No Other Lover Will Do (22 page)

“Look around, Mr. Crawford. You can't get out of bed right now,” Dr. Rivers said as he pointed to the IV in Solomon's arm. Solomon rolled his eyes at his doctor and reached for the tube in his arm. Dr. Rivers grabbed Solomon's hand. “Don't do that. You need to rest and let the medicine work.”

Solomon groaned. “I need to see her.”

“Your wife is all right, sir. I wouldn't lie to you,” Dr. Rivers said. He turned to the nurse and told her to check on Kandace. The woman nodded and left the room. “You must really love her, because if you pull that IV out, it is going to hurt a lot.”

“I do,” Solomon said.

About twenty minutes later, the nurse returned to the room with Kandace in tow. Solomon smiled when he saw her.

“Oh, Solomon,” she said as she rushed over to his bedside. “I was so worried about you and so scared.” Kandace brushed her fingers across his forehead. “How are you feeling?”

“Like somebody shot me,” he said in an attempt at a joke.

“That's not funny,” Kandace said as she grabbed his hand. “I was really worried about you. I can't believe you did that.”

“I thought I was Superman.”

“Stop trying to make light of this,” Kandace said with tears in her eyes. “She could've killed you.”

“Or she could've killed you,” Solomon said as he reached up and wiped a tear from her cheek. “Don't cry, baby. We're fine.”

“Yeah, we are. How long are they going to keep you in here?”

“I don't know, but I was ready to snatch the IV out and come find you. Where were you?”

Kandace pointed to a bandage on her arm. “Getting my own IV. I passed out in the hallway.”

“I knew something was wrong,” he said. “Are you sure you're all right?”

She kissed him on the cheek. “Yeah. I mean, I'm not the one who took a bullet, right?”

“You're trying to make me laugh? It kind of hurts when I do that.”

A nurse walked into the room and smiled at the couple. “I'm glad to see you made it in here, Mrs. Crawford. He was moaning and calling your name for the longest time before he came to. You don't see a lot of love like that in marriages these days.”

Kandace opened her mouth to tell the nurse that she wasn't Mrs. Crawford, but Solomon placed his finger to his lips and Kandace just smiled at the nurse.

“We're going to move him to a private room in a little bit. The doctor wants to make sure the fever goes away before sending him home,” the nurse said as she checked the machines.

“All right,” Kandace said. “We'll be ready.”

The nurse touched Kandace on the shoulder. “And there will be a roll-away bed in the room for you to sleep in, Mrs. Crawford.”

“Thanks,” Kandace said.

Mrs. Crawford sounds good on her,
Solomon thought before he drifted off to sleep.

When Carmen opened her eyes, she wished she was dead. She wished the bullets that the officers had shot at her had killed her. Solomon didn't love her and he didn't want to be with her. She knew he'd never love her now that she'd shot him. And she was sure the police had figured out what she'd done—every desperate act. Tears rolled down her cheeks and she couldn't wipe them away because she was chained to the bed like an animal.

Oh, Solomon, how could you betray me for that woman? You told those cops to shoot me. You're just like my mother, wanted me out of the way so that you could have what you wanted. No one ever cares about what I want and what I need. Damn it, damn it all to hell. I swear, I'm going to make him pay. I'm going to take what he values most if it's the last thing I do,
she thought as she shifted in the bed.

The room door opened and a doctor walked in with two detectives. “It looks like the patient is finally awake,” the doctor said.

“Suspect,” Detective Myer said as he walked over to Carmen's bed. “Hello, Chelsea.”

“My name is Carmen,” she said. “Chelsea died a long time ago.”

“A lot of people seem to die around you,
Carmen.
Tell me about Danny Jones.”

Carmen rolled her eyes and kept silent. Detective Myer leaned in to her. “You can tell me now or when we fly you back to New York where you will be charged with his murder, Chelsea. And then there is the death of your aunt. You're still facing charges in that case. Was he worth it?”

She narrowed her eyes at him and clenched her fists. If she wasn't shackled like a stray dog, she'd teach this pompous ass a lesson. “I'm not going back to New York,” she said.

Detective Myer threw up his hands. “You're facing serious charges right here too. Either way, you're going to prison for a long time, Chelsea.”

“Stop calling me that,” she shouted.

“Is it your temper that causes you to kill?”

Carmen turned her back to him.
I'm not telling him a damned thing,
she thought.

“Detective,” the doctor said. “I need to check her vitals.”

“Don't take those cuffs off, because this is a dangerous woman,” he said as he and his partner headed out the door.

 

“Good news, Mr. Crawford,” the nurse said. “Your temperature is ninety-eight point six. The meds are working.”

“Great, now I can make my tennis game,” he quipped.

The nurse laughed and Kandace rolled her eyes. They had been in the hospital for two days waiting for Solomon's temperature to return to normal. Kandace had gone back to the resort and gotten Solomon's BlackBerry and a change of clothes. When she'd walked back into the suite, her mind returned to the night of the shooting. She saw the blood, felt the fear again, and trembled as she grabbed her clothes. Kandace hadn't been able to get out of there fast enough.

“Are you all right over there?” Solomon asked after the nurse left. “You have this strange look on your face.”

“I was just thinking that I should call my friends and let them know what's going on,” she said, not wanting to say what had really been on her mind.

“Did you get my phone?” he asked.

“Yes,” she said as she reached into her overnight bag and retrieved it. She handed it to Solomon. He turned the phone on and shook his head as he tried to read his messages with one hand.

“This thing is not easy to work with one hand,” he said. “Forget it, I'm sure Richmond can handle everything and the press surrounding my shooting.”

“I wonder if your shooting made news in Charlotte, because if it did—” Kandace wasn't able to finish her statement before the door opened and Jade, Serena, and Alicia walked in.

“Kandace, you'd better be glad you're alive, otherwise I'd have to kill you,” Serena said.

Jade rushed over to Kandace and hugged her tightly. “No more vacations alone for you,” she said when she released her friend. Alicia stood near the door shaking her head.

“This would've never happened if you'd gone someplace tropical,” she said.

“Well, hello to you all too,” Kandace said. “What are you guys doing here?”

Serena rolled her eyes and folded her arms across her chest. “Let's see, some crazed murderer was stalking the resort where you were staying. No one knew where you were and we had no way of contacting you.”

“What did you expect us to do?” Alicia asked.

“Excuse me,” Solomon said. “I'm the one who got shot. But, I am feeling better, thanks.”

Kandace turned to Solomon. “You have to excuse them, they lack manners.”

“How did this all happen?” Serena asked Solomon. “Was this one of your many women stalking you?”

“Serena!” Jade, Alicia, and Kandace shouted.

She sucked her teeth. “What? I'm supposed to be nice because he's in the hospital? He nearly got our best friend killed.”

“It wasn't his fault, Serena,” Kandace said. “He can't be held responsible for what that nut did, and if it wasn't for Solomon, I might be dead.”

“What do you mean?” Jade asked.

Kandace squeezed Solomon's hand and looked down at him with a slight smile on her lips. He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it, despite the daggers Serena had been shooting at him with her intense glare.

“That bullet was meant for me,” Kandace said. “Carmen was trying to kill me and Solomon jumped in front of the bullet.”

Jade, Serena, and Alicia looked at him. “Wow,” Alicia said. “I'm shocked.”

“Speechless,” Jade said.

They all looked at Serena. “Okay, okay,” she said. “You did a good thing.” Serena pointed at Kandace. “But when were you going to let us know that you were all right?”

“Who told me to leave my BlackBerry in Charlotte?” Kandace asked. “Who told me they didn't want to hear from me for two weeks?”

“Yeah, but this was a special case,” Jade said. “And by the way, James said he doesn't appreciate his child's godmother trying to get herself killed.”

“Tell James I wasn't trying,” Kandace said.

“Well,” Jade said, looking at Solomon, “it better not happen again.”

“Trust me,” Solomon said. “I'm not going to let anything happen to my woman.”

Jade, Alicia, and Serena exchanged puzzled yet amused looks. “Your woman?” Alicia said through her giggles.

Solomon stroked Kandace's arm and smiled at her. Kandace returned his smile, but inside her mind was reeling.
Post-traumatic stress. He didn't mean that,
she thought.

“Then you shouldn't have a problem getting your woman's friends a room for the night,” Serena said. “We're a package deal.”

Solomon laughed, then looked at Serena and shook his head. If Danny was still alive, he'd fall head over heels for her. Then again, the woman seemed like she was more than a handful. “I'll call the resort and get you ladies a suite.”

“Why don't you just put them in the dungeon so that they will leave tomorrow?” Kandace suggested.

“Dungeon? What in the…” Jade said.

“She's joking,” Solomon said as he tugged at Kandace's hand.

After Solomon called the resort and made arrangements for Kandace's friends, he thought they were going to leave, but the women stayed in the room and focused their questions on him.

“I would lie to you and tell you that they're not always like this, but they are,” Kandace said after her girls had peppered Solomon with questions about his womanizing headlines (Serena), his business acumen (Alicia), and his intentions with Kandace ( Jade).

“Ladies,” Solomon said, “you should really get some rest in the suite I reserved for you.”

“In other words, get out,” Kandace said.

Jade looked up from her phone and rolled her eyes at Kandace. “James just sent a picture of Jaden,” she said, and flashed the phone at Kandace. Jaden was splashing in the baby tub and smiling.

“He's so cute,” Kandace said as she took the phone from Jade's hand. “Are you sure you can spend the night away from him?”

“First, you try to get us to leave the hospital, now you want us to leave town?” Jade joked. “We get the message.”

“But I have more questions,” Serena said. “Solomon, did you date all of those women you were linked to or was it just an overactive PR department?”

“That's the past,” he said.

“That was last week,” Serena said. “You know, I'm not as nice as these two.”

“I figured that out,” he said flatly.

“And,” Serena said, “I don't want to see my friend hurt, so you better take care of her or I'll take care of you.”

Kandace looked at her friend in disbelief. “Did you just threaten him?” she asked.

“She's joking,” Alicia said as she grabbed Serena's arm. “She's hungry and tired. Ignore her. But, Solomon, I would love, love, love to have you speak at my seminar in two months. You think your shoulder will be healed by then?”

“Get out, get out, get out,” Kandace exclaimed as she rose to her feet and pushed her friends out the door. “You guys are unbelievable.”

“Bye, Kandace,” Jade said. “Solomon, we'll talk.”

He shot the ladies a thumbs-up signal but he saved his wide smile for the moment Kandace closed the door and returned to his bedside. “Wow,” he said.

“Yeah, I guess I deserved that. We gave Jade's husband a really hard time in Vegas when they first met.”

“Come here,” he said. Kandace climbed into the bed with Solomon, careful to stay clear of his wounded shoulder. With his free hand, he stroked her cheek. “I like your friends. I see why you guys are so close. Are you sure you all aren't sisters?”

“Funny,” she said as she turned her head and kissed his hand.

“I don't get the feeling that Serena was joking,” he said. “She's a tough one, huh?”

“That's what she wants us to think, but underneath all that is a softy that you wouldn't believe.”

“You're right, I don't believe it,” he said.

“How are you feeling?” she asked as she placed her hand on his chest. “I know you're going crazy in this bed.”

“Right now, this bed feels pretty good,” he said with a smile.

“Does it?”

“And if I wasn't hooked up to all of these monitors, I know how I could make it feel even better.”

“Not so fast, tiger,” she said. “When your shoulder is better, I have something really special for you. But right now, you need to rest.”

“So do you. That cot can't be comfortable. Why don't you go to the resort tonight and sleep in a real bed after you and your friends talk about me behind my back.”

Kandace shook her head. It wasn't that she didn't need the rest or the chance to sleep in one of the plush beds at Carolina Serenity, but every time she walked in to the resort, the night of the shooting re-played in her mind. She wasn't going to rest there because she'd see Carmen's face and think she was hiding in every shadow.

“I'm just fine right here,” Kandace said.

Solomon rubbed her shoulder. “You're not going back there, are you?”

She shook her head. “How can I? Solomon, you could've died, I could've died. Seeing all of that blood…” Kandace said as she shivered.

He held her as tightly as he could with one arm. “Baby, I wish I could take that fear away from you. This should've never happened, but we made a lot of good memories there.”

She closed her eyes and thought about all of the things they'd done, the places where they made love and played in the snow. But as she thought about the good things, Carmen's face haunted her and sent chills down her spine.

“Have you heard about Carmen?” she asked.

“No. I'd imagine that she's in custody. I'm sure the cops will come by to talk to me since I'm off the high-powered pain medication,” Solomon said.

“What can you tell them? I think the officers who shot her saw that she was unstable and if they'd had better aim, this would all be over,” Kandace said angrily.

“Calm down, babe,” he said. “Carmen or Chelsea will not bother us again. She's facing murder charges in two states. We're going to be fine.”

“I hope you're right.”

Solomon kissed her on the cheek. “I'm always right. I knew I'd get you and look at us now.”

She pinched his cheek. “You had no idea,” she said. “Actually, you should thank Serena for this.”

“Serena? And how do I owe her a debt of thanks?” Solomon asked.

“Because I was going to ignore you for the rest of my vacation, but Serena said I should give you a chance. And I was just as surprised as you look right now,” she said with a laugh when she saw the expression on his face.

“I'm surprised she didn't tell you to go to another resort,” he said.

“That's why I called her, hoping that she would,” Kandace quipped.

Solomon rolled his eyes. “You would've been back.”

“You're pretty confident about that, huh?” she asked. “I don't think I would have.”

“Sure you would've stayed away,” Solomon said. “I knew you wanted me the moment you saw me.”

“You're lucky you're lying here with a hole in your shoulder. Otherwise, I'd have to hurt you for being such a jerk. You came on way too strong at first.”

Solomon smiled. “But it worked.”

“No, it was the massage that got me,” she said.

“Then I know what I have to do from now on to keep you,” he said.

Kandace raised her eyebrow. “Keep me?”

“That's right. You're mine. I haven't felt this way about a woman in forever and I don't want to lose this feeling. Kandace, I'm falling in love with you.”

“Solomon,” she said softly.

“Listen, if you don't feel the same way, I understand, but I'm going to make you fall in love with me every day of your life.”