Love With A Stranger (8 page)

Cass extended her arm and allowed the injection. Getting well was what she wanted more than anything so she could pick up the pieces of her life and make a fresh start. Within minutes, she felt her head spin and her lids get heavy, and she surrendered to the mellow sensations tugging at her like gentle waves at low tide.

Peter looked at Inez. “Would you please brew some coffee so we can talk at the breakfast table? Doctor Hines and I will be down soon.”

Inez nodded and left the two men standing near the woman’s bed.

Hines glanced at the closed bedroom door, then at Peter. “I’ve done what you said, so don’t forget your promise of silence.”

“As long as you keep your part of our bargain, my lips are sealed.”

“Don’t worry, she’ll be under your control as long as she’s given the medication. Just make sure nothing happens to her.”

Peter caught the man’s meaning and smiled. “I certainly don’t want another suspicious death on my hands, so we’ll all be careful with those drugs. All I need is for her to stay out of my hair for a few weeks, a month at most. Then I don’t care where she goes or what she does.”

After the men left and spoke with Inez downstairs, Hines departed.

Peter told the housekeeper, “Mrs. Grantham needs watching and tending day and night and that will be a lot of extra work for you, so you’ll get that large raise and bonus that I mentioned for taking care of her. Cass should sleep most of the time, but I can sit with her while you grocery shop or run personal errands. Are you sure you don’t mind moving into one of the guest rooms for a while? If so, I can hire a nurse.”

“It’s no bother, Mr. Grantham, and your payment is most generous.”

“Excellent. If there’s an emergency or you need me to sit with her, just page me; you have my number. Remember, Inez, don’t let those detectives in to see her, and tell anyone else she’s out of town until the end of April. I’ll do the same thing. We can’t let anybody or anything upset Cass or she could have a complete nervous breakdown.”

“I understand and I’ll follow your orders.”

Over two weeks passed in a hazy blur for Cass. At times, she was vaguely aware of eating, bathing, sitting in a nearby chair for sheets to be changed, hearing the television or music or the vacuum cleaner running, and taking her medication. A few times, she knew Peter was in the room with her and was talking about Tom’s will and various businesses, but she was too dazed to grasp much of what he said or to care whether she did or didn’t understand and agree. With his help, she managed to sign papers he needed, including a power of attorney for him to handle joint business matters, with Dr. Hines and Inez witnessing her signatures. If anyone phoned or came by to visit her, she was unaware of it.

She did hear Peter say that the mechanic had returned to town and had told the two detectives that Tom had hired someone to illegally remove the air bag because he didn’t want it popping out accidentally during a fender-bender and injuring him as he’d heard had happened to others. Even so, the investigation had not been closed to that date.

She also heard Inez tell her that inquisitive people were still riding by, and staring at the house, and a few were taking pictures. She also heard the woman say something that sounded like, “Thank goodness Mr. Grantham’s not in the newspapers or being talked about on TV anymore. Folks will forget about this mess soon. You just take it easy, ma’am, and get well.”

* * *

On Thursday afternoon, March twenty-eighth, Peter Grantham left for Los Angeles on business, confident all matters were under his control.

On Friday morning while Cass was sleeping, Inez went to Peter’s residence behind the main house to do a thorough cleaning.

Jason Burkman saw the housekeeper, carrying cleaning supplies in a handled container, enter the large guesthouse and assumed she would be occupied for a while. From his vantage point at the edge of the sprawling home and concealed from a neighbor’s view by dense bushes, he had been watching and waiting for a chance to sneak inside to see if Cassandra was there and if she was all right. He had noticed David Hines’s automobile in the driveway several times during the past few weeks, and he had been in a local drugstore yesterday morning when the housekeeper stopped in to pick up prescriptions for Cassandra. If she was out of town as he’d been told when he tried to visit her again, that incident didn’t make sense to him. Nor could he understand why Cassandra would still be refusing to see or speak with him. Besides, if there was anybody he mistrusted and disliked almost as much as he did Peter Grantham, it was David Hines. Suspecting what he did about the snooty physician, he couldn’t bear the thought of David’s hands being on her. Somehow he had a gut feeling something was wrong and he felt compelled to check out his hunch.

Jason had intended to peer in windows to see if he could catch a glimpse of Cassandra Grantham and convince her to see him, but the housekeeper’s departure gave him the perfect opportunity to make contact without any interference. He crept toward the back door, but it was locked. He checked the French doors to the patio to find one partially opened, perhaps to let in fresh air. The woman must have forgotten about it.

Jason sneaked inside the house and listened for a minute, but heard nothing. He made his way to the kitchen and glanced inside; no one was there, but he noticed the medicine bottles and a tablet and pencil on the counter. He went upstairs and checked each room he passed until he located the master bedroom, where he saw Cass sleeping.

Jason didn’t know how much time he had, so he rushed to her side and tried to awaken her. “Cass…Cassandra, it’s Jason Burkman. Can you hear me? Can you open your eyes? Cass, wake up.”

He waited for a minute, then tried again, shaking her shoulders this time.

Cass heard the masculine voice calling to her from far away and Jason’s image filled her dreamy mind. She struggled to rouse herself and look at him, but she was too tired and weak.

“Cass, can you hear me?” Jason asked, shaking her again, that time more firmly.

Cass moaned and moved, but couldn’t obey his summonings.

“Open your eyes! I have to talk to you.”

Cass sighed, grasped his hand, and snuggled it to her cheek as she rolled to her side.

Jason eyed the beautiful woman. Her long hair was mussed and she wasn’t wearing makeup, but she was captivating nonetheless. He sat down and gazed at her. His fingers pushed aside strayed locks of dark-brown with hints of a lighter shade. He let them stroke her cheek, fulfilling a long-denied desire to touch her. Her skin was as smooth as glass and as soft as cotton. He allowed them to wander over her full lips and wished he could steal a kiss. He drifted them down the entreating column of her neck and over a creamy-colored bare shoulder. He was warmed by the way she nestled his other hand against her flesh. He wanted to pull her into his arms and embrace her. He wanted to hold her and comfort her. He hated seeing the once-vibrant woman in this sorry condition.

Cassandra Grantham had made him feel again, desire again, after his bitter divorce which came less than fours years after losing his first and beloved wife to breast cancer. She had made him smile and made him realize he could love again. The perfect woman for him had entered his lonely world last October, but she had been taken; now, here she lay in a terrible state, though freed from the marital obstacle that had separated them.

Maybe, Jason admitted, it was selfish and greedy of him to pursue Cass, so soon after her husband’s death; yet, he justified his actions because he didn’t want to risk losing her before he had a chance to win her Despite his desire for her, he would behave as nothing more than a friend until a proper mourning period passed and she was ready to love again. Until that day
arrived, he didn’t want her to shut herself away from the world and suffer alone, or to move out of his reach before she had healed enough to be approachable. He—

Jason pulled away his hands and straightened to listen. Yes, he had heard something; the housekeeper was coming. He knew Peter was gone because he had been at the airport picking up a package when the bastard left in his company’s private jet. He quickly rolled under the bed and out of sight. From beneath the almost floor-length coverlet, he watched the woman’s feet approach the bed, stay there for a minute, then leave. It was obvious she had returned to check on Cass and probably would do so again soon. After he heard the back door close, he left his hiding place and peered outside, watching Inez until she reentered Peter’s residence.

He rushed downstairs and checked the prescriptions and schedule which he had noticed earlier. She was on heavy doses of tranquilizers and antidepressants, enough to keep her dazed at most times to near unconsciousness. It hadn’t been long since her last dose, which meant she was too affected by it for him to get through to her, but he would give it another try. He didn’t have any proof she was being drugged against her will or overdrugged without her knowledge, but a gut feeling told him to pursue the matter, especially since she was being secluded and Peter Grantham was involved. He took a pill from each container and stuffed them into his pants pocket, noting that two bottles were simply marked with an A and a
B.
He would check them out later in his
Physician’s Desk Reference.

Jason hurried to Cass’s room and failed again to awaken her. If only he could speak with her and find out if she was being treated willingly, but that was impossible. He knew he couldn’t hang around much longer and risk being discovered before he had proof of wrongdoing, which an analysis of the pills should tell him. If nothing was wrong, he could get into a lot of trouble for being there on the sly.

Jason withdrew a small pad and pen from his pocket and
wrote a message to Cass. He went into the bathroom and opened several drawers until he located the object he needed and placed his note there, praying she would find it soon and with a clear enough head to grasp his warning. Somehow he knew, even if he was mistaken about her being mistreated, she would not tell anyone about his secret visit.

He returned to the bed and gazed down at Cass, longing for her to open those beautiful chocolate-brown eyes and look at him, smile at him, speak with him. He leaned over and kissed her soft lips, then sneaked from the house to where he had left his BMW down the street. He headed for his office to see what he could discover.

At six o’clock, Inez helped Cass take a quick bath and slip into a fresh satin nightgown. Afterward, she took a seat in a moiré-covered vanity chair while the woman continued her grooming.

“Before your next medicine is due at seven, let’s get you fed,” Inez suggested. “I fixed a nice chicken pot pie from scratch, and cut up in small pieces to make it easier for you to eat. Would you like some milk or juice with it?”

“Either is fine, Inez. Thank you.”

“Now, let me brush your hair for you. That should feel—There’s the phone. Are you strong enough to sit here while I go answer it?”

“I’ll be fine. I won’t move a muscle. I doubt I could.”

After Inez left to go down the hall to answer the phone in another room, since Cass’s bedside one had been removed to prevent disturbing her, Cass opened the drawer to fetch her brush. Mercy, she hated being so weak and helpless. She couldn’t even bathe herself! And sometimes, she even required help eating! Darn it, she wasn’t a baby or an invalid! Today she was going to brush her own hair for a change.

Cass’s gaze widened as she extracted a small note from the
bristles of the brush, and read a shocking message. Her mind was still fuzzy, but not enough for her to realize she had to keep it a secret. She was glad she had found it at the time of day her mind was at its clearest. Quickly, she concealed the paper beneath a box of perfumed powder. She returned the brush and closed the drawer. It hadn’t been a dream, she told herself; Jason Burkman had been in her—

“I’m back. Are you all right, ma’am?”

“Doing the best I can, Inez. Who was on the phone?”

“It was Mr. Peter, calling to check on you. I told him not to worry.”

“Thank you. Have any visitors come by to see me?”

“No, ma’am. Remember, everybody thinks you’re away on a trip?”

“Oh, yes. It’s just that my mind gets so cloudy on those pills.”

“I know, ma’am, but you won’t have to take them much longer. Now, let’s get your hair done and get you back into bed so you can eat.”

After Inez left the room with her tray, Cass removed the pills from her mouth, slipped from the bed, and almost staggered into the bathroom. She couldn’t flush them, as Inez would hear the toilet running, so she dropped them down the shower drain. She withdrew Jason’s note and read it again, then concealed it in the pocket of a pair of pants in her closet.

Back in bed, Cass thought about the physician who somehow had sneaked into her house and hidden a note for her that told her not to take any more medication, to get her head cleared, and to call him when it was.

Cass wondered how he had carried out his stealthy visit and why. No matter, she was ready and eager to return to the land of the living. This was the clearest her mind had been since she began treatment. Other than feeling weak, she experienced
no other symptoms. It was obvious that Dr. Hines’s diagnosis was right and his suggested treatment had worked. She hoped she wouldn’t have a relapse of her condition after she got all of the medication out of her system.

She closed her eyes, summoned Jason’s image, smiled, and drifted off to sleep thinking about him and his daring behavior.

When Inez entered her room at eleven and roused her, once more Cass pretended to take the medication in a drowsy state. As soon as the woman left, she disposed of the capsule in the same manner as earlier.

She curled to her side, took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. She didn’t want to think about any disturbing issues tonight and risk upsetting herself. She wanted to remain calm and relaxed while she waited for her head to clear before she pondered serious matters. Besides, she couldn’t recall the details Peter had mentioned recently about Tom’s will and businesses. Despite her reluctance, persistent thoughts invaded her troubled mind.

Thomas Grantham…He had hurt, humiliated, embittered, angered, and betrayed her, just as Brad had done years ago. She didn’t know why her husbands had cheated on her or why she hadn’t been enough for them or why her spouses had turned out to be such terrible choices.

Nor did she have any idea at this point what she was going to do with any troubles with Peter. She didn’t want to think about firing Inez, which would seem heartless of her after the woman had taken such good care of her during her…Had it been a mild nervous breakdown? Had the grim truth about Tom almost driven her over the brink of madness? Surely not. Surely it was only a mild case of depression and delayed shock whose symptoms had been intensified by anxieties, exhaustion, and anger. She had given herself time to calm down and become strong again so she should be fine very soon.

She didn’t want to think about moving from this house and Sea Island to get rid of all reminders of Tom and their life of deception. She didn’t want to think about seeing a gynecologist soon to make certain she was disease-free. The sorry bastard had done more than risk giving her a STD; with AIDS running loose, he had endangered her life! Years ago, he had charmed and deluded her, had married her to supply him with a facade of respectability while he went on his merry way and did as he pleased on the sly. She never should have allowed him to manipulate and dominate her. She never should have sacrificed her hard-won independence and friends to please him; she had to recover both and her self-respect. She admitted she was partly to blame for what happened to her; without her permission Tom couldn’t have taken over her life or betrayed her for so long and so wickedly.

Life was filled with choices; and she had made some sorry and costly ones in the last sixteen years. Now, another man was knocking at her emotion’s door. And she didn’t know this one well enough to judge his character and motives. It seemed as if she was always falling in love with a stranger.

Dr. Jason Burkman…They had never dated or kissed or touched. Yes, he was irresistibly virile and attractive. Yes, he had many superb traits. Yes, he stirred her emotions, her passions, but she had held them in check. Why, she mused, was he trying to…sneak into her life and confuse her? What did he want from her?

They had met last October at the Ritz Theater while she was attending a play during one of Tom’s many absences. They had sat next to each other that night and chatted genially. She had subsequently seen and spoken to Jason at the club. Jason had been her tennis partner twice, before Tom asked her to stop practicing so she wouldn’t get hurt while he was away. Then she had encountered Jason at the local historical society meeting she had attended several times in hopes of joining and
learning more about the area into which they had moved; Tom also had squashed that activity.

She had seen Jason professionally on three occasions: when she sprained her wrist, contracted an ear infection after swimming, and when she dropped hot grease on her foot. After that last incident, Tom almost had ordered her to stay out of the kitchen before she was injured again. Why she allowed Tom to rule her life so much, she couldn’t say now.

Cass shoved Tom from her mind and resummoned Jason. He had told her his first wife had died years ago from breast cancer. She also knew he had divorced his second wife a little over a year ago; the club’s tennis pro had told her that. She knew he had grown children—twins, a boy and a girl—both living elsewhere, and that the daughter had twin sons.

Cass longed to have at least one child of her own, but there were reasons during both of her past marriages why she didn’t. Now, the only way she could bear a child was to find another man who wanted children and marry him. At thirty-five, had she, Cass fretted, waited too late for that blessing? She would be even older before she could find another man, the right man, and make a new beginning. Could Jason—

Don’t even think about him in that way!
She chastised herself.
Men with grown children rarely want to start new families. Besides, I hardly know him. He seems wonderful; he’s handsome; he’s desirable; he’s enjoyable company; he seems to like me. But he could have a hidden dark side like Brad and Tom possessed. Leave me alone, you two snakes in the grass!
her mind shouted.

Cass realized she was getting tense and almost wished she had taken the tranquilizer or sedative.
You don’t need drugs, Cass; you have to get off of them completely and deal with your problems in the right way. Go to sleep,
she told herself, and soon obeyed that order.

* * *

As Cass was having breakfast, Inez smiled and told her, “Doctor Hines phoned earlier and said not to give you your medication this morning because he’s coming over to examine you and he wants you clear-headed.”