A Ghost of the Past
Page 12
Ray gasped at his words and Todd tucked her into his arms. Cordial swallowed and asked, “How much longer does he have?”
The doctor smiled at this, “Son, if he sticks to the diet I am going to give him and tries to take it easy, then he has years left.”
Cordial smiled at that as Ray moaned, “Thank God.”
“Any other questions?” the doctor asked.
“Can you notify us, me or my sister when you release him?” Cordial asked. At the doctor’s look, Cordial said bluntly, “I rather we pick him up instead of our stepmother.”
The doctor nodded his head for he understood what the man was telling him. He already had a talk with his patient and he knew that he understood what was going on.
He nodded to them all before leaving the room and Cordial let out a sigh of relief.
Shay rubbed his arm as she said, “Well, that is actually good news although I think it is going to be rough to get him to listen to the doctors orders.”
They all laughed lightly as they realized her words where correct. They left the room and went back to the ward where the nurse was still on duty.
She smiled as she saw them, “He is still awake. Would you like to say goodnight?”
They did not have to say a word for their faces spoke their gratitude. Cordial, Ray and Todd walked into the room as Shay gently disengaged her hand from Cordial.
He looked at her in surprise and she shook her head saying softly, “He knew who I was the first time, but the doctor said that sometimes he will lose moments so let’s not push are luck today.” He nodded his head as he walked into the room letting the door close behind him, and Shay looked at the door for a moment before she walked off the ward heading to Cordial’s truck. She told the nurse that she would be waiting at the truck and the nurse nodded her head.
In the room, Vincent looked around at his favorite people and he frowned slightly asking in a slurred voice, “Where is Shay?”
Cordial said softly, “She did not want to cause any trouble for you so she decided not to come into the room this time.”
“Trouble?” his father asked in confusion and Ray explained, “She looks like Charity, Daddy.”
Vincent leaned back on the pillows as he looked at his daughter, “Only in looks, sweetie.” His voice was low as he rambled on, but they heard the first part of his sentence.
“Dad, we are going to say goodnight now,” Cordial said, and his father grabbed his arm in a hard grip that surprised them.
He whispered so softly that Cordial had to lean closer to hear him, “Do not let go of her.”
Cordial frowned as he said confused, “Charity?”
Vincent shook his head weakly as the medicine pulled at him but he had to tell Cordial, his son must hear this, “Shay” he breathed before the medicine pulled him into sleep and his hand loosened on his son’s arm. Cordial took his dad hand and placed it next to him on the bed as they listened to his breathing in the quiet of the room.
The nurse came in and she said softly, “He was given a pain killer for any lingering pain so it has made him sleepy.”
She noticed their concerns looks as she steered them out of the room, “He is fine. Come back tomorrow and you will see.” Cordial nodded his head then he looked around the frown back on his face.
“Your girlfriend said she would wait for you in your truck,” the nurse told him after noticing him scanning the area. Cordial nodded as they told her “thank you” and “good night” before heading down and out of the hospital. As soon as they stepped outside, Cordial immediately looked in the direction of his truck and sure enough, Shay was sitting in the passenger seat with her head back against the headrest.
He strolled over there and rapped on the door before opening it and pulling her out.
“Next time, wait for me,” he said harshly before pulling her into a hard embrace. Shay had a shock look on her face as she felt his arms close around her in an iron grip.
“Cordial, I am fine,” she stated chuckling as she try to wiggle her arms out of his grip but he just tightened them. She sighed and shook her head before resting it on his chest under his chin.
“Cordial,” Ray called softly, and Cordial finally released Shay to look at his sister and Todd.
“We are heading home,” Ray said, and Cordial saw the look in her eyes. There was relief combined with fear that something else would happen.
Cordial nodded his head as Shay said, “Ray, what did you ask the nurse?”
Ray smiled and her eyes brightened with a hidden amusement, “I asked her why Lucille, as my dad’s wife, was not called. The nurse told me that when dad woke up, the only people he asked for were Cordial and Raylee, although she thought she heard the name Jennie, but she was not certain.”
Cordial eyes widened for a moment as he looked at his sister, and then they smiled in a secretive way. Shay looked at them in confusion until Todd said quietly, “Jennie was their mom’s name.”
Shay swung her gaze to Todd to see the same amusement in them and she understood more with that look than anything else. She nodded at him as brother and sister hugged each other before Ray said, “See you two tomorrow.”
Cordial nodded his head as Todd said, “Will I see you at the site, Cordial?”
Cordial nodded his head, but he added, “We are almost done with the building, right?” and at Todd’s nod, “I am thinking of giving the men some paid leave. What do you think?”
Todd grinned as he pulled Ray closer to him for he liked the idea of spending a few days with Ray even if it meant going to the hospital every day. “I would like that very much,” he said with pleasure in his voice.
Cordial laughed as Ray blushed, and Shay hit him in the arm. “Woman,” he growled rubbing his arm, “You hit me one more time…”
Shay tilted her and said teasingly, “What are you going to do about it?”
His eyes flashed for a moment before he pulled her into his arms and crashed his lips to hers. Shay gasped at the intensity before she wrapped her arms around his neck giving him better access to her mouth as she kissed him back.
“Please,” Ray said breaking the spell, they were under and Cordial pulled back from Shay with reluctance, as Shay looked over at Ray with a dazed expression.
“I will remember that next time I catch you and Todd in the same situation,” she said with devilish smile although her eyes were still dazed by the kiss.
Ray swore under her breath as she blushed again, and they all laughed.
A few cars down, a figure sat in the darkness of his car watching the four of them. His hands clenched around the steering wheel as he cursed into the confines of the car; they were going to be angry. He thought the young woman would have left with the messages, and when they did not work, he thought for sure that shooting her would. His eyes narrowed to slits as he picked up his phone and dialed a number.
“Hello,” the voice said on the other end.
“It is not working,” he stated watching as the couples separated and getting into their vehicles. He watched as they drove away waiting for the reply over his cell.
“She is a lot tougher than Charity,” the voice said. “Make sure the next shot does more than just maim her.” Then the dial tone as the person hung up.
“Shit,” he cursed aloud. He sat there for a few minutes more when his phone rung again.
“Hello,” he snarled.
“Baby,” a softer voice said over the phone, and he swallowed as he said, “Sorry just had some bad news.”
“How is it going with Shay? Did you work your magic on her?” the voice said and he thought he heard a hint of jealousy.
“Do not worry baby, you are the only for me. Someone wants me to check out to make sure she is not trying to ruin Charity’s name,” he replied.
“Oh, poor Charity,” the voice cooed. Then the voice asked softly, “What if she decides to take you up on the offer as Charity did?”
He laughed as he said, “Why would you be jealous if she d
id?”
“Of course,” the voice said and he felt himself swell with smugness not knowing that on the other side of the phone, the person was smiling with amusement in their eyes and the knowledge that what they wanted was well within their grasp.
“I need to get going. Are you coming over later?” the voice purred and he felt passion fire up in his body. “As soon as I get done here, I will be on my way.”
They hung up the phone and through his passion; he knew what he had to do. First thing, though, was to separate Cordial and the woman for his employer did not want Cordial getting cut in the backlash like last time. He could care less himself but if he wanted to get what he wanted, he had to play by the rules. He started his car and headed out a smile gracing his lips with eyes that had devilish twinkle in them.
Chapter 22
Cordial pulled into his driveway with a sigh.
“We are home,” he said turning off the truck and glancing over at Shay to see her fast asleep. He smiled softly and then got out of the truck walking over to her side, and opening the door slowly so she would not fall out.
She woke up as they were headed inside the house and he closed the door behind him.
“Are we back at your house?” she asked with a yawn.
“Yes,” Cordial said although for some reason he did not like the wording that she used. “Can you punch in the code for me?”
Shay nodded her head as he leaned her forward to punch the code and in her relaxed state she remembered what the numbers stood for as Cordial turned away to head upstairs.
“Your wedding date,” she said so softly that Cordial almost missed it. He barely paused as he took her to the guest bedroom and set her down in front of the door. He raised a hand to her cheek and watched as she leaned against it with closed eyes before they opened up to look at him with wary green orbs staring up at him.
He leaned down and kissed her softly before he pulled away. He mumbled “good night” and turned heading to his room.
Shay watched him walk away before entering into her temporary room. She quickly got undressed and got into her pajamas before scrambling into the bed, and curling into a ball. Will he ever want me, or will he always be thinking about Charity, was what she asked herself before she fell into a deep sleep. For once, she slept without dreams of Charity and had a restful sleep.
Down the hall in his room, Cordial stared out his open window looking out over the trees dotting his backyard. He was frowning as he realized that her whispered comment although so soft had a lasting effect on him. He had not thought about the fact that the code to his security system was what would have been his wedding day. He turned around and looked at his room, and he noticed that he decorated it in Charity’s favorite colors, and he swore as he ran a hand through his hair.
“Charity, I really did care for you,” he said as he walked over to his dresser and taking out the photo of him and her together. “But I was not in love with you.” With those words, he pulled an unused box from his closet and started packing in the things that reminded him of Charity. He started with his bedroom then went throughout the house not touching the guest bedroom where Shay was sleeping soundly for he checked on her before going downstairs. He did the same thing in the living room before heading to the kitchen, and in here, he smiled for Shay had already made this her domain as he noticed the apron folded on the counter. He walked over to see little remainders she had placed on the refrigerator about things they needed from the grocery store. He was not going to change anything in here unless Shay wanted it changed.
The rest of the house now was a different story for he needed to repaint most of the rooms, and his smile grew with delight at asking Shay what she would choose. He walked around the house one last time before heading back to bed wondering when he could ask Shay to share his bed with him.
Shay woke up the next morning feeling better than she had in months and she gasped as she scrambled out of bed going to her luggage, and pulling out a small calendar that she carried with her. She stumbled over to the bed and she sat down heavily as she stared at the calendar. She had been in Pine Valley going on almost four months; where did the time go, she asked herself with a baffled look in her eyes. She placed the calendar on the bed as her cell began to ring.
“Hello,” she said distracted.
“Hello, Shay,” Amanda said on the other end.
“Amanda, I have a quick question and please do not laugh after I ask?” Shay pleaded and Amanda frowned as she said, “Okay, Shay.”
“Have I really been gone for almost four months?” Shay asked quickly.
Amanda laughed as she said, “Yes, Shay, you have been. Why are you asking? Are you okay?” Shay could hear the worry in Amanda’s voice, and she quickly said, “I am fine, Amanda. Its just that I did not realize that so much time has past.” She sighed completely baffled of how time passed her by without her noticing it, but Amanda sighed, “You are in love.”
Shay paled, “What?”
“You are in love that is why you did not notice the time passing you by,” Amanda explained and she heard Shay groan. Shay, then, proceeded to tell her what was going on.
“So you see Amanda if I do love him, then I am going to get my heart broken when he realizes that I am nothing like Charity,” Shay finished.
“You were shot at,” Amanda said slowly and Shay laughed without humor.
“Was that the only thing you got out of that?” she asked Amanda.
“No, but it was one of the most important things,” Amanda said. Then she said softly, “Shay, you have never run from anything as long as I have known you. I know that you want to find out who killed your twin sister, which is mind boggling at the moment, but you are also staying because you want to see what happens between you and Cordial, right?”
Shay sighed heavily, “Yes, I am. He makes me feel things that I have never felt, and I want to see if he can see me for, well, me.”
Amanda laughed, “Shay, if he does not then he is a fool and you always have a place to come back to if you need it.”
“Thank you,” Shay said. “I probably will be taking you up on that offer soon.”
Amanda did not say anything but something told her that she would not be seeing Shay for some time to come.
“So how are you doing?” Shay asked changing the subject, and Amanda proceeded to tell her about what was going in her life now.
It was an hour later that Shay got off the phone and she changed into a pair of jeans and t-shirt with her sneakers, and headed downstairs.
“Cordial,” she called out with a frown as she walked through the living room to the kitchen were she found a note stuck to the refrigerator.
Todd called early this morning about some work that needed to be done before we finished with the construction site. I will see you later, and I hope that you had a goodnight’s sleep. Cordial
She smiled as she touched the note with her fingertips before chuckling as she opened the refrigerator to get something to drink. Her gaze landed on the pie still in the refrigerator, and she smiled with a twinkle in her eye as she started taking things out that she needed to make Cordial a chocolate cake from scratch. She frowned though when she looked around and could not find any vanilla extract.
Damn, she thought to herself before pulling her phone from her back pocket where she stashed it as she was coming downstairs.
She called Ray who answered on the third ring.
“Hello,” she said.
“Hi, Ray, do you have vanilla extract at your place?” Shay asked getting to the point of her call.
“Hi, Shay,” Ray said before she said, “What?”
Shay chuckled, “Do you have any vanilla extract? I am going to make that cake I promised Cordial, but the damn man has no vanilla extract in the house, well, none that I can find unless he has it hidden.”
Ray started chuckling herself, “Sorry, Shay, but I do not have any.”
“You are a pastry chef,” Shay said teasingly.
“Ray, can you come get me and take me to the store before I start thinking about what you and Todd did with that chocolate cake?” Shay said, and she felt a shiver go through her at the idea.
Ray laughed, “Are you having perverted thoughts?”
“I am keeping them at bay for the moment,” Shay answered truthfully to hear Ray’s laughter through the phone.
“I need to make a trip into Gladesview anyway so I would love the company,” Ray said, and Shay frowned.
“Wait a minute,” Shay said looking around until she saw the list sitting on the table. She walked over to it and picked it up scanning it quickly.
“Do you think we will have time for a few stops?” Shay asked.
“I do not see why not,” Ray asked and Shay could hear the question in her voice.
“According to our list of Charity’s lovers, four of them live around the area of Gladesview,” Shay explained. “Are you up for a little fact finding trip?”
“Hell yes,” Ray said. “I need to let Todd know so that he does not worry if I am not here when he gets home.”
“I should give Cordial a call since the man had a fit when I went back to the truck last night without telling him. Do you think you can give me his cell number?” Shay asked.
Ray gave it to her and then asked, “Why don’t you have his number yet?”
“Probably because I have not thought about asking him for it since I am staying in his house and we are together most of the time anyway,” Shay remarked. Ray just sighed shaking her head before telling her that she would be there in ten minutes.