The Luxury of Being Stubborn (The Stubborn Series Book 4)

by Jeanne Arnold

  “That’s right, missy. We’ve been here since five in the morning,” he drawled.

  As I followed him down the hall, my curiosity ate a hole in my stomach lining. He stopped at the door and gestured for me to look inside. I walked in front of him and spotted a woman in the first bed. Right away I recognized her red hair.

  Perturbed, I turned to Judson. “You brought the stripper woman you met at one of the bars downtown to the emergency room? You want me to waste my time with her when I could be with Gabe?”

  He laughed, and I glanced back at her. The woman’s eyes fluttered and opened. They were a steely blue. She was older than I thought she was.

  “She’s been called many things before, but I promise I haven’t heard that one. This is Betsy.”

  “I know who she is. She’s the adult entertainer you left in the cabin,” I said in a hissy voice. “I found her naked in my bed.”

  The woman tried to sit up.

  “Hey, honeybun,” Judson said as he sidled up to the bed and helped adjust her pillows. Her red hair was shockingly bright against the stark white sheets. “Meet Avery. She’s my brother’s niece-in-law.”

  I questioned him with tight eyes. Why didn’t he say I was Gabe’s girlfriend? Why did he call her honeybun?

  “Nice to meet you. He likes to call me Betsy,” she said in a soft voice and covered her mouth briefly. “Please excuse my appearance. I don’t typically meet people in a hospital bed wearing a disposable gown. I’ve been sick for days.”

  “She’s got a mad case of the nastiest food poisoning,” said Judson.

  The woman had an IV in her arm just like Gabe. She ran her free hand over her unruly hair in an attempt to make herself look better. “I’d love to get out of here. I just can’t seem to—”

  She looked as if she were going to vomit. She didn’t sound like I thought a stripper should sound.

  “How do you know each other?” I asked.

  Judson raised his eyebrows and set a hand on my shoulder. “Long story. Would you mind checking in on Betsy while I’m gone? Just until bedtime. I’d be indebted.”

  I nodded.

  “Do you work here?” she asked as she recovered.

  I glanced at Judson for an explanation. The woman had no idea who I was.

  “Now that y’all are acquainted, I have to step out again. You rest up,” he told her and caressed her arm. “Avery will get you anything you need.” He pulled me into the hallway. “Don’t say anything to anyone about this. I’ll explain when I get back.”

  “Oh, I know you will,” I said. “She seems like a nice stripper.”

  Judson appeared uncharacteristically disturbed by my remark.

  We both took off in separate directions. I walked slowly even though I wanted to get back to Gabe’s room. I wasn’t sure what was going on.

  Upstairs I found Mr. Halden sitting on the edge of Gabe’s bed. Meggie was stepping out of the bathroom with a vase of flowers. She wiped the bottom of the glass with a paper towel and set it on Gabe’s table. I wondered how long they were staying.

  “Welcome back,” I said as Meggie hugged me hello. “You got a tan from just one day away?”

  “You betcha—there are no tan lines on either of us,” she said and laughed.

  “I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that,” I replied.

  “I’m so glad Gabe’s on the mend, kiddo. The nurse told Joel they’re keeping him overnight for observation. We brought you dinner. Where have you been? Your mom wanted to get back to the girls. We stopped by to see my Emmie on the way. Your sister wanted us to bring her here to help make Gabe feel better. I thought that was so sweet.”

  I pointed to the jar on Gabe’s table when she stopped for a breather. “She wants the candy my mother brought.”

  Meggie smiled a knowing smile.

  “Howdy, Miss Ross,” said Mr. Halden. He stood up and shook my hand.

  “Hi,” I replied as I walked to the other side of the bed. Gabe was awake. He looked much better than when I left the room. “How was your trip?”

  “Shortest honeymoon on the books.”

  “Paired with the longest engagement ever,” Meggie said.

  “We’ll be bringing y’all back for a big family vacation. Margareta insists we enjoy the yacht together.”

  “Joel—it’s big enough to house a college campus.”

  I squeezed Gabe’s hand. He had the news on in the background. They were still talking about HalRem. I watched Mr. Halden glance at the screen and then reach for the remote to turn it off.

  “Where’s Jud? We’re having ribs,” Gabe said. Then he closed his eyes.

  I looked to Meggie. She shrugged. Gabe was still a little out of it. I noticed he was wearing a hospital gown. The nurse must have had to help him to the bathroom.

  “Well, kiddo, your dad thought you would enjoy something to eat from back home. Food is the answer to everything,” she whispered. She opened a bag with a Texas flag logo and lifted out a stack of containers and set them on the table. The hospital room went from smelling like rubbing alcohol to a barbeque pit.

  “The food was heated up on the plane,” Joel said. “We’ll leave y’all to eat. We’ve had a long day. Make sure you follow doctor’s orders. I’ll make arrangements for your release and get some workers out on the ranch to assist y’all going forward.”

  Gabe opened his eyes, but he didn’t object.

  Just when I thought the coast was clear, Meggie stopped in the doorway. “Has Judson been by to see Gabe? Your sister told us he drove a racecar to a restaurant.”

  “Yep, he was here,” I said in a half truth. “He drove Gabe’s Mustang back from Memphis.”

  When the nurse came back in to check Gabe’s temperature after we ate, he looked as if he was bleeding barbeque sauce out of his mouth.

  “I’m going to run down to the vending machine,” I told the nurse as she lowered the head of Gabe’s bed.

  “Oh, honey, I’ll get you whatever you need. Just give me a list,” she said. “I was going to ask if you need anything before my shift ends. Lieutenant Halden’s orders.”

  “Thank you,” I told her. “I really need to get some air and call my mother.”

  I hadn’t heard from Judson. I dashed to the first floor and walked the long hall to Betsy’s room. The flurry of the emergency room had quieted down. I stepped inside her room to get a closer look. She was sound asleep on her side with a bowl under her chin.

  “Legs?” Caleb startled me. I backed away from the bed. “What are you doing down here?”

  “Nothing. Just passing through,” I whispered. “Are you looking for Judson?”

  He frowned. “No? Who’s in there?” He peered over my shoulder, but I stepped forward and blocked his view. Then he spun around to look at something. He was wearing Deliah’s backpack on his shoulder. “Head’s up. It’s the future Mrs. Gabriel Halden.”

  I turned around and spied Erika carrying a basket of flowers in one arm and two overflowing vases in the other. She could barely see where she was going. I swung my gaze back to Caleb and glowered.

  “How’s our best patient doing?” she said when she reached us.

  “He’s getting better,” I told her as two nurses ran by pushing a stretcher. We all flattened ourselves to the wall.

  “That’s good news. Tell him I’ll stop by tomorrow. I’ve got a night shift at Albertsons after I deliver these abandoned flowers to the nursing home next door. You wouldn’t believe how happy the residents are when they wake up to find flowers in their rooms.”

  “Mighty civic minded of you,” Caleb drawled.

  “Have a good night,” she said sweetly and scurried off.

  Caleb placed his hands on top of his HalRem cap. “Man, if she wasn’t married.”

  “It’s nice to know you have some morals.”

  “Meggie asked me to check on you and Gabe. What are you up to?” he asked.

  “I’m not up to anything.”

  My phone buzzed in my hand. I wal
ked away from Caleb and answered Judson’s call.

  “I just did,” I whispered and then listened. “Fine. She’s sleeping with a bucket.”

  Caleb slid between me and the wall and stuck his face in mine. Our bodies touched, and I felt his breathing quicken. He was such a pain and such a flirt.

  I turned around and continued to talk to Judson. I asked him how long he would be.

  “Who is that?” Caleb asked. He tried to look at the screen. I moved away, but he grabbed my wrist.

  I clasped the phone to my chest. “Stop it.”

  “Is that Jud?”

  I took another step and continued to listen. Then I asked Judson if everything was going okay on his end.

  “Lemme see the phone.” Caleb snatched the phone just as I tapped the off button and killed the call.

  “That’s my phone. You have no right to touch it. Jeez, Caleb.”

  “If that was Jud, you need to tell me. Molly said the FBI camped out in front of Lane’s. There was a car in Meggie’s driveway when I dropped Mona Deliah off. If you know something—you better damn well spill it.”

  “They already got to him. He’s been at the station for an hour.”

  Caleb hit his head on the wall, rubbed his bottom lip, and stared at me as if I had three eyes. “Why are you hiding this delicate piece of information?”

  “He told me to. Now you know. Go help him or whatever. I need to get back to Gabe.”

  I set the overnight bag on the windowsill in Gabe’s room. The bathroom light was the only light on. None of the machines were beeping. He was unhooked from his IV. I kicked off my boots and curled up in the chair. Gabe was asleep on his back with his gown hanging off both of his shoulders. He looked adorable and peaceful. But the scene was all wrong. My normally strong, resilient boyfriend was imprisoned in a hospital room.

  “Av’ry.”

  I opened my eyes. Gabe was on his side staring at me. His identification bracelet dangled from his wrist over the side of the bed.

  “C’mere.”

  I sat up and rubbed my eyes. “What time is it?”

  “Three,” he murmured. “The nurse won’t be back until sunup.”

  As soon as my body hit Gabe’s narrow mattress, I stretched out beside him and sighed. He reached for my face and kissed me before I could fully relax.

  “You’re scruffy,” I whispered.

  “I love you,” he said as his hands ran down my back and pulled me tight. “Get me the hell out of here.”

  “In the morning,” I said into his shoulder. Then I lifted my head and rubbed my cheek against his stubble. He was still warm, but the room was so cold I felt chilled. “Let’s just sleep.”

  “No can do,” he said with a showy twang. “I’m wide awake. I wanna go home. I want my car.”

  I closed my eyes and hoped he would fall back to sleep. Instead, his hands were in my hair, pulling out my ponytail tie.

  “What are you trying to prove on the ranch?” I asked.

  He ran his fingers through my hair and twisted it around his fist while I played with the bracelet on his other hand. “I wanna be independent of HalRem. I want something for myself.”

  I pinched his middle, and he moaned and held my hand to his stomach. He nuzzled my cheek with his nose. “Do that again, lower.”

  “No. They’ll throw us out.”

  “Hopefully,” he said as he reached for my knee and pulled my leg over his.

  “Gabe, you’re sick.”

  “I’m better.”

  “Not exactly.”

  “I saw what you did before.” He tried to pull me on top of him, but he was too weak.

  “What did I do?” I straightened my elbow and held myself above him. He looked tired, yet his playful expression filled me with a sense of peace.

  “You rolled your bra into a ball and shoved it in that bag.”

  I glanced over my shoulder as his hand found its way up my dress and lifted it to my armpits. I fell back and yanked it down.

  “C’mon, Av’ry, it’s been too long.”

  “It’s been one day. I think you’ll survive.”

  “I need you to keep me alive.”

  “That’s a lot to put on one person,” I said. Our hands wrestled for control of my dress. I was winning. He wasn’t in any shape to win. A few minutes later, he fell asleep.

  The hospital room was bright when I opened my eyes. The night nurse was standing above me fitting a blood pressure cuff on Gabe’s arm. He was snoring with his mouth open. He hardly ever snored except on the occasion he fell asleep on the couch with a book on his face.

  I fixed the straps on my dress and turned around to slide off the mattress and check my phone. I couldn’t look the nurse in the eye.

  Gabe stirred and clutched my waist. I sat back down and set a hand on his shoulder where his gown was open and avoided the area where he was kissed by sunburn.

  “Good morning, Mr. Halden. I have some good news for you,” said the nurse.

  “I don’t have to jump out of the window to escape?” he replied.

  “The doctor reviewed your latest blood work, and you’ve been approved for passage through the front door. You’ll need to take it easy. It’ll be a few days or so before you regain your strength. I suggest you take in lots of fluids and stay out of the sun for the next week or so. I’ll be back with your release forms.”

  Gabe tried to slide up the pillows when she left us alone. His gown pulled off his arms and the ties broke open. He tore it out from underneath and tossed it on the floor. “Where are my clothes?”

  “Don’t you remember? They cut them off you.” I reached for Deliah’s bag and found Gabe’s jeans under my bra and phone. My phone was dead.

  “Toss ’em here,” Gabe said impatiently. “How about my boots?”

  I looked around for his cowboy boots. I found them in a plastic bag in the closet as I tried to figure out how to get away for ten minutes to check on Betsy before we left.

  Gabe got up and set a hand on the wall for balance.

  “Sit here and I’ll help you,” I said. He was adorably messy with his unwashed hair sticking up all over.

  He sat down and gave me a funny look. “I’ve got a headache.”

  “I’ll tell the nurse.”

  “Don’t, Av’ry. She won’t let me go home.”

  I blew my breath out and helped him get his jeans onto each foot. “You were better in the middle of the night. What was that all about?”

  “I’m not so good standing up.” He took the jar of candy off the table and helped himself to a jawbreaker while I tugged his jeans up his legs. He finished pulling them up. “Tell your ma thanks for the candy.”

  I removed some of Deliah’s items to get Gabe’s shirt out of the bag. She had the usual hair products and makeup in a Ziploc. There was a Rubik’s Cube, a charger cord for her phone, and an empty bag of pretzels with a loose credit card. For kicks I pulled it out.

  “What’s that?” Gabe asked as he watched me study the plastic card.

  “We might need to talk to your sister.”

  He snatched the card with his long arm and read it.

  “It’s a room card,” I said. “She went to a motel.”

  He fell back in the chair and left his jeans unbuttoned. “To do what?”

  “I don’t know. It’s probably Caleb’s.”

  “What the hell is a thirteen-year-old doing at a motel? She needs to be locked in her room.”

  “I’ll ask her about it. Please don’t do anything.”

  “Like what—strangle Travis?”

  I tossed his black T-shirt on his lap and loaded the backpack. “The nurse warned me you might be testy.” I gave him a deliberate smile. “I don’t think Travis would even know to take her to a motel. He wasn’t even touching her when they were kissing.”

  “Those are the ones you gotta watch out for.”

  Gabe was slow. It took him an entire hallway to get used to walking without holding onto the wall. It didn’t
occur to me that we didn’t have a vehicle until I spotted Caleb in the lobby wearing his paramedic uniform. He was the last to drive my Jeep.

  “Checking out of the resort so soon? It’s no fun doin’ it in a hospital bed,” he said as Gabe sat down on a bench and held his head. “It’s like a wicked, freakin’, raging hangover, huh?”

  “I’ll stop at the store and buy him Gatorade. Is my Jeep here?”

  “Yup.” He fished my new key out of his pocket and handed it to me.

  I leaned in so Gabe couldn’t see me and motioned for Caleb to follow me around the corner.

  “I’m going to the parking lot to get the Jeep, and I’ll pull up front. Give me a few minutes,” I told Gabe as he fell over and rested on the bench like he was stranded at an airport in a snowstorm. I handed him the backpack. “Put this under your head.”

  “Jud’s gone. He never showed at the police station,” Caleb said as I met him around the corner.

  A shot fired through me. “How do you know?”

  “I’m friendly with the girl who works the desk. She said nobody came in. There was no interview. I saw the feds on Lane’s street again. I bet they’ve got a car watching your cabin. There’s probably one following the lieutenant.”

  “This is insane.” The idea that Judson was hiding from the police gave me a sickening feeling in my stomach. I was pretty sure it wasn’t food poisoning.

  “Take the little brother home. If they stop you, tell them the last time you saw Jud was at the hospital.”

  I shook my head and studied his uniform. “He’ll be back here today,” I said without explaining why.

  Caleb stuck his thumbs behind his belt buckle. “I wouldn’t bet on it. He’s not exactly father of the year.”

  I parked the Jeep at the sidewalk outside the exit, and Caleb helped Gabe into the front seat. The AC was on full blast. I had to laugh when Caleb pushed the seat all the way back and Gabe’s knees still hit the glove box. It surprised me how tired he was from walking out of the hospital.

  “Hold on a sec,” Caleb said before he briskly walked away. I glanced over the roof to see what he was doing. I observed a man standing at the driver’s side of a car. Caleb approached as the man’s voice grew louder. He was shouting at the driver. A woman with blonde hair slid across the seat and fled through the passenger side toward the hospital entrance. She left her car door wide open.