by Rowe, Julie
“Are you sure you aren’t?”
“That’s my problem,” Calla told her brother while trying not to cry. “Sometimes I feel like I’m in control, other times I think I’m about to crash, and I never wanted to experience that again.”
Chapter Fifteen
Calling her brother had been a brilliant idea. He gave her the perspective she needed to cope with the craziness of her life.
Finally able to focus on patient files, she’d cleared about half of the backlog when there was a knock on her door.
It startled her, but it wasn’t the SOS code, so she stayed seated and didn’t call out.
The person at the door knocked again, then tried the knob. Keys jingled, and the door opened.
Josh, Helen’s grandson, walked in.
He froze as soon as he saw Calla. “Hey, Dr. Roberts,” he said, his shoulders slumping in apology. “Sorry, I didn’t realize anyone was in here.”
“My attention was elsewhere,” she said. “When did you get a key to my office?”
“Grand—Helen asked me to check the security system for the entire building. Your motion sensor doesn’t seem to be working.”
Calla glanced at the sensor, then at Josh, who was waving his arms like the ground crew at an airport.
“Nope,” he said with a sigh. “Dead.”
“Is she going to replace the system?”
“I don’t know, but she always says three strikes you’re out, and this was the third strike.” He opened the door and as he backed out said, “Sorry again for the interruption.”
Josh’s voice echoed in Calla’s head.
Three strikes, huh. How many had she accumulated?
She shook her head and went back to her files. By the time Alex knocked on the door and called out his name, she was almost caught up.
“How did it go?” she asked as she let him in.
Alex took the seat in front of her desk.
“Oh, he’s a careful bastard. He’d been informed of the restraining order, but hoped to find you here despite it. It’s a good thing we didn’t tell anyone besides Helen that you were here.”
“Hmm, Josh came in a while ago. He had a key and said he was checking the security system. My motion sensor isn’t working.”
“I wonder if it was disabled on purpose.”
She shrugged. “You’ve got me. Josh said Helen might replace whole thing.”
“Damn it, when I get my hands on the person who’s leaking the photos they’re going to need your services.”
“What really scares me is the only people who have access to that equipment are people Helen trusts. If one of them is selling information to the tabloids, it will devastate her. Could MacKay be buying some of that information?”
“MacKay claimed that everything is a misunderstanding. He wants to make amends, put things right.”
If MacKay had been in the room, she’d have smacked him. “He can start by retracting his complaint from the AMA.”
“Well, he’ll make amends after he has a private chat with you.”
“Is he kidding?” Calla couldn’t believe it. She’d rather spend ten minutes in a room alone with a serial killer than with Jeff MacKay. A serial killer was more or less predictable. MacKay, not so much. “After the last wonderful private chat he thought he was having?”
“That was my reaction as well. He claims we misunderstood him then, too.”
“How many misunderstandings does it take for him to admit he’s not the nice guy he pretends to be?”
“A lot,” Alex told her with a shrug. “He insisted on speaking to you.”
Calla swallowed hard. “What did you tell him?”
Alex’s grin was a little bit evil. “I told him he scared the shit out of you, and that no private meeting would happen until he proved he could behave nicely.” Alex laced his fingers together and put them behind his head. “That seemed to confuse him a little, so I told him he’d have an opportunity to prove himself at a private party hosted by my grandmother on Friday.”
“I suppose he liked that idea.”
“Oh yes.” Alex shook his head. “He grinned from ear to ear.”
“I don’t suppose he agreed to withdraw his complaint after this news?” Calla asked hopefully.
“No, sorry.”
“Had to ask. Anything else?”
“Those were the high points. He did agree to say a few kind words about the clinic to the media. He followed through on that as he left. Nothing specific, just that he’s only heard good things about Seacliffe.”
“Better than nothing.” Relief, something she hadn’t felt in far too many hours, made her dizzy. This could be the first step to going back to work.
“That’s what Helen said. So, that’s the gist of it. How was the rest of your morning?”
What a normal question. Too bad her life wasn’t at all average. “Good. I talked to my brother. He’s really good at keeping me grounded.” She glanced at Alex to watch his reaction to what she was about to say. “He wants to meet you.”
Alex inclined his head. No hesitation. “I’d like to meet him as well.”
“I’m worried about him,” Calla confessed, trying to hide the guilt she felt every time she talked about him, or even thought about him. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to cover all his bills.” She’d have to take out another loan, perhaps put another mortgage on the house.
“I might be able to help with that,” Alex said, like he was talking about paying for parking at the mall “Short term, of course.”
She wanted to yell at him, to demand he stop being a nice person, a good lawyer, or a great hero…whatever it was he was. Because if he didn’t, she didn’t know if she’d be able to repay him in her lifetime. Already, the loan she owed him was a deep one, and most of it wasn’t even money. No, she owed him for his tireless support, constant encouragement, and for making her feel like she mattered, like someone cared.
She wouldn’t take another cent. “Thank you for the offer, but no. I’m in debt enough to you as it is.”
“Calla, don’t refuse because of pride.”
Pride? That stung. She opened her mouth to retort, to refute his assumption, but caught herself before she could say anything.
He was right. Pride was at the heart of her refusal.
“I’m uncomfortable with the thought of taking a loan from you. Things aren’t that urgent yet.”
The corner of his mouth kicked up. “That is a reason I can accept.”
She rolled her eyes. “Sometimes you sound like an arrogant jerk.”
“I know.”
She laughed. “Now who’s the prideful one?”
He considered her with a gleam in his eyes. “Is tomorrow too soon to visit your brother?”
Surprise made her mouth drop open. “Are you serious?”
A grin curved Alex’s lips up. “I’m not in the habit of lying.”
She loved the playful look on his face. “Sure. I’d love to see my brother, but…are you talking about flying to Chicago?”
“I’m not planning to drive.”
“I don’t think—”
He cut her off. “Don’t think. Let me do this for you. You’ve had a terrible week and I’m incredibly curious to meet Richard.”
She sucked in a breath to continue to refuse, but he added one more word that made her reconsider. “Please.”
At her hesitation he asked, “Tomorrow then?”
“But your practice, your clients…” Calla protested.
“The arrangements I made with my partners were for the whole week.” He stood and strode to the door. “I’ll book us some flights for tomorrow morning. How long do you want to stay in Chicago?”
“Alex, I’m not sure…”
“I want to meet your brother. You’d be doing me a favor by coming along.”
She laughed, but there was little humor to it. “That is very smooth.”
“It’s the truth. So, how long?”
She raised her h
ands in surrender. “Overnight? Maybe come back to LA the next afternoon or evening?”
“Sounds good.” He left, locking the door on his way out.
A few seconds later, there was a knock and Alex called out her name again.
She opened the door.
“I forgot to ask if you were done here or not.”
“Almost finished, but I’d like to visit Alicia this afternoon.”
“I’m coming with you.”
She raised one eyebrow.
“If you don’t mind,” he added diffidently.
“Sure. You seemed to make a good impression.”
“Really? And here I thought I had been nothing more than a pain in the ass.”
“Sorry to disappoint you. You’re popular. Check in with me in about an hour. I should be done by then.”
“Excellent,” he said, his gaze a hot caress as it traveled her body. “That’s when we get started.”
…
The next day, their travel to Chicago was quick, fast, and uneventful. Calla drove the rental car to a long-term care facility that housed people under fifty who were physically incapacitated in some form or another.
They walked into a room containing a bed with more gizmos and buttons than the space shuttle. The man on the bed was watching a flat-screen TV, but turned it off with a remote he operated using a tool he held in his mouth as soon as he caught sight of Calla.
He put the tool on a raised table on wheels next to his head, then said, “Hey there Sis, great to see you, but aren’t you supposed to be working?” He winked.
The devil was teasing her.
“Nope, I was bad and they kicked me out.”
Her brother snorted. “Screw ‘em, then.”
Calla laughed, the sound relaxed and open.
Alex was suddenly very, very glad they’d come.
“Who’s this guy?” her brother asked, glancing at Alex and his immaculate suit. “Dude, you look like secret service. Sis, you didn’t tell me you were fixing the President’s nose.”
Alex laughed. He liked Calla’s brother. “I hate to disillusion you, but I’m nothing more than an LA lawyer.”
“Lawyer.” Her brother winced. “Wow, too bad. Here I was thinking you might have found a guy who actually measured up to the family code, but a lawyer? Not going to cut it, my man.”
“You’ve got something against lawyers?” Alex asked, trying to keep a straight face.
Though Richard’s body was still, his face was incredibly animated. “Doesn’t everyone?”
“It sounds like you have a specific reason.”
Richard glanced down at himself. “Well, it was a lawyer who screwed me over after the accident.”
“What do you mean?”
“Alex doesn’t need to see all our dirty laundry today, does he?” Calla stepped between them. “Couldn’t we talk about something else?”
“Like that nutcase celebrity who’s being a pain in the ass?” her brother asked.
“Yeah, him,” Calla said in a resigned tone.
“All right, let’s change the subject to that,” Alex said with a disarming smile. “Richard, I’d like your permission to announce my engagement to your sister in a very public, very showy display.”
Calla hid her face in her hands. “Great, just great. Way to be subtle.”
“Define public and showy?” Richard asked.
“A lavish dinner for fifty hosted by my grandmother at her even more lavish Hollywood home.”
“Who’s your grandmother?”
“Maddy Clarke.”
“Really? She’s the bomb.” If he could have, he’d be jumping up and down. “Can I meet her sometime?”
“The appropriate brother response would be to act all huffy and defensive. Not ask to be invited for tea,” Calla said.
“Huffy and defensive are for brothers who have sisters who are flighty and superficial. I don’t have one of those.”
“I can’t decide if that was a compliment or an insult.”
“Probably both,” Alex told her helpfully. Richard was a riot.
Alex took another look at him. The guy was bedridden, yet after a minute or two you forgot all about that. His personality was too huge to be contained.
“So, you go out on the town much?” he asked Richard.
“Alex, what are you doing?” Calla hissed at him.
He waved her off. “I’m going somewhere with this, just give me a minute.”
Richard’s eyebrows were raised. “Nope. I pretty much stay right here. What have you got in mind? I’m afraid my dancing days are over.”
“I’m thinking you’d be a hit at the dinner party.”
Calla’s response was almost a yell. “What?”
“If we had the properly outfitted plane, he could travel, right?”
“Yes, but we don’t have…” her voice trailed off as she stared at his face. “You have a plane?”
“No, but my grandmother does for when she wants to fly to New York. It’s been fitted for all her medical needs and then some. I think we could make it work.”
“Really?” Richard asked with a huge grin on his face. “I could go?”
“Let me make a call.” Alex told him with a wink. He stepped out of the room and phoned his grandmother. She, of course, was thrilled with the idea and immediately had Alex call the agency she used for medical support staff when she flew.
Calla stood there with her mouth open.
“I like him,” her brother said, excitement coloring his voice in high notes.
Alex went back into the room and held the phone out to Calla. “The medical people want to talk to you about equipment and…stuff.”
She took it, glared at him for a moment, then walked out already spouting medical gibberish into the phone.
“She likes you,” Richard said, looking at Alex with narrow eyes.
Alex snorted. “I don’t know, she didn’t seem too happy just now.”
“That’s not what I mean.”
Alex stared at the young man, someone who’d been injured bad enough to confine him to a bed or a wheelchair for the rest of his life, but with eyes wiser than Moses. “I like her, too.”
Richard tilted his head and looked at Alex the way a five-year-old would look at an interesting bug. Weighing, measuring, and judging. “Do you?”
Alex met his gaze with a solid one of his own. “Yeah.”
Richard slowly smiled. “I’m beginning to believe you.”
“Beginning?”
“If relationships with women were college classes, my sister wouldn’t be a 101 course, she’d be advanced mechanics taught in a language only two people understand.”
“Which two people?”
“See, now that’s the right question.” Her brother nodded. “Me and the guy who gets her. Who loves her. So, dude, is that you?”
Was he? “You don’t hold back much, do you?”
“No time to hold back, man. No one has time for that. I learned that the hard way.” Richard challenged Alex with his eyes alone. “So, are you?”
Calla challenged him with her intellect, her honesty, and her desire to help others. She didn’t hold back or pretend, and she burned him up in bed. “The more time I spend with her, the more I think I am.”
“Then there’s something you’ve got to know.” Richard darted a glance at the doorway. “The bastard she was engaged to did some heavy damage. The emotional garbage he dished out was disgusting to watch.”
“What did he say?” This Alex needed to know.
“He said she wasn’t good enough, wasn’t woman enough. She was selfish, spending her time on her work, rather than on him and me. He only added that list bit in to make it sound like it was reasonable.”
Men who did that to women deserved a special seat in hell. He started to say, “Assh—” but caught himself and finished with, “Jerk.”
“You don’t have to be polite. He was an asshole,” Richard said bluntly. “You’re going to have to te
ll her, man. A lot. Like all the time.”
“Tell her?”
“That you love her. Then you’re going to have to show her. A lot. Like all the time. And after ten years of that, maybe, just maybe, she might believe you.”
“This is your way of throwing down the gauntlet, isn’t it?”
“Nah. Dude, my sister deserves to be happy. The accident wasn’t her fault, though she tries to claim responsibility. My injures weren’t her fault, and that moron leaving her and taking all her money with him wasn’t her fault, but she won’t believe anyone when it comes to that stuff. You’ve got to make her understand that she isn’t responsible for…everything.”
Richard made it sound so easy. “What if she doesn’t love me, dude?”
Richard’s expression of disgust damn near rearranged his face. “She loves you. I talked to her and though she hasn’t admitted it to anyone including herself, it’s freaking her out. She’d never be this terrified of screwing something up with a guy if she wasn’t.”
Richard might not be able to get up off that bed to kick his butt, but the laser stare this amazing young man leveled at him might get the job done anyway. “So, are you in or are you out?”
He didn’t pull his punches.
Alex considered his options. Walk away at the end of this fiasco, or turn their engagement into the real thing? Open himself up to a real relationship with a woman who would insist on being an equal partner in every way, or stay safe in his self-contained life?
The answer was no contest.
“I’m in.”
Chapter Sixteen
“This,” Calla said in a flat tone. “Is nuts.”
Her brother was propped up in a fancy rented wheelchair that had more electronics on it than a computer store. He was talking animatedly with Alex’s grandmother and several other celebrities, all of whom seemed to be hanging on his every word.
Off to one side, Jeff MacKay stood and chatted with a small group of people, all women, who seemed determined to gain his interest, but his attention was elsewhere.
On her.
“If he looks at me one more time with that smug grin on his face, I’m going to go over there and ask him what he was smoking before coming to this party.”
