“McKinnon…” Mitch said slowly. It all flooded back. His heart pounded, making the monitor beep. He forced himself to breathe slower. He didn’t need his father to know how anxious he was, and he certainly didn’t want any nurses to overhear their conversation.
But he remembered now. Kendra McKinnon, the young, beautiful actress he’d met at the party had been in the car with him.
“That’s it. Kendra McKinnon. She’s in a coma, and it’s in all the rival papers. Not only are they printing it, they’re printing the fact that my papers aren’t printing it, saying I’m protecting you.” His father raked his hands across his balding head, his face grim and stony.
“I’m sorry…” Mitch said quietly. He couldn’t have cared less that his father’s papers were getting a bad reputation, but Kendra in a coma? What did that mean for him? Seemed he was in a right mess.
“Sorry isn’t going to cut it. Her family is considering suing you and I’m not going to bail you out this time. You’re on your own, buddy. I’m done.”
His father’s tone sent shivers down his spine. “What do you mean?” His dad always bailed him out. Always.
“I mean, you’re on your own. I’m not paying off a lawsuit for you.”
Mitch swallowed hard. He couldn’t shake the image of Kendra lying in a coma from his mind. And now his dad was saying he wouldn’t help him? He’d always gotten him out of this stuff. For his own sake, not for Mitch’s.
He could throw that in his face. Use manipulation and the fact that if his father didn’t help him, the rival papers would have a field day. He’d wound his own reputation by not saving Mitch’s.
But that was a petty game to play and he was better than that. He lifted his chin. He didn’t need his father’s help. He’d prove that he could do this on his own. He absolutely could. “Well, that’s not such a big deal since I’m almost thirty. Once I get my trust fund, I won’t need your help.”
His father scoffed again as a smirk grew on his face. “You’re a bigger fool than I gave you credit for. You tested positive for drugs and you put this young woman’s life at risk. You could lose everything, Mitchell. What’s more, you deserve it.”
Mitch grimaced. He hated the way his father spoke to him, but maybe he was right. Maybe he really had been foolish to think he was above the law.
Still, the worst that could happen was that he’d have to pay a large chunk of his trust fund towards the lawsuit. There’d still be money left over. A billion dollars was a hefty sum in anyone’s language. There was no reason for him to start worrying.
“I’ll be just fine,” he finally said, maintaining his stoic arrogance.
“And if she dies?” his father asked in a low voice.
Icy fingers clawed at Mitch’s gut. Although his father had mentioned it before, the gravity of the situation now sunk in. Kendra might die. She was famous. She had a new movie coming out. She couldn’t die. Not now, anyway. “That’s not going to happen,” he replied, more in an attempt to convince himself than anything.
“Don’t fool yourself, Mitchell. It could. And if she does, you won’t just be looking at charges of driving under the influence of drugs. If she dies, you’ll go down for manslaughter. And that will certainly mean prison. This is where your actions have led, and you wonder why I’m disgusted with you.”
Mitch gulped. He hadn’t thought it through. Sure, he felt bad about Kendra being in a coma. But dying? If that happened, his whole life would be over.
Slowly, a sense of guilt welled inside him. Here he was, worrying about his life being over if he ended up in jail, but Kendra’s life really would be over if she died.
Fear gripped him and his heart pounded. He couldn’t let his father see how he felt, but the heart monitor didn’t lie and as the beeps quickened, a cruel smile grew on his father’s face. Sometimes Mitch felt that his father was a villain, taking pleasure in his failures, but in this instance, he sensed his father was looking forward to his demise.
But Kendra wouldn’t die. She couldn’t.
Chapter 4
Returning to Mitchell’s room soon after his father left, Jenna hovered outside the door, preparing herself for what she knew awaited her—obnoxious flirtation and constant reminders of his wealth. She’d only had the one conversation with Mitchell, but already she’d had enough of him. He was certainly testing her resolve to be kind.
She stepped closer to the door and listened. It was faint, but it sounded like Mitchell Carmichael was crying.
Serves him right was the first thought that popped into her head, but conviction immediately seeped into her heart. Although he wasn’t the sort of man she could ever stand to be around, he was still created by God. The way he flaunted his wealth and behaved so badly was because he didn’t know his creator. But God loved him, and even if she couldn’t stand him, she knew she needed to treat him the way Jesus would, with love and respect, even if he didn’t deserve it.
Prompted to show him the love of Jesus and a grace she didn’t know if she was capable of, her heart crumbled and everything she’d been feeling towards him suddenly changed. He would be in the hospital for at least the next month recovering from his injuries, and after that, he would face court. If ever there was a time for her to invest in his life, to show him the love of Jesus, it was now.
Lord, please help me. You know how difficult this is for me, but whatever You’re doing, I’ll do my best to trust You. No matter how much she shunned the idea of befriending this man, how much his antics made her stomach turn, befriending him and showing him God’s love was the right thing to do. Of that she was now convinced.
Taking a deep breath, she knocked softly and then stepped into the room. When she handed him a tissue, he looked puzzled, embarrassed, but he took it from her.
“What can I get for you? Do you like soup? Soup’s my comfort food. But if there’s something else you’d prefer, just let me know.”
His brows came together and he looked at her with suspicion. “I don’t need anything.”
“No problem, but if you do think of anything, please let me know.” She proceeded to check his vitals and was surprised and grateful that he refrained from commenting flirtatiously.
Although she wanted to jump in and befriend him and tell him that God loved him, she decided to take a slow approach. She’d get nowhere by talking about sin and redemption and God’s faithfulness, however, if she showed genuine care, a time might come when he’d listen. “How’s your pain?” she asked softly.
“The same.”
“Okay, I’ll be back to check on you in a bit. Use the button if you need anything.” She smiled and then turned to leave the room.
“I don’t need your pity.”
She spun around. He sat there with hooded eyes.
She stepped closer. “No, you don’t. And you don’t deserve it, either. But you do need to be shown some kindness.” Without waiting for a response, she left the room and sent up a silent prayer for him.
An hour later she checked on him again. She wasn’t surprised to see his lunch sitting almost completely untouched on a tray. “Don’t you like it?”
“Do I need to answer that?” He lifted his gaze to hers and for the first time she noticed his eyes, a tawny shade of brown.
“I guess not. Would you like me to get you something more appetising?”
“A good steak would be nice.”
She chuckled. “I don’t think steak’s on the menu.”
“I have money. Just get me a steak, will you?”
She bit her lip to stop from saying something she might regret. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“Thank you.”
She gave him a smile she didn’t feel. “I’ll be right back.” Turning, she left the room and prayed for patience. Steak wasn’t on the general hospital menu, but she sensed that getting him the meal he asked for would go a long way to building trust with him, even though it irked her that he used his wealth to get what he wanted.
She was return
ing to Mitchell’s room a short while later with a steak meal she’d purchased from the bistro when a smartly dressed woman entered ahead of her.
The woman stepped close to him and squeezed his hand. She guessed the woman was his mother. Jenna had heard through the hospital grapevine that his parents were divorced. Having seen and heard his father, she wasn’t surprised.
Jenna was reluctant to intrude, but she followed the woman in. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but I have Mitchell’s lunch.”
The woman looked up, smiling from a face that was beautiful, if not slightly overworked. Rich auburn hair, pulled back in a low bun, gave the impression of charm and class. “Come in. We can’t let him starve.”
“Thank you.” Jenna stepped forward and placed the meal on his tray.
“That smells good. Is it hospital food?”
Jenna shook her head. “No. He wanted steak.” As soon as she said it, she regretted it. Glancing at him, she shot him a look of apology.
“Mitchell! You’re not getting special treatment, are you?”
“Mum...” The way he spoke and looked at his mother suggested he even tried his charms on her.
“It’s okay,” Jenna interrupted. “I’m his nurse, and you have no idea how often I have to push patients to eat their food. Mitchell needs to eat to aid his recovery, so I was happy to get him what he wanted this time.”
“Thank you for your kindness. I’ve been so worried about him.” She squeezed his hand again.
Jenna smiled to herself. It was nice to know that someone other than God loved him. “He has a lot of healing to do, but he’s making good progress.”
“That’s wonderful. We just want him back home, safe and sound, as soon as possible.”
Jenna didn’t miss the cloud that crossed Mitchell’s face. Maybe they didn’t have such a wonderful relationship after all. The woman returned her attention to Jenna. “I’m his mother, by the way. Marylin Carmichael.”
Jenna smiled. “Nice to meet you. I’m Jenna, and we’ll get him home just as soon as we can.”
“Thank you, dear.”
“You’re more than welcome. I’ll leave you alone now. Just call if you need anything.” As Jenna turned to leave the room, she noticed Mitchell’s gaze travelling over her body. She was tempted to throw the meal at him, but instead, she prayed for an extra portion of grace.
Chapter 5
A full week had passed since Mitch had entered the hospital. He’d spoken with the police three times and he now knew he really was in deep trouble. He was being charged with a series of offences that could land him in jail, although he doubted that would happen. Surely his dad wouldn’t allow it since it would tarnish his reputation. He’d give in and pay whatever was needed.
If Mitch had learned anything throughout his life, it was that there was always a way out of these situations. For twenty-nine years he’d been let off the hook for his actions and he was certain this time would be no different. He’d convince his father to help with the legal fees and fine once his anger cooled off. Besides, as soon as he turned thirty, he’d be a billionaire in his own right. As long as Kendra’s family didn’t sue him for everything.
He couldn’t bring himself to ask about her condition, even if he was curious about it, and he made every effort to push away the guilt that crowded his thoughts.
On occasional moments, he felt a painful sense that he was out of control, but for the most part, he pushed those thoughts and feelings away. Possible consequences weren’t worth being afraid of. Besides, a few broken bones had to be as bad as it could get. At least, that’s what he told himself.
“Hey, Mitch. How are you feeling?” Jenna breezed into the room with her little tray of torture devices to prick him, bleed him, and test him.
“All the better for seeing you.” It was true. This nurse, Jenna, brightened his days with her sunny disposition. At first, he’d meant to charm and bed her, but she hadn’t responded to his come-on lines, unlike all the other girls he knew. However, she’d softened towards him since the day she’d seen him crying, and he began to think that he could manipulate his way out of something. Or into something. Maybe he could still win her over if he tried hard enough.
Although she’d been cold at first, this pretty nurse had been treating him with much more kindness over the past few days, and for some reason, it almost made him respect her. It was clear she didn’t care for him as a man, but she was treating him with dignity he didn’t expect.
Now and then he caught himself making innuendos and flirting with her when he was bored or the moment arose, but in general, he’d stopped trying so hard to get her attention.
“I saw your mum was here again this morning. That must have been a nice visit,” she commented as she once again perused his chart.
“Yeah, it was okay, I guess.”
“Ooh, did she bring you those?” Jenna’s gaze settled on the bag of cookies beside him, her eyes lighting up.
“She did. You should have one. My mum’s a great baker. It was one of the things my dad disliked most about her.”
“Why would he dislike her baking?” she asked while she wrapped the horrid, rubber-band like device around his bicep to find a vein.
He wanted to joke about her touching his muscles, impress her with his workout routine, but instead, he decided to just let her draw his blood. For a moment, his gaze lingered on the plaster casts on both his legs. Releasing a heavy sigh, he answered, “Dad believed that if Mum had to cook, it was a bad reflection on him. It meant he’d failed as a provider.”
Jenna frowned and looked puzzled.
“What?” He angled his head.
“Sorry if this is naive, but if no one cooked, how did your dad expect you to eat?”
“We had a full-time chef.”
Her jaw dropped and he laughed, but he immediately regretted doing so. He held his ribs and winced. They still ached terribly, but her shock made him realise how ridiculous it must sound to her that his family could hire someone for no other purpose than cooking their meals. He decided not to mention the housekeeper, the gardener, or the boy who cleaned the pool three times each week.
Again, Nurse Jenna’s innocence intrigued him. For him, having staff who looked after the family’s every need was normal and had simply been his life growing up. He’d never thought it through beyond that, but for someone on her salary…well, she probably made the same every month as a personal chef did. Or less.
He wondered what her home and family were like but quickly pushed the thought away. He wasn’t the sort of man to get close to a woman in any way but one. And he was proud of that. There was no need to change.
“It’s sad that your dad didn’t allow your mum to do the very thing she loved.”
“You don’t know the half of it. It’s better now that they’re divorced.”
“I can’t imagine divorce ever making anything better.”
“Yeah, well, you didn’t live in our house. Trust me, it’s better. They didn’t love each other and they didn’t have a whole lot of love for...” He stopped there. Sharing about how little love he felt from either of his parents was way too much information for him to share with anyone.
“Your mum seems to truly care about you,” she said softly.
He shrugged. “She’s changed in the last few years since the divorce, but there’s still a lot of negative stuff between us. Maybe one day we’ll talk about it, maybe not.” He hadn’t given that much thought until now. What was he doing divulging such personal information with this nurse? She seemed to have a knack of getting him to talk.
This wasn’t the typical dialogue women wanted to have with him. Usually they were more interested in learning what kind of car he drove than in how he felt about his parents. Or they might want to know about his trust fund and how much money he had. Not that they ever asked directly. It was always subtle, but he didn’t mind too much as long as he got what he wanted. But Jenna didn’t seem to care a whole lot about what car he drove or how muc
h money he had. She talked about deeper matters that often went over his head and made him feel uncomfortable, but if pretending to care about the stuff that interested her resulted in her being willing to be his for even one night, then maybe it was worth the discomfort.
“So, you haven’t really felt loved in life.” Her eyes held an empathy that he wanted to be angered by, but instead, he was moved. Why did she care so much?
It was frustrating and he wanted her to know that he didn’t need her pity, if that’s what it was. “Ah, who needs love?” He tried to make a joke of it, but she’d hit the nail on the head.
“You mean, who needs love when you have money? But do you really think money is a worthy substitute?” She asked directly, no hedging around, a pointed expression on her face. She didn’t believe him for a moment.
He grew silent. Her forthrightness surprised him. No one had ever spoken to him this way. Plus, it was an uncomfortable question, for which he had no answer.
Chapter 6
Several days later, Jenna had hit a brick wall with him and wondered if she’d pushed him too far this time. He needed to talk to someone about the deeper issues in his life that she believed caused him to behave the way he did. She sensed he was on the road to self-destruction, and although he still irritated her sometimes with his crude jokes and come-on lines, she didn’t want to see that happen. However, so far, the only visitors he’d had were his parents and the police. He disliked his father and told her he wasn’t comfortable with his mother, saying she’d gone a little strange of late. Jenna hadn’t found her to be strange at all and wondered if perhaps he was simply scared of being loved.
She knew he had a weakness for ice-cream, so she offered to get him one in the hope it might help him relax since he seemed reluctant to talk about anything other than how he couldn’t wait to get out of there.
“Make sure it’s a gelato,” he said, shifting his head a little as he tried to adjust his position. Jenna took his movement as a sign of discomfort since both his legs were now in plaster. Quickly grabbing another pillow from the shelf, she slid it under his head. Being close to her patients was part of her job but she was always careful to avoid physical contact longer than necessary, especially with the male patients. However, she often found her cheeks warm whenever she was close to Mitchell Carmichael. There was something about him that was disarming. Even lying helplessly in his hospital bed, he exuded a ruggedness and vital power that made her heart skitter. He was an attractive man, but he wasn’t her type and she was not about to fall victim to his womanising ways.
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