“Won’t be the same. Will it?”
She stared at his intelligent eyes and she felt the shock of his words to her core. Tempted to deny it, she knew that would be foolish and easily discerned. “No…it won’t be the same.”
She rested her hand on his shoulder and he reached up to pat it. “Hearts are funny things, Ms. Belle. Never know when they’ll break apart and never know what’ll put them back together.” With that, he suddenly said, “Well, time for Bingo. I’ll talk to you later.”
She watched him roll out of his room and shook her head to clear the fog from her mind. Remembering Mr. Weldon, she hurried back to his office.
Knocking on the doorframe, she waited until he looked up, his tense smile and wave greeting her. Entering, she took the seat he motioned toward and he immediately launched into his concerns.
“Oh, my dear, what a nightmare! I’ve been on the phone with a PR firm that will assist in my drafting a letter to the residents, and their families, about what has occurred and how we plan on assuring them that they are safe. I know this mess will hit the news and when it does, I want to have things in place.”
Nodding, she waited for him to continue, not that he was giving her a chance to speak.
“And Linda!” he exclaimed. “Who would have thought? Besides my secretary, she was my right-hand person. She seemed so caring…so truly into caring for our residents. I don’t know how she could have done this…such a mess!”
“Mr. Weldon, do we know what happened? Was she taking drugs from our patients? I mean, I never came up short on the drugs here for any patients I was giving them to.”
His eyes widened and his mouth opened and closed several times. “I hadn’t thought of that,” he cried. “I just thought she was getting them from the delivery driver, but, oh, my God…what if she actually took them from the residents?” Slapping his forehead with his palm, he moaned, “That’s what they meant.” Seeing her tilted head, he explained, “The police officer told me that we needed to check all medications. They’ll need the information for their case. In all the excitement, I forgot we needed to take care of that.”
His voice rose with each word and she could see his face reddening to the point of concern. “Mr. Weldon, shhhh,” she tried to calm him. “We don’t know the facts yet and let’s not borrow trouble. We can easily check to see that all residents have the medications they need and you can order what is needed. I can pull together some of the nurses and aides and we can work on it this afternoon.”
Wiping his sweaty brow, he nodded emphatically. “Yes, yes, you’re right. So stupid of me to lose my head. I’m normally so calm, but this has completely undone me.”
His tie was loosened and his suit jacket was slung haphazardly over the back of his chair, something she had never seen.
“May I get you a glass of water, Mr. Weldon?” she asked. Rising from her seat, she considered taking her stethoscope from about her neck and checking his heart rate.
“No, no, my dear. I’m fine…just discombobulated.” He appeared to calm before speaking again. “Belle, please don’t think that this is a rushed decision, but the timing of your graduation is fortuitous. Will you consent to be the head nurse here at Careway? I cannot think of anyone more suited for the position.”
Eyes wide, she stammered, “Oh…I hadn’t even thought about…uh…what we would need…I…”
“Please say ‘yes’, oh, please,” he begged. “I’m sure you think this is just coming from desperation and I’d be a liar if I tried to deny I’m desperate, but you’re more than qualified and we would be so honored for you to step into the position.”
Blowing out a slow breath, she nodded. “I agree, on one condition.” She caught his wide-eyed stare. “I’d like it to be on a conditional basis to begin with. If you find that I’m not suitable or if I find the job does not allow me to have continued presence with the residents, we can go back to how it is now, and you can look for another head nurse.”
“Yes, yes,” he nodded emphatically, “but I’m sure that won’t be the case. You’re perfect for the job.”
“And first thing, Mr. Weldon,” she added, gaining his attention once more. “I will initially institute a new procedure for how we intake the drugs from the pharmaceutical companies. As soon as you ascertain from Matrix how they will deliver, there will be two of us who check in the drugs and add them to the cabinet. No more just having one person do the job. This will create a checks and balance system.”
Clapping his hands, with the first smile of the day on his face, Mr. Weldon exclaimed, “Oh, yes…a wonderful idea!”
She left his office, after being told her new duties would begin immediately…and the raise to go with it. Stopping at the end of the hall, she leaned her head back against the taupe-painted wall and dropped her chin. Staring at her feet for a moment, she realized this was the very spot where she crashed into Hunter, landing on the floor underneath his ladder.
Sighing heavily, she stood quickly, moving back down the hall, refusing to give in to any more emotions…I have a job to do!
23
Hunter sat in the outdoor chair, his forearms resting on his knees as he fingered the yellow ribbon that had been in Belle’s hair early that morning. He had been sitting there for a couple of hours. Waiting. Wondering. Worrying. The evening was just on the cusp of night and the sound of children playing had faded into the background, replaced with the chirping of crickets.
Finally, a car came down the street and as he lifted his head, he saw the headlights turning onto the short driveway. He watched as Belle alighted from her car and began walking toward her front door.
She had not seen him yet and the closer she got, the harder it was for him not to jump up and rush to her, wanting to hold her once again. “Belle,” he called out as she neared.
Jumping, she squealed, her eyes darting to him sitting in one of her lawn chairs. He was in the illumination of the front light, but she kept her hand at her throat for a moment, just staring.
He stood, shoving the ribbon into his pockets and peered at her. Her skin was pale, and her eyes appeared tired, partially due to the dark shadows underneath. Her normally neat hair was falling out of her bun, and her scrubs were slightly wrinkled.
“This was supposed to be your day off,” he said, wincing as he stated the obvious. “I thought you were with your friends, but when I called Jillian, she said you went back to Careway.”
“Yes. Well, the head nurse was taken out of the nursing home in handcuffs, the residents were upset, the aides had no idea what to do, and Mr. Weldon nearly broke down with the business implications. Someone had to step in and handle what needed to be handled.” Without giving him a chance to respond, she threw her hand up and continued, “And, no, I’m not saying Linda shouldn’t have been arrested or marched out in handcuffs. Quite frankly, I’m so pissed at her, there’s more chance of her being harmed by me before she ever reaches a trial.”
Her words were spoken without rancor but he heard the underlying frustration. His lips twitched, and he said, “I have a hard time believing you could commit bodily harm to anyone, Belle.”
She had been speaking to his chest but lifted her gaze and he felt the heat of her glare.
“Don’t doubt me, Hunter. What she did is so despicable, it makes me furious.”
“Then I guess it’s a good thing she’s behind bars tonight.”
Her shoulders slumped and his fingers itched to take her in his arms. Standing a few feet away from her felt like they were miles apart.
Sighing, she ran her hands through her hair and said, “Why are you here?”
“I wanted to talk—”
“And we should. There’s a lot to say and you have a lot of explaining to do. But, Hunter, I’m exhausted. I’ve got nothing left in me right now and another long day tomorrow at work. I—”
“Please…I’m begging you…”
She held his gaze for a moment and he was unsure if she was going to acquiesce. Fina
lly, heaving a sigh, she nodded and moved to sit in one of the lawn chairs, making it obvious she was not going to invite him inside. He was frustrated, but would take whatever he could take.
He sat back down in the other chair and, rubbing his hands together, suddenly wondered what to say. He had spent the past few hours practicing what he would say and now was afraid of stepping on a verbal landmine.
“Hunter,” she said, her shoulders still sagging, “just talk. Whatever it is you feel like you need to say, just say it.”
He held her gaze, praying she would understand. “Everything I told you about growing up was true. My mom leaving, my dad’s rages and how he took them out on me. He’d end up in jail for a night sometimes when he’d go on a drunken bender and pick a fight in a bar. The only thing I ever knew about the police was sometimes I wished they’d show up and haul my dad away and other times I was scared that they actually would.”
Scrubbing his hand over the back of his neck, he continued, “I understood what you said about not having many friends growing up. Other families didn’t want their kids coming to my house to play and that was just as well, since our place was kind of crappy after Mom left. But, then, they didn’t much want me to go over to their houses either. If it hadn’t been for the old mechanic who let me hang around his shop and then taught me what he knew, I’d probably be in the same boat as my dad…a drunk…a mean drunk.”
She looked like she wanted to say something, but clamped her mouth shut, allowing him full rein to talk.
“I thought about staying in the Navy for a career. Hell, I had no home to go back to. There was nothing in Tennessee for me. But, after the accident, I knew I would have to get out. I ended up in Norfolk, staying with an old Navy buddy who got out earlier than I did. I needed a place of my own, though, and found an ad for a campground that was renting out campers. Got one, stayed there, and loved it. Small…just me…didn’t have to worry about much rent. Worked maintenance for a couple of places…temporary jobs mostly. Then I heard that there were state jobs for veterans. I got hired as a maintenance technician for the headquarters building of the State Police in Richmond.”
At this, he watched her eyes light with interest despite her fatigue. Nodding, he said, “I did a lot of what I do at Careway…building maintenance.” Chuckling, he said, “It was not lost on me that my dad would have turned over in his grave if he knew I was working for the police. Guess in my own way, it was a bit of a fuck you to him.”
Her face softened and he knew it was probably an asshole move on his part to play on her sympathies, but he simply did not want any more secrets between them.
“I got to know some of the officers and have to admit that, after my formative years of fearing them, I had a chance to admire and respect them. One, in particular, would talk to me and he encouraged me to get my Associates Degree. I’d never thought of college but after being in the military, I knew I could get money to further my education. I had no other plans…and have to admit that working in maintenance the rest of my life was not exactly what I wanted to do, so I did it. Took two years, then I went to police academy school.”
Her eyebrows hit her hairline at that and she shook her head slowly. “Wow…that’s impressive.”
“No more impressive than you earning your Nursing Aide certificate, then going to college for your LPN, and now your RN.”
She sucked in her lips, her eyes darting between his but did not respond. He took that as a positive and continued.
“After a couple of years, my supervisor came to me and I was asked to go undercover. They needed someone on the inside of a company that they thought was dealing drugs and, with my maintenance background, it was easy to get me in. It took a while, but with no one suspecting me, I was able to get the evidence needed.”
“That’s wonderful, Hunter,” she said, her voice soft but sincere.
“You think you don’t know me but, Belle, you do. I’m the same man you’ve been spending time with for the past month. Yes, I work for the State Police, but when I was working maintenance at Careway, that was me also. I’m still the same man you know.”
“I know.”
He jerked at those two words, surprised to hear her say that after what went down that morning. “You do?” he asked, tentatively.
She shook her head, “You’ve been honest with me about everything except what you really did for a living, right?” Catching his eyes and holding them intently, she questioned. “This is it. No more secrets, right? You’ve told me everything?”
“Absolutely. That is the only thing I couldn’t be up front about.”
She looked deeply into his eyes for a minute, assessing him. Finally, she breathed out, “I believe you. And I’m sorry I reacted the way I did this morning. You caught me off guard.”
“You have nothing to be sorry for. That’s all on me. It was never meant to come out like that.”
Neither spoke for a minute but, finally, he said, “I had an apartment in Richmond, but I never cared much for it. I decided that I preferred the camper. So, when I knew I was coming here, I bought one and let my lease on the apartment expire.”
“How does Zac fit into all this? Baytown? Was it just a coincidence?”
“Zac got hold of me through Facebook, if you can believe that. I never used it until I went undercover the first time. I was told that it would make me look more realistic. So, I had my maintenance job listed and added a few non-police friends. Next thing I know, Zac contacts me. I always liked him and we started talking. He told me about the American Legion here and I gotta say, it sounded nice. Baytown was a great place for him to come home to, compared to my hometown that didn’t exactly roll out the red carpet for Dan Simmons’ son returning from the Navy.” A rueful snort escaped, as he added, “Sins of the father and all that.”
Her face melted in sympathy and he continued to press his story, glad for every moment she allowed him to share.
“I was intrigued and, other than my job, I sure as hell wasn’t established with friends in Richmond. But kept putting him off. Then, this undercover assignment landed at my feet. A drug sting operation with someone on the inside. With Careway and the Pain Center both being part of Matrix Pharmaceutical’s line, and Careway advertising for a maintenance person…it was perfect.”
“Perfect,” she repeated, her voice barely above a whisper as her eyes searched his.
“Yeah, perfect,” he said, leaning forward. “Perfect for a lot of reasons. I finally got out to Baytown. Reconnected with Zac, and Jason, which was a nice surprise. Got in with the American Legion. Met you.”
She crossed her arms protectively, and asked, “Would you have done all that if it hadn’t been part of the job? I mean, that could have just as easily been all for your cover. Make it look good. Be part of the community.”
Slashing his hand through his hair, he bit out, “No! No, Belle. That was for me. All me.” Flopping back in his seat, he said, “I’d never been part of a community before in my life outside of work. The Navy? Yes. My fellow police officers? Yes. But friends…real friends? No. Not until I came here. So everything I experienced here in Baytown was real. I never expected it, but I sure as hell wanted to live this kind of life. And part of that life that I never expected, was meeting you.”
Sucking in a deep breath through her nose before letting it out slowly, she remained quiet, her eyes still searching his face.
“I’ve never met anyone so nice…so pure…so fuckin’ sweet, in my life. Never. For two months, I watched you, at work, in town, with our friends. I just wanted to be near you, to feel like your sunshine could warm me the way you shine it on everyone. Belle, I need you to know that playing you never happened, it was the furthest thing from my mind.”
She swallowed deeply, dropping her eyes to her hands twisting together in her lap.
“I never expected you to have anything to do with the drug dealing. Logically, you had no access to the Matrix driver, you did not handle the deliveries, and you sure as h
ell did not take meetings with Dade. You were clean and I knew that early on. But because I had to even think about it, because it was part of my job to be thorough, I never planned on approaching you, even though in any other circumstance I would have. Then, one day you just landed at my feet and when I realized you were hurt, all I wanted to do was care for you and that was it—I couldn’t stay objective anymore.”
He threw his hands out to the side, palms up toward her and said, “Once I had you close, I wanted to keep you close…keep you safe.” Sighing, he continued, “I reached for the sun, knowing I could get burned, but it would be worth it.”
Her gaze shot back to him and she asked, “What about me? What about me getting burned?”
“I…”
“How was this supposed to go, Hunter? You were eventually going to catch the people responsible. You were eventually going to have to come out in the open. You were going to have to stop pretending to be a maintenance worker at a nursing home. You were going to have to admit that, at least initially, I was a suspect. You were going to have to admit to being a police officer.” Her voice continued to rise, “I mean, really? How did you see this ending when I live here, my life is here, and you live, where? Wherever they tell you to go?”
“I don’t know,” he responded. “But I know what we have, you know what we have…what we feel. I love you. That’s real and it hasn’t changed.”
The air between them was charged with electricity, each vibrating with emotions. Placing her hands on the arms of her chair, she stood slowly and he matched her movements. She turned and walked a few feet away and he hated the distance. She looked at him and wrapped her arms around her waist, as though holding herself upright.
“I love you too, but how does it solve the problem?”
“Are you wishing you hadn’t gotten involved with me, that I had stayed away or that you knew what you were getting yourself into? You know I couldn’t share what I was doing.”
Her face winced with the harsh sound of his words. “I don’t know, Hunter. I wish I could say yes, no matter what I would have jumped in, but you said it yourself—you stayed away because you knew this would get messy. And now both of our hearts are involved and it is messy…and it hurts.” She pierced him with her clear-eyed stare and softly asked, “What about now, Hunter? Where do you go? Where will you report to work tomorrow?”
Waiting for Sunrise: Baytown Boys Series Page 18
