Together in the Wild: Clean Romance Novella (Alaska Adventure Romance Book 4)

by Hart, Renee

  “I need you to drop everything else you're doing,” Yvette said, handing her a thick manila folder. “There's an emergency recall that has to go out.”

  Tessa groaned as she took the folder and opened it. “Seriously? God, why do these things always have to come at the end of the day?”

  “I'm sorry that our commitment to safety is incompatible with your busy social schedule,” Yvette said, her cold expression never wavering. “Maybe you'd like it better back down in Information Resources?”

  “No,” Tessa said quickly, setting the folder on her desk. “No, it's fine. I'll take care of it.” She'd been transferred from Information Resources to QA back in the spring, and it was far more satisfying work, and for better pay. She might not like it when she got stuck late in the office on days like this, but she really had come to love her job. Even if it was overwhelming at times.

  “Those notices need to go out today, ASAP.” Yvette pointed to the folder, giving Tessa a stern look. “And I'll need a followup on compliance first thing in the morning.”

  “Got it,” Tessa said, trying not to grumble. Emergency product recalls were one of the most crucial parts of her job. They only happened when one of Dunham's products was found to be contaminated or dangerous in some way. Usually, they happened after a customer had called in a complaint, saying that they'd gotten sick from eating one of Dunham's products. Recalling all possible affected products was the only way to keep their customers safe, not to mention protecting Dunham from possible lawsuits.

  She was stuck at the office for the next couple of hours, sending out notifications to their distributors and to any grocery stores that stocked their products. Most of it was precautionary.

  The recall was due to a batch of apples that had allegedly made a few people sick, which required an investigation to find out if the issue had been caused in the orchards, or during shipping, or due to improper handling and refrigeration by the stores themselves. If it turned out the supermarket was to blame, then the recall would turn out to be unnecessary, since none of the other locations would be at risk. But until they found out for sure, they had to recall all potentially affected products from everywhere in the region.

  Fortunately, Dunham's online systems made it easy to send out recall notices en masse. But Tessa still had to backtrack the shipping numbers to find out exactly which batches were potentially at risk, making sure she sent the recalls only to the correct locations.

  By the time she finished, it was getting late, and most of the rest of the office had already gone home. In the morning, Tessa would have to check for responses from the management at each distribution center and supermarket to get confirmation of the recall, then send out second notices to anyone who hadn't complied. Meanwhile, all she wanted to do was go home, open a bottle of wine, and spend the rest of the night relaxing.

  On the drive home, she felt for sure that she was forgetting something. She wracked her mind, trying to remember what it was, but after hours of work, it had completely slipped her mind.

  When she pulled into the parking lot of her apartment complex at home, there was an ambulance parked outside. Red and blue lights bathed the building in their harsh glow, and a crowd of Tessa's neighbors was gathered outside.

  She got out of her car and headed for the building, her heart racing as she feared for the friends she had in the building, and for her boyfriend, Samson, who lived right down the hall from her. She pushed her way to the front of the crowd and got there just as the EMTs were wheeling out a stretcher.

  She got as close as she could before one of the EMTs pushed her back. “I'm sorry ma'am, give us some room.”

  She stepped back, her face going white as she looked at the man on the stretcher. The deep-set lines on his weathered brown face showed the signs of a life that had been long and wearisome, though Tessa was used to seeing a quiet, content smile on his face. She had never before seen him wracked with pain and struggling for breath.

  “Terry,” she whispered, watching in horror as they loaded him into the ambulance. She stepped forward, reaching for him. “Wait, I know him. He just—”

  “Ma'am, we need to get him to the hospital, now. You can come down there to check on him if you like, but we need to go.”

  She licked her lips, unsure what to say or do. She almost told them to wait, that she might know something, but she realized she didn't have any idea what she did know. Just that he had said he needed her help, but she didn't know what kind of help she could have offered.

  She stood there with the rest of the crowd and watched as Terry was taken away. Her gut churned with fear for him, and with guilt for having completely forgotten about his call.

  She got back into her car and drove after the ambulance. She didn't know what help she could possibly be, but Terry had called her, and told her she was the only one he could turn to. She couldn't ignore that.

  She just hoped that whatever was going on, she wasn't too late to do something about it.

  Chapter 2

  Tessa was only a short distance behind the ambulance, but she fell behind because the traffic that parted for the ambulance started closing back in before she could get by. She blared on her horn and tried to find a way around the traffic, but she ended up stuck behind a line of cars. By the time she reached the hospital, Terry had already been taken into the emergency room.

  She walked up to the woman behind the front counter, a tall blonde lady not much older than Tessa was. Tessa drummed her fingers nervously on the counter and said “I need to talk to someone about the man that was just brought in here. African American male, elderly, he should have just come through.”

  “Just one moment,” the woman said. She checked something in the computer, then stepped aside to speak to a doctor. When she returned, she gestured to the waiting room. “They're looking at him now. You can wait here.”

  “You don't understand,” Tessa said. “He called me not long before he...before he collapsed. He told me something was wrong.”

  “Do you know what caused his collapse?”

  “Well,” Tessa said, wringing her hands, “no. But he was calling me for help. He said I was the only one he could turn to.”

  “Did you call for an ambulance?”

  “No...no.” Tessa shook her head, tears welling in his eyes. “I didn't know there was something wrong, exactly. He just said he needed help.”

  The woman frowned at her. Tessa looked away, fearing her judgment. If she had known Terry was in any kind of danger, she would have called for help. She only wished she hadn't been delayed at work. If the delay had led to Terry's collapse...

  “Wait here please,” the woman said. She stepped through a door to the side, and Tessa was left waiting there, alone with her guilt.

  A few minutes later, a doctor came out of the ER and started asking her questions. She was left unable to give him anything more than half-answers.

  “Do you know if he has any medical conditions? Drug allergies?”

  “Not that I know of.” She chewed on her lip, trying to think of something that could help. She'd only been friends with Terry for a few months.

  “When he called you, did he mention any symptoms? Anything that can give us a clue about what happened?”

  “No. I didn't even think it was something medical. He just said he needed my help. Do you know what's wrong with him?”

  “We have him on an IV drip right now,” the doctor said. “He's showing signs of nausea, severe dehydration, and heat exhaustion. He's going to need to be under observation for awhile. Do you know if he has any family that should be contacted?”

  “No. Not that I know of.” Tessa only knew bits and pieces about Terry's life. She knew he'd been in jail for a number of years, and that he had lived an isolated life since he got out. The impression she'd been under was that any family he had were either deceased, or no longer speaking to him. She thought back over the conversations she'd had with him, and realized she didn't know much about him. “He once to
ld me he used to have a drug problem, but I think that was a long time ago.”

  The doctor pulled out a pen and made some notes on the chart. “Do you know what kind of drugs?”

  “No, I'm sorry.”

  “All right.” He put his pen back in his pocket and turned to leave. “We'll keep you informed. But it might be some time before he regains consciousness.”

  “Okay.” Tessa's shoulders slumped. She went to sit in the waiting room, not sure what else to do. She just knew she couldn't leave without knowing if Terry was going to be okay. Without any family, or even any close friends that she knew of, he would be all alone here in the hospital. She couldn't leave him alone like that.

  She lost track of time sitting there, until she heard someone call her name. She looked up and saw her boyfriend, Samson, crossing the waiting room. He was dressed in his usual “hipster hippie” look, with tight jeans, an indie rock band t-shirt, and a headband holding back his long hair.

  She stood up and stepped into his arms. He held her tight, stroking her hair. “I heard what happened. Mrs. Mackenzie said she saw you chasing after the ambulance. Is Terry okay?”

  She explained everything the doctor had said, then told Samson about the phone call from Terry. “I just don't understand. He said that whatever it was, it had been going on a long time. But I can't imagine what he could have been talking about. And why call me?”

  “Do you think it could have something to do with your work?” Samson asked.

  Tessa thought about that, touching her fingers to her lips. Her work in Dunham's QA department meant that she dealt with a lot of food safety issues. Dunham was a company known for supplying clean, healthy, organic foods, though she'd learned while working there that there were occasionally problems. Problems like the recall she'd been working on earlier, which the company tried to keep hush-hush. They were committed to safety, but also to secrecy, in order to protect the company's reputation.

  “I don't see how it could have anything to do with Dunham,” Tessa said. “I mean, Terry mostly ate food he grew himself in his garden.”

  “Do you think there could be something wrong with the gardens?” Samson asked.

  “God...do you think that could be it?” Tessa put a hand over her mouth, her face going pale. Tessa, Samson, and a number of their neighbors ran a community garden on the plot of land between two apartment buildings. Each tenant had their own little plot, growing everything from herbs to flowers to fresh produce. Everything was completely organic, and the community had very strict rules against using chemicals or anything artificial, in order to keep everything growing healthy and pure. But if something had gotten into the garden...

  “I still think Topher has been using something that's against the rules,” Samson said, frowning. “Some kind of harsh herbicide or pesticide. The little rat is so sneaky about it. I've never much cared for him.”

  “Yeah, but do you really think he could have contaminated Terry's crops?” Tessa shook her head. “That doesn't seem like him.”

  “Maybe he didn't do it on purpose.” Samson crossed his arms. “But if you let some stuff get into the groundwater, it can spread. Something that affects one person's plot could affect the whole community.”

  Tessa thought back over everything Terry had said. He'd told her that whatever it was, it had been going on for awhile. Had he discovered something harmful in the community's garden?

  If that was the case, Tessa realized, then all of their neighbors could be at risk. Tessa herself grew tomatoes and watermelons, along with a few other things. Though she never could seem to get her tomatoes to grow as big and ripe as some of her neighbors did, particularly Topher.

  She traded with all of her neighbors for a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. She'd shared quite a bit with Terry over the last few months, since they'd become friends. Which meant if he'd gotten sick because of something in his food, then Tessa, Samson, and all of the others could have been affected as well.

  “I think I need to sit down,” Tessa said, touching a hand to her head. The room started to spin.

  Samson helped her to a chair. “I'm going to get the doctor.”

  As soon as he had her settled in her seat, he hurried over to speak to someone about getting both of them checked. Tessa just sat and stared, unable to get her mind around what was happening. Her stomach was twisted in knots and her mouth had suddenly gone dry.

  By the time a doctor came over to check on her, she felt like she was about to pass out. She just silently hoped that it was only caused by the stress, and not by some unknown toxin that she could have been eating for months on end.

  Chapter 3

  Tessa spent a couple of hours in the hospital. The doctors drew blood, had her pee in a cup, and asked her a bunch of questions about her diet and her daily habits. They also made sure to ask about anything she had in common with Terry. She explained all about the community gardening plot, while the doctor's took notes.

  “Has anyone else in your apartment complex been sick lately?” the doctor asked.

  “No,” Tessa said, shaking her head. “Not that I know of. And I was feeling fine until I came down here.”

  “When was the last time you ate?”

  “Well, I...” Tessa stopped and thought about it. She realized that between being stuck at work late, then rushing down to the hospital, she hadn't eaten dinner. And she'd been so busy at work that her lunch had been some orange juice and a mini bag of pretzels from the vending machine. “Well, I guess I haven't had much since breakfast.”

  “That would easily explain your dizziness.” The doctor made some notes on her chart. “I don't think you're in any danger. We're still going to run your blood work just to be sure. We'll have the results in a couple of days. But you should be all right to go home, as long as you get your blood sugar up first.”

  She was discharged soon after and met up with Samson, who had also been given a clean bill of health. Before they left the hospital, Tessa asked the doctor, “Can we see Terry before we go?”

  “He's sleeping right now,” the doctor said. “He came to for a few minutes earlier, but he was still a bit out of it. I'd rather not have him disturbed. You can stop by tomorrow to check up on him. Now that we're getting some fluids in him, he should be all right after some rest.”

  “All right. Thank you, doctor.”

  The doctor gave her his card so she could check with him for further updates. Tessa and Samson headed home, and when they got there Tessa invited Samson into her apartment so they could unwind together after the stressful night. Samson made some tea from the herbs he grew in his garden plot. He handed her the steaming mug and sat with her on the sofa, pulling her feet into his lap. “So, what do you think we should do?” he asked.

  Tessa leaned back on the cushions while Samson pulled off her shoes and started rubbing her aching feet. She laid there for a few minutes with her eyes closed, inhaling the aroma of the tea. “Well, I want to talk to Terry first. Find out what he called me about. I'd rather not jump to any conclusions like last time.”

  Samson laughed, shaking his head. “Yeah, that was a bit of a fiasco. But it all worked out in the end.”

  “This time we might not be so lucky,” she said. It had been a few months since Tessa's unauthorized investigation into one of the distribution centers at Dunham Enterprises. She'd thought that someone at her company had been covering up a health hazard. It had turned out to be a red herring, and she had nearly lost her job by crossing lines and taking matters into her own hands, instead of letting the right people handle it. Though now that she was working for QA, she was the right person.

  “If there is a problem with the gardens,” she said, “I can bring samples down to one of Dunham's labs.”

  “Will they let you do that?” Samson asked. “I don't want to get you in trouble. We can always ask my friend Gregory instead. I'm sure he'd run some tests as a favor.”

  Tessa nodded. “That might be best. Though in any case, I
don't want to do anything until we know more.” She looked out the window at the darkened gardens. There was no one out there at this time of night, and the gardens were basked in shadows broken only by the dim lights coming from the apartment windows. “I don't want to scare any of our neighbors. If they know we're testing the crops for chemicals or other contaminants, people might freak out.”

  “But if there is something wrong,” Samson said, “they have the right to know.”

  “They do.” Tessa sipped her tea, letting the warmth soothe her throat. “And as soon as we know whether there's something to tell them, we'll let everyone know. I'll head to the hospital first thing tomorrow—damn.”

  “What is it?” Samson looked up at her with a concerned frown.

  “I forgot I have some important work to do tomorrow. I can't put it off.”

  “Don't worry.” He shifted closer to her on the couch, pulling her legs across his lap. He leaned over and kissed her forehead. “I'm off tomorrow. I'll head down to the hospital first thing in the morning, and check in on Terry.”

  “All right.” She smiled up at him and caressed his cheek. They sat there together in quiet comfort for awhile. Their relationship was still new, but she felt like they were settling into a nice, comfortable routine together. They'd been friends for years before they took things a step further, so it had been a natural transition.

  They still spent their weekends and afternoons together in the garden, or they went on nature hikes or wine tastings. They spent most evenings together, except for nights when Samson had shifts at the music shop he worked at. It was a pleasant, simple relationship, and so far Tessa had been grateful for a relationship without all the drama that she'd had with some men in the past.

  She set her tea on the coffee table and pulled Samson down onto the sofa with her. They wrapped their arms around each other and snuggled together, her head laying against his shoulder. They stayed there like that until Tessa started to drift off to sleep.