The River Valley Series

by Tess Thompson

Gennie’s lip trembled. Do not cry. You will scare her.

  “I’m so sorry, sweetie. I shouldn’t have come. It was too risky.”

  “Don’t be sorry, Mom. You were fighting for me. I’m proud of you.”

  “All this fuss. And I can’t leave here until forever.” Her eyes leaked tears. Gennie grabbed a tissue and patted her cheeks.

  “Please, don’t cry. It’s no fuss. I’m going to be with you the whole time. You’re strong. You’ll heal quickly. Then, we’ll go home, and you can sit on our deck and look at the ocean. You’ll be back to normal in no time.”

  “I’m an old lady. The doctor said it will be a long road to recovery.”

  “Well, he doesn’t know how tough you are.” The nurse caught Gennie’s eye and gestured toward the hallway. “Mom, I’m going to talk to the nurse for a moment.”

  “Yes, okay.”

  Gennie placed a fresh tissue into her mom’s hand. “Just two seconds and I’ll be back.”

  Out in the hallway, the nurse, a tall blond with Nordic features and a slight Danish accent, held her mother’s chart against her chest. “I’m Gwen. I’m on duty all day and will monitor your mother carefully. She’s doing fine, but the pain meds will make her more emotional than usual. Don’t take the tears too seriously.”

  “Okay.” A painful lump formed at the back of Gennie’s throat. “She’s normally quite stoic.”

  “The best thing for her is to sleep and recover. Your job is just to listen to her and reassure her that everything’s going to be fine.”

  “All right. I can do that.”

  “And my job is to reassure you that everything will be just fine. It will take some time for her bones to heal, but they will.” Gwen patted her arm. “She had the very best surgeons. With some therapy, she’ll be walking the beach once again.”

  Gennie smiled. Mom loves to walk the beach. “She doesn’t look like herself. It scared me.”

  “Perfectly understandable. But she’s going to take cues from you, so keep up the positive talk, yes?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good.”

  She followed Gwen back into the room. Her mom stared blankly at the ceiling. “Hey, Mom. You doing okay?”

  “I’m a little fuzzy.”

  “It’s the drugs. Totally normal,” Gennie said.

  “The lilies smell delicious. I had lilies at my wedding. Did I ever tell you that?”

  “You’ve mentioned that, yes. But you can tell me again.”

  “Is my hair a mess? I can’t imagine what a fright I look.”

  “Would you like me to brush it?” Gennie asked.

  “Yes, please. My makeup bag’s in my purse. Would you fix my face? I want to look nice for the doctor.”

  The doctor? Gennie took a brush from her purse and used it on her mother’s hair. “I’m no Bella, but I’ll do my best.”

  Her mom closed her eyes. “That feels nice.”

  Gwen gave Gennie a reassuring smile. “The doctor will make his rounds in the next hour. I have another patient to look in on, but I’ll stop back here later.” She indicated the call button on the side of the hospital bed. “You just push this if she needs anything.” She smoothed the sheets. “Mrs. Banks, you let either your daughter or I know if you need more pain medication. We want you comfortable.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  After Gwen had left, Gennie grabbed her mom’s makeup bag. “Do you want foundation?”

  “Yes, the works, please. I want to look nice for the doctor.”

  The doctor again? What kind of drugs did they have her on?

  “Did I mention that the doctor’s a very attractive man?”

  “No, I don’t believe so,” Gennie said. What’s gotten into her?

  “He came by earlier. Swoon-worthy.”

  Swoon-worthy? Gennie smoothed her mother’s bangs off her forehead. Using a sponge, she dotted foundation on her cheeks and forehead.

  “And age appropriate.” Her mother smiled and looked dreamily at the ceiling. “For me, that is. Not you. He’s much too old for you.”

  “Mom, are you interested in the doctor?”

  “Well, no, of course not. I simply noticed how attractive he was and that he wasn’t wearing a ring. Maybe he’s a widower.”

  “Close your eyes.” She spread shadow over her mom’s eyelids. “It would be all right, you know, to be interested in a man.”

  “I’m much too old.”

  “That’s not true. You have a lot of good years left. Any man would be lucky to have you.”

  “Have I held you back Gennie girl?”

  Where is she going with this? The drugs had her all over the place. “Held me back? From what?”

  “It’s been the two of us against the world for a long time now. Perhaps I’ve held on too tightly. You were all I had after your dad died. Have I been a burden to you? Have I kept you from having a family of your own because I didn’t want things to change between us?”

  Gennie swept blush over her cheeks. “Mom, my failed marriage was not because of anything you did. You’ve been everything and more that a mother should be.”

  “I don’t want you to worry about me any longer. You go on and make plans with Stefan.”

  “Mom, you’ll always be part of my life. My best friend.”

  “I would’ve given anything to have been the one. Anything.”

  “I know.”

  After mascara and lipstick, Gennie declared her ready for her close-up. Or, your visit from the cute doctor. From her own purse, she took out a bottle of hand lotion and squirted some into her hand. “Here, let’s put some lotion on your hands.”

  Her mother giggled. “I can’t feel a thing. You have two heads. Two beautiful heads.”

  Gennie smiled as she rubbed her mother’s hands and forearms with the lotion. “It’s weird to see you so stoned.”

  “Did you tell me something about Trix? What did she do?”

  “Yes, that. Two nights ago, Stefan and I were intimate for the first time.”

  “Oh, honey. Was it terrible?” asked Mom.

  “No, no, nothing like that. It was wonderful.” She rubbed her own hands together, slick from the lotion. “Trix planted cameras in our room and took photographs of us. And they’re all over the internet.”

  “That bitch. That awful bitch. She’s always been all about the money.”

  “I’m sure Murphy bought her off. The photos are fuzzy, according to Grant. They’re mostly of Stefan, but still, it’s horrifying.”

  “She should go to jail.”

  “She will. Now, let’s not talk about it any further. Your job is to rest. I don’t want you upset.”

  A knock interrupted whatever her mother was about to say next. Stefan stood in the doorway, carrying an enormous bouquet of flowers. Much bigger than the bouquet Gennie had brought. How had he managed to do that?

  Her mom smiled and clapped her hands. “Stefan, you came. And you brought flowers. How lovely.”

  “Of course, I came.” He set them on the table near her bed. “Are you managing all right?”

  “She’s a little out of it,” whispered Gennie.

  Her mom giggled, gazing up at Stefan with adoring eyes. “My goodness, he’s so handsome, Gennie. Where are you two staying?”

  “Over by Rockefeller Center. It’s all lit up for the holiday,” Stefan said.

  “I’ve been there,” her mom said. “Gennie takes me all over the world. Did you know that?”

  “I didn’t,” Stefan said, glancing over at Gennie, obviously amused. “Where have you been together?”

  Her mom listed some of the places they’d traveled together. “But you know what I’ve wanted more than the travel and houses and beautiful clothes? I’ve wanted her to find a nice man and have a baby. But that fucking Murphy ruined everything.”

  “Mom.” Gennie almost laughed. A curse word out of her mother’s mouth sounded foreign, like she had shouted out a word in Latin with no idea of its meaning.

 
“But now you’re here.” Her mom waggled a finger at Stefan. “And I’m so very happy. Tell me, do you want to have children?”

  “I think so.” He grinned at Gennie. “Maybe two. A boy and a girl.”

  A knock on the door distracted them from further discussion. Thank goodness. This line of questioning is dangerous.

  “Hello. I’m Doctor Revere. I’m the doctor on rotation this morning. Your mother and I met earlier this morning. She’s doing very well.”

  Mom called this one. Doctor Revere is most certainly swoon-worthy. Of average height, but in obvious good physical condition given his wide shoulders and narrow hips, he strode into the room like a man headed to battle. Bald, with bright blue eyes and a strong jawline, he possessed an authoritative air that shouted confidence. Gennie threw back her shoulders, suddenly aware she’d been slouching.

  The doctor held out his hand to Gennie. “You must be Mrs. Banks’s daughter?”

  “Yes, pleased to meet you.” She gestured toward Stefan. “This is my boyfriend, Stefan Spencer.” Did I just say boyfriend?

  After they shook hands, the doctor turned his attention to her mother. “Mrs. Banks, you’re looking excellent this morning.”

  “Gennie put some makeup on me. I was feeling dowdy.”

  “We mustn’t have you feeling dowdy.” He smiled at her. “Your chart indicates everything’s going as well as we can hope for, given how many bones you broke yesterday.”

  “Thank you, doctor. However, I’m quite high from these drugs. I haven’t felt like this since 1967 when I went to a Grateful Dead concert.”

  A Grateful Dead concert?

  A deep, throaty laugh erupted from Doctor Revere. “Ah, yes, I was high at a few of those myself, but don’t tell the medical board. We don’t want you in pain. You’ll heal faster if you’re comfortable.”

  “How long do you think she’ll be here?” Gennie asked. “When can we take her home to L.A.?”

  “I’d say a couple of weeks. With legs in traction like this, we have to give them a decent amount of time to heal. Just long enough for us to get to know each other,” said Doctor Revere. “Mrs. Banks, you’ll be sick of me by the time they let you go.”

  “Call me Joan, please. And I doubt I could grow sick of you.”

  They smiled at one another like a couple of kids. What was happening here?

  “We also have an excellent rehab facility if you’re interested in rehabbing here in New York,” said Doctor Revere.

  “Well, maybe I would.”

  “I can give you an excellent referral,” the doctor said. He turned back to Gennie. “I have other patients to visit, but I’ll be back to check on her later. I know you want to visit, but it’s probably best to let her rest. Her body’s been through a lot. I’ll take good care of her.”

  I bet you will. The doctor has the hots for my mom. Traction and all.

  * * *

  After the doctor left, her mother smiled up at her with glazed eyes. “Didn’t I tell you he was handsome?”

  “He is handsome. No question.”

  “I think he likes you, Joan,” Stefan said.

  “We had the most amazing chat this morning about books and our children. He has two. They’re grown and live in Connecticut. Three grandchildren.” Her eyelids drooped. “I’m so sleepy.”

  Gennie kissed her cheek. “You sleep, Mom. We’ll be back to see you this afternoon.”

  But she was asleep already. Gennie looked over at Stefan. “What the heck? She and the doctor were acting like a couple of lovesick kids.”

  “They obviously had a connection,” Stefan said.

  “You think?”

  “Kind of like us.” He grabbed her and kissed her.

  Gwen entered, holding a large bouquet of red roses. Gennie’s heart started pounding. Roses. Murphy. They had to be from him.

  “These came for your mother. She’s very popular.” Gwen set them on the bedside table.

  Gennie snatched the card from the plastic holder sticking out of the vase. It’s him. I knew it. The bastard. She dropped the card on the floor. It landed face up, the large handwriting displaying the message.

  You’ll be sorry.

  Several hours later, in the news studio, the makeup artist powdered Gennie’s face as the crew adjusted lights and cameras. Raquel sat across from her, reading through notes scribbled on a legal pad. Stefan stood behind one of the cameras with his arms folded over his chest, his expression tense.

  The cameras rolled.

  “Can you tell us what happened yesterday morning?” Raquel asked.

  Gennie launched into her story, leaving nothing out, ending with Trix and the photographs.

  Raquel followed up on Trix with further questions. “She’s been your manager for many years. How does it feel to have been betrayed by her in this way?”

  “It hurts. This is a difficult business, and we spend years surrounding ourselves with people we think we can trust.” She looked down at her hands. Do not cry. Do not cry. She drew in a shaky breath. “Because of what happened to me, physical intimacy has been challenging. For her to have violated my personal space simply because Murphy offered her money is incomprehensible to me. This was a woman I trusted with my most sacred personal secrets.”

  “Do you intend to press charges?”

  “I do. Not only did she violate her confidentiality agreement, but what she did is illegal. I understand that because of my job, I am in the public eye and with that comes scrutiny. However, that doesn’t mean I don’t have the same right to privacy in my home, in my own bedroom, as anyone else. I understand people are curious about famous people’s lives. I am too. But we owe it to ourselves and our society to stop focusing on what some celebrity had for dinner and address the problems of education or poverty. If we focused our energy on causes we cared about rather than gossip—essentially mind-candy with extra corn syrup—the world would certainly be in a better place.”

  “In the past, you’ve asked the press to refrain from questions about your former husband, but today you want to talk about it. What would you like to say about your marriage and ultimate divorce?”

  “When news of Moody’s affair was revealed, he took a lot of heat.” Gennie cleared her throat. “I kept quiet because it’s a very personal subject and the demise of marriages are always complicated. It is never one person’s fault, and in this case, a very good man made a choice that unfortunately went public. But that’s not the whole story. Moody’s a great person. He loved me, as I did him. He was good to me and understanding about my problems, even though I never told him about what happened because I was afraid of Rick Murphy. Moody’s affair was the result of my inabilities to participate in an intimate relationship. It was because of me. Despite his bad-boy image, he’s one of the sweetest men on the planet. I’m sorry I didn’t come forward with the truth then, but again, I was afraid. And, I was right. Given what’s happened, Murphy’s threats were not just threats.”

  “Are you saying you never consummated your marriage with Moody?” Raquel asked.

  “That’s correct. And the fact that Moody never said anything publicly about my problems should tell us all what kind of man he is and the kind of character he possesses.”

  “You’re in a new relationship now?”

  “Yes. With Stefan Spencer. Which, thanks to the photographs, everyone now knows about.”

  “What do you want people to know about you and Stefan Spencer?”

  “Because of Murphy’s propaganda, it’s been conveyed to the press that I was seeking attention and publicity by leaking the photos. None of that could be further from the truth. Stefan and I are like hunted animals with the way we’re followed around. We wanted to keep our relationship quiet because we knew it would cause the paparazzi to pursue us with even more vigor.”

  “Has the release of the photos brought a lot of the old feelings back?”

  “Sure. It would be impossible for it not to.”

  “What evidence do you have th
at Rick Murphy is responsible for all this?”

  Gennie held up the card from the flowers. “This was delivered to my mother’s hospital room. There’s no way to prove it’s from him. But it is. He’s responsible for her accident. For the photographs. For anything that may happen to me in the future. It’s Rick Murphy.”

  “Are you stating this for the record?”

  “If you mean because I’m afraid for my life, then yes. I have no doubt that somehow, somewhere, he will get me. He has many people and organizations under his control, all willing to do his bidding for the right amount of cash. That’s what’s kept me from coming forward all these years. And now, since I told the truth, it prompted other women to come forward. He’s angry. He wants revenge. He’ll come for me, whether it’s today or next week. I am not safe. And, neither are the people I love.”

  Chapter 15

  After the interview had finished, they headed to the hospital to check on Gennie’s mom and Tommy. Lee was with Tommy, feeding him chicken broth from a spoon. He looked remarkably good for a man who had been in surgery for internal bleeding just the day before.

  Gennie went to his bedside, apologizing and expressing her relief that he was recuperating. “I feel responsible for this whole mess.”

  “Stop that. I’m going to be fine,” Tommy said. “I’m glad Joan’s all right. The last thing I remember was her face right before the car plowed into us.” His brown eyes shone from his wan face. “This has been a reminder that we have to live every day like it could be our last.”

  “Thank God it wasn’t,” Lee said.

  “The police came by earlier,” Lee said. “They had a lot of questions for Tommy.”

  “Unfortunately, I didn’t have much to tell them,” he said. “I didn’t get a good look at the driver of the other car.”

  “Did they ask anything about Murphy?” Stefan asked.

  “Not a word,” Tommy said. “I brought it up, and they said they were following up on all leads.”

  “Very unconvincingly, I might add,” Lee said.

  “Meaning, they dismissed it?” Gennie asked.

  “That was the feeling I got,” Lee said.