Emergency Contact

by Susan Peterson

  “Has that happened to you before—someone playing shrink with your head?”

  Rage flashed in her eyes. “More than you’d know. They’re always trying to play around with my brain. Force me to—” She paused. Her head tilted slightly as if she were trying to remember something.

  “Force you to what?” he coaxed.

  She shook her head as if coming out of a trance. “I don’t know. I don’t want to think about it.” She walked over to the steps of the pool. “I’m taking that swim now.”

  “Don’t overdo it,” he warned. Flames shot up around the metal grill. “Dinner will be ready before you know it.”

  Tess nodded and hit the water with a sleek, shallow dive, the water bursting over her head and driving the air from her lungs. She glided to the surface and gulped air, and then lowered her head and struck out for the opposite end of the pool with a powerful crawl.

  Her muscles stretched and contracted, and her body hummed with satisfaction. No paddling around in the low end of the pool for her. Somehow she knew that, even though she didn’t remember her last name or where she came from, she was a person who loved using her body and pushing it to its limit.

  The mind-numbing repetition of doing lap after lap lulled her, giving her a sense of deep relaxation. Her brain seemed to stop fighting her, seemed to forget that she was trying to remember who she was and why she’d been walking in a cornfield.

  She dug deeper into the water, the palms of her hands scooping the water backward and propelling her forward. The bubbles whispered past her ears.

  When she reached the opposite end, she ducked beneath the surface and executed a perfect flip turn. The soles of her feet hit the wall and she pushed off and headed for the opposite end.

  The crampiness in her calf muscles eased and she kicked harder, forcing her arms deeper into the water and reveling in the pull of the water against her shoulder muscles. As she tilted her head for air, she caught a glimpse of Ryan. He had moved closer to the edge of the pool to watch. His stance was relaxed, his expression contemplative.

  Tess lapped the pool again, and this time she noticed that he’d moved to sit in the shade, sipping a drink. His steady gaze, with those exquisite blue eyes, was still trained on her. Her stomach growled, but she ignored it, determined to tire herself out before she indulged in food or anything else.

  She swam on, numbing her body and mind with the repetitiveness and fierceness of her workout. At lap twenty, something started to niggle at the edge of her awareness—a tiny ripple of discomfort.

  She swam harder, dug deeper into the water and ignored the voice, trying to drown it out. She executed another perfect flip turn and headed back toward the deep end, determined to regain the numb feeling she’d obtained at the start of her swim.

  But she failed.

  From out of nowhere, scraps of pictures flashed across her consciousness, all clamoring for attention. Disembodied voices filled her head. Frantic, Tess tried to push them away. She dug deeper still, drawing on untapped strength. But the images and voices persisted, beating away at her defenses and forcing her to listen. To see.

  A fuzzy image of herself strapped to a table.

  Pain ripped through her muscles. She floundered and, when she gasped for air, water rushed into her mouth. Chlorine scorched the back of her throat, and she reared up out of the water, trying to breathe. Trying to escape.

  But she was blinded by the rush of water and wet clinging strands of her hair. Her arms slapped the surface helplessly, and she urgently tried to find the bottom.

  No bottom. She was in the deep end.

  She tried kicking, but her arms and legs had turned to lead. The water around her churned and roiled. One last try to reach the low end. But her body failed her, refusing to respond. She started to sink.

  As water rushed her mouth, Tess thought how funny it was that she was drowning. An Olympic-caliber swimmer, and she was drowning in a backyard pool.

  An odd sense of peace settled over her, cushioning and cradling her. Maybe this was the solution. Maybe she was supposed to simply let go and allow herself to be pulled under.

  She stopped struggling.

  Water closed over her head, and she sank to the bottom.

  Chapter Four

  Ryan jumped to his feet and ran for the deep end.

  One minute, Tess had been swimming along effortlessly and the next, she’d slipped beneath the surface. He could see her stretched out on the bottom, her body shockingly white against the blue tiles. She wasn’t moving.

  He dived, cutting the surface of the water, and swam to the bottom. Two seconds later, he reached her, slipped both hands under her arms and shot to the surface. When their heads broke the surface, Tess’s body slumped against his, deadweight. He swam for the low end, towing her next to him. She didn’t struggle, didn’t move.

  When he could touch the bottom, Ryan slipped his arms under her legs and carried her up the steps. Bending down, he gently laid her on the cool patio tiles. A quick check told him she wasn’t breathing. He pressed two fingers to the side of her neck. A faint pulse whispered beneath his fingertips.

  He rolled her onto her side. A steam of water dribbled from her mouth. He rolled her back, tilted her head up and fastened his mouth over hers. He gave her two quick breaths.

  Her breasts rose and fell with each breath, and he continued, until a few seconds later, she took a great, shuddering gulp of air and coughed. Her body spasmed.

  He watched as her thick lashes fluttered against the crest of her cheeks. Reaching up, he grabbed two towels off the back of one of the chairs, tucked one under her head and covered her with the other. He didn’t want to move her until he was sure she was going to be all right.

  “It’s okay, Tess,” he reassured her as she gasped and coughed.

  He touched the tips of his fingers to her neck again. Her pulse was strong. Steady. For all her appearance of fragility, she wasn’t what he’d call a shrinking violet. More like tempered steel.

  She turned her head, the brilliant green of her eyes clouded as she tried to focus on him. “Wh-what happened?”

  “You didn’t listen. I told you to paddle around a little and you decided to do your own iron-man swim in my backyard pool.”

  She tried to smile, but her bottom lip trembled a bit and he noticed she was shivering beneath the towel. The cut over her eye had opened again and a small trickle of blood darkened her pale skin.

  He reached down and briskly rubbed her arms and then her legs, trying to get the circulation going.

  “We’re not taking any more chances. I’m calling the hospital and taking you in.”

  “No!” She struggled to sit up, but then fell back. She looked as if she’d lost all strength in her limbs. But then, she rallied enough to reach up and grab the front of his shirt, her fingers clutching it in a death grip. “You promised that you wouldn’t force me. You can’t go back on your word now.”

  “I also didn’t think you’d almost drown in my pool.” He gently disengaged his shirt from her fingers. “Your body is telling you that something’s not right, and we need to find out what. I wouldn’t be doing my job, Tess, unless I insisted you go.”

  She shook her head, anger exploding in her eyes. “I know you think I’m crazy, but I know in my heart that something bad is going to happen to me if I go back to that place. I can’t go!”

  Ryan didn’t want to break the news to her that she sounded more than a little crazy. She sounded downright paranoid. “Look, if the center freaks you out, we’ll drive over to Kendall. They have a small community hospital. We can have you checked out there and you won’t even need to stay overnight unless they feel it’s absolutely necessary.”

  Her reaction was immediate. “How can I make you understand—no hospitals. Do whatever tests you need to do, but do them here.”

  Ryan sighed. “I’m not equipped to do tests here. Besides, I’m a psychiatrist, Tess, not a neurologist.”

  “Then forget the tests.
” The finality in her voice and the stubborn jut to her jaw told Ryan that it didn’t matter what he said, she wasn’t going to change her mind. “I told you before, I don’t need a doctor.”

  He shrugged. “All right. If I promise no hospitals and no tests, will you at least agree to rest?”

  Her narrow shoulders seemed to melt back against the wet tiles and a grateful sigh pulled at the corners of her mouth. She nodded. She’d gotten what she wanted.

  Crazy or paranoid, she was the most infuriatingly beautiful woman he’d ever met. Ryan was beginning to realize that with a few words and a single glance from those exquisite jade eyes she could wreak havoc on all rational thought.

  “I’ll rest.” She smiled. “As long as I can do it right here.”

  But in spite of the smile, Ryan didn’t feel any sense of relief. Instead, he felt stuck. Stuck with a promise he didn’t agree with. A promise that meant not getting Tess the medical attention he felt she needed, and that went against everything he believed in professionally.

  But Ryan also knew that if he went back on his word, Tess would simply walk away, disappear. He’d lose the only chance he had to help her, and that was a risk he wasn’t willing to take.

  He stood and then reached down, offering her a hand to get up. “Come on, let’s get you upstairs and into bed.”

  Tess nodded, but when she tried to stand, her legs buckled beneath her. He caught her before she fell.

  “I—I guess I’m not as steady as I thought.”

  Ryan quickly scooped her up, lifting her with one hand beneath her legs and the other cradling her slender back. She seemed weightless in his arms.

  He shouldered the screen door back along the track and stepped into the house, and as they entered the house, a shiver shot through Tess. A part of her wanted to blame the goose bumps pebbling her arms and legs on the air-conditioning, but she knew the real reason was Ryan’s close proximity.

  Her reaction troubled her. She didn’t want to be vulnerable. In her head, vulnerability equalled danger. It meant her survival was questionable.

  A tiny doubt niggled at the back of her brain. Where were these feelings coming from? Was she crazy? Paranoid? Or was she simply ready for anything.

  She dropped her head back.

  Ready for what?

  She closed her eyes, trying desperately to pull at the root of that single disturbing thought. But it wouldn’t cooperate. The more she tried to capture the thought, the more it seemed to drift beyond her reach.

  Frustrated, she opened her eyes. They were in the hall, headed for the stairs. She tried to hide the fact that her teeth were chattering, but Ryan noticed and pulled her closer, shifting her body so that she was pressed tight against him, as if he could infuse her with his own body heat.

  He glanced down at her, a shadow of concern touching his Caribbean blue eyes.

  His hand was tucked in under her arm, directly beneath the swell of her right breast, and the warmth of his fingers sent a delicious thrill through her chilled skin. His touch warmed her even more than his eyes.

  The feelings confused her and sent her brain into a spin. She’d been ready to assert herself, willing to do anything to get what she wanted. And then, she found herself defenseless and helpless in his arms.

  She shifted closer to him, realizing that she felt the sudden increase in her heart rate, and with the side of her head pressed against his chest, she could hear the steady beat of his own heart accelerate to match her own. Apparently he was feeling this every bit as much as she was.

  He climbed the stairs with ease and entered a bedroom done in a bright yellow. Bending down, he deposited her on the edge of the bed and stepped back.

  His shirt was soaked, plastered to his chest and stomach. She could see the stark outline of his abdominal muscles. She swallowed hard, conscious of the hungry urge to reach out and trace the line of those firm, sculpted muscles.

  She tore her gaze away. “I’m wet. I’m going to get the bed soaked.”

  “It’s okay, you’re on the bedspread. Stay put and I’ll get something for you to change into.”

  He headed for the door, and she started to get up. She wasn’t an inch off the bed when he stopped her. “Sit. Don’t even think about getting up. For once, listen.”

  She sat back down and folded her hands in her lap. “I’m sitting already. I wasn’t going anywhere.”

  “Of course you weren’t,” he said meaningfully before he disappeared.

  Tess levered herself up and, on shaky legs, walked into the adjoining bathroom. She grabbed a bath towel off the rack and dried her shoulders and arms. When waves of dizziness hit a few times, she steadied herself on the edge of the sink.

  Reaching up, she stripped the suit down over her shoulders and hips, and then stepped out of it. She wrapped a towel around herself and tucked the end between her breasts.

  “You really do have a problem following directions.”

  Startled, she glanced up to see Ryan standing in the doorway, a pair of flannel pants and a sweatshirt slung over one arm. She wondered how long he’d been standing there. If it was long, he’d gotten an eyeful. “I figured it made more sense to get the wet suit off.” He tossed her the clothes and she caught them, nodding her thanks. “You want to turn around for a minute?”

  He nodded, but she noticed he didn’t step out or close the door. She shrugged off the towel and quickly donned the dry clothes. Their softness and warmth felt wonderful against her clammy skin, and the fact that they were too big didn’t bother her a bit.

  She tied the drawstring of the pants around her waist once before tying it in a secure knot. Ryan’s smell, the soap he used for his laundry, engulfed her as the sweatshirt slid over her head. She inhaled it, liking the clean scent.

  “Okay, I’m decent.”

  He turned around and their gazes met. Tess pulled up the sagging neck of the shirt.

  “Barely decent.” A slightly teasing grin touched his lips.

  Tess sucked in a deep breath. Okay, the fact that a man’s smile turned her knees to Jell-O wasn’t what she had expected. Had the bump on her head scrambled more than just her memories?

  He motioned toward the bed. “Why don’t you get into bed, and I’ll take a look at the cut. It reopened when you were in the pool. Then I’ll check your vitals again.”

  “I thought we went through this drill at the hospital,” Tess grumbled. She didn’t miss the fact that his unexpected effect on her was making her more than a little irritable.

  “Be a sport and humor me,” Ryan said. “Like all doctors, I have an intense need to be needed.”

  Tess ducked her head. Oh, yeah, he was needed all right, just not in the way he was thinking. She sighed inwardly. Great, now she was getting giddy. He was right, she really did need to get some rest. She slid into bed and tilted her head back so he could get at the cut.

  He reached out and swept several strands of her hair back behind her ear. He had a healer’s hands, long elegant fingers with a gentle touch, and as he slid the tips of them over the curve of her ear, Tess shivered.

  A sharp stab of need shot through her belly, surprising her, and she shifted her feet beneath the covers, trying to hide her reaction. Perhaps she was more tired than she originally thought. The man was cleaning a tiny cut, not making love to her.

  He leaned closer, using a cotton swab to gently clean the cut. “What were you thinking about out there in the pool—right before you started to go under?”

  His breath was warm on her cheek. Tess shook her head. Concentrate on his words, not on what he was doing to your body. “I don’t know. I don’t remember much. It’s pretty much a blur.”

  As she spoke, Tess was conscious of how close he was, his mouth inches from hers. It would be so simple to lift her head and quickly brush her lips across his, and then run her tongue along the swell of his bottom lip.

  She tightened her fingers on the edge of the sheet. What was wrong with her? Was this the kind of person she was?
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  “Do you trust me enough to try something, Tess?” he asked, breaking into her thoughts. The deep smoothness of his voice, combined with its sweet underlying raspiness, seemed to weave a seductive web around her, lulling her and surrounding her with its hypnotic tone.

  Tess nodded numbly, trying desperately not to think about what she’d like to suggest they do. She felt like melting butter.

  He continued to work on the cut, and she watched his lips move. “Don’t force anything. Just let whatever is inside your head come out. Allow it to come out on its own.”

  She nodded again. Waiting.

  “Close your eyes and concentrate on my voice.”

  Tess did as he asked. It was easier to comply than continue to stare up at his face and contemplate what she couldn’t have. She settled back, feeling the cool sheet against the back of her neck.

  “Good, now I want you to think back when you were in the pool. You’re swimming, and the water feels good against your hot skin. It washes over you, cooling and cradling you.” He paused a moment before continuing. “Everything—your arms, your legs, your breathing—everything is working together for the same purpose. You feel warm. You’re secure. You feel totally safe.”

  Tess was surprised she truly could visualize exactly what he was saying. “You’re swimming. No other thought except moving your arms and legs. You’re enjoying yourself. You can feel the afternoon sun against your upper back, and the water runs over you and around you, cooling you. Comforting you.”

  Tess smiled, allowing the sensations to take over. And then, out of nowhere, an image popped into her brain. An image of herself strapped to a table, tubes and needles stuck in her arms—in her legs—in her neck. Her legs jumped, and in a haze, she looked up, watching as the figure of the ghost, cartoonish in its shape, hovered and floated overhead. She grimaced. What did it mean? The ghost reached out to her, but he was too far away.

  A small whimper slipped between her lips, and Tess tensed. The tempo of her breathing quickened, the sound harsh and rasping in her ears.

  Next to the bed, Ryan noticed the change immediately. He shifted closer, reaching out to stroke her forearm, trying to impart a sense that she wasn’t alone. That he was there with her.