A Question of Honor (12 page)

He pulled it out of his jacket pocket and realized he hadn’t charged it. “It’s dead,” he said. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s your dad.”

His stomach clenched. He’d heard those words more than once over the years, but this time he knew that he hadn’t been stopped in Wolf Lake, that John hadn’t brought him in to let him sober up before calling the family to get him. John would have contacted him right away.

“What happened?”

“He’s sick. He’s en route to the hospital. I’m just leaving now.”

“What happened?”

“I’m not sure. He was over at the Yardley’s place in Crestline—you know the bank manager at the branch over there—and they said he got short of breath and disoriented.”

“I’m on my way.”

“Moses is waiting for him. I’m okay and I don’t need you here, but I wanted you to know.”

He’d never bought that in the past, and he wouldn’t buy it now. “I’ll see you in ten.”

Bobby Ray was still standing in the cold waiting on him with no jacket on. Adam quickly hung up, handed the phone back. “Tell John that my father’s in the hospital,” he said and roared away from the station.

Adam was at the hospital in record time. The nurse at the urgent-care unit buzzed the security doors open for him to go through without asking him anything. She obviously knew why he was there.

He’d barely got inside when Moses appeared from behind some curtains into the aisle, almost colliding with him. Adam caught a glimpse of his father through the slight parting in the curtains. An intern and nurse were taking his vitals and asking him questions. Herbert Carson looked as if he was stunned, and Adam could hear how rapid and shallow his breathing was. The intern snapped an oxygen mask over his dad’s face, pushing up the sleeves of his shirt.

“I knew you’d get here fast once Lark found you,” Moses said as he reached around Adam to shut the curtains.

“What’s happening?”

Moses folded his arms on his chest. “Believe it or not, I don’t know. He just got here, and there are a lot of tests I need to run.”

“What do you think is happening?” Adam asked abruptly, his frustration and worry obvious in his tone.

But John was patient. “Anything from a full MI to a—”

“English,” Adam said, cutting him off.

“A heart attack, a myocardial infarction or something as simple as indigestion or even an anxiety attack. I don’t know yet. With his background, it’s hard to tell at first.”

Adam turned, taking a long breath, and saw his mother coming through the security doors. She headed right for him, her face wet with tears, and she silently went into his hug, which lasted until she chose to move back. When he looked down at her, she was controlled, or at least wasn’t crying anymore. “They need to do tests and stabilize him,” he told her. He didn’t want her to hear anything about a heart attack, not unless she had to.

His mother trusted Moses as much as he did, and she moved to touch the doctor’s arm. “Please, take care of him.”

“Of course I will,” Moses said. “This is going to take time, and you can’t be with him. Please, go get some coffee and try to stay calm. I’ll get back to you as soon as I know anything.”

Reluctantly Adam and his mother walked to the waiting room. He looked at the TV on the wall in the corner and he had a flashback to waiting for Faith in the same spot. He hadn’t been in this hospital for years, not even to see Moses, and now he’d been here twice in three days, and not for any happy visits.

He stared blankly at the TV, letting his mind recall the past couple of days, then he wished he hadn’t. Memories of some things could be so potent. The feeling of Faith in his arms, her boldness, her braveness, having been so sick. He stood abruptly, looked at his watch and realized they’d been sitting there an hour.

He told his mother he’d get them coffee and be right back. But when he returned to the waiting room, his mother was gone. The nurse on duty pointed to the doors and he was buzzed in. Next he saw Moses outside his father’s cubicle.

He couldn’t read Moses’s expression as he hurried over to him, but he did hear his mother sobbing behind the curtain. “What’s going on?”

“Hey, hey,” Moses said, his hand on Adam’s arm. “It’s okay. He’s okay. She’s just relieved and happy.”

He exhaled, took a moment, then asked, “What happened to him?”

“Believe it or not, he had an anxiety attack. I gave him some medication, and although a few tests still aren’t back, I’m sure it’s not anything more than stress and worry.”

Adam exhaled harshly. “I thought...”

Even though he didn’t finish that thought, Moses knew exactly what he had been going to say. “No, no alcohol involved. Nothing like that. He’s doing well on that front. This seems to be just plain old-fashioned nerves, unless the tests show something I’m missing. My bet is they won’t.”

“He’ll be okay?”

“He will be if he takes care of himself. He needs time to just relax for a while.”

Adam automatically felt less uneasy. “You know Dad’s pretty stubborn. He won’t do anything he doesn’t want to do.”

“He will do what he’s told,” his mother said in a raised voice.

Adam parted the curtains just enough to see his father’s arms around his mother, who was lying on his chest. She was smiling. “You’d better listen to her, Dad.”

“He will,” Lark said softly. “He will.”

Adam pulled back, closing the curtains. He and Moses walked beyond the security doors. As they closed behind them, Adam said simply, “Thank you.”

Moses laid his hand on Adam’s shoulder. “Hey, I’d do anything for your family.”

Adam nodded. “Same here.”

Moses slapped his shoulder, started to turn to go back, but stopped and addressed Adam. “Did Faith Arden get ahold of you?”

That question broadsided him. “Is
she
okay?”

“Seems to be, but Mallory called me, said that the lady lost her wallet somewhere and thought it could be here. It’s not, but she said she’d contact you to see if she left it in your truck.”

“I haven’t seen any wallet in the truck.”

“That’s too bad. I think you were her last hope.”

He felt helpless and hated it. Maybe he could check for her or do something. “Could you tell Mom to call if she needs me?”

“Sure.” Moses nodded. “Take care.”

Adam left the hospital, turned in the direction of the inn and drove through the gathering dusk. Her wallet. He knew the feeling of losing one. He’d done it more than once, and it had been a real inconvenience every time. He suspected that Faith losing her wallet would be a lot more than a mere inconvenience.

He slowed when he thought he recognized Faith on the street. After his mistakes when he’d thought he’d seen her before, he didn’t believe it was her until he pulled abreast of her. It was Faith striding down the sidewalk, past the general store, her head down, her pace almost qualifying as a slow run.

He went by, pulled into a parking spot ahead of her and got out of the truck. But she crossed the street before his boots hit the ground, and he took off after her, calling out to her as he went. “Faith! Hey, Faith, stop!”

He could have sworn she paused when he said her name, but she didn’t stop. She acted as if she hadn’t heard anything and sped up as he came along behind her. When he almost reached her, he called out again, “Faith, stop!” and this time he knew she’d heard him. Still, she didn’t stop. He got close enough to reach out, grab at her arm and finally pull her to a stop. She spun around, breaking the contact, facing him with wide eyes.

She didn’t turn away, but stood her ground, breathing hard, and even across the three feet that buffered them from each other, he could tell she was shaking. He took a step toward her, afraid she might run, only to be rewarded by her remaining where she was.

She seemed scared, and why was she practically running? He looked around, certain he’d see somebody coming after her, but he only saw tourists and townspeople going about their business.

“Who are you trying to get away from?” he finally asked, focusing back on her.

She stunned him when she said one word. “You.”

CHAPTER TWELVE

F
AITH
COULD
HAVE
STOOD
there and cried, she felt so drained. She’d heard Adam calling out to her, and she’d run. Why? If he knew all about her, if he was there to take her to the authorities, running was a stupid thing to do. And if he knew nothing, her actions were even more stupid. But she’d been frightened by his voice suddenly behind her. Now he thought someone had been chasing her, some crazed person, when all the while she’d been the one crazed.

He was so obviously a cop that she couldn’t figure out how she hadn’t guessed it all on her own. His eyes were on her, his attention seemingly centered on her, yet she could tell he was sizing up the street looking for the culprit that didn’t exist. And she had no doubt that he’d throw himself in front of her if someone came to hurt her.

“Me?” he asked,

“Not you. I meant, I thought someone was...” She didn’t know how to justify what she’d just done without sounding even stranger. So she started walking slowly in the direction she had been running. Back to the inn.

Her meeting with Dent had upset her, and then Adam was there, shouting at her to stop, like on some bad cop show. She couldn’t even smile at that. It could have been real. Very real.

She hugged herself as she walked. The car wasn’t going to be done tomorrow. She’d be lucky if it was done before Christmas. What a birthday, she thought, one she’d work to forget. Adam caught up to her and matched her stride for stride.

She darted him a glance, then kept her eyes on where her boots were hitting the weathered path through the snow. When he spoke, she missed her step and had to do a double hitch to keep going without falling on her face. “Moses said you’re looking for your wallet.”

She concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other. “Yes,” she said, thankful her voice sounded reasonably normal, despite her nerves.

“I haven’t see it anywhere, but I’m sure someone will turn up with it.”

The inn was only two blocks ahead. She tried not to give any hint at the relief she felt that he hadn’t had her wallet all this time. If she never got it back, she was thankful it hadn’t fallen into his hands. She fought the urge to walk faster, but just kept up the pace that Adam was matching. “I hope so,” she said.

“Trust me, most people around here who might find it will do everything they can to get it back to its owner.”

She didn’t stop. “I’m sure they will,” she murmured, still reeling from the figure Dent had given her to get the car finished. If she didn’t find her wallet, she was going to have to use almost all of her remaining cash to bail her car out and then pay Mallory. She’d been raised with money and made good money at her work, or, at least, had made good money. But right then she fully understood what it meant to be broke.

“How are you feeling?” he asked as they approached the inn.

Horrible, tired and worried. But she didn’t say any of that. “I’m okay. The headache is gone.”

“I can’t believe you could even run like that,” he said. “Especially in this miserable cold.”

She told him the truth. “I went to the garage to check on my car. Dent said it’s not going to be ready for a bit.” She grimaced.

“You’re safe. Dent’s good at what he does and he’s honest to a fault.”

“And you know him, and he’s an old friend from back in the day?”

“Good guess. Yes, he is, and his dad had the garage and gas station from the start, then passed it on to Dent five years ago when he retired.”

They were at the inn, and Faith saw the huge motorcycle with the red, white and blue adornments sitting under its cover where her car had once sat. Willie G. must be back, and Adam was still talking.

“Dent’s the best there is in town.”

“Good to know,” she said and was shocked when her stomach growled. She pressed a hand to her middle and shrugged. “I guess I need to get some food.”

“I was going to get something before heading back to the ranch. Want to share a table with me?”

If this had been a normal time in her life, she would have loved to do that, but nothing was normal for her anymore. Especially the effect this man had on her, and it got more intense every time they met. She’d run from him, for Pete’s sake. How could she sit down to eat with a cop? “No, I don’t think so, but thanks.”

“My treat,” he said quickly and she understood that he thought she was broke since her wallet went missing. Not that that particular scenario wasn’t uncomfortably close to her reality at the moment.

“No, I couldn’t,” she said.

He smiled and gently put the tip of his forefinger to her chin and tilted it up. “Come on. You need food, and I don’t need to eat alone,” he said as her gaze met his dark eyes. He urged her to agree. “You’d be doing me a favor. I hate eating by myself.” Right then, the smile touched his whole face, and she admitted that he wasn’t fighting fair, not when he had that dimple in his arsenal.

She was hungry, and no one liked eating alone. After what he’d done for her, any way she looked at his offer, she owed him that much. And she was worn-out from going over and over what she’d done, losing her wallet with everything in it and trying to think where to go from here. She needed a break, any kind of a break. “I guess I could, if I can get back early. I’m still really tired.”

“Thank you,” he said, then drew back. “Let’s get going.”

She glanced at the inn, certain she should be going inside, up to her room and locking the door so she could sort out her future. But that was the last thing she actually wanted to do right then. She wanted to have dinner with Adam and forget for a few hours before she had to face the mess her life had become.

“Just give me a few minutes to freshen up, then we can go.”

“Go ahead and I’ll bring the truck over here.”

“Okay,” she agreed.

He took off down the street, and she watched him jog away until he disappeared into the crowd of holiday shoppers. She turned and hurried inside and up to her room, but this time she wasn’t locking the door and staying put. She changed her sweater for a yellow silk shirt, pushed some money into her pocket, then got her jacket and headed back downstairs.

Willie G. appeared from the back area, saw her and smiled. “I heard you’ve been sick, pretty lady, but you look darn good to me.”

“Thanks,” she said. “I’m fine. You visiting Mallory?”

“Thought I was, but she got a better offer and I’m staying here to cover for her so she can get out for a bit.” As she got to the door, he asked, “You going out, too?”

“For a bit,” she called back over her shoulder, darting outside.

Adam was there, leaning against the front fender of his truck, arms folded across his chest, his Stetson low over his face. The sight of him came close to taking her breath away. It was ridiculous, she thought, that one person could affect her so intensely. But she kept watching him, a smile shadowing his lips.

“Ready?”

She nodded.

“Okay, let’s go,” he said as he led the way around to the passenger door.

He opened it for her, but stepped closer and said, “What’s that?” He was crouched down, hidden by the partially opened door. Then he rose slowly to his feet, staring at something he had in his hands.

She followed the direction of his gaze and was stunned at what she saw. Her wallet. At first she didn’t believe her eyes, then in a flash, her worry fell away. She looked at Adam, joyful.

Without giving it a thought, she jumped at him, throwing her arms around his neck. His strong arms lifted her off her feet.

“Thank you, thank you,” she said. She was hugging him right back. “Thank you!”

She inhaled his unique male scene and reveled in his strength and support, and for a moment, with her face nuzzling his neck, she let herself absorb the relief and the joy. Then she realized how close she was to a man she had no right to be so close to. Much less being lifted up and off her feet by him. The relief and joy were evaporating as quickly as they’d come, but the emotions flooding in to replace them were even more intense and unsettling.

* * *

A
DAM
HELD
F
AITH
to him for as long as she’d let him, but then her mood shifted, the excitement of the wallet find faded, yet she was still clinging to him. He closed his eyes for a long moment, then slowly eased her down.

One look into her blue eyes told him that what was starting to stir in him wasn’t one-sided. Her dark lashes swept low, partially hiding surprise and desire in the depths of her gaze. No, he wasn’t alone in this at all.

On an impulse, he moved closer and dipped down to meet her lips with his. He deepened the connection and her arms drew him tightly to her.

He felt so tuned in to her at that moment, it stunned him, that and the undeniable fact that he could have stayed like that forever. Forever didn’t seem like overkill to him at all. But forever turned out to be only as long as it took her to break the kiss and lightly push away from him.

He hesitated to let her go, not wanting whatever was happening to end. At the last moment, he framed her face with his hands and looked down into her eyes.

Her breathing was quick, her cheeks rosy-red. He exhaled unsteadily and said, “If this is how you show gratitude, I need to do something like this for you as often as I can.” It was a feeble attempt at humor to try to cope with his feelings, but it didn’t work.

There was no smile, no teasing between them, just Faith moving back to remove all contact with him. Her eyes darted to his hands, then past him. “My wallet?” she gasped.

His hands were empty, and for a moment he couldn’t think what had happened to the wallet. Then he remembered tossing it onto the truck step when she’d all but leaped into his arms. Turning, he retrieved it and handed it to her, the worn leather damp from snow that was starting to fall again.

He watched her take it, but she didn’t open it. She just stood there, and he thought for a moment that she was going to bail on dinner, but he wouldn’t let her. “Do you want to walk or ride?”

His hunch proved right when she answered, “I don’t think I’m going. I’m so tired,” she said without meeting his gaze. “I’m sorry, so sorry.” She sprinted away and up the porch steps. He stopped her just as she stepped into the reception area, and almost ran into her back when she stopped abruptly.

Mallory was there at the desk talking to Willie G., and both looked when the chime sounded. Mallory grinned at Faith and then at Adam behind her. “Hey, Adam, how’s your dad doing?”

He closed the door behind him while Faith moved closer to the stairs. “When I left the hospital, my mother was with him, and Moses is convinced that it was an anxiety attack, not a heart attack.”

“Your father’s in the hospital?” Faith asked. “You never even mentioned it when we...when you took me there.”

“It happened today. And my guess is he’ll be out fairly soon.”

“Thank goodness,” Mallory said, and then she her spotted the wallet clutched in Faith’s hands. “Oh, my gosh, you found it!”

Faith looked down at her wallet. “Yes, Adam found it in his truck.”

“Well, good for you,” Mallory said to Adam. “Those special cop skills come in handy, don’t they?”

“It fell out on my foot,” he said. “It was caught between the door and the seat, I guess.”

“Now you really do have another reason to celebrate, don’t you?” she said to Faith.

Faith looked at her blankly. “Excuse me?”

“It’s your birthday. Time to celebrate it!”

Adam saw Faith blanch at Mallory’s words. “How did you know?” she asked.

“Your driver’s license.” Mallory motioned to the old-fashioned ledger on the desk where guests signed in. “I put down the number when you registered, and I saw your birth date on it.” She tapped her head. “I have a photographic memory,” she told them and then went on to reel off an address in Illinois. She looked at Faith inquiringly when she finished. “Did I get your address right?”

“Yes,” Faith said, but Adam saw how she pressed a hand to her stomach during the exchange.

He didn’t have a photographic memory, but he could certainly retain an address for a few hours. He’d remember it until he got back to the truck to write it down. He felt as if he were betraying her in some way, by checking on her, yet she didn’t trust him. A kiss was born out of happiness, a spontaneous action. But trust was earned. He wished she’d trust him enough to tell him what was going on, but he honestly didn’t think that he had enough time before she left town to earn her trust.

“Listen, I was going out, but that’s just been canceled, and Willie G. came over to help and now he doesn’t need to, so I ordered dinner from Casa Rosado Restaurant, and there is plenty coming. Why don’t you both join us, and we can sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to Faith?”

Adam could see Faith figuring out how to get out of it, but he wouldn’t let her. “She’s hungry,” he said without looking at her as he spoke. “She needs some food, and that would be perfect, not having to go out tonight when she’s been so sick. Besides, it’s snowing again.”

Mallory clasped her hands together. “Wonderful.” She looked right at Adam. “Plenty for you, too,” she said. “And it’s closer to the hospital than the ranch, just in case you’re needed there.”

He didn’t hesitate. “Thanks. I’d like that.” He looked at Faith, keeping his expression as unreadable as possible. “Casa Rosado has the best Mexican food in the area.”

She still looked a little like a trapped animal, but she finally agreed, “It sounds good.”

The front door opened and a kid came inside carrying a large cardboard box. Mallory came around the desk to go to the boy. “That was fast, Miguel.” She inhaled exaggeratedly. “And it smells wonderful.”

Adam moved over to the two of them and took the box out of the boy’s hands while Mallory paid for the food. Willie G. motioned to him to follow him through the swinging doors and into the private area. Ten minutes later, the four of them were sitting around a large, well-used wooden table set by a bay window that overlooked the garden shrouded in snow.

The food was laid out, and there was little talk until the plates were full and the first tastes of the food were out of the way. Adam was across from Faith, watching her test the enchiladas and rice, then start to eat with a purpose. He smiled a bit, bent to eat, but not before he caught Mallory watching him. She lifted an eyebrow, smiled knowingly at him, then concentrated on her own plate.