“I don’t quite believe you, but then again, they’re only doctors, not boyfriends. A boyfriend would care.”
“You really believe that, don’t you?”
Tori shrugged but then walked from the bathroom. She didn’t look at herself in the mirror, nor did she hesitate when she opened the door and headed for the kitchen. She knew Michael wouldn’t care, but he didn’t look at her like a woman. As for Jackson, she didn’t know him very well, and while he was gorgeous, she knew he didn’t really see her as a woman either. Just another victim of a horrible disease he fought every day.
“Hey, momma, feeling better?” Michael asked as he entered the house, followed by Jackson.
“Yes, thanks.” She briefly met his eyes, but didn’t even acknowledge that Jackson was in the room. She couldn’t. The girls entered moments later, forgetting to shut the door all the way, and before anyone knew what was happening, a flood of little puppies crashed through the doorway.
Tori watched the men struggle to capture the puppies, who were slipping on the tiled surface and crashing into one another. When Shelby came in, she decided this must be some sort of new game and started barking. Grace had entered the kitchen, and the four females could do nothing but watch and laugh.
It took almost ten minutes before all of the puppies had been corralled and put back outside, along with their mother. The men were scowling when they re-entered the house and Grace and Tori just laughed all that much harder. Emily was laughing, but not Dani.
Grace watched her daughter’s face and tried to head off the tantrum that was brewing. “Girls, why don’t you come get some dinner on your plates first?”
Emily readily agreed, but Dani stood in the middle of the room and crossed her arms over her chest. Preparing herself for battle, Grace asked, “Dani, what’s wrong?”
“I wants to eat with the puppies.”
“Well, the puppies have to stay outside. Why don’t you come eat and then you can go back outside and play with them?”
Dani shook her head, “No! I want to eat with them.”
Tori saw the storm clouds brewing in the little girls face and spoke up, “Dani, where did you want to eat?”
“Inside!” Princess Dani informed the room.
Tori shook her head, “Dani, the puppies would make a big mess if we let them in the house. They aren’t housebroken.”
The new word gave Dani pause, “Aunt Tori, they won’t break the house. They’re too little to break the house.”
“No, sweetie. Housebroken means they know they have to go outside to go potty.”
Dani thought about that for so long, Grace wondered what was going to come out of her daughter’s mouth next. She didn’t have to wait for long, “You has a bathroom cuz I’s used it.”
Tori nodded, “Yes, but that bathroom is only for people.”
“Oh.” When she looked up at Grace, she nodded her head and said, “Momma, we’s got to get a doggy potty before the puppies come home. I’s don’t want them to potty outside and Aunt Tori said …”
“Dani, we are not going to put a doggy potty in the house.” Grace needed to make that fact perfectly clear to her daughter. Right now!
Michael smirked and she turned on him, “Think this conversation is funny? It’s all yours now. Let’s see how well you fare against the logic of a four-year old.”
Jackson had sidled up next to Tori and whispered, “That’s logic?”
Tori looked up at him, “Ever try to reason with a four-year old?” When he shook his head, she smiled and advised him, “Don’t. You’ll lose every time.”
Jackson watched the smile light up her face. She needs to do that more often! Pulling himself back from that thought, he watched as she busied herself fixing the girls plates of food. She’d forgotten the wig and then hadn’t covered her body up. The black of the tank top did a good job of camouflaging her healing body, and as she joked with Grace and Michael, he picked up on a new attitude coming from her. He liked it.
After dinner was put away, Michael asked, “So did you think any more about my offer?”
Tori nodded her head, “Michael, I can’t work with sick kids all day. It would be too hard. I just couldn’t do it.”
Michael gave her an understanding look, “I completely understand. There are days when I feel the same way, but then there are days where good things happen and they make up for it. So, what are your plans then?”
Tori shook her head, “I really don’t know.”
“Why not just go back to your old job?” Jackson asked.
“I can’t. I was entitled to the standard twelve weeks of leave, but the hospital where I worked has new management and they were unwilling to give me more than that. The most I could hope for would be the temp pool, and then I’d have to work any shift they gave me. I can’t do that to Emily.”
“You shouldn’t have to.” Jackson was outraged. It wasn’t her fault she’d gotten sick, but she was being penalized for it anyway. “So, are you wanting to stay in oncology work?”
Tori glanced at him and then away, “I think so. I don’t know. I guess I might have to sell the house and move.”
That thought had everyone drawing silent while they finished eating. Grace broke the tension by saying, “I wouldn’t worry about it right now. These things have a way of working themselves out. Now, who wants dessert?”
Chapter 19
Grace and Michael took Dani home an hour later, and Tori sent Emily off for a quick shower. The little girl had been forced to grow up while Tori was sick and was now capable of doing a lot of things for herself.
When Jackson’s phone rang, he answered it and then said, “Hang on a sec and let me put you on speakerphone so Tori can listen as well.” He got her attention and then gestured for her to listen. “Okay, she’s listening.”
“Tori, Dr. Samuels. I was just calling to give you the results of the blood test. Everything looks fine, but you are slightly anemic just like Jackson suspected. I’m going to call in a prescription for some iron tablets and I want to check your levels again in a week. You know the other things you can do to help things along. Any questions?”
“No, thank you for calling so quickly.”
“No problem, hon. How are you doing other than feeling like someone replaced your blood with water?”
Tori laughed as she realized that’s exactly how she’d been feeling. Couple that with the respiratory infection and it was no wonder she had no energy. “I’m good. The antibiotics seemed to have done the trick.”
“Good. Well, you have my number and I expect you to use it if you need to. On another note, any luck getting your old job back? I miss seeing you on the floor.”
“No, and I don’t think I could work there again, anyway. I’ll find something when I’m ready.”
“Did you schedule with Dr. Chevas yet?”
Tori could feel the question coming from Jackson before he even asked it, but she ignored him, “No. I think I’ll do that in the morning.”
“Good. I’ll sign off on it as long as it’s not any sooner than two weeks. You need to put this all behind you.”
“I know. I’ll call first thing tomorrow. Thank you.”
“Be good. Jackson, you have my number. Make her call if she has any problems.”
“I’ll do that. Thanks for rushing that lab work through. I’ll run down to the drugstore and pick up her pills so she can start them tonight.”
“Fantastic! I’ll call the order in right now. Goodnight!”
“You don’t have to do that,” Tori told him as he closed his phone and slipped it back into his pocket.
“Who is Dr. Chevas?”
Tori stared at him and then crossed her arms over her chest. The movement brought home her deformity so she uncrossed them and then turned slightly away from him, “She’s a reconstructive surgeon. Don’t you have some packing to do, or someplace to be?”
Jackson could see she was getting defensive and he didn’t want their interaction to en
d up there again. “I’ll go grab your pills. Which pharmacy?”
“The one down on the corner, two blocks east.”
“Got it. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” Jackson left before he could say something else. What is it about her? He didn’t know her, had only spent a few hours with her ever, but he was finding it hard to leave her alone.
Jackson retrieved her pills, but she met him at the front door with an unwelcoming look on her face, “Thanks. I won’t keep you any longer. I hope you found the closure you were looking for. Thanks again.” Tori shut the door in his face and he stood there for a few more minutes before walking back to his car.
Jackson drove home, trying to put Tori and her daughter from his mind, but just as the night before, it didn’t work. The next day, he busied himself with trading off his beloved Mustang for a Toyota SUV with all the bells and whistles.
He made arrangements for the movers’ to come at the end of the next week and pack up the belongings he would be moving to Montana, and then contacted a local charity store and made arrangements for them to take the rest of his furniture. He wouldn’t need it where he was going and there was no reason to store it. None of it had sentimental value and he was pleased with his accomplishments when he retired for the day.
Throughout the day, his thoughts had drifted to Tori and her daughter, but he’d pushed them away. She was just a woman he’d crossed paths with and he was leaving town in less than two weeks. No, Tori and her daughter were better off left alone.
That thought worked well for him over the next two days, but then he found the small envelope Sara had asked him to give Grace still stuck in his overnight bag. He’d forgotten to leave it with the dress! Setting it aside, he made plans to deliver it the next day.
*****
Samuel and Stan found themselves sitting in the conference room once again, three days later pouring over surveillance tapes and watching as their video experts worked their magic. The operation at LAX had been as much of a success as was possible, given the circumstances, and they had over twenty minutes of video footage.
“We’ll run this through facial recognition software and see if anything pops.”
“How long will that take?” Samuel asked, feeling the clock already ticking.
“A few hours, maybe a few days. I never know.”
Samuel nodded and then walked out of the conference room. “I don’t like this. Based upon the audio recordings, the targets are Grace and Dani.”
“Any chance you can get them to leave town and stay gone until this is over?” Stan asked already knowing the answer.
“Not likely. Grace has a mid-term concert in three days. There’s no way she’d miss that.”
“Well then, we keep around the clock eyes on her and the kid. Did you talk to Trent?”
“Yeah. Sara’s not happy, but he explained everything to her and she’s agreed to not say anything to Grace right now. Hopefully they can get us a picture or a name to go on.”
“Yeah. That would certainly help. James’ driver played along beautifully when they stopped him last night. According to the information he provided me, James is planning on meeting with one of Julian’s daughters later this month.”
“Julian Quintana has a daughter? How old is she?”
“Don’t know. Julian wants to see her, but aside from his lawyer, he’s not allowed to receive any other visitors at this point in time. Sewell is filing a motion today to remove that restriction.”
Samuel growled and then shook his head, “We can’t let that happen. What’s he using as evidence that he is no longer a threat?”
Stan laughed, “According to the driver, Julian has been a model citizen, and has gained the sympathy of some of the guards since Hector’s death. Three of them had written letters of recommendation.”
“They’re dirty. They have to be on the take! No self-respecting peace officer would ever think Julian Quintana had changed that much.”
“That’s what I was thinking as well. I have a team digging through their personal files, but I doubt we’ll find anything before the court hearing in,” Stan looked at his watch and grimaced, “two hours.”
Samuel shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Okay. I’m going to go talk to Michael. We need to bring him in on what’s going on and as soon as Grace’s concert is over, she’s headed to Montana. Hopefully by the time the wedding is over, things will have calmed down around here.”
“What about Jane?” Stan asked.
“Yeah, what about Jane? There’s no way she’s going to leave early. She’s got too much going on at the test kitchen.”
“Well, I don’t know that it’ll be safe for her to stay at Grace’s house. Once Grace leaves town, we won’t have leverage to keep surveillance on the place. She’d be a sitting duck.”
“They don’t know who she is though. That could work in our favor. I’ll talk to her tonight. Maybe she could stay with Tori for a week or so?”
“That would work. She’d also be able to keep an eye on the house and let us know if anyone comes calling.”
Samuel nodded and began making plans. He just needed to keep everyone safe until the trial. After that, it was lights out for both Trevor and Julian.
Chapter 20
Jackson showed up just as Grace and the girls were leaving for school. “Hey, what are you doing out so early?”
“I forgot to give you this envelope the other day when I dropped the dress off.” Jackson walked across the driveway and handed her the envelope with a smile.
“Thanks. New ride?” Grace asked, eyeing the black SUV.
Jackson looked back at the SUV with a rueful grin, “Yeah, somehow I couldn’t see the Mustang faring well in the mountains of Montana.”
Grace laughed and shook her head, “Probably not. I couldn’t believe how much snow they had up there at Christmas time.”
“They got another foot just in the little bit of time I was up there,” Jackson nodded his head. “I guess I’m probably gonna have to re-learn how to ski.”
“Skiing? No thanks. I’ll stick to the beach and sunscreen.” She laughed and then hollered for the girls who were playing with Shelby in the front yard. “Emily. Dani. Time for school or you’re going to be late.”
“Hey, don’t let me hold you up. I just found that last night and figured you were probably wondering what happened to it. That, and the fact that the movers are coming at the end of the week and I was afraid I would lose it in the mayhem that is sure to ensue.”
“Hey, Mr. Jackson, watch this!” hollered Emily as she ran across the yard and attempted to do a front cartwheel. Unfortunately, her right arm buckled as she put it down and she cried out, landing in a heap in the grass.
Grace took off across the yard with Jackson right behind her, “Emily! Sweetie, don’t move.”
Jackson bent down next to the little girl, trying to keep her from moving too much until he could assess the situation. Emily pushed her legs out and then screamed in pain as she attempted to push herself up to a sitting position. She cradled her arm against her chest and her little body trembled in pain.
Jackson gave Grace a look and then nodded towards the house, “Can you go get Tori?” he whispered quietly. Grace nodded her head and took off running for the backyard. Her heart was racing and she couldn’t believe this was happening.
Jackson could see Dani still standing in the middle of the yard with a look on her face that meant he was about to have two crying females to deal with. Grace, come back quickly! Seeing a little golden fur ball stick its head out from behind the gate, he pointed and sent Dani to stop the puppies from escaping. “Dani, sweetheart, can you go shut the gate and put that little guy in the backyard.”
Dani followed his pointing hand and then nodded. That problem solved, Jackson turned back to the still crying Emily, although she was now shaking uncontrollably and he could see shock starting to set in.
“Emily, sweetie, does your arm hurt?” he asked softly, observing
the angle of her arm and knowing that is was most definitely broken.
“Really bad,” she said with a shaky voice.
“Emily!” Tori cried, coming out the front door and hurrying to where Emily sat in the grass.
Jackson looked up and shook his head, mouthing “Easy” to help calm her down. Tori’s nurse training kicked in and he watched as she drew herself up and put a small smile on her face. “Hey, Grace tells me you were trying to be a gymnast.”
“Mommy, it hurts!” Emily cried, reaching up with her good arm for her mother.
Tori knelt down in the grass and wrapped a tender arm around Emily’s head. “I know, sweetie. Can you let Dr. Jackson look at your arm for a minute and then we’ll go see the doctor and get you all fixed up.”
“No!” Emily screamed. “No hospitals! You promised!”
Jackson looked up at Tori with a question on his face. She hurried to calm Emily down, “Sweetie, we need to go see the doctor so they can take a picture of your arm and fix it. Mommy will stay with you, okay?”
Emily let out a shuttering breath and then slowly nodded her head, the movement causing another rush of pain to push through her small body.
Tori looked up at Jackson with tears in her eyes, “I can’t carry her.”
“Shush, I’ll do it. Grace, can you drive us to the hospital?” he asked calmly, dreading the moment when he would need to lift the little girl. Somehow, she had stolen a piece of his heart and the last thing in the world he wanted to do was cause her more pain.
Grace nodded and hurried to open the back door to her vehicle, “Dani, we need to go.” She looked around and then at Jackson.
“I sent her to shut the gate and put the puppies back in.”
Grace hurried over and retrieved Dani, thankful that the shock of her friend’s injury was keeping her quiet. “We have to take Emily to the doctors. Can you get in your car seat, please?”
“Yes, mommy,” Dani said, stopping to tell Emily, “The doctors will make you all better. Can we call Michael mommy? Maybe he can stay with her so she won’t be so scared like he did with me?”
Romance: New Beginnings (Young Adult and Adult Romance, Christian Christmas Fiction book as a Love Story) (Second Chances Trilogy 3) Page 12
