Do You Trust Me? (27 page)

Chapter Nineteen

Two days later Shar
descended on Rina with her discharge papers and two packed suitcases. The woman
helped her into a long, loose fitting patio gown, all she could stand to wear
with her incisions still so sore, and fussed with her hair until she had it
fixed to her satisfaction.

“There.” Shar stood
back and looked her over. “You’ll do.”

“Do you have any idea
where they’re taking me?”

“Maine, remember?”

“Maine’s a big state.”

“Sully said he’d
leave me the name of the people and their phone number,” Shar said. “And I’ve
had all your phone calls forwarded to my office. If anything important comes up—more
important than your health—I’ll get in touch with you.”

Resignation settled
like a piece of lead in Rina’s heart as she let herself be helped into the
waiting wheelchair. Everything had been taken out of her hands. She might as
well stop fighting it. She just wished she could figure out the thought
whirling around in her mind like a wraith. Something she should remember. Damn.
Would she ever be able to think straight again?

Sully himself was
waiting at the patient discharge exit. The doors to the limo he sometimes used
were open, and a uniformed driver took the suitcases from Shar. Rina had asked
that all the flowers she’d received be split up between the children’s ward and
rooms of the terminally ill. A few books were the only other things she had
with her.

“Picking me up in
style, are you?” she asked Sully.

“I just thought you
might be more comfortable in this. Your ride in the air may not be quite so
smooth.”

“McCall?” She was
almost afraid to ask.

“All in good time.
First your health.”

“You can stop sparing
my feelings, Sully. I know he’s written me off.” Biting back her impatience,
she let him settle her on the comfortable leather seat. “Well, the whole
situation taught me a valuable lesson. Too bad I’ll never get to put it in
practice.”

“What do you mean?”
Sully paused in the act of closing her door.

“McCall is a tough
act for any man to follow. I think I’ll just stay single for the rest of my
life.”

“Very dramatic,” Shar
commented. “Remember it for your next book.”

At last they pulled
away from the hospital, Shar waving furiously. Just moving from her room to the
car had tired Rina, so she dozed as they rode. She was startled when Sully woke
her gently to tell her they were ready for the next leg of their journey.

She raised her
eyebrows. “You’re coming with me?”

His smile was warm
and caring. “Surely, you didn’t think I’d just send you off to the care of
strangers. Not with all I owe you. I intend to make sure you’re settled and
comfortable with your situation.”

When the car door
opened, she saw they were at a small airport. An attendant waited for her with
a wheelchair, which Sully’s driver easily lifted her into. She was shocked,
however, when he wheeled her up to a helicopter.

“This is my ride?”
She was incredulous.

“Easiest way to get
you there. Otherwise, it would be another long car ride from the nearest
airport. These people live on an island near Portland.”

Just before they took
off, he insisted she take two of her pain pills. “These will help the ride, and
maybe make you sleep. Which would be good.”

Sully was right. When
they lifted off, she realized the helo ride wouldn’t be nearly as smooth as the
limo. Even propped in with pillows and padding around the seat belt, she felt
the vibrations at once, echoing through her body. The pills kicked in almost at
once. Rina was out within seconds of swallowing them.

It seemed she’d
hardly closed her eyes when she felt Sully nudging her gently.

“We’ll be landing
soon. I thought you might want a second or two to get yourself together.”

She blinked, trying
to focus and clear the haze from her brain. “Thank you.”

They flew in over a
wide expanse of water, a lake that Sully told her fed into the Atlantic Ocean. The copter passed a causeway connecting the mainland to an island that grew
steadily larger as they flew lower. Pine trees were everywhere, with huge New England style homes barely visible through the dense greenery. Then they were lowering
into a clearing at the back of one of the houses. The pilot set them down on a vast
expanse of lawn and cut the engine.

The house was white
clapboard, rising three stories and capped by a gabled roof. Multiple windows reflected
the sun back at the people in the helicopter. A wide flagstone walk led from
the lawn to an old-fashioned porch that wrapped around the house.

Three people, a man
and two women, stood to the side. They moved forward as the pilot emerged, ran
around to Rina’s side and lifted her gently out of the aircraft. He deposited
her in the wheelchair that the younger of the two women pushed forward.

The air was filled
with the scent of fresh pine, newly cut grass, and the tangy essence of the
lake, and she inhaled a deep breath.

“Hello.” The older
woman stepped forward. She was of medium height, with slightly graying dark
brown hair, the warmest eyes Rina had ever seen, and a smile that went straight
to her heart. She held out her hand to Rina in a welcoming gesture. “We’re so
happy you’ve come to Gray Rocks to recuperate. And I’m very happy to meet you, Rina.
I’m Sharon McCall.”

Rina looked from one
woman to the other, then at the man, who was a carbon copy of how McCall would
look twenty-five years from now. And she realized what had been teasing at the
back of her mind all this time.

“Oh, my God.” Blood
drained from her head, and her heart nearly stopped beating. For the first time
in her life, she fainted.

****

When she came to, she
found herself in a huge king-sized bed made up with the softest sheets she’d
ever touched and covered with a lightweight quilt. The bedroom itself was
spacious, with a separate sitting area and wide windows that looked out over
the water. A large glass vase on a side table held fragrant blue flowers that
matched the tiny ones dancing on the wallpaper.

For a moment, she had
trouble remembering where she was. When she did, she wanted to faint again.
What had Sully done? Why had he sent her to McCall’s family to mend? How could
she do this? Why were they taking her in? And what would McCall do when he
found out? The questions gave her a headache. She pressed her fingers to her
temples, trying to still the throbbing.

Pulling herself up to
a sitting position, she wondered if she had the strength to get out of bed by
herself. At that moment, there was a light tap on the door, and the young woman
she’d seen when she landed, a carbon copy of McCall’s mother, walked in
carrying a tray. She set it on a little table by the window and came to sit on
the edge of the bed.

“I’m sorry we gave
you such a start,” she grinned.

“I’ve never fainted
before in my life. I feel like such a fool.” She cleared her throat. “Anyway, I
didn’t think you could faint sitting down.”

“Unusual, but
possible. I’m guessing Sully didn’t tell you where he was taking you.”

“No. No, he didn’t. I’m
truly embarrassed about this.” Rina heard the nervousness in her voice. “Listen,
I can’t stay here. There’s been some kind of mistake. This is a totally
impossible situation.”

“Don’t be silly. We’re
delighted you’re here. By the way, I’m Abby McCall.”

“Hello, Abby. I guess
you know who I am.” Rina covered her face with her hands. “This is awful. Just
awful. It was very presumptuous of Sully to do this. I must apologize, but I
can’t do this.”

“Of course you can.
Just because my brother is an idiot doesn’t mean the rest of the family is.” An
impish expression came over her face. “It seems you two know each other.”

“Yes, I guess you
could say that.” She tried to collect her thoughts. “Abby, did Sully happen to
mention that your brother wants nothing to do with me? That I haven’t seen him
since, well, since...a while? That he probably never wants to see me again?”

“My brother has a
monopoly on stupidity at the moment. He’ll get over it. Seriously, Sully told
us everything you did, all about your brother and how you got shot and
everything. He wanted to bring you someplace where there were people who didn’t
require explanations for anything. That’s us. Besides, I’m a nurse and a
physical therapist. You’re going to need both for a while longer.”

“But I can’t impose
like this.” Her hands fluttered. “Is Sully still here? He can take me someplace
else.”

“Gone with the wind.
Or at least with the helicopter. He said he’d call later to make sure you got
settled in all right.”

“Lordy, what a
predicament.” Rina looked around the room and at herself in the bed. “How did I
get up here, anyway?”

“The pilot carried
you, and I took care of the rest.” She studied Rina with professional eyes. “I
checked your incisions while you were sleeping. Everything’s healing nicely.
The big question is, how are you feeling?”

“Tired. Sore. And so
sorry for doing this to you.” She closed her eyes for a long moment. “I can’t
imagine what your parents must think about all this.”

“Are you kidding?” Abby
chuckled. “My mother is your biggest fan. I had to beat her off with a stick,
but she’ll be up here as soon as I give her the okay. I say just lean back and
enjoy it.”

“You’re being very
kind about this.”

“Look, Rina. Sully
said you need deep seclusion and a place to heal, where people won’t ask a lot
of questions. We have this huge house, we know all about the agency as well as
what happened to you. We’ve done this before, and I can take care of your
medical needs and your rehab.” She smiled again. “We’re really glad to have you
here. So quit worrying about it, okay?”

“I guess.” Rina
returned the smile weakly.

Abby waved at the
little table. “I brought up a light lunch for you. Just a tuna sandwich and
some iced tea. I hope that’s all right”

“You know, suddenly I’m
famished. For the first time in weeks.”

“Good. Let me bring
the tray over. I think by tomorrow we should start getting you up for your
meals. But today you’re exhausted, what with the trip and all, so you get some
extra pampering.”

“Abby?”

“Yes?”

“I shouldn’t ask
this, but is McCall...I mean, Connor...”

“Not here, if that’s
what you’re asking. At least right now.” She settled the tray on a pillow on Rina’s
lap, moving the iced tea to the bedside table.

“Will you stay with me while I eat?” Rina asked, her voice tentative.

“Sure, if that’s what
you want. Don’t feel you have to be polite.”

“No. I’d like some
company. Please.”

These people were so
nice. But how could she stay here when it was so obvious McCall had washed her
out of his life? She’d have to find a way to call Sully and get out of here.
Regardless of what Abby McCall said.

“I’d like that, too,”
Abby said, pulling a side chair up to the bed. “Anyway, I’ve been dying to meet
the woman who has Connor tied up in such knots.”

Rina nearly choked on
her sandwich. “I’m not sure how you mean that. I haven’t seen him in weeks.”

“I know.” Abby
watched Rina carefully. “All his life my brother has been a very focused
person. Even as a kid, whatever he did was the complete center of his attention.
Sailing, skiing, baseball. Whatever. His personal relationships always came
second.”

“Even then?”

“Yes. Even then. And
believe me, he had plenty of girls hanging around him.”

Rina smiled at the
thought. She could see McCall with girls draped over him and that implacable
expression on his face. “No steady girls?” She couldn’t help asking.

“Not for our Connor.”
She made a face. “I hate to say this, but where girls were concerned, he was a
taker. He never invested himself emotionally in any relationship. Not part of
his plan, you know.” The smile disappeared from her face. “Except for...”

“Danielle?”

“You know about her?”

Rina nodded. “He gave
me the bare bones, and Sully explained in more detail.”

“She used him. I
think that hurt as much as anything. And her death wasn’t his fault, no matter
what he says. What he felt for her was just, how can I say this? The heat of
the moment. We all tried to tell him.” Abby stood up and took the tray from Rina’s
lap. “But that’s why he fell so hard for you.”

Rina’s mouth dropped
open. She tried to say something, but she couldn’t get any words out.

“Hold that thought,”
Abby said. “But trust me, I know what I’m talking about. Now.” She straightened
the covers and pillows. “I know you think all you’ve done is sleep, but you had
some serious surgeries that depleted your strength. That trip had to tire you
out. Why don’t you take a short nap? Then I think my parents would like to
spend a few minutes with you, if you’re up to it.”