by Linda Turner
“Then she will,” he retorted, and headed straight for Angel.
Chapter 10
Rubbing at her pounding temple, Angel listened to the paramedic drone on about why she needed to go to the hospital, and all she wanted to do was go home—to Joe’s. To check on Emma, then rest and try to forget that her stalker had just tried to kill her. Oh, Nick and the fire marshall were still investigating the remains of what had been her trailer, but she knew the explosion was no accident. The monster had promised her he was going to make her pay for betraying him with Joe, and he’d succeeded. Every bone in her body ached, and the back of her head felt like someone had taken a hammer to it. With every beat of her heart, her head throbbed.
Lost in her misery, she didn’t see Joe striding toward her until he was two steps away. “Joe!” With a startled cry, she jumped to her feet, only to gasp as pain shot through her like a bolt of lightning.
He was beside her in a heartbeat, gently sweeping her up into his arms when her knees buckled. “Whoa, there, sweetheart. Easy. Not so fast. Let me lay you down here—”
“No!” she cried, clutching him around the neck when he lowered her back down to the stretcher. “I want to go home.”
“You will—after you’re checked out by a doctor at the hospital.”
“But I’m fine!”
“Oh, really? So why are you pale as a ghost? Look at yourself, honey. You can’t even stand up. I bet your head feels like someone got loose with a jackhammer in there, doesn’t it? If you go home looking like this, what do you think Emma’s going to think?”
She hadn’t thought of that, hadn’t considered how frightening it might be for her to see her like this. “I’m sorry,” she choked. “You’re right. I can’t let her see me like this. I’m just so worried about her.”
“I’ll call Laura on the way to the hospital and make sure she’s all right,” he promised, and gently unlocked her arms from around his neck.
The paramedic, seeing his chance, quickly strapped her onto the stretcher, and within minutes, she was in the ambulance and on her way to the hospital.
Pacing the hall outside the waiting room at the county hospital, Joe just barely resisted the urge to throw something. Over an hour had passed since Angel had been wheeled into the emergency room, and he hadn’t seen hide nor hair of her since. What the hell was taking so long?
Normally, he wouldn’t have worried—Janey had been pretty confident that she was fine, and he trusted his sister’s opinion. But a head injury wasn’t anything to play around with. What if she had a blood clot? Or some type of internal bleeding that wasn’t easily detected by X rays? She could need surgery—
The emergency room doors swung open and a nurse hurried out, but she didn’t spare him a glance. Swearing, he reminded himself that he had to be patient. Angel wasn’t the only one who was injured in the explosion. The ER was flooded with cast and crew members who’d been hurt by flying glass and metal, and the Falls County Hospital wasn’t equipped to handle such an influx at one time. The ER was so small, in fact, that some of the wounded were lined up on gurneys in the hall in order of the seriousness of their injuries, waiting for their turn to see a doctor. It could be hours yet before they were all examined and treated.
Outside, the ambulance drove up with its siren blazing, and he wondered with a frown if he should call Laura again. As promised, he called her from his mobile on the way to the hospital to tell her of Angel’s injuries and make sure Emma was safe and sound. Everything at the house had been quiet and calm, thankfully, but if this morning had proven anything, it was that that could change in a heartbeat.
A harried nurse with a clipboard stepped through the double doors of the emergency room right then, calling his name and brusquely directed him to the examining cubicle where Angel was. “The doctor would like to speak to you.”
Alarmed, he asked sharply, “Is Miss Wiley all right?”
Already consulting the next name on her list, she didn’t spare him so much as a glance. “She’s scheduled to be released. Is there anyone here for Frank Johnson?” she called out and turned her attention back to the crowd waiting for news of friends and family.
The emergency room was still a madhouse, but all Joe saw was Angel. The curtain to the examining cubicle the nurse had directed him to had been pushed aside, and he could see her sitting on the gurney she’d been wheeled in on. Her shoulders were slumped, her gaze focused on nothing in particular, her arms crossed over her breasts as if she was cold. A smaller, neater bandage had been applied to the back of her head, but she was still pale and wan and looked so damn small that he just wanted to scoop her up and hold her until the hurt went away.
Something tugged at his heart then, something he hadn’t come close to letting himself feel for a very long time. Stunned, he just stood there, taken aback. Where the devil had this come from? His heart had turned to stone the day Belinda walked out on him, and he’d sworn then that he’d never again let any woman get close enough to make him feel anything ever again. And no one had—until Miss Hollywood had arrived on his doorstep and dared him to try to throw her out.
Alarm bells clanging in his head, he should have gotten the hell out of there right then. He needed to think, to pull back and regroup. But Angel looked up then and saw him, and her fragile smile made it impossible for him to go anywhere but to her side. Dear God, what was he going to do with this woman?
He hadn’t meant to touch her, but her hand was cradled in his before he could stop himself from reaching for her. “I hear they’re letting you out of here,” he said gruffly.
She started to nod, only to freeze and suck in a sharp breath. When she finally released it, she was careful not to move. “I need to get home and check on Emma. Did you talk to Laura?”
“Everything’s fine at the house,” he assured her. “All you have to worry about right now is you. How’s the head?”
“Much better,” she said. “It hardly hurts at all now.”
Joe couldn’t believe she said that with a straight face. She couldn’t even move because her head felt like it was going to fall off her shoulders, and she expected him to believe it didn’t hurt? Who did the stubborn woman think she was fooling?
“Oh, really?” he said dryly. “Would you care to say that again and this time sound like you mean it?”
“I’m fine—”
“And I’m Howdy Doody.”
“The doctor said I could go home—”
“Only if you behave yourself,” said the doctor himself. Tall and distinguished, the white-haired gentleman who stepped over to the gurney greeted Joe with a grin. “Long time no see, Joe. How’s your mother? I missed her at the last church social.”
“Just fine, Dr. Michaels.” Shaking his hand, Joe couldn’t help but smile. Dan Michaels had been trying to get his mother to go out with him for the last year, to no avail. By now, he must have figured out that he was wasting his time—in spite of the fact that his father had died nearly eighteen years ago, there’d always been only one man for his mother and that was Gus McBride—but Dan was nothing if not persistent. “She’s been pretty busy the last couple of weeks with her houseguests.”
“So I heard. I ran into Janey at the nursing home and she told me some of the female cast members were staying with her and your mother. She never said anything about Miss Wiley staying with you, though.”
“The studio was trying to keep it under wraps,” Angel told him. “For security reasons.”
His gaze narrowed thoughtfully on her pale face and bandaged head. “I see. And just how much did today’s explosion have to do with security—or lack of it?”
“Nick is trying to discover that right now,” Joe replied. “In the meantime, I’ll make sure there are no more accidents.”
“Good. And while you’re at it, make sure she takes it easy for the next couple of days,” the older man said. “She took quite a blow to the back of her head. Normally, I’d keep her here at least overnight, but this place is
a zoo because of the explosion; and she’ll get more rest at home. And I mean rest. I don’t want her doing anything more strenuous than lifting a fork to her mouth when she eats dinner. Understand?”
He spoke to Joe, but his eyes were trained on Angel, and she got the message. If she didn’t follow doctor’s orders, she would find herself back in the hospital, this time to stay. “Understood,” she promised. “I’ll stay in bed for the rest of the day.”
“I’ll put her there myself,” Joe added huskily. “And tomorrow, too, if I have to.”
His eyes were dark with a glint that set her heart pounding, but if the doctor noticed, he made no comment. Satisfied, the older man smiled and patted Angel’s hand. “Then you’re free to go, young lady. It’s been a pleasure taking care of you.”
Her head still throbbing, Angel said wryly, “I can’t say it’s been the best experience of my life, but you’ve been very kind. Thank you, Dr. Michaels. I hope you won’t take offense when I say that I’ll consider myself lucky if I never have to see you again.”
“I understand perfectly,” he said, chuckling as he gave her hand one last squeeze, then released her and stepped back. “If we do meet again, hopefully it’ll be under better circumstances. Now, go on and get out of here while you still can,” he said as an orderly produced a wheelchair. “Here’s your ride.”
Normally, the orderly would have personally wheeled her to the front door himself, but with so many unexpected patients to deal with, he was needed elsewhere. So Joe did the honors and rolled Angel out of the emergency room and into the corridor. When she saw the injured cast mem bers still waiting to see a doctor, she suddenly remembered William and Taylor. She’d forgotten all about them in the mad confusion of the emergency room.
“What about Taylor—the guard at my trailer? And William?” she asked Joe with a frown. “I saw him right after I regained consciousness, but I don’t remember what happened to Taylor. Are they okay?”
Joe hesitated, but there was no way he could avoid telling her the truth. “William had a concussion and a bad cut across his shoulder. He had to have surgery.”
“Oh, my God! Is he going to be all right?”
He nodded. “The doctor expects a full recovery, but he’s not going to be driving anywhere for a while.”
“And Taylor?”
“The explosion threw him into another trailer,” he replied. “He has internal injuries and cuts on his face from the shattered glass.”
Stricken, she gasped. “Oh, no!”
“I know it doesn’t sound like it, but he was lucky. Some of the witnesses said they saw him waiting by your trailer for you just before the explosion.”
“Yes, that’s right. Then he saw me and William and started walking toward us.”
“And that saved his life,” he pronounced solemnly. “If he’d still been standing right by that trailer when it blew, there would have been nothing left of him to pick up, honey. So don’t beat yourself up over this. Nobody died, and the studio’s bringing in a plastic surgeon from Denver to treat Taylor. With time, he’ll be fine, and so will everyone else.”
She was blaming herself for the entire incident—he could see the guilt in her eyes—but before he could convince her she had nothing to feel guilty about, they reached the hospital entrance and the double doors parted to reveal Garrett. The second Angel’s costar saw her, relief washed over his face and he headed straight for her.
Scowling, Joe didn’t like the man, never had. Especially after that day on the set when he’d watched him blow one take after another so Angel would have to kiss him over and over. The bastard had known he was humiliating her, and he’d enjoyed every second of it.
“What do you want, Elliot?” he growled.
He didn’t, as Joe expected, answer him with some smart-ass remark. Instead, his attitude was gone, his expression unusually humble. “I just wanted to talk to Angel for a minute.”
“I’m taking her home,” he said before Angel could open her mouth. “She needs to rest.”
“It won’t take long,” he insisted. “I just want to apologize for the way I treated her.”
Her eyes wide, Angel made no attempt to hide her surprise. “You mean this morning? When you didn’t believe me when I told you I really was in danger?”
“Yeah.” His voice gruff, he nodded. “I thought you were just being paranoid. I’m sorry.”
“The sheriff doesn’t know yet that Angel’s stalker caused the explosion,” Joe pointed out. “He and the fire inspector are still investigating.”
“It doesn’t matter what the cause was,” the other man replied. “She was scared and I should have been more sympathetic.”
In honor of fairness, Angel pointed out, “You aren’t the only one who thought I was exaggerating.”
“No, but that doesn’t excuse my behavior. And I’m not just talking about this morning. I owe you an apology for all the times I was so nasty to you. I acted like a jerk,” he said stiffly, “because you refused to go out with me. But I guess you know that already.”
If she’d been a cynical woman, Angel might have won dered if he was acting. There was no question that he was one of the best actors she’d ever worked with. When he chose to, he could go from laughter to tears in the blink of an eye and make you think he’d just lost his best friend.
But he’d just humbled himself, not only in front of her and Joe, but other members of the cast and crew within listening distance. And a man with his kind of pride didn’t do that lightly. She’d never seen anyone look more miserable in her life, and she had to believe he was sincere.
“I guess I wasn’t as tactful as I could have been, either,” she admitted. “So we both could have handled it differently. Considering that, I’m willing to let bygones be bygones if you are. What do you say?”
If he’d expected her to make it more difficult for him, she surprised him. Relieved, he laughed, the grin that had slain millions of women’s hearts curling one side of his mouth. “Yeah, I think I can manage that. Thanks.”
While Joe retrieved his truck from the parking lot and brought it around to the hospital’s front entrance, Garrett waited with Angel and made sure no one bothered her. Thankful for his help, she tried to keep up her end of the conversation as he talked to her, but the adrenaline from the accident had worn off, leaving her exhausted. She could barely keep her eyes open.
“I’m sorry, Garrett,” she said as Joe drove up and he wheeled her out to the truck. “I’m not very good company right now.”
“Hey, don’t worry about it. You’ve had a rough day.” Hovering close, he watched Joe help her into the cab of the truck. “Go home and get some sleep.”
He didn’t have to tell her twice. Safely buckled in, she turned in the seat slightly so that she could rest her cheek against the headrest, and before Joe drove out of the hospital parking lot, she was asleep.
It was the rough gravel road of the ranch that woke her. Joe tried to avoid the worst of it, but at times, it was like driving over a washboard. Every bone in her body protesting the sudden jostling, Angel woke with a groan.
Shooting her a quick glance of concern, Joe grimaced. “Sorry. I didn’t realize this road had so many damn potholes in it. Hold on. It’s only a couple of more miles.”
He slowed down to almost a crawl, but that only dragged out the torture. By the time he finally reached the house and pulled into the front drive, Angel was pale and drawn and gritting her teeth to keep from crying out in pain.
“Just sit right where you are,” Joe ordered roughly with a frown when she reached for her door handle. “I’ll carry you in.”
“No, I can walk,” she insisted. “Emma’s going to be upset when she sees the bandage on my head. If you carry me, it’ll only frighten her more.”
He didn’t like it, but she didn’t give him time to argue. Stubbornly setting her chin, she carefully pushed open the passenger door and eased out of the truck. Her feet barely touched the ground and Joe was at her side, mu
ttering under his breath about damn fool women who where too bullheaded to accept help when they needed it.
“Mommy!”
At the first sound of the key in the front door, Emma cried out in joy and darted into the foyer two steps ahead of Laura, only to hesitate when Angel carefully walked inside with Joe hovering close behind her. At the sight of Angel’s pale face and bandaged head, the smile lightening her eyes died and her bottom lip began to tremble. “Mommy? You look funny. Do you have a boo-boo on your head?”
“Something like that, sweetheart,” she said, forcing a smile. “But I’m going to be okay. I just need to rest for a while.”
“Why don’t you go upstairs to your room and finish the card you were making for Mommy?” Laura suggested. “I’m sure she’d love to see it.”
Emma didn’t have to be told twice. Happily distracted, she ran up the stairs, leaving the adults still standing in the foyer. The second she was out of sight, Laura said grimly, “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, especially after what happened this morning, but a floral delivery was made this afternoon that you need to know about.”
Surprised, Angel stiffened. “Floral? But I asked the florist to hold all deliveries.”
“I know. I don’t know what happened. There must have been some kind of mix-up. I didn’t call you at the hospital because I didn’t want to worry you, but it can’t be put off any longer. It was for Emma.”
The color drained from Angel’s cheeks. “Emma? He sent Emma something?”
Wishing she didn’t have to tell her, Laura nodded. “Yes. A funeral wreath.”
“A funeral wreath?” she repeated in confusion. Then she understood. “For my death,” she whispered, horrified. What little color there was in her cheeks drained away. Suddenly light-headed, she seemed to have lost all the starch in her knees.
Swearing, Joe swept her up into his arms the second her knees started to buckle and carried her into the family room. “She could use some hot tea, Laura,” he threw over his shoulder. “As strong as you can make it. And put plenty of sugar in it.”
