by Sherri Hayes
Chapter 44
The drive back to the Stanton estate was long. Every mile he traveled, he could feel the distance between them. All he could do for her now was clean up the mess left behind.
When he’d walked out of the hospital and turned his phone back on, there’d been several messages—all left within the last half hour. The first was from the COO, Brian, wanting to know what he was supposed to do now. Technically, he was now in charge until Cali or her father could take over again. The police had everything blocked off, preventing him from gaining access to what he needed.
There were also a few hang-ups in there, but he ignored them. If it was important, they’d call back or leave a message. There was the call from Jason letting him know Lisa was being released this morning and he’d be at her place if Matthew needed him. And the last one was Martinez. He needed Matthew to come down to the station and give a statement.
Prioritizing, Matthew called Jason first. He and Lisa were still in the hospital waiting for the discharge paperwork to be completed. Jason was glad to hear Cali was stable, and Matthew told him he’d call later tonight.
Next was Martinez. The last thing he wanted to do was spend his day at the police station, but he also knew it had to be done. Matthew let him know he’d be there in a few hours. And finally, he called Brian, letting him know he’d check with Martinez, and they’d deal with everything Monday.
Pulling up to Cali’s childhood home felt different this time. It didn’t make sense at first; this was the place he’d been calling home for the last month and a half. But that was just it. He’d been calling it home, but it wasn’t.
Each step he took toward what had become their bedroom felt heavier than the last. He could already see evidence of Alvin’s return as he walked through the foyer, up the stairs, and down the hall. Alvin was back. The danger was gone. And Matthew was no longer needed.
Matthew walked into the room and lay in the middle of the bed he shared with the one and only woman he’d ever loved. Just yesterday, they’d been together here in this bed. Her scent still lingered on her pillow.
The buzzing sound of his phone roused him from his memories, and he stood up.
It was a text from Jason, letting him know they were on their way home.
An ache deep in Matthew’s chest nearly pulled him back down on the bed. He’d almost lost her. He’d made a stupid mistake and almost lost her.
Taking a deep breath, he strengthened his resolve. She would get better. Cali was strong. She could do it; he had no doubt. And he would do what he needed to as well. He would give her back her life, the life she wanted.
With that thought, Matthew turned to the dresser and began pulling out his clothes. An hour later, he was in his car on his way back to his place.
It didn’t take long to bring in his stuff and put it away before he was on his way to meet Martinez.
***
That evening, Alvin was at his daughter’s side when her eyes finally opened. “Hey, kiddo.”
“Dad?”
“It’s me, sweetheart. How are you feeling?”
Cali tried to move but quickly gave up when her body protested with more aches and pains than she’d ever experienced. “Don’t move, dear,” Jessie said from the other side of her bed.
“Jessie?”
“You gave your father quite a scare, you know?” she said, smiling down at Cali.
But Cali’s eyes didn’t stay on Jessie or her father. They were searching the room, franticly looking for Matthew. But he wasn’t there. Why wasn’t he there?
“Where’s Matthew?” she managed to get out in a voice that sounded weak even to her.
It was Jessie who spoke up. “He was here this morning. I’m sure he’ll be back later.” Then she glanced over at Alvin. “I’ll go tell the nurse she’s awake.”
***
The next morning, Matthew drove straight to the hospital. Jessie had left a message last night on his cell letting him know Cali had been moved to a regular room. He’d thought about going then, but by the time he’d received the message, it was already after ten.
It was Sunday so he hoped to have a little time alone with her. Luck, however, was not on his side. When he turned the corner, he found not only Alvin and Jessie there, but also Jason, Lisa, Jen, and Becky. He was just one of many keeping Cali company.
Cali was awake, although not that big a participant in the conversation. Finally, around noon when her eyes fell closed, everyone said a round of goodbyes and left. Alvin and Jessie were just going to grab a quick bite and come back, but the rest were going back home to their normal lives as if nothing had happened. He was expected to the do same thing tomorrow, but it wouldn’t be normal.
As he sat down at Cali’s bedside, a nurse came in to check her vitals. She roused slightly as he took her blood pressure but was almost instantly asleep again.
This was Matthew’s the first opportunity to really look her over with the eyes of someone who’d intimately seen every inch of her. There were subtle changes in her face; the coloring was a little off from its normal hue. And of course, there was the sling holding her left arm tight against her body.
Reaching out, he lightly skimmed his fingers along the line of her good arm, remembering the feel of her holding him tightly against her. It was a feeling he wouldn’t experience again for a while, if ever. Lifting her right palm to his lips, he kissed the back of it before placing it back down on the mattress and pressing his palm to the back of her hand.
This was in that position Alvin found him. “Is she alright?”
His head came up, “Yeah, she’s the same. Still sleeping.”
“Good,” Alvin said, wheeling himself to his daughter’s good side. Alvin’s hand came to rest on Matthew’s shoulder. “You saved her life. I owe you much more than just my thanks for that.”
Matthew shook his head. “You don’t owe me anything. If I’d been a few minutes later…”
“You weren’t though.”
There was silence then. The only sound in the room was the quiet beeping of machines.
“Well, I should probably go,” Matthew said, standing.
Alvin didn’t say anything while he watched Matthew. The man looked overwhelmingly guilty, which didn’t make sense to him.
“I’ll—” Matthew started. “Call me if you need anything.”
Nodding, Cali’s father watched Matthew walk out the door and disappear down the hallway. Then his gaze fell on his daughter. Was there something he was missing?
Chapter 45
The new workweek brought with it a whole new set of issues for Matthew.
Although the mole had been found and eliminated, there was still the issue of the individuals hijacking the shipments. Martinez managed to narrow it down to three possible groups in the city. Each one was under surveillance, and it was just a waiting game now.
That didn’t mean it was smooth sailing at Stanton Enterprises by any means. The office was a buzz with different versions of what had happened, to whom, and when. A meeting was organized for Monday afternoon to give the employees the basic facts to crack down on media leaks and stop unnecessary speculation.
Tuesday the board of directors demanded a meeting with Matthew and Jason.
They had to field rapid-fire questions from several of the board members who couldn’t understand why Matthew and Jason hadn’t done their jobs and figured this out sooner.
***
And just when they thought Tuesday would be the end of it, Brian pulled Matthew into his office to help figure out the mess that had been left behind.
Since the top floor was still technically off limits, Martinez had to arrange to let Matthew in there to get what they needed.
Matthew had never been more grateful to have his brother at his side than he was now. Because of the paperwork nightmare, Jason was left to juggle the physical security of the company; all of his duties plus Matthew’s.
It was a mess. He’d spent eighteen-hours a day at the
office that first week and was only able to stop at the hospital on his way home around midnight each evening. Cali was always asleep by then, so he’d let her rest, only placing a soft kiss on her brow and telling her he loved her before going home alone.
The second week wasn’t much better. They managed to untangle the financial web Peter had created and were now in the process of correcting it. His old army buddy David, the financial whiz, was the only reason they’d gotten this far. Even he said he’d never seen anything like it. Just when they thought they’d gotten to the end, they’d find another little side account. They had to track them all down and then hand over the information to the district attorney. It meant tons of paperwork, but the company would recover most of the money back.
In the middle of week two, Matthew received word that Cali was going home. His gut clenched as he listened to the message. Being sent home meant she was doing better, that she would be okay. But it also meant it would be harder to see her, harder to find an excuse to be near her. Of course, he’d been horrible at visiting her so far; she didn’t even know he’d been there. He’d checked in with Jessie every day for an update on how she was doing. It wasn’t enough. He wanted to be with her.
Matthew’s plans to visit her over the weekend fell through when Martinez called, saying they’d found who was behind the hijacking and wanted to know if he was up for a little recon. He was torn, but figured it would only delay him by one day; he’d still have Sunday. Saturday, however, rolled into Sunday without a break, concluding with the Chicago PD taking three males and one female into custody.
They’d also confiscated at least two truckloads of supplies yet to be sold.
When Monday morning dawned on the third week, he walked into the office determined to see Cali today one way or another. It had been four days, and it was just too much.
What he didn’t expect to find was Alvin waiting for him in his office. The first thought that came to mind was something was wrong with Cali.
Matthew knew he looked panicked, but with his concern for Cali and lack of sleep, he was beyond caring about what it looked like. “What happened? What’s wrong?” he demanded.
***
Alvin looked a little taken aback by the intensity of Matthew’s questions, but it also confirmed his suspicions. There was something going on between Matthew Andersen and his daughter.
Every time someone came near her hospital room, Cali would look at the door as if she was waiting for someone. She never asked about him though, not after that first time.
Now that she was home, she seemed detached. As soon as she stepped in the house, she walked to one of the spare bedrooms and just stood there. Later, Alvin found her in that same room. She was curled up in a tight ball on top of the bed with one of the pillows.
When he asked Jessie about it, she just smiled at first. Then she told him that Cali was missing Matthew. Alvin dismissed it. Cali and Matthew were two very different people.
He just couldn’t see it.
Now, he could.
Standing there watching Matthew’s panic made all his doubts go away. “No, she’s good. Better than good, actually. Her doctors are very pleased.”
“Oh,” Matthew said, moving farther into the room. “That’s good.” It was then he noticed Alvin’s business attire. “Are you back?”
Rolling himself in front of Matthew’s desk, he said, “Yep. I’m back. I only had two weeks left anyway, and I promised all my hovering nurses, including my daughter, I’d take it easy,” he laughed.
Matthew smiled. He let himself relax a little, knowing Cali was doing well. “So what brings you here to my office on your first day back?”
“Cali, as a matter of fact.”
That brought Matthew back to attention quickly. “What about her?”
This, Alvin thought, will tell me everything I need to know. “Well since I’m back a little early, she’s decided to start packing. I told her there was no hurry or anything, but she’s very stubborn, as I’m sure you figured out over the last few months.”
Emotions of panic mixed with sadness crossed Matthew’s face. He finally got a hold of himself though and asked the question he wasn’t sure he wanted the answer to. “She’s leaving then?”
Alvin nodded, and tried hard to keep the smile off his face. “Says she doesn’t want to be in my hair or some such nonsense,” he said, waving his hand dismissively in front of his face. “Anyway, I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind giving her a hand with her things tomorrow since both of us are a little less mobile than usual.”
Matthew’s head was spinning. She was leaving? How could she leave? And to not even tell me she was going? Did she think so little of me? Of us?
“Matthew?”
Pulled out of his internal argument, Matthew’s attention returned to Alvin.
“Sorry.” He tried to smile. “You were saying?”
“I know you’ve been busy here, but could you possibly be out to the house around eight tomorrow. For some reason, she seems to be in a bit of a hurry,” Alvin said with a cheeky smile.
“Sure,” Matthew said numbly. “No problem.”
“Great! I’ll tell Jessie to save some breakfast for you.”
When he saw Matthew start to protest, he held up his hand to stop him. “It’s the least we can do.”
Matthew just nodded and watched Alvin walk out the door. How in the world was he suppose to go over there tomorrow morning and help the woman he loved move to the other side of the world and out of his life?
He couldn’t.
Chapter 46
Cali had been awake for a while when her father came in at seven-thirty to say goodbye before leaving for the office. Truthfully, she couldn’t sleep. But then again, she hadn’t been able to get a decent night sleep since she’d come home from the hospital, and she didn’t need a shrink to tell her why. She missed Matthew.
Cali couldn’t count how many times she’d picked up the phone to call him. But the fact that he hadn’t called or visited her after that first day in her hospital room didn’t sit well with her. It didn’t make sense. He cared. She knew he did. Or at least, she thought he did.
And that train of thought was exactly why she couldn’t sleep. In the hospital, there’d been distractions, doctors and nurses coming in and out of her room constantly. Here there were only memories. Everywhere she looked, he was there.
That first night back she’d fallen asleep on their bed curled into his pillow with the phone beside her. She hoped he would call. He didn’t.
Instead, her father found her the next morning. He didn’t come right out and ask her, but the question was there in his eyes.
As hard as it was, she slept in her room after that. Cali knew she was acting like a silly schoolgirl, but for some reason, she didn’t care. She missed him. She needed him. He wasn’t here, and she didn’t understand why.
That was why she’d made the decision to leave. She felt so alone. Matthew obviously wasn’t coming. She’d been home for five days and still nothing. Had he just used her? She couldn’t think that. She just couldn’t. It just hurt too much.
Cali wasn’t giving up exactly; she was just postponing. She didn’t have the strength to fight for him right now. But she did need answers, and she’d get them.
Just not right now.
Her body hurt if she moved the wrong way. Walking was difficult, so difficult in fact, that Jessie usually brought her meals upstairs to her. She only had the use of one hand because the other was strapped close to her body so her shoulder could heal.
She’d get well, and then she’d confront him. He at least owed her that.
But for now, she was leaving. The lake house was already stocked from her father’s recent stay, and Carolyn had agreed to stay on and help her for the next month. It would be hard leaving her dad and Jessie, but she couldn’t stay.
Carefully getting up off the bed, she went to the bathroom to get ready. All of her things were packed and ready to go. Her father was
sending a driver to take her, and he would be there soon. She wanted to be ready. The sooner she left the better.
***
Matthew didn’t get any sleep last night. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Cali in the airport, walking away from him. And every time, he’d wake up in a sweaty panic, gasping.
As he drove to the Stanton estate, he kept reminding himself that it wasn’t real, it hadn’t happened yet, she wasn’t gone, and if he had anything to say about it, it wouldn’t happen—ever.
It wasn’t working though. With every mile, his anxiety grew. It made no sense whatsoever. He’d felt less anxious preparing for combat missions than he did about seeing Cali. But logic didn’t seem to be helping. All he knew was he had to convince her to stay. Anything else, he’d deal with later. He just needed there to be a later.
Cali finished washing and drying the last of her body. She missed showers. She missed baths, for that matter. Having the use of only one arm and one leg put a severe limitation on her activities, including bathing.
Carefully, she put on her panties. Bras weren’t even a consideration right now because of her shoulder. Instead, she put on a loose fitting sweatshirt, leaving the left arm hanging loose, hoping she’d be covered up enough for whomever her father was sending.
Taking a final look in the mirror, Cali was satisfied she looked presentable enough.
Gathering the last of her things to throw in her overnight bag, she walked back into her bedroom. But what she saw, almost caused her to lose her balance as her bathroom supplies fell to the floor.
Matthew. He was here. In her room. Sitting on her bed.
***
Matthew thought he was prepared to see her again. He was wrong.
When she walked out of her bathroom, she took his breath away. He’d missed her, and all he wanted to do was cross the room, pull her into his arms, and crush his lips to hers. Only sheer will kept him from doing just that.
