile disappeared as he looked at her with suspicion. She didn’t cower to him, but looked right back. She wasn’t going to say anything, but she knew he was thinking the accident wasn’t an accident after all.
“When did Ms. McIntyre come out of the coma?” Max suddenly turned his full attention to the nurse, who seemed apprehensive at the sudden change of mood in the room. She didn’t know exactly what was going on between the two of them, but she knew something had changed.
“Not too long ago, Mr. Anderson,” she said. She turned and fle
d the room. Traitor, thought Cassie.
“I’m going to let you get some rest, then we’ll discuss this matter further,” Max said. He’d managed to compose himself and gazed at her with a blank expression.
“Wait,” she said, stopping him before he reached the door. She waited until he reluctantly turned around. He didn’t say a word. “I don’t remember what happened. Can you please tell me?” she asked. She hoped if he told her it would jog her memory. He paused long enough that she was beginning to think he was going to ignore her question and simply walk from the room. Finally, he sighed and took a step closer.
“I was driving near the park and suddenly you were just there. I looked away for a moment and then felt a thump. Apparently you flew through the air. You hit your head on the pavement and blacked out. I’ve never been so terrified. I thought you were dead.”
He said the entire story with zero emotion in his voice, as if he were discussing the weather. She didn’t know if he was doing it like that so not to upset her, or if he was just a cold-hearted jerk. How could anyone talk about hitting another human being so emotionlessly?
She tried to figure out what she would’ve been doing in the road. She wasn’t a careless person, and she didn’t jump out in front of oncoming traffic.
“I didn’t do this on purpose, if that’s what you’re thinking,” she finally snapped as he continued to look at her with the same expression, the one that she was really starting to hate.
“I don’t know if it was intentional, or not, but the accident has caused a lot of unnecessary stress for you and my family, so we need to get things straightened out as quickly as possible. Look, I can see how badly you’re hurting right now. We’ll finish this discussion after you’ve gotten some rest.”
Cassie gaped at him in a bit of awe. He was so used to having his own way that he spoke as if she’d be happy to agree with anything he said. What irritated her the most was that he was right. She was exhausted and finding it difficult to keep her eyes open, let alone concentrate on the conversation.
She had a feeling she’d need her brain functioning at full speed if she had any chance of matching him in a verbal battle. On top of everything else, her body was starting to ache beyond what she could handle and she really needed some more pain medication but she didn’t want to admit her discomfort in front of him.
“That will be fine,” she said, dismissing him. She adjusted herself and felt red-hot pain shoot down her legs at the slight movement. She couldn’t prevent the wince that overtook her features.
“You need some more pain medicine,” he said and strode to the door, calling to her nurse, who immediately showed up and went over to a table to get some medicine ready.
“I’m fine,” she said through clenched teeth. If she opened her mouth any wider, she knew her teeth would chatter together, giving her away.
Max couldn’t figure out what was wrong with her. She was the most stubborn, frustrating, irritating woman he’d ever had the displeasure of having to deal with. She didn’t want to admit her pain, though it was obvious she was ready to pass out. She had backbone - that was for sure.
His gut clenched when he thought about the moment his car slammed into her. When she lifted into the air, it was like time paused and everything moved in slow motion. He felt the bile rise in his throat, even thinking about the moment her delicate body fell to the ground and he’d spotted the blood oozing out of her in several places.
He wouldn’t leave her alone until he was assured she’d be okay. He didn’t know if she’d purposely jumped in front of his car or not, but he would get to the bottom of it. No matter what, though, he had hit her, and he was responsible for making sure she walked out of the hospital much more intact than how she’d come in.
He watched the nurse administer the pain meds through her I.V. and then smiled, watching her eyes droop as the medicine did its job.
“I’ll see you soon,” he said before he stepped through the door. He paused once he was out of sight. He wanted to turn around and go right back in, but forced himself to start moving forward. He wasn’t going to form any emotional bonds with the woman. Once he knew she’d be okay he’d never have to see her again.
He walked down the hallway, pushing her firmly from his mind and forcing himself to focus on business. He had time to figure out the mess later.
Chapter Two
Cassie would wake up throughout the day but only for minutes at a time. She would guzzle some water and try to eat what the nurse put before her, but she still was in a lot of pain and would quickly fall back to sleep into blessed oblivion, only to wake up too quickly. She finally fell into a deep sleep about ten that evening and didn’t wake until morning.
As she opened her eyes, she moved around experimentally and realized she felt better. The achiness throughout her body was still there but her head wasn’t pounding and she found that she had her appetite back. She was starving, in fact. She pushed the button on her bed, raising herself into a sitting position and waited patiently for the nurse to arrive.
“Are you going to stay awake for a while longer this morning?” the nurse asked as she stepped into the room. She was carrying a tray that had the most delicious aroma’s coming from it. Cassie was more than happy to see her.
“That smells so good,” Cassie said with a large grin. She turned her body too quickly and realized she wasn’t as well as she’d first thought. It wasn’t quite as bad but enough that she knew she’d better take it easy. She was hopeful she could eat a good meal and then talk the nurse into letting her shower. She could imagine what she looked like, and she was sure she’d frighten small children. “I just realized I’ve never asked your name,” Cassie said with some embarrassment. She wasn’t normally so self-absorbed.
“You’ve been quite pre-occupied, dear. My name is Sally,” she said in her usual kind voice. She took Cassie’s stats while she gulped down her meal of oatmeal, toast, and fresh fruit. It was the best thing she could ever remember tasting. She was disappointed when she wasn’t able to finish it.
“You haven’t been able to eat solids in over a week, so don’t be worried about it. You’ve done well. I’ll bring you a snack in a couple of hours. You’re going to want smaller meals more often to get your body used to eating again,” Sally told her before removing the tray.
Cassie didn’t want to sleep any longer. She wanted to get out of bed. “Can I please take a shower?” Cassie pled with Sally.
“Are you feeling any dizziness right now?”
“None at all,” Cassie told her. She wouldn’t admit it if she was.
“I think we could try it today but I want to take you to the bathroom in a wheelchair and I want you to use the seat. It’s not going to do your body any good if you fall and hit your head,” Sally said. Cassie didn’t even try to argue. She was too relieved to have gotten her wish. Sally helped her from the bed and into the bathroom.
The hot water cascading down her sore muscles was the greatest feeling she could have ever imagined. It was pure heaven and she groaned in disappointment when Sally told her she’d had enough and helped her back to her room. She didn’t realize how much the excursion had worn her out until she laid back down. She closed her eyes for a moment and didn’t wake until much later, when the sun was starting to set in the sky.
As Cassie was finishing her supper, which was unlike any hospital food she’d ever heard of, there was a knock on her door. She turned her head, expectantly. She was a bit upset with herself that she was hoping it was Max. She didn’t need to start wishing for him to come see her.
As if her imagination could conjure him up, in he stepped. She took a deep breath and scolded herself as she felt her heartbeat speed up. Max looked at her while the treacherous machine hooked up to her heart gave her reaction to him away. She turned from him and glared at the beeping machine, trying to will her heart-beat to slow down.
“I…uh…just got back from the bathroom,” she said, trying to explain her rapidly beating he
art. He raised his brow but didn’t call her on the lie, which she was grateful for. She berated herself for the stupid excuse. She didn’t know if she was more embarrassed he might think she was unnerved by him, or exhausted from a small walk. Oh well, she thought, there was nothing she could do about it.
“How are you feeling?” he asked as he stepped up next to the bed. He was dressed in well-worn jeans that hugged him in all the right places, and an old Stanford Sweatshirt. He looked good and she felt even more frumpy in her paper-thin hospital gown.
“I’m feeling a bit better. You really don’t need to stop in and check on me,” she said. She then noticed the bouquet of flowers in his hand. He handed them to her and she stared at them, a bit stunned. She’d never received flowers before and the gesture made her tear up. She could smell the sweet scent filling the air. She tried to snap out of her trance. She knew Max was a player and he gave flowers without it meaning anything to him. She couldn’t let it affect her.
“Thank you, Mr. Anderson. They’re beautiful,” she told him in a shockingly composed voice. “You really shouldn’t have.”
“It was my pleasure.” The way he spoke sent tingles through her body. No wonder women swooned at his feet. He was certainly swoon-worthy. She wished he would just go away. She wasn’t at her best. His voice was like warm honey, and his shining blue eyes seemed to see straight into her soul. She could feel the heat infuse her cheeks. The dang monitor was beeping faster, the longer he stared at her - and his lips turned up at the sound. He knew his effect on her and he was thoroughly enjoying himself.
She’d been starting to feel better but the longer he stood next to her bed the higher her blood pressure shot up. She was starting to hope for unconsciousness once again.
“Well, thanks again for the flowers, but I’m really quite tired so…” she started.
