“She’s a little banged up, and she has some burns on her hand, shoulder, and neck as well as on the side of her face, but it isn’t too serious. The burns to her neck and face are the worst, but it looks like flash burns. She had a nasty bump to the head, and we stitched up a laceration on her forehead. We took an X-ray of her hand and she has a fracture to her wrist. We gave her something for the pain, so she’ll be a little out of it for a while.”
“That’s good, right?” Rhea asked. “She’ll be okay?”
The woman looked at Rhea for the first time, but there was no emotion in her eyes. “Yes, she’s going to be fine, but she was damn lucky.”
Rhea had the feeling the woman didn’t like her much but couldn’t figure out why.
“Let me know if you need anything, J.J.”
And just like that, the woman walked away.
“Friendly,” Rhea said sarcastically. “Do you know her?”
J.J. smiled. “Don’t worry about her, she means well. We went to high school together, but she and Morgan weren’t close.”
Rhea looked down the hall where the woman had disappeared. Something told her there was more to the story, and she couldn’t tell if the woman was being protective of Morgan or disdainful, but it was clear she didn’t like Rhea being there.
“You ready?” J.J. asked and touched Rhea’s arm.
Rhea jumped at the unexpected connection. “Yeah, let’s go.”
J.J. pushed the curtain aside, and Rhea followed her in. Rhea wasn’t prepared for what she saw. Morgan was asleep and bandages covered her neck and part of her face. The skin across her forehead was black and blue, but the rest of her skin was pale. She wore a thin hospital gown and she’d been covered from the chest down with a thin sheet. Her arms were bare and her right hand was wrapped in a brace.
Rhea stared. Morgan looked so frail she could hardly believe it was her. J.J. went to Morgan’s side and brushed her fingers through her hair and kissed her cheek. Rhea was touched by the tenderness and looked away. Now that she’d finally gotten to Morgan, she had the feeling she didn’t belong there.
“How did this happen? She was always so careful with those damn tanks. She always made sure her lines were clean. She knew better,” J.J. muttered.
Rhea wasn’t sure what J.J. was talking about. “What do you mean?” she asked.
J.J. looked at her with a wounded expression that tore at her heart. “Metalwork was always her passion, and she loves welding, but I don’t know how she let this happen. She was always so careful.”
Rhea shook her head. “Morgan wasn’t welding when this happened. She was just walking to the studio when the place blew.”
J.J. frowned. “But if she wasn’t working, what caused this?”
Rhea shook her head and sighed. “I don’t know.”
The curtain was suddenly pulled back and Rhea jumped to the side as if someone was about to attack her. The explosion and the situation with Morgan had her on edge, and she felt like she was about to climb out of her skin. Two officers walked into the room, and Rhea had the sinking feeling things were about to get much worse.
The younger of the two officers nodded to J.J. “How is she?”
“They said she’s going to be fine.”
He nodded and turned to Rhea. “Are you Rhea Daniels?”
Rhea’s muscles tensed. Here came the part where things got worse. Rhea nodded. “That’s me.”
The officer focused on Rhea. “I’m Officer Jones and this is Officer Sims,” he said, motioning to his partner. “We’d like to have a word with you.”
Rhea studied the young officer and tried to gauge the level of crap she was in. His cheeks were red as if he had been standing too close to a fire, and he smelled of smoke. He must have been at the farm during the blaze.
“Can’t this wait?”
“I’m sorry, ma’am. We just have a few questions.” Officer Jones nodded toward the hall and motioned for her to step outside. “Please.”
Rhea sighed and turned to J.J. “I’ll be right back. If she wakes up, tell her I’m here.”
J.J. nodded. “I will.”
Rhea followed the two officers a few steps down the hall. It was Officer Sims’s turn to take the lead. He was older, and Rhea could see the faint shadow of hair that ringed his head where he hadn’t shaved it to match the bald top. His belly was a little too big to fit comfortably beneath his heavy belt, but he had strong, broad shoulders that suggested he’d been a big man in his younger years. He ran his eyes up and down her body and raised one eyebrow as if he was surprised by something.
“Ms. Daniels, can you tell us what happened tonight?”
Rhea met the officer’s gaze. “I don’t know. One minute everything was normal, and the next, the studio exploded and Morgan was on the ground.”
“How do you suppose that happened?” Officer Sims asked.
Rhea gave him a defiant glare. “How am I supposed to know?”
“I understand you do a lot of work for Ms. Scott. Surely you have some idea how this happened.”
Rhea ground her teeth together. It was just as she expected. These guys had already made up their mind that she was behind all of this. “All I can tell you is that the place blew up, Morgan was hurt, I called 911, and here we are. Now if that’s all, officers, I’d like to get back to Morgan.”
Sims sucked his teeth and continued his assessment of her. “Afraid not, not until we get some real answers.”
Rhea crossed her arms over her chest and took a deep breath to make herself appear bigger and cocked her head to the side. “Then I suggest you ask me some real questions. I don’t have time or the patience for this.”
“Um…” Officer Jones interrupted. “I was wondering what Ms. Scott was doing that late at night.”
Rhea turned to the young officer and started to give him another sarcastic answer, but there was no malice in his eyes. She considered him a moment. He looked concerned. This guy might actually care about what really happened.
“Morgan is in and out of that studio all hours of the day and night. She says she likes to work when inspiration hits her.”
“Was she working tonight?”
Rhea sighed. “No. She was just checking on things.”
“And what about you, Ms. Daniels, what do you do? And why were you out there in the middle of the night?” Officer Sims interjected.
Rhea didn’t take the bait. “I work in the engine shop and help out with keeping the farm running. I was just hanging out with my dog, enjoying the night air, when everything happened.”
“Now you said Ms. Scott was out checking on things. Why would she need to do that in the middle of the night?” Sims asked.
Rhea counted silently to ten. “I was out with my dog. And if you’ve done your homework, you know Morgan had some trouble at the farm in the last few weeks, and we’ve both been keeping a close eye on things. There’s a police report and everything.”
Sims sucked his teeth again. “Right. Some alleged intruder messed up the horse feed or something like that. And then there was a complaint about someone shooting your dog.”
Rhea was losing her patience. “Exactly what is that supposed to mean?”
“Just seems a little strange to me. Ms. Scott’s never had any trouble at all until you showed up. And you don’t exactly have a stellar record, now do you, Ms. Daniels.”
“You know what, I can see you’ve got this all figured out. It takes a special mind to be able to keep your thoughts inside such a small box. I did my time, and you can’t arrest me for my past, so unless you’ve got something to charge me with, officers, I’m done here.”
“A word of advice, Ms. Daniels.” Officer Sims stopped her. “This is a small town and someone’s always watching. I’d go easy on building that list of enemies if I were you.”
Rhea smiled. “I’m very familiar with how things work in a small town. There’s no end to how deceitful and traitorous people can be.”
Rhea walked away with
her head up and her shoulders squared. There was no way she would show these wannabe heroes an ounce of fear.
Chapter Thirteen
It wasn’t until Rhea stepped back behind the curtain that her world righted itself. Morgan was awake, and although her eyes were tired and weak, she still managed to give Rhea the feeling that she could see right into her soul.
J.J. was sitting in a chair next to the bed holding Morgan’s hand. When Rhea entered she looked up with a relieved smile. “Look who’s awake.”
Rhea smiled. “Hey, boss, how are you doing?”
“I’m okay, thanks to you.” Morgan’s voice was coarse and dry as if it hurt her to speak.
Rhea shook her head. “Not me, I think Soldier is the one who deserves the credit.”
“Thank you both then.”
Rhea shifted on her feet and stuffed her hands into her pockets. She wasn’t sure what to say next, and she wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do.
“Do either of you need anything?” Rhea asked.
J.J. stood. “Now that you mention it, I need to step outside and make a call. I need to let everyone know she’s okay. Will you stay with her for a few minutes?”
“Sure. Take your time.”
On her way out J.J. placed her hand on Rhea’s shoulder. “Thank you. I’m glad you stuck around a while longer. I can’t imagine what would have happened if you hadn’t been there.”
Rhea swallowed a lump of doubt and nodded. Maybe if she’d left this never would have happened.
She looked over at Morgan. Now that they were alone, a torrent of emotions began to bubble to the surface at once. The fear and anger Rhea had been trying to contain coalesced into overwhelming gratitude and relief that Morgan was okay.
“Hey,” Morgan whispered, “are you okay?”
Rhea shook her head, but the words were stuck in her throat.
“Come here.” Morgan patted the side of the bed with her good hand.
Rhea stepped closer and filled the chair J.J. had vacated moments earlier.
“Tell me what’s going on inside that hard head of yours.”
Rhea rubbed her hands up and down the length of her thighs until her jeans were warm and moist from the sweat of her palms. “I was really scared,” Rhea finally managed. Her voice was rough and hoarse, and she hardly recognized it. Her throat was raw from inhaling the smoke from the fire, but the hardest part was holding back the tears that pushed at the back of her eyes and made her throat swell.
Morgan motioned for Rhea to take her hand.
Rhea slid her fingers around Morgan’s and some of her courage returned. Even injured Morgan was able to anchor her.
“You were on fire and bleeding, and I didn’t know what was happening or what to do.”
Morgan squeezed Rhea’s hand. She could feel the slight tremor as Rhea talked. Rhea was clearly shaken and Morgan had the feeling she was afraid for more reasons than the immediate danger and shock. She knew the police were suspicious of Rhea, and she had to admit they had good reason, but they were wrong. Rhea had saved her.
“I hear a little self-blame going on there. You cut that out.”
Rhea shook her head. “Maybe if I’d left before now, none of this would have happened.”
Morgan tightened her grip on Rhea’s hand. “That’s not true. If you’d left, I’d just be alone to figure this out by myself. I won’t give up on you if you don’t give up on me.”
When Rhea didn’t answer, Morgan was afraid she was already gone. “I’m asking you to stay, Rhea. I need you to stay.”
Morgan wanted to pull Rhea to her and hold her. She needed Rhea more than she could explain. The thought of Rhea leaving left a hollow, sick feeling in her chest.
Rhea chewed her lip and nodded. “Okay.”
Morgan let out a sigh of relief. She knew it might only be temporary, but for now she had a chance. “How bad was it…the fire?”
Rhea shrugged. “Hard to say. I left before the fire department was finished putting it out. But it looked like it was holding to the studio.”
Morgan nodded and then grimaced when the throbbing in her head intensified. “Makes sense. The explosion came from there, and the brick should have held the fire back for the most part. I guess it depends on how much roof I lost.”
Morgan’s throat hurt, and the more she talked the more it burned. The taste of smoke was still thick in her mouth and filled her nostrils making her feel sick. “Could you get me a drink of water?” Morgan asked.
Rhea jumped to her feet. “Sure. Hang on a sec.”
She stuck her head out of the curtain and asked a nurse for water. The nurse returned a few minutes later with a pitcher of water, and a Styrofoam cup and a straw.
Rhea filled the cup and leaned over Morgan. She cradled the straw between two fingers to keep it steady. Morgan wrapped her hand around Rhea’s and met her gaze before taking a long drink. The cold water was soothing and she held the water in her mouth for a moment before swallowing and taking another drink. She took her time so she could watch Rhea and savor her touch. Rhea’s expression was serious, and worry lines furrowed her brow. Morgan took one last deep drink and drained the cup. She let go of the straw but held on to Rhea’s hand, even when Rhea tried to pull away.
Rhea paused, as if captured by Morgan’s gaze. For a moment Morgan forgot about her pain. The moment their eyes met, there was a connection between them that made Morgan feel more alive than she had ever felt. She wanted to pull Rhea closer and search her eyes for a sign that she felt it too.
Rhea frowned.
Morgan let go of Rhea’s hand and smiled. Great, if I keep this up, I’ll just scare her again. Obviously the connection was all in her mind, a foolish hope born of fear, loneliness, and gratitude.
“Thank you,” Morgan whispered. She reached up and tugged at a tuft of Rhea’s hair. “Your hair is growing out. I think the singed look suits you.”
Rhea didn’t laugh, but she didn’t move away either, and the way she looked at her now made Morgan worry. “What is it?” Morgan asked.
Rhea continued to frown as if she was trying to figure something out. She brought her hand to Morgan’s face and brushed her fingertips along her cheek. The touch was tender and left warm trails across Morgan’s skin. Rhea leaned closer and slid her fingers through a strand of her hair. Morgan was afraid to move but focused on the delicate look in Rhea’s eyes and the gentleness in her touch.
“You confuse me,” Rhea answered.
Morgan swallowed. “What do you mean?”
Rhea shook her head. “I just—”
The curtain opened, and the doctor stepped inside, with J.J. only a couple of steps behind.
Rhea pulled away, and Morgan groaned at the sudden loss of contact.
The doctor was a tall thin woman with serious eyes that Morgan was sure didn’t miss anything. She looked like a runner or maybe a cyclist. She looked as if she took fitness seriously, whatever it was she did to stay in shape.
“Ms. Scott, I’m Dr. Lewis, how are you feeling?”
“Tired.”
Dr. Lewis nodded. “I bet. You’ve had a tough night. I’ve looked over your tests, and I’ve decided it’s a good idea to keep you overnight. Normally I wouldn’t recommend an overnight stay, but I understand you lost consciousness for at least a few seconds, is that right?”
Morgan nodded. “I think so.” She looked to Rhea.
“Yeah, she was out for a bit. I’m not sure how long though,” Rhea said.
“Well, you were a little disoriented when you arrived here, and in the case of an explosion, I’d like to be on the side of caution. You have a pretty nasty concussion, and it won’t hurt for us to make sure there aren’t any infections setting up in those burns. They are superficial partial-thickness burns, so of course they hurt like the dickens, but the scarring will be minimal. You were lucky.”
Morgan didn’t want to stay, but she was exhausted, and by the look on J.J.’s face, she wouldn’t win this fight. “Overni
ght, huh?”
“As long as nothing else comes up and you’re doing okay tomorrow, we can send you home.”
Morgan looked at Rhea. “Can you take care of the farm?”
Rhea grinned. “Don’t I always?”
Morgan nodded and smiled. “I guess it’s settled then.” She lost sight of Rhea when the doctor leaned over her to check her bandages.
“Everything looks good. We should have you a room shortly.” The doctor placed a hand on Morgan’s shoulder. “Try to rest.”
“Thanks, Doc.”
As Dr. Lewis left, J.J. plopped down in the chair again. Morgan looked around the room but Rhea was gone. What had Rhea wanted to say to her before she was interrupted? She would have given anything for one more minute alone with Rhea. It was obvious she had wanted to tell her something important.
“Are you feeling okay, sweetie?” J.J. asked.
“I’m fine, just tired,” Morgan said and closed her eyes. “You don’t have to stay here. I really am okay by myself.”
J.J. rested her hand on Morgan’s. “I know how tough you are, but how about you let me play the worried big sister, just this once.”
Morgan squeezed J.J.’s hand. She had to stop pushing J.J. away. “Just this once, but you can’t tell anybody.”
J.J. laughed. “Who are you trying to impress?”
Morgan immediately thought of Rhea. “I just don’t want you getting the big head.”
“Mmm-hmm, whatever you say.”
Morgan didn’t have the strength to argue anymore and drifted off to sleep.
*
Rhea was relieved to see most of the emergency crew had left when she arrived back at the farm at dawn. There was only one fire truck and a car that said Fire Chief on the side, and all of the cop cars were gone. She pulled her Jeep beside the car and got out. She looked around and surveyed the damage. The smell of charred wood still permeated the air and coated the back of her throat when she breathed. As she looked around in the growing light of morning, it became painfully clear how bad things had been, and she started to shake inside.
Love’s Redemption Page 16
