Smiling, Dani snuggled into his pillow. It was mid-morning before she pulled herself out of bed. A note taped to her dresser mirror directed her to the refrigerator where Alec had left a half cantaloupe filled with strawberries. A second note suggested a bubble bath and a good book. In a corner of the bathroom she found one red rose in a vase.
Dani stretched in a sea of bubbles. "I could get used to this real fast, Alec Edwards."
She tossed the book aside and let daydreams entertain her until a visitor at the door intruded. No one knew she was here except Renee, and she was at work. She had promised Alec no visitors. Still, with each second that passed, the knocks grew in urgency until whoever it was, beat at the door.
Muttering a curse, Dani pushed from the water and tossed on her robe. She had to be firm, that was all. Whoever was there would simply have to understand.
She dared a peek out the window to forewarn herself, and saw a tall blonde woman standing there. Her face was pinched with rage, her eyes spouting evil intent.
Dani pulled the phone closer, just in case. "What do you want?"
"Open the door!" Her voice screeched, out of control.
"I will not. Who are you and what do you want? If you don't tell me, I'll call the police."
She picked up a rock from the yard and ran to the window. "I'll tell you who I am. I'm Andrea Rushmore, Alec Edwards's fiancée. I'm sick and tired of this shit. You think you're the first patient he's had the hots for? You're wrong. Stay away. Just stay away. You hear?"
Dani's heart twisted in a knot. "No problem. He's all yours."
A sneer pulled up the woman's lip. Tossing the rock to the ground, she stalked to her car and drove off.
Dani crumbled into a ball in her chair. She knew it was all too good to be true. The pain wasn't supposed to happen this soon. But it did. And all she could do was cry while her heart wrenched into a hard knot.
* * *
Chapter Fifteen
"You seem awfully jubilant today." Norma shoved the chart for Alec's latest patient in its slot. "Did you win the lottery or something?"
Alec couldn't help but smile. In fact, he had spent the day smiling at everything and everybody. "Something like that." He jerked his head toward his patient. "She's clear to go to her room. I'm going to make my rounds and then I'll be heading home."
She made a great show of looking at her watch and letting her jaw drop. "Before eight o'clock?"
"Very funny. I'll meet you and Rob there around five."
Squinting, she tilted her head to one side. "And just what are we moving again?"
"You'll see when you get there."
Alec hurried away before she could question him further. Once Norma discovered he was moving the bed in his spare room to Dani's house, she would either tease him unmercifully or lecture him. He wasn't in the mood to hear any of it. At least with her husband around all he would have to deal with would be telling looks, a cluck of her tongue. Eventually, Norma would have her say. By then Alec hoped he would have the fortitude to endure it.
* * *
His final rounds of the day took him to his patients from the day before. Mrs. Gaster was alert, sore, and attempting to walk across the room. She leaned heavily on her husband's arm, but determination blazed in her eyes. She wanted to go home, to be with their children, to start living again.
Mrs. Utley sipped a milkshake through a straw. The wired jaw hadn't slowed down her conversation, just made it more difficult. By tomorrow she would be on her way home. Her husband, exhausted from worry and his vigil, slept in the chair nearby.
The spousal devotion touched Alec as it always did until he reached Nick Remini's room. His wife sat by his side, sobbing, begging his forgiveness. Nick, still in pain, caressed her head. How she was released from jail, Alec couldn't begin to guess. Why Nick was willing to forgive her was an even bigger puzzle.
"Mrs. Remini, I need to examine your husband. If you'll excuse me?"
Dabbing tears, she scurried from the room.
Nick let a sigh settle him in the pillows. "You think I'm crazy, Doc?"
"That's not for me to say."
He chuckled softly. "But you want to say."
No doubt about that, but it wasn't Alec's place. When he said nothing, Nick sighed again and closed his eyes.
"I love that woman like crazy, but I'm not crazy, Doc. Much as I love her, she frightens me. I forgive her, but I don't trust her. She needs help and maybe she'll get it in prison. I know they'll send her to prison. When she gets out," he shrugged a shoulder, "who knows."
He opened his eyes then, focusing on Alec. "All I know is that I can't keep my hands off that woman. She's the only one for me. Despite everything she's done, I love her to death."
Alec couldn't help but feel that's exactly what it was going to wind up being-Nick's death. He didn't know who needed counseling more, Nick Remini or his wife.
"When can I leave, Doc?"
"A couple more days and you can go home. I'll see you tomorrow."
He had barely cleared the room when Mrs. Remini zoomed back to her husband's side. It was spooky, but Alec couldn't shake the feeling that he had just left a dead man. Nick Remini definitely needed counseling, and Alec doubted he'd make the effort to receive it once he was discharged. That left only one alternative. If Nick wouldn't go to counseling, Alec would try to take it to him.
* * *
Within minutes he was standing before Ira's door and staring at the nameplate, questioning his interference in yet another patient's life. The abortive attempt with Dani yesterday should have been enough to tell him to mind his own business. Yet, here he was again, reaching out for Ira to help someone else.
He tapped at the door. A muffled call to come in followed. Alec stepped inside.
Ira turned off his tape player and looked up, smiling when he saw Alec. "I'm sorry about yesterday. Dani was quite specific that no one know-"
"It's all right. I understand. I came here about another patient-Nick Remini. I was wondering if you could talk to him."
He gave an absentminded nod. "Sure. I'll go up right away."
Alec's forehead creased. "Is something wrong?"
Ira popped the cassette from the player, held it up as if to give it to Alec, then set it on his desk. "Nothing. Nothing at all."
"Is that the tape from Dani's session?"
"No, it's...um...someone else's." Squaring his shoulders, Ira stood. "I'll go up and check on Remini now. I'll check back with you once I'm done."
"I'm leaving for the day. Tomorrow will be fine."
The semblance of a smile lifted Ira's lips, but he stared beyond Alec. "Of course. It's good to see you finding a life outside this hospital."
Alec's frown deepened. "Something is wrong. What is it?"
He forced his gaze to Alec, not truly seeing him. "Really...nothing's wrong. How could it be when I've just gotten the answers I've been searching for my whole career?"
With no further word, Ira wandered past him and out the door.
Alec glanced toward the desk where two cassettes lay side by side. It was tempting, but also none of his business. If Ira wanted to share, if doctor-patient ethics allowed him to share, then he would do so. Until then, Alec could only be there to offer support.
He laughed at himself. Too bad you couldn't be that logical yesterday, he told himself. But yesterday had been about Dani, and one thing was already quite clear-he was not logical where she was concerned.
* * *
Alec beat Rob and Norma Sharp to his apartment by a mere five minutes-long enough to gather bedding, some more clothes, and a few more personal belongings. Norma didn't have much to say as he and Rob loaded the bed onto their truck. Of course, she still didn't realize its destination.
He could almost see her expression when she discovered it was Dani's house. Her eyebrows would lift ever so slightly. Her gaze would calmly appraise each of them. Then she would nibble on the inside of her cheek. Thankfully, she would keep quiet while Dani w
as around. Once alone with him, though, she would take full advantage of their long-standing friendship. Norma wasn't one to hold her tongue or her opinion.
As they made their way through the myriad of freeway and back street connections to Dani's house, a sense of euphoria built. He was going home and couldn't get there fast enough. By the time he pulled into the driveway, all he wanted was to see Dani, to hold her, to reaffirm that she existed for him, to feel the peace of her presence surround him. He cut the engine, whipped back the seat belt, and sprinted for the house.
* * *
"Dani, I'm home," he called as he seated his key in the lock.
With a flick of his wrist, the door opened. The chain lock jolted him back in his place.
"What the...Dani, honey, it's me. Open up."
There was movement on the other side of the door. Alec stepped back, waiting for her to slip the chain free. Instead, she shut the door.
Dani pressed her back into the door. She had been waiting for this moment, this confrontation all day. Now that it was here, she didn't know if she had the fortitude to carry it through. She wanted him, cared for him. The bottom line was, he wasn't hers to want and care for.
"Go away."
Calm, deadly, definitely no-nonsense. Alec wracked his brain trying to figure out what he could have done wrong. His answer-nothing...as far as he knew. He glanced over his shoulder. Rob and Norma leaned against their truck, watching, waiting.
"Dani, open the door."
"I said go away."
"Open the door so we can talk about whatever's bothering you."
She opened the door to the length of the chain. "There's nothing to talk about...Your girlfriend stopped by. Excuse me, fiancée." Her voice trembled. She damned the emotion that gave her away.
Alec balled up a fist and pressed it into the wooden sill. Andrea.
"Don't deny it, Alec. She told me everything."
She was fighting for composure, trying not to cry. Who could blame her? All he wanted to do was get past that door.
"She lied. Anything Andrea told you was a lie. We dated briefly several months ago. She can't accept it. She's been harassing me-"
"Did you sleep with her?" A horrible question to ask and a stupid one. Of course he had slept with her. Why did she have to have verification of it?
Alec drew back. "I don't think that's any of your business."
"Good-bye, Alec." She pushed the door closed.
Alec wedged his shoulder in the crack. "All right, yes. I slept with her. Once. She was beautiful. She was very accommodating. And I was damned horny."
Dani squeezed back tears. It shouldn't matter. It was before her. Then why the hell did it hurt so bad?
"A man has needs, Dani."
"So does a woman, Alec."
He tightened his fist. The very idea of another man making love to Dani...
"Fine. Then I'll provide you with a list of all the women I've slept with, and you provide me with a list of all the men you've slept with."
The chain slid off the lock. She swung the door open. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard of."
"Yeah, but at least it got you to open the door." He cupped her cheek and traced the curve with his thumb. "Whatever happened in the past isn't important. Here, now, you are all that matters. There will be no one for me but you while we are together."
Thankfully, he didn't try to kiss her. Dani wasn't sure she could have handled it if he had. One touch of his lips to hers and she would have crumbled into tears, clutched him tight, and made a complete fool of herself.
She looked beyond him to the couple by the truck- a woman whose long blonde hair drifted like a cape down her back and the Nordic god hovering by her side. "Who are they and what are they doing here?"
Alec looked at the Sharps. As expected, Norma was already gauging the situation. "Rob and Norma Sharp. She's a recovery room nurse at the hospital. I brought the bed from my spare room. It's a little bigger than yours and in a lot better shape. I thought..."
He had gone too far. The coldness in her eyes told him that. Andrea's accusations, no matter how false, still loomed between them.
"I guess I should have asked you first."
"Yes...you should have."
The chill in her voice frightened him.
"She said it's common for you to have affairs with your female patients. Is that true? Am I another victim of your special kind of medical care?"
His eyes narrowed. He took offense to that. Good. It gave her the distance she needed right now. Things were moving too quickly. He was starting to move in, for crying out loud. Something needed to set them apart.
"That's a lie!" Alec jerked his thumb to the Sharps. "You don't believe me, ask Norma. Go ahead. Ask her."
The force behind his denial scared her. Dani tucked herself into the orange chair in an effort to control her quivering. "That won't be necessary."
Jerking forward, Alec braced his arms on either side of her and pinned her down with the force of his presence. "Do not take that superior air with me. It will not work. I will not be played with."
He pulled her to her feet. "You asked a question. You're going to get the answer." He steered her from the house, toward the puzzled couple.
Dani wanted to die from embarrassment, wanted to alternately beg his forgiveness and stand her ground. She succumbed to the latter. Digging in her heels, she yanked them to a stop.
Anger darkening his eyes, he stared down at her. She matched him with equal intensity. "I'm the one who won't be played with, Alec. Put yourself in my shoes. How would you feel? Wouldn't you want answers?"
The fury in his eyes softened. Tenderness engulfed her. "You know the answer, Dani. You know you are the only one. You know that."
She did and she didn't. And at that point, she couldn't think any more about it. She waved her hand toward the truck. "Just get the damn thing in the house. Ask your friends to stay for dinner. It's the least we can do for all this...trouble."
Pivoting on her heel, she hurried inside.
Alec watched Dani until the screen door slammed shut. He didn't know whether he had won, lost, or merely had a truce called, but he wasn't taking chances. He stomped toward the Sharps.
"I suppose you heard all of that."
Rob coughed into his hand. "Most of it. We'd love to stay for dinner."
"If only to watch the rest of the show," Norma added with a smirk.
Alec yanked the rope from the tarp covering the bed. "Andrea screwed things up for me royally. Just get in there and fix it."
Her eyes widened with a lift of her brows. "And what do you expect me to do?"
"I don't care. Just fix it." When she started to walk in the direction of the house, he added, "Don't make it worse, Norma. Just fix it." Alec would swear he saw her laugh.
* * *
The busy work involved with preparing dinner kept Dani's thoughts directed on something other than Alec. The presence of the Sharps over dinner would alleviate any further confrontations...if they decided to stay.
Dani prayed they would. She needed time to get herself emotionally realigned.
"Anything I can do to help? You've just been released from the hospital. Should you really be whipping up dinner for four?"
She glanced up at Norma Sharp and made herself smile. "I'm glad you're staying."
"Anything to keep you two from coming to blows."
"I seriously doubt it will come to that."
Norma wandered toward the counter, craning her neck to see what Dani was cooking. "Oh, I don't know. The two of you looked pretty angry. In all the years I've known Alec, I've never seen him manhandle a woman like that."
"And how many years is that?"
"Oh...about five."
Dani slapped the knife on the counter and turned around. "And did you sleep with him too?" She hated the words the instant they left her mouth and would have given anything to retrieve them. "I'm sorry. I-"
"Nothing like cutting to the quick, is the
re? Andrea really did a number on you, didn't she?" Norma braced herself against the stove. "The woman is psychotic, obsessive. From what I understand, she also spent some time in a mental hospital. Personally, I think they should have kept her there. I don't know what she may have said to you, but it was a lie. Alec broke it off quick with her months ago. She won't let go. As far as I know, he's seen no one else until you."
She had to know, had to ask. "She said he's always sleeping with his female patients."
"Puh-lease." Norma waved the notion aside. "If Alec slept with every female patient or nurse who crossed his path, his pecker would fall off."
Dani couldn't help but laugh.
"Alec is a decent man, Dani. An honest man. Don't let Andrea's interference and lies destroy whatever relationship the two of you might have going."
"It's hard to believe in a relationship that's moving so quickly you can't catch your breath."
Norma put her hand on Dani's forearm. "Then take your time to catch that breath. If it's a relationship that's going to last, it will still be there afterward."
That was good, sound advice and much better than Renee's rapid fire I-think-you- should-do-this, I-think-you-should-do-that.
"Thank you," she said with a smile.
"You're welcome. Now give us a hug." She spread her arms wide, giving her no choice.
Dani liked this woman...and her husband. The Sharps lingered over dinner, providing desperately needed congeniality to break the tension of Andrea's visit. They sat on the floor around the coffee table, laughing, talking, like two old couples, like getting together this way was a common event.
Time passed too quickly. Before Dani realized it, she and Alec were at the door bidding the other couple good night. They were left alone, awkward in the silence that descended. Like two combatants, they took positions on opposite sides of her sofa. Both avoided the chair. It seemed hours before either of them spoke. Then Alec did.
"Rob and I set up the bed in your room." He kept his gaze on his hands. "I didn't know where you wanted the old bed. Your spare room?"
"No, there's no room in there." She pointed to a spot in the far corner of her living room. "Tuck the mattress over there. I'll sleep out here."
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