Jenny stayed in her room until she heard Brandon’s truck rumble down the laneway. She grabbed her purse and tried to stop her suddenly racing heart as she passed through the kitchen where Cal was eating dinner. She gave him a tight smile, and he returned a sad one.
“It’s probably better this way, Jenny,” he said softly, but kept his eyes on his meal.
She left him alone in the kitchen, silence and loneliness his stubborn companions.
* * * *
Oh, my God, will this night never end, she wondered dejectedly. She didn’t think Brandon had shut up for a second since he picked her up for their date, and he was pretty animated about things that made Jenny’s eyes cross. And he didn’t seem to be losing any steam. She winced when he shouted to a passing waitress for another round. Great. She would never get away from this guy. Jenny put a restraining hand on his arm. “Don’t you think it’s time we go? I have early chores.”
“Come on! Have another. Then we’ll go back to my place.” He wiggled his eye brows at her, and she didn’t even try to hide her disgust.
“No. We will not. I want to go home now, Brandon. Please. Take me home.”
His alcohol-flushed face turned angry. “So that’s it. I take you out for the night, pay for everything, and you want to go home. You’re a cock-tease,” he accused.
The waitress smirked at Jenny as she put a beer in front of Brandon. He took a long swig while glaring at Jenny. She ignored him squint at the waitress’s name tag. Brandi. She rolled her eyes to herself, opened her wallet, and handed money to the woman. She was relieved that Brandon was no longer glaring at her but staring hungrily at Brandi’s chest while the woman ran her fingers seductively through his hair.
Brandon didn’t notice when Jenny pushed quietly from the table and left the bar. She leaned against the building and enjoyed a moment of relief before panic kicked in. How was she going to get home? She banged her head against the wall and cursed herself. Even if Brandon was talking to her, he was too drunk to drive. Which left her stranded outside an unfamiliar bar at midnight. Fuck.
What good was having a twin if you couldn’t inconvenience him at all hours, she reasoned. She got out her cell phone and dialed Tim’s number, fully expecting him to yell and swear at being woken up. She frowned when he didn`t answer. She tried the number again, but he still didn’t pick up.
Out of options, she took a deep breath, swallowed her pride, and called Cal’s cell. Her hands shook while she waited for him to pick up.
“Jenny?” the voice asked anxiously. Apparently his caller ID worked.
“Cal…Cal, I’m so sorry to bother you…but can you come get me?”
“Are you okay, Jenny? Where are you? Let me talk to Brandon,” he demanded sharply as he tried to keep the worry out of his voice.
“He’s drunk,” she murmured hesitantly.
“What the fuck do you mean he’s drunk?” he demanded, and she could hear Will’s voice in the background. “I’m on my way. Are you somewhere safe? Go back inside Jenny,” he ordered when he heard male voices talking to her.
“I’m okay. I just really want to get out of here.” She felt herself choke up and whispered, “I’m so sorry.”
“Don`t be stupid,” he said gruffly, “I’m glad you called. I’ll be there in twenty.”
Then she heard a dial tone and knew he was already out the door.
* * * *
Cal snapped the phone closed and stomped on the accelerator. The sound of those drunken men in the background added urgency to the drive. He knew Jenny wouldn’t take unnecessary risks, but he’d feel better when she was safely ensconced in the seat next to him.
Cal admitted to himself that his night had been hellish. Snapshot after snapshot flashed through his mind of Jenny and Brandon laughing, dancing…fucking. He gripped the steering wheel harder and tried hard to shake that last image. He didn’t think he could bear to see her with Brandon. Which reminded him… He was going to kill that asshole, Cal thought pounding the steering wheel. After seething for a few moments, he grudgingly admitted Brandon wasn’t all bad. In fact, he was probably perfect for Jenny. He was her age, had a sense of adventure and was reliable. Well, except for tonight. What the hell was he thinking getting drunk when he was supposed to drive Jenny home? Unless…he never intended to drive Jenny home. Cal felt a new surge of rage course through him and began to contemplate how satisfying punching Brandon’s smug face would be. He was so deep in thought, he didn’t notice the glow of animal eyes until the moose ran in front of his truck. A futile jerk of the wheel and a sick thud were all he knew. Jenny needs me, he thought as he slipped into unconsciousness.
* * * *
Jenny was starting to think she’d been abandoned for the second time that night when her phone finally rang. She answered it in happy exasperation. “Hey, where are you? I was starting to get worried.”
There was a pause on the line before she heard Will’s strained voice. “Jenny, it’s Will. The police just called me. Cal’s been in an accident. He hit a moose.” She stopped breathing as she tried to get her mind around what he was telling her. “The police said he didn’t have time to swerve. He’s unconscious, and they don’t know how bad his injuries are yet. They’re taking him to the hospital.”
Jenny was stunned, and her hands were shaking so badly she nearly dropped the phone. She heard Will ask where she was, and she mumbled an address. She closed the phone, pressed her fingers to her mouth, and tried to hold in the whimpers. This was her fault. If she hadn’t let Cal bait her, if she hadn’t tried to prove a point by going on this stupid date, if she’d left when she saw Brandon getting drunk, Cal would be safe at home. Silent but safe.
She dialed Tim again with quaking fingers, and she nearly sobbed in relief when she heard his groggy voice. She thought she heard someone in the background, but she was too upset to focus on that. Jenny’s voice caught as she told Tim what happened. She asked him to tell Eddie because he’d have to run the farm the next couple of days. Tim tried to comfort her, but she only half-listened as her mind raced with what ifs.
She promised to call later and ended the call abruptly when Will pulled up in his battered truck. Jenny was pretty sure Will knew the reason she was at the bar that night, and he didn’t try to reassure her or comfort her. His angry body language made it clear he blamed her for the accident.
Jenny tried to cut the tension. “Did the police say any—?”
Will exploded. “You two need to get your shit together. This is twice you two have been to the hospital in a week. That’s bullshit.”
She swallowed hard. “I’m so sorry Will. It’s my fault.”
“Maybe it is,” he agreed, shrugging. “I’m not interested in giving you absolution, Jenny. What the fuck was he doing driving around picking you up at midnight?”
She stared down at her hands locked in her lap.
“You asked him to pick you up from a date? From a date? He told me you were on a date with the milk truck guy. Why would you hurt him like that? Is this a game to you? Was he supposed to get jealous?” Will’s quiet and steely voice conveyed his anger better than yelling ever could.
“No, no,” she whispered, shaking her head vehemently to deny his allegations.
“Doesn’t matter anyway now, does it?” he asked bitterly, “The result’s the same. He’s still in hospital with a head injury and who knows what else. Maybe you guys should end this relationship. You seem to hurt each other a lot.”
His words cut her deeply, but she wasn’t going to try to explain that the date was Cal’s idea and she’d been devastated by his insistence she go. Will didn’t speak to her again during the drive, and parked the car abruptly when they arrived at the hospital.
Will’s concern was clear in his sharp tone with the emergency room receptionist. The woman was surprised at his belligerence, and Jenny left the woman to try to calm him down. Jenny almost wept in relief when she saw a familiar face pass through the emergency room. Fatima didn’t look
surprised when she heard Jenny call her name, and she moved toward her, a compassionate look on her face.
When Fatima enveloped her in a sympathetic hug, Jenny began to shake in earnest.
“Oh, God, Fatima. You have to help him. You have to.”
Will heard Fatima talking and headed toward her. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and guided the pair to some chairs away from other patients.
“How…how bad is it?” Jenny was almost afraid of the answer.
“He needs medical treatment, but he’s going to be fine. The accident itself was pretty typical of buck versus truck. Because the moose and the truck were the same height, when Cal hit it, it landed on the hood and windshield. Police said there were no airbags in Cal’s truck, so his body was crushed against the steering wheel, and his head hit the windshield.”
Fatima gave them a moment to process the information. Will looked pale and drawn. He licked his lips and asked. “His head…”
Fatima nodded. “Cal’s type of head injury is common in car accidents. The head hits a windshield or window, knocking the victim unconscious, but because of the sudden deceleration, the brain sometimes bounces against the skull, bruising it. Like a boxing injury. The doctors are monitoring him because he’s been unconscious nearly three hours. People usually wake up well before the three hour mark, but it doesn’t necessarily mean anything that he hasn’t.
“The more immediate concern is the internal bleeding. He hit the steering wheel with considerable force, and it’s caused some bleeding. We’re not sure of the extent of his injury yet, so he is being prepped for surgery to stop the bleeding.”
Jenny and Will absorbed the information slowly.
“But…but he’s going to be okay? Right? You said he was going to be okay?” Jenny asked desperately.
Fatima held her hand and looked her in the eye. “He’s going to be okay. Uncomfortable and in some pain, but he’ll be okay. Surgery takes a couple of hours, and then he’ll be moved to the recovery room. It’s likely he’ll be sensitive to light and have headaches for a while because of the head injury, but that will fade. But between the headaches and stitches and pain from surgery, Cal won’t realistically be able to work the farm for at least a week.”
Will nodded absently and said he’d take care of it. Fatima gave him a small smile and said, “I already talked to Eddie. He and Tony will take care of things. Come on, let’s get you guys settled somewhere more comfortable. Cal’s going to be in surgery for the next couple of hours.”
Fatima led them to a quiet waiting room near Recovery. Will took the chair furthest from the door and stared out the window sightlessly. Jenny’s shoulders slumped when she saw him, and she mumbled something about going to the bathroom.
* * * *
Fatima frowned at their obvious desire to be far away from each other. She waited for Jenny to move out of hearing, then sat across from Will. When she finally caught his eye, she saw his pain and anxiety clearly written on his face.
“Tell me,” she encouraged gently.
He shook his head then burst out, “Jenny was on a date. With a guy Cal knows. The guy came out to the farm to pick her up, and they went into town to a bar. I guess that wasn’t enough because she called him to come get her tonight. That’s why he was in the accident. He was picking her up from a date with another man.”
Fatima sighed. “Will, I talked to Eddie tonight. Cal was the one who wanted her to go on the date. Jenny was pretty upset that Cal insisted she go. This wasn’t her idea. And you know...” she insisted when Will tried to interrupt. “And you know that Cal would have wanted her to call him if she needed him.”
His jaw clenched, and his eyes looked suspiciously bright. “His parents were killed in a car accident. Did she think about that when she asked him to chauffeur her around in the middle of the night?”
A sharp cry brought their attention to the doorway. Jenny stared at them, horrified by the weight of Will’s words. She backed out of the room and found a solitary seat further down the hallway. Will didn’t try to stop her, and Fatima shook her head at him in disappointment.
“She called Tim first, but he didn’t answer. She didn’t do this, Will, and Cal would be upset to know you were blaming Jenny.”
Fatima took a moment for herself in the hallway, rolled her head around her shoulders, and tamped down her frustration. She had never met people so determined to make themselves unhappy. And when Cal woke up, she was going to give him shit about the way he’d been treating Jenny. Fatima moved beside her and stroked the sobbing woman’s hair.
“Eddie told me everything, Jenny. I know Cal pushed you into the date, and I know you tried to call Tim first to give you a ride. You almost want Will to be to mean to you because you think you deserve it. Well, enough now, Jenny. You’re not responsible for a moose charging Cal’s truck. Yes, Cal’s been injured. But he’s going to be okay, and he’s going to need your help. Now go clean up, and we’ll go get some coffee.”
* * * *
Fatima swung by the waiting room faithfully on the hour to bring Jenny and Will updates and coffee, and after being handed her sixth cup of coffee, Jenny was convinced of two things—the energetic woman mainlined caffeine, and she was clearly trying to drown Jenny. The updates were vaguely positive—Cal was still in surgery in serious but stable condition.
It didn’t escape Jenny’s notice that throughout the evening, Fatima cheerfully urged them closer together with the explanation that she didn’t want to yell or have to repeat herself. And though Will had been sitting across from her for the last hour, he still hadn’t spoken to her.
And that was really starting to piss Jenny off. Fatima was right. She hadn’t initiated the date, clearly said she didn’t want to go, and called someone else first to pick her up. She’d never done anything to Will—or Cal for that matter—and she wasn’t going to lie down and take Will’s bullshit any longer. Cal might share Will’s anger towards her when he woke up, but she was going to leave his life proving she was worthy of his respect.
Jenny was deep in thought when she heard bustling and raised her head to see her parents hurrying towards her. She snorted to herself as she stood to greet them. It was a night of realizations, and she’d come to accept some truths in the past few hours—there was no future with Cal, she could leave the relationship with her pride and self-respect intact, and Nate and Becky Busch supported her unconditionally. She gratefully accepted their nurturing hugs and directed them to seats while Becky dug into her purse for some ever-present comfort food for Jenny and Will.
She took a bite of a juicy peach and listened as Will updated them that Cal was out of surgery and in recovery. The surgery had been successful, and he would be moved to a room soon, barring any complications.
“When did Tim call you?” Jenny asked when the conversation lulled.
Her dad looked surprised and said “He didn’t. Will called us a couple of hours ago. He thought you might want us here.”
It was Jenny’s turn to be surprised, but she didn’t acknowledge his blushing, averted face. Maybe it was an olive branch, or maybe it was a sign of respect to her parents, but it didn’t soften the thoughts and words he’d hurled throughout the night. Now it was she who wasn’t interested in giving absolution. The spark of anger she felt an hour ago ignited into a genuine rage.
“Dad, can you drive me back to Cal’s? I need to get back to the farm. I was kind of hoping, though, you’d be able to stay for a few hours, Mom,” Jenny said as she stood and gathered her things without looking at either one.
Her parents exchanged a startled but knowing look, then Nate nodded at his daughter. “Sure, hon, get your stuff and we’ll get going.”
“Thanks for coming, Mom. I’ll call you later,” Jenny murmured, giving the other woman a goodbye hug. Desperate to hide her grief, Jenny gathered her belongings, not wanting to meet her mother’s knowing eyes. God, she couldn’t wait to get away from everyone, especially Will.
Fatima approached
the group with a frown and asked Jenny in puzzlement, “Are you leaving? Cal’s coming out of the anesthetic. He’ll be moved to a room soon.”
Jenny gave her a tight smile. “You’ve been amazing, Fatima. But my being here now isn’t what Cal needs. Or maybe wants,” she said with a small shrug. “There’s a lot to do on the farm, and I need to get back. Cal booked a few insemination appointments this week, some of the crops need harvesting, and Eddie and Tony need help with the milking. I’ll check in with you, though, if that’s okay.”
Fatima nodded in approval. “I’ll make sure they take good care of him, Jenny. I have your number, and I’ll call you if anything changes. Don’t forget to take of yourself, too, though, okay?”
* * * *
Nate wasn’t prone to worry, but he didn’t like his daughter’s mood. She hadn’t said a word since leaving the hospital half an hour ago, and for a normally chatty and vivacious woman he couldn’t get to shut up on the best of days, her stony silence spoke volumes. He’d always believed, deep down, that Jenny and Cal would find their way to each other eventually, but maybe he’d been wrong. He knew through Tim that Cal and Jenny had had a bumpy few weeks, but he’d never seen her like this. Not when her grandparents died, not when she ended her engagement two years ago. But now, as she looked sightlessly out the window, he thought she looked defeated, resigned.
Nate usually found his life and relationships were happiest when he waited for people to tell him what they wanted him to know, but he was starting to wish Becky was here to be her nosy, loving self. His wife could charm the chrome off a bumper, and people told her the most remarkably personal things. She’d get to the bottom of this in no time. Uncomfortable, Nate cleared his throat. “So, how’s your visit with Cal been?”
Jenny gave a small bitter smile. “Visit is the right word. It’s weird to be a guest so long. It’ll be good to get back into a routine.”
Afire (Siren Publishing Classic) Page 9
