Secret Garden (26 page)

“Yes, sir.” The guard bent his head to fumble with his mobile phone.

Colin lay back down. It was obvious that he had to get to a doctor as soon as possible, and if he had to have anyone with him, he would much rather have McGuff than Rhiannon’s brother. Besides, Rhiannon needed Malcolm right now.

He didn’t even want to think about how Malcolm was going to react when he found out what Colin had done.

CHAPTER TWELVE

C
OLIN SAT ON
an examination table in the hospital with his left foot elevated and waited for the results of his X-ray.

Head in his hands, he still felt shell-shocked for all that had happened.

Malcolm had come right away, thankfully for Rhiannon’s sake. He’d taken one look at the location outside the estate perimeter where Colin had driven his sister before grimly driving on, toward the castle and Rhiannon, leaving Jacob to pilot Colin and his rental car to the closest emergency room.

On the way, Jacob had received the call that Rhiannon was okay, resting at home with Malcolm. Jacob had quietly informed Colin of that fact, and Colin was filled with relief for it, at least.

He glanced at Jacob, sitting in a plastic chair against the wall with his arms crossed and saying nothing.

He hadn’t said much during any of the ordeal.

When they’d arrived at the facility, Jacob silently walked beside Colin as a nurse wheeled him into a processing area and then, an hour later, into the tiny examination room with a government poster warning about the dangers of gluten allergies and their effect on the stomach.

Colin could definitely see himself developing an ulcer if he waited here long enough.

He looked again at the taciturn Secret Service agent. The man had a talent for sitting as still as a ghost and not making an expression or betraying an emotion. Secret Service agents were professional bodyguards, after all.

He seemed to have his own agenda in accompanying Colin, but Colin wasn’t sure what that was.

“You can wait outside if you’d like,” Colin said to him.

Jacob stared back. “No, thanks. I’m good.”

“I would prefer that you wait outside, actually.”

“Sorry.” Jacob shrugged, but he didn’t look sorry. “I can’t do that.”

“Why not?”

Jacob stared straight ahead. “Rhiannon’s sake.”

“Rhiannon?” Jacob had been overly protective of her all during the gathering. “Why Rhiannon?” Colin asked. “What’s your allegiance to her?”

Jacob flicked a glance to him but said nothing.

Colin closed his eyes. Jacob was probably present on orders from his fiancée, that was all. Maybe the pain was making him paranoid. The throbbing from his foot and his worry over it healing improperly were messing with his head.

More than anything else, he was racked with guilt over what he’d done to Rhiannon. “I bet the last person she’s thinking about right now is me,” he muttered.

Jacob grunted. “You’re wrong.”

Colin shifted, and a fresh bolt of pain shot through his foot. He gritted his teeth. “Why? Have you heard from Rhiannon?” he asked.

Despite phones not being allowed in the hospital, Colin had noticed Jacob discreetly glancing at his cell phone’s screen and tapping out a message here and there. Colin had assumed that Jacob was checking in with Isabel.

Jacob nodded. “Yes, I’ve heard.”

“And? How is she doing? What’s she saying?”

Jacob fell silent again.

Colin didn’t know what to do about Rhiannon. He thought she’d been fine at the gathering. She’d lasted the afternoon greeting everyone who’d wanted to meet her, and then she’d said she wanted to be with Colin. She’d insisted, really. The agoraphobia hadn’t seemed like such a problem in those moments.

He stared at his swollen foot, blown up to elephant-man size. He didn’t know what was going to happen, with her or with his foot. His plans were upended—he had no idea if he would even be allowed to fly home Monday. Flying was the worst thing for inflamed tissue, and if it was broken, or if he got a cast...

The reality was, he didn’t see how the hell he would be playing golf on Thursday. But he had to think positive thoughts, because the alternative—not being able to play, and losing his tour card—was out of the question.

Whatever diagnosis the doctors came back with would tell the tale. Worst-case scenario, he was looking at a career-ending injury.

He felt as if a black gloom was threatening to envelop him.

“What did you expect from Rhiannon, anyway?” Jacob suddenly asked him, disrupting his personal nightmare and contributing more fuel to the fire.

Colin was damned if he’d let anyone question him about his relationship with Rhiannon. She was special to him, and that was private. “Excuse me?” he said coldly.

“Don’t you know she’s a recluse? Rhiannon can’t leave the estate. It gives her panic attacks.”

“Yeah, I know about Rhiannon,” he said irritably. “Look, she got in the car with me, voluntarily, and asked me to take her away. Not that it’s any of your business.”

Jacob gazed quietly at him. “Do you know how I first met Rhiannon?”

“No,” Colin said flatly.

“My father was one of the police officers who rescued her when she was a girl. He stormed the warehouse she was being held in, but he died in her arms later that night.”

Oh, hell.
Colin hadn’t known that.

“Afterward, she drew a sketch of his face,” Jacob continued. “A damn good likeness.” His voice wavered. “All those years, and she never said anything to anyone about what he said to her that night, until I showed up at the castle just before Christmas last year. She turned my life upside down—set it right, actually—when she told me what he’d said about me before he died.”

“I’m sorry about your father,” Colin said. He hadn’t known any of that.

“Thanks.” Jacob was silent for a moment. “I didn’t know him. I was young when he left us.”

“That doesn’t matter,” Colin said. “It still sucks.”

Jacob nodded curtly. “I’m sorry about your foot. I can’t help you with that, though.”

“Actually you can. When you were in the village, did you, uh, see a bald guy with a prosthetic leg under his kilt?”

Jacob lifted an eye brow. “Saint Andrew’s flag on the leg?”

“That’s him.”

“Sure. He was marching the fairgrounds with his band and blowing on a bagpipe.”

Yeah, that sounded like McGuff. “He’s been a good friend, and I really need him here to consult with me about the right sports doctors for my injury. I left him a message earlier, but he didn’t pick up.”

Jacob nodded. “I’ll go outside and try to call him for you.”

“Thanks,” Colin said. “I appreciate it.”

Jacob stood, but before he left, he turned to Colin. “Are you going to end it with Rhiannon after this?”

Colin ran both hands over his face and through his hair. His eyelids felt gritty. “Trust me, after what I just did, I expect her to end it with me.”

“She won’t do that. She’s attached to you. Rhiannon doesn’t abandon people she’s attached to.”

Was
she attached to him?

She’d said she was half in love with him, but the last time he’d seen her, she’d been screaming. His actions had given her a massive panic attack, and that scared him, frankly.

How could he be sure he wouldn’t hurt her again? And how could they be together if she never found it within herself to leave the estate?

Jacob misread Colin’s silence. “If you’re going to end whatever you’ve got going with her,” he said, “then do it now and go easy. She’s been through enough.”

“Sounds like you would rather I leave her alone.”

“I want what’s best for her,” Jacob said.

“Yeah, I do, too. And, to be honest, this is really none of your business.”

Jacob sat again, staring at Colin. “Maybe not. But I’ve seen the official incident reports about what happened to her during the kidnapping. It took me months of digging around and building relationships with people in Edinburgh, but I finally got my hands on them. I’ve not shared those reports with anyone, but I will tell you this, Colin—I don’t think she remembers everything that happened.”

“She does,” Colin said. “She’s told me.”

“No, I don’t think so. If she’d told you what I read, then you wouldn’t have tried to leave with her like you did.”

Colin swallowed. His physical pain and the fate of his tournament play didn’t seem so important anymore. “Whatever you’re trying to say, just spit it out.”

Jacob pulled the plastic chair closer to Colin. Leaned forward and put his hands on his knees. “I won’t sugarcoat it. The investigators found rope in her cell—she’d been tied down to hooks on the wall in a cement cell for the better part of eleven days. They think she was molested. But she refused to speak of it to the rescuing officers.”

Colin felt sick to his stomach to think of her going through that hell. Jacob stared hard at him. “I know you don’t want to hear this,” he said evenly. “Nobody does.” His jaw worked, as if he was furious inside. “Her connected, wealthy family has put a lot of effort into protecting her from having to discuss anything she doesn’t want to talk about. That’s what she’s used to. My point is, Colin, it’s not a good idea for you to expect too much from her.”

As Colin saw it,
that
was the problem—people not expecting enough from Rhiannon. “I think differently about her,” he said stubbornly. “I believe in her.”

“Colin—”

Just then a man appeared in the hallway with a disk in his hand, obviously a copy of Colin’s X-ray. Pausing, he knocked on the doorjamb. “Colin Walker?”

“Here,” Colin said, raising his hand.

“Hi, I’m Nurse Stephens. These are orderlies Jones and Frye.” Nurse Stephens gestured toward two other workers who’d entered the room—a middle-aged man and a young, cute woman. They carried supplies—bandages, a boot and medical tape.

“We’ve got a caber tosser in the next room with a bloody foot, as well,” Nurse Stephens said cheerily, gazing at Colin’s kilt. “We can always tell when the Highland Games are in town. Well, let’s uncover his foot and see what we have,” he instructed the young woman.

“What exactly are you going to do?” Colin asked.

“Why, we’re fitting you with a splint,” Nurse Stephens said. “And the doctor will be along shortly to discuss the results of your X-ray with you.” He smiled at Colin. “More important, an aide will be by to give you some pain medication.”

“I don’t want pain medication.” Colin needed to stay alert and coherent so he could deal with the facts and make decisions. He was still reeling over what Jacob had told him. Furious over what Rhiannon had gone through. He shook his head. “Can I speak with a sports doctor, please? I’m a golfer, and I have a tournament next week.”

“Yes, sir, we read about your profession on your chart. You gave us the information we needed when you checked in at the triage station.”

Colin blew out a breath. “Just tell me—are any of the bones broken?”

“I’m not supposed to—”

“Please,” Colin asked.

The nurse imperceptibly shook his head.
No,
he mouthed.
Not broken.

Colin relaxed. That was one thing in his favor. “How long until I can put weight on it? Tomorrow?”

“Er...everyone is different, sir, but typically it’s a matter of weeks.”

“I don’t
have
a matter of weeks.”

“And even, then, you’ll be needing therapy treatments,” Nurse Stephens said.

This was more than he’d expected. Colin closed his eyes.

“I’ll find your friend,” Jacob said quietly to Colin. He held up his phone, earning a scowl from all three aides and nurses.

“Thanks,” Colin said.

With a grim nod in Colin’s direction, Jacob left the room.

“Okay,” Colin said to Nurse Stephens, “do the temporary splint. But tell me, if I fly home now, will I do any further damage to my foot?”

“Well, you’ll need to keep the swelling down with ice packs and ibuprofen tablets. Before you leave, we’ll give you instructions.” Nurse Stephens paused. “Is it a short flight?”

“About ten hours.”

“Oh,” he said, looking horrified, “I don’t know as I would recommend that. But you should check with the doctor.”

Just perfect.
The young woman had him stretch out his foot, and Colin got a fresh look at the injury. Angry, red flesh swollen with fluid.

He groaned.

Colin needed to see a sports doctor—someone who would treat him with the perspective of an athlete who required top performance from his body. And every second was critical. Early treatment was most important to successfully healing.

Colin reached for his phone. Rules or no rules, he needed to talk to McGuff,
now
—

“Laddie, there you are. I came as soon as I heard.”

Accompanied by Jacob, McGuff stood in the doorway, still wearing his kilt and his breath smelling as though he’d been celebrating with whisky.

Colin had never been so relieved to see his friend. “You got my message?”

McGuff scowled. “What message? I came because Jessie rang me at the pub. Your friend Rhiannon contacted her, and then she contacted me.”

Oh, Rhiannon
. Even after the way he’d messed things up with her, she still worried about him.

Whatever else happened, whatever Colin lost from his life, if he had to endure pain, he was grateful to be where there were people who cared about him and who looked out for his best interests. And it was becoming clear to him that Scotland might be such a place.

He felt measurably better with his friend’s presence. “What do you recommend?” he asked McGuff.

“I’d let the pretty lassie put on the temporary splint. Then take the crutches they give you. I know just the doctor we might be able to see on a Saturday evening if we’re nice to him.”

“I can be very nice.”

“I know you can. Chin up, we’ll get you fixed,” McGuff said cheerfully as he studied the damage to Colin’s foot. “It’s still attached to your leg, is it not?”

Colin remembered with shame that McGuff had gone through a far worse accident than he had.

“Sometimes things happen for a reason,” McGuff said. “This isn’t the worst thing in the world.”