Truths Unveiled

by Kimberly Alan

  We will? Pam’s thoughts shouted, emphasizing the we. What’s that about? And she still wanted to know how he knew about the job offer.

  “Sounds good. Roger and off.”

  Ending the transmission, Tom indicated that they should walk. “I saw the Red Cross truck parked around the corner.”

  Pam knew that the charitable agency typically stayed at this type of emergency scene to provide food and drinks to the remaining fire fighters and other rescue personnel.

  “Thanks,” she said. “I’m sure I can find it. You must have a ton of things to do.” Like go home to your wife and child, she thought to herself.

  Tom shrugged, continuing to lead the way. “It’s no big deal. I’ll go with you. Do you want to eat now, or see the medical center first?”

  Pam nearly tripped over her own feet. Once again he caught her off guard. She was still trying to figure out how to ditch him. And why did he want to hang around with her anyway? “Excuse me?”

  He winked, then widened his grin. “I’m sure you’re hungry. But you’re probably also anxious to see the place. So which do you want to do first?”

  Tom’s perception and understanding tone floored her. How could he know that? And why would he even bother to care? Before she could respond, they approached the Red Cross truck. Seconds later, Tom held her keys in his hand.

  “I’ll drive,” he announced. His tone left no room for discussion. “Mine’s the black Avalanche over there.” He pointed to the left, down the street a bit and motioned for her to join him.

  “Thanks, but no,” Pam insisted, shaking her head. “I’ll be fine.” In her opinion, she’d already spent quite enough time with Thomas Jarrod for one trip. For a lifetime, in fact. The further they stayed away from one another, the better. Besides, she needed to see the hospital alone. To get a feel for the place before being thrust into tomorrow’s grand tour and the dozens of introductions and meetings that were sure to follow.

  “What time did you get up this morning?” Tom questioned over his shoulder.

  Pam followed, trying to catch up. He still kept her keys!

  “Early.” She stifled a yawn. “The flight from Boston left at six, but…”

  He’d reached his truck and now waited for her. “So, you’re tired, hungry, it’s dark, and you haven’t driven these country roads for what? Fourteen years?”

  Approaching him, she nodded. She started to say she felt fine, but he cut her off.

  “And now you’re going to find the hospital all by yourself?” He gave her a challenging grin. “That makes total sense. Why accept a ride from someone who knows exactly where the place is, and who can then get you some good food, and after you eat, take you to your hotel? I guess that’s just too easy. I understand completely.”

  Pam scratched an itch on her nose and frowned. Of course he made sense.

  Which annoyed her to no end.

  So he thinks he’s got everything figured out, hmm? She released a deep breath. Well, that’s just great.

  “I know what your problem is.”

  “What problem?” Pam retorted, thrown off balance again. His grin was entirely too annoying.

  “It’s my boots.”

  Totally confused, she looked at his feet, barely visible in the dark night. “What about them?”

  “It’s the cow poop stuck to them. I was out in the fields when the alarm came in. I didn’t get a chance to change.”

  “That’s ridiculous,” Pam automatically countered. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t hold back a smile. “I just thought…”

  “Oh. I see.” Tom lowered his voice to a seductive tone. “You don’t want to be alone with me. And them.”

  Her eyes widened. “What?”

  He nodded. “That’s right. You remember what happened the last time we were together. Steamy truck windows, cumbersome buttons and zippers, my work boots making us both gag. You’re afraid all those feelings will come rushing back and you wouldn’t be able to keep your hands off me.”

  Pam tried to stifle her laughter. Of course none of that really happened. It was just like all those years ago when he’d tease her nonstop about anything and everything. When her innocent heart ached to be noticed by him. As a woman. Not just the teenage girl he drove back and forth to school each day along with twenty other kids on the bus.

  It hadn’t mattered to her that Tom was seven years older. She liked the idea that he was her bus driver and the coach of the high school football team. He also volunteered for the town’s rescue services and tended his family’s huge dairy farm. Yes, they did come from two different worlds, but she’d been hooked the moment he gave her that first smile.

  “The poor little rich girl,” he’d said and then added in an exaggerated New England accent, “from Boston forced to live amongst us ignorant country folk.”

  But Thomas Jarrod, Pam suspected, was neither poor nor ignorant. And with each passing day, her suspicions proved accurate.

  “Well?” he insisted. “What do you say?”

  Pam blinked back to the present. Sure she could take a joke. She could even dish one out, but he was always so quick. “Wait! I’m out of practice,” she insisted. “Give me a second!”

  Again, she saw that twinkling glint in his eyes. In the moon’s light, she noticed that the smile lines around his mouth and eyes had deepened over the years. And yes, his blond hair looked a bit thin on top, now that she could see it. Or maybe it was just flattened by his baseball hat. Who cared? His intense gaze turned her insides to jelly when he looked at her. He was still such a flirt! So determined to get her tongue tied. Just like the old days.

  On impulse, Pam glanced down at Tom’s left hand. No wedding ring. But that meant…

  She corrected herself. That didn’t mean anything. Lots of married men didn’t wear a ring. And why should it matter? That was a long time ago. Afterward, they each went their separate ways. And lived their separate lives.

  “Come on,” he urged. “It’s about a twenty-minute drive. Afterward, we can get a quick bite to eat. I know a really great place that will still be open. And I’ll give you a five-cent tour of the area on the way. There’ve been a lot of changes around here since you left. You’ll hardly recognize the place.”

  Pam stifled another yawn. It was late. She felt grimy, exhausted and hungry. Her stomach grumbled. Maybe she should wait until tomorrow to see the hospital. A bath and hamburger sounded fine for now.

  “Ready?”

  She started to decline again when he added, “If we hurry, you should get to meet Dr. Everett. She took the day off but came in to help out in the ER when she heard about the explosion. I know she was pleased to hear you were at the scene.”

  What? Pam groaned. That’s great. It was Marlene Everett’s invite that had convinced her to make this short trip. Her admiration and respect for the woman knew no boundaries. Though women now commonly entered the medical profession, Marlene was one of the first to forge her way into emergency medicine. Thanks to her never-ending achievements and efforts, the road was now much easier for them.

  Pam considered her physical appearance and sighed. “Thanks, Tom. I really appreciate the offer. But look at me. I’m a wreck. And first impressions count. I don’t want her seeing me like this.”

  Before she could step back, he placed his knuckles under her chin, tilting her gaze to him. “You look fine. Besides it will give her a preview of what you’ll look like if you take the job and spend all day and night up to your elbows in blood and guts.”

  Ignoring his closeness and the way it made her tingle, Pam arched him an eyebrow. “I hope you know you’re painting a horrific picture.”

  Not to be deterred, he quickly added, “And you could wash up in the doctors’ lounge. I’ll even bring in your suitcase so you can change into something a little less…sooty.”

  Again, Pam could only stare at him. Once more he surprised her. She was the one accustomed to figuring everything out. Making suggestions. Finding solutions. Wh
y would he even care?

  “Sound okay?”

  Pam felt a smile form before she could bite it back. He looked so…eager. And fun to be around. It had been a long time since she had felt that way about someone. Usually, she was too busy spending every waking moment making life-or-death decisions in one of Boston’s busiest emergency departments.

  “It sounds like you’ve thought of everything.”

  Tom beamed.

  Laughing now, and admittedly charmed by his efforts, she still shook her head. It just wouldn’t be right. And why was he being so insistent? What would his wife think?

  She felt his hands on her shoulders. She stopped laughing and then realized he did too. Suddenly nervous, she looked down at the tips of her shoes.

  “Pam?”

  His voice was low, and contrary to his previous tone, he sounded uncertain. Even tense.

  She raised her chin and found him studying her.

  His expression had changed. Now he looked serious. And determined to say something. But what? She realized that she was holding her breath, curious but also worried about his next words.

  For a moment, they stared at each other. Then he spoke. “In case you’re wondering, Susan and I divorced almost five years ago.”

  Truths Unveiled

  Truths Unveiled

  Chapter Four

  Without warning, Pam felt herself being thrust back into a time warp. The first time they’d sat side by side like this in his truck, making idle chit-chat and driving along these dark roads, was on their first date. She recalled the evening: March 18, 1994. Funny how she still remembered. She felt herself smile. He didn’t reach for her hand until their fourth date.

  “I kept seeing your father chasing me around your yard carrying his shotgun,” Tom told her later. They laughed about it at the time, knowing he was probably right.

  Pam felt so head-over-heels about him back then. The sun rose and set over their time together. And why not? Didn’t she finally deserve some fun? At least for a little while?

  Staying in the top five percent of her high school class took a lot of work on her part. Even this little town had some very smart kids. In September, she would enter Harvard’s pre-med program. That promised to be at least a thousand times more grueling. Which meant that these last few months in Middleton would be her first and only time to ease up on her self-imposed pressure to make it into medical school.

  “Stay away from Thomas Jarrod,” her friend Megan had warned. “He’s the cutest, baddest bad boy and heartbreaker in town. And proud of it to boot!”

  But the advice came too late. Pam was already hooked. She’d been hooked on him since moving to Middleton with her family two years earlier. And like most young girls in that frame of mind, she had fallen hard and fast.

  Though maybe not male-model handsome, Tom’s quick smile and that bright glimmer in his sky blue eyes branded her heart. And his merciless teasing and flirting only served to fan the fire.

  During those first two years, every time she’d convinced herself that she was just one of his many female fans, he’d do something to make her feel singled out. Special. But he’d never asked her to go on a date. Or even hinted at one.

  Then the evening after her eighteenth birthday, the tall, lean farmer, his skin sun-kissed from working outdoors, appeared on her doorstep. After giving her a wink, he asked to see her father.

  Too stunned to speak, Pam ushered Tom inside the house and pointed to the couch. A minute later, she led him to her father’s home office. There, thrilled, excited, and slightly sick to her stomach, she listened to Tom introducing himself and asking her father for permission to take her out for a pizza and a movie. Their romance lasted twelve wonderful weeks.

  Then recalling the terrible events that followed, Pam felt the happy memory fade. Brushing them aside, she fought the urge to look at Tom. During this trip, she had really hoped to avoid seeing him or anyone else she knew back then. The medical center sat on the outskirts of town, at least fifteen miles or so from his farm. She’d planned to spend her time there and at the hotel exclusively. The factory explosion changed that. But why were they thrown together like this? Nothing good could ever come of it.

  “I’m glad you’re here.”

  Startled from her thoughts, Pam turned to Tom. “I’m sorry. What did you say?”

  He laughed. But to her it sounded forced. Anxious almost. This was interesting. It was also interesting that he was no longer married. But she refused to ask any questions. It was none of her business and, truthfully, she really didn’t want to know. Nor did he offer an explanation.

  “I said I’m glad you’re here. It’s good to see you.”

  Quickly, she nodded. “Oh, yeah. It’s good to see you.” Listening to her own voice, she realized she felt uneasy too. Suddenly, this did not seem like such a good idea. The only reason she’d accepted Tom’s offer was because he threw her off kilter with his statement about his marriage. Now she fretted over who else knew she was back in town. And whether anyone at the hospital would recognize her.

  None of it really mattered, she told herself. It wasn’t like she’d intended to take the job and move back here. Still, she hated the sense of unease looming over her. Maybe it was because she left so many loose ends back here. Yeah, but that was only part of it. In truth, she was a coward. People with good memories would recognize her name. After all, it took up most of the front page of the newspaper for more than a week. Even worse, the events that led to those articles affected some people’s lives permanently. Hers included. Did she fear what they might say? You betcha. Could they be right? Double betcha. And that had fueled her determination to avoid them, along with her own feelings on the matter, for more than a decade.

  Please Lord, make this a fast trip, she prayed. Just in and out. I’ll tour the medical center, convince myself that I’m not missing anything by taking the job in Chicago, thank Dr. Everett for her offer, and go. Over and done.

  “There it is,” Tom announced, pointing to a cluster of brightly lit buildings.

  Truths Unveiled

  Truths Unveiled

  Chapter Five

  Tom kept both eyes glued on the road leading to the medical center.

  “It’s larger than I thought,” Pam said, interrupting his troubled thoughts.

  “Excuse me?”

  “The medical center. It’s huge.”

  Keep on track, Tom told himself. That’s why she’s here. Remember? The job at the hospital?

  “Yeah, it is.” He turned onto the road leading to the ten-story, u-shaped complex. Six smaller structures strategically surrounded the main building on the well manicured, fifty-acre campus. Taking a risk, he added, “I bet you expected a rusty old trailer with someone resembling Granny from the Beverly Hillbillies meeting us at the door.”

  “Of course not. It’s just that…”

  “You don’t need to explain.” Tom took a spot in the emergency department’s parking lot and cut the engine. Jumping out of the truck, he said. “You can’t help being a snob. It’s just part of that blue blood running through your veins.”

  Pleased with that jab, he ran around to open Pam’s door, but she beat him to it.

  Flashing him a playful grin, she followed the red and white signs leading to the entrance. “I’m going to ignore that statement,” she called out over her shoulder. “It’s obviously derived from your inferiority complex.”

  In two quick moves, Tom propelled her off the ground and flung her over his shoulder. “I’ve always wanted to do this.”

  “Good!” she exclaimed, beating her fists into his back. “I’m thrilled for you. Now put me down!”

  “Not quite yet. I’ve got to say, although the evening hasn’t turned out exactly like I planned, it’s getting better every minute.” He headed toward the automatic, double doors.

  “Oh no!” Pam cried out. “Tom! Please! Stop! What are people going to think when I enter the place rear-end first?”

  Feeling more
like himself, he laughed louder. “Let’s go in and find out.”

  ****

  “Who’s this?” Pam heard a new voice ask. Horrified, she gave up the fight.

  “Meet your new doctor!” Tom announced. He carried her into an office and deposited her in a comfortable, green velvet chair. “Dr. Marlene Everett, formerly of Chicago and now of Middletown, please meet Dr. Pamela Harrington of Boston.”

  Still filthy and disheveled, Pam stood and shook the famous doctor’s hand. Fortunately, the woman appeared to have a good sense of humor.