Slide Job (Cameron Motorsports) (14 page)

“Tyler, you’re a pain. Okay. I’ll be right back.” Stephanie quickly made her way toward the elevators. “You better hope Mom doesn’t find out we’ve been snitching coffee again.”

Tyler ignored Jack’s questioning glance and walked over to sit next to Annie. She sprawled across a bench, sound asleep, using Stephanie’s purse for a pillow.

Some days you had luck and some days you didn’t. Tyler couldn’t believe how fast his had run out. Of all the hospitals Morgan could end up in, it had to be this one. Nashville Regional Medical Center. His mother, practicing cardiologist and Chief of Medical Staff, worked here. She practically lived here.

The emergency room waiting area hadn’t changed much in twenty years. New paint and furniture continued to house tired, bored or worried faces. It still had the same antiseptic smell.

The doctor came through the door just as Stephanie came around the corner with the coffee.

“Jack Wilson?”

Jack stepped forward and waved his hand. “That’s me. How is she?”

The doctor chuckled. “She’ll be fine. She’s a little testy, keeps asking to see you and somebody named Tyler.”

Tyler rose from where Annie slept, with a nod to Stephanie.

“Go ahead. I’ll wait here with Annie.” She smiled a tender smile, her eyes filled with compassion.

He didn’t know what he would do without her. “I’m Tyler, and you are?”

“I’m Doctor Miller. Come this way please.” Dressed in pale blue scrubs, he led them into the patient care area of the emergency room.

Dressed in a blue and white checked hospital gown, Morgan looked pale lying on the white sheets. She smiled when she recognized them. “Hey guys, come to break me out of here?”

“I don’t know.” Jack shook his head at her and turned his gaze to the doctor. “It depends on what the man here says.”

Doctor Miller spoke, looking at each of them directly, focusing last on Morgan. “She’ll be fine. She’s got a bit of a concussion, a few severe hematomas.” At Jack’s puzzled look, the doctor explained. “Severe bruising on her shoulders, legs and chest. I’ve scheduled her for an MRI to make sure everything looks okay. If that checks out, she can go.”

Tyler watched relief and pain take turns sliding over Morgan’s face. Her voice, raspy and tired, came out slowly. “Great, we’ve got a lot of work to do.”

“You aren’t going to be doing anything,” Doctor Miller insisted. “With a concussion, even a mild one, as yours appears to be, you need a few days of rest. No stress, no straining.”

“I...I...can’t.” Morgan struggled to hold back tears that slipped out anyway. Her hands clenched the sheet and she sat back against the pillow. For the first time, she looked helpless.

The need to hold her overwhelmed him. Tyler clasped his hands together to keep from reaching for her. The hurt in her eyes was palpable. She thought she’d lost. He could see it.

Jack moved close to the bed, patted Morgan’s back. “Do you want me to call your mom and dad?”

“No, not yet. Let’s wait for the test results before we worry them. This show won’t air yet, will it?” She directed this at Tyler.

“No. Not until next week.” He rubbed his tired eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. The doctor excused himself to care for other patients, assuring them he’d be back.

“There is something I didn’t have the chance to tell you. We have a four-day break before we start filming again.” Watching Morgan’s face was like watching the sun rise. He could see the comprehension dawn as her face lit up.

“Really?”

He couldn’t help it, he smiled along with her. “Yeah, really.”

“What am I going to do for four days?” Morgan wondered out loud.

A voice from outside Morgan’s room made Tyler flinch. Oh, boy. He’d been found out. That familiar sound could only be his mother’s strident voice as she talked to the doctor. The low heels she always wore clicked on the tile when she pulled back the curtain.

She looked great. Tyler hadn’t seen her in four months. His shows and her job didn’t allow all the maternal visits he knew she would have liked.

“Tyler. Imagine my surprise at Stephanie’s phone call. I was in the parking lot, so I just turned right around and came back in.” She hugged him tight. Funny, she still carried the subtle hint of gardenias.

“Morgan, Jack, this is my mother. Doctor Patricia Ann Dalton.”

She smiled her best down-home smile. Uh-oh. The family barbeque was this weekend. The whole family would be there. He made a mental note to strangle Stephanie as soon as he got the chance.

“Patty Ann. Just call me Patty Ann.” She waved her competent hands in the air and shrugged her shoulders. “Don’t you worry for a minute about what you’re going to do. That’s no problem at all. You’re all going to come home and stay with us.”

Chapter 15

Complete silence greeted Patty Ann’s back-handed invitation. Morgan’s stomach lurched and rolled. Stay with Tyler’s mother?
The noise made by the hospital staff outside the curtained area faded into the background. She felt like she’d stepped into an episode of the
Twilight Zone
. How much weirder could things get? At least Jack and Phil would be there with her.

Wait. What was she thinking? Stay with his parents? Oh, she must have hit her head harder than she thought to even be considering it.

Good manners prompted Morgan to say something in the silence. “Thank you. We really can’t. But thanks.” She managed to will her lips into a weak smile. Her own mother would have been proud.

Surprising her, Jack spoke. “I sure do thank you for the invitation, ma’am. But I’ve got the car to take care of. If you don’t mind takin’ care of this un’ for a few days,” he tilted his head in Morgan’s direction, “we can handle everything else.”

Jack smiled at Dr. Dalton, acting like the man in charge and not sparing a glance for Morgan. “The back-up car needs to be ready. We’ve got to get the wrecked car to salvage and get the rig on up to Ohio.” He tucked his hands into his pockets and rocked back on his heels.

Irritated at being talked around like a child, Morgan protested. “Jack, you can’t do that by yourself. You’ll need my help.” Her nervous hand smoothed the sheet in a repetitive motion. She clenched her jaw, even as drums began pounding in her head.

“That’s what you pay us for. Phil and I’ll be fine. You don’t need to be sleepin’ in no hauler right now. You need good rest if you’re goin’ to see this thing through.”

She looked at Jack and he met her gaze directly. His red-rimmed, gray eyes spoke volumes. Fatigue etched deep grooves into his face. She could see his exhaustion. If he worried about her, he wouldn’t do what needed to be done.
Dammit!
Fine damn time for the man to act like a father figure.

One thought led to another, her father. He didn’t need this right now. Her parents had enough to deal with. She couldn’t, no, wouldn’t, dump this on them. Finally, her own two feet and psyche would support her. No matter the outcome.

A line from an old song drifted haphazardly through her mind.
You can’t go home, but ya can’t stay here...
Shit.
She was trapped.

“Well, it’s settled then.” Patty Ann smiled and looked at her watch. “It’s nigh on three-thirty in the morning. No wonder my caboose is dragging.” She stepped closer to the bed and smoothed her hand over Morgan’s hair, felt her brow in a motherly gesture.

The gentle touch of her hand felt comforting to Morgan, at odds with the authoritative tone of her voice. “Let me see what I can do to expedite your test. Tyler will give this kind gentleman a ride to wherever it is he needs to go.”

Patty Ann’s glance moved between Jack and Tyler, settling on Jack first. “Promise you’ll come by this afternoon, bring Phil or whoever and at least have a bite to eat. I can give you directions. You’ll be in town that long, won’t you?”

Jack nodded as though his head were on a spring. “Yes, ma’am, we’ll do that.” Taking his hand out of his pocket, he reached over and squeezed Morgan’s hand where it rested on top of the sheet that covered her legs. “You get some rest now. We’ll see you tomorrow.” He huffed out a tired chuckle. “I guess I mean later today.”

“Mom—Annie.” Tyler tried to speak.

Although her voice softened, it still brooked no argument when she cut him off. “Tyler, give this gentleman a lift back to the track, and then meet us at the house later. Stephanie and Annie can ride with us. This young woman needs peace and quiet.” With a wink at Morgan, she herded the men out of the cubicle, pulling the curtain shut behind them.

Cowards
, Morgan thought irritably as she turned on her side and tried to find a comfortable position that wouldn’t aggravate her bruises. She felt like she’d just been steam-rolled by a teddy bear: really warm and snuggly, but flattened just the same.

Four hours later, the rising sun brushed the light blue sky with streaks of palest pink. Morgan sat speechless in the front seat of a silver, high end Mercedes sedan as they crested the last hill and the hotel, er, house came into view.

It had to be the largest Georgian-style mansion she’d ever seen. Four tall, slender columns boxed a white portico two-stories high. Matching red brick chimneys stood guard on either end of the hipped roof, over two long rows of double hung sash windows. The white mullioned windows added perfect symmetry to the red brick façade.

Okay, she hadn’t seen that many up close. She remembered foggy details from an American history class long ago, and recalled vacationing with Mom and Dad in Williamsburg, Virginia once.

This wasn’t too far off from the pictures they’d brought back. She’d already had her tour of the Governor’s Mansion, thank-you-very-much.

A slender, gray-haired woman came bustling out the front door to meet them. Dressed in chic black from head to foot and sporting a stylish bobbed haircut, she opened the passenger door and greeted Morgan with a smile.

“Hi, I’m Melba. You must be Morgan.” Morgan smiled at the woman, wondering whose relative she was. Annie obviously held no such reservations. She popped out the rear door of the car with a squeal, launching herself at the woman.

“Melba, Melba.” She chirped, hugging the woman ferociously while the woman hugged her in return.

“Lord, look at you child. You’ve done grown a foot.”

Patty Ann and a very tired-looking Stephanie rounded the hood of the car as the group headed up the few stairs to the wide oak-paneled front door. Patty Ann put her arm around Stephanie and hugged her close while they entered. “Darlin’ your room is ready. Why don’t you go on up and have a nap. The others won’t be here until later on anyway.”

Sleepy eyes blinking, Stephanie nodded and whispered a tired, “See y’all later.” She slowly climbed the floating staircase and disappeared around the corner.

Others? What others? Morgan wondered. It was on the tip of her tongue to ask when it seemed Patty Ann read her mind.

“We’re having a family barbeque this weekend. My other children will be here later today, along with my grandchildren.”

Morgan watched the other woman’s smile brighten. The twinkle in her blue eyes made Morgan just a little homesick for her own mom. Great, just great. Nothing like crashing a family reunion.

“Morgan, forgive my lack of manners. Melba is our housekeeper slash secretary. If there is anything you need, you just let her know. She’s a wiz at everything.”

The affectionate tone of voice let Morgan know that, whoever she might be, Melba was important to them. “The guest suite is here on the first floor. Melba will get you settled in so you can rest. If you’d like to take a bath to wash away that awful hospital smell, I wouldn’t blame you a bit. You take all the time you need. Join us when you’re ready.”

Morgan easily gave in once more to that falling-down-the-rabbit-hole feeling. Melba led her to a pale blue suite of rooms, and tucked her under a fluffy down comforter. She lay quietly in the four-poster canopied bed and stared at the beautiful Queen-Anne-style mahogany furniture.

Her head rested lightly on a feather pillow while she pondered life’s odd twists and turns. Racecar corporations built like the Taj-Mahal, houses as big as hotels, private jets, housekeepers who were prettier than some middle-aged models.
Dorothy, you’re a long way from Kansas.

She turned her head into the soft, blue-flowered cotton sheets. They smelled clean and fresh, and faintly of lavender. Before drifting off to sleep, she wondered if the three-tiered steps up to the marble bathtub in the adjoining room had been real or a figment of her weary imagination.

*

The sun sat high in the sky the next afternoon as Tyler sipped sweet tea and watched Morgan laugh at one of his sister Jessica’s jokes.

Earlier she’d helped to clear the table, watched over the youngest of the nieces and nephews, and found time to play games with the older ones. He felt a warm tingling feeling in his chest as he watched her. Morgan seemed to just fit, like she’d always been here. Down to earth, she treated every member of his family with simple respect and kindness, in a way that Cindy never had.

For the first time in years, he felt as if his ex-wife had truly become part of his past. He took another drink, and realized it didn’t hurt to think of her anymore. The distance from painful memories offered its own brand of freedom.

“She’s a beauty. Tough as nails too, I hear.”

“What? Who?” His father’s voice caught him by surprise. Sharp as a tack, his dad never missed a trick. A sheepish grin pushed at the corners of Tyler’s mouth. “Yeah. She is,” he answered with a smile in Morgan’s direction.

“I meant your mother.”

Tyler turned his head to stare open-mouthed at his father, who laughed a deep belly laugh in return.

“Caught-cha!” He snickered again. “Why don’t you take her for a walk in the maze? Instead of standin’ here making cow eyes at her like you’ve been doin’ all afternoon.”

Tyler straightened himself up to his fully-insulted, six feet two inches and looked down his nose at his dad. “I don’t make cow eyes.”

Bob Dalton punched him in the arm. “Yes, you do, boy. Now go on. Git. Before I take that pretty little brunette out there myself. We’ll look out for Annie.”

It was Tyler’s turn to laugh as he moved in Morgan’s direction. He knew how much his dad loved his mom. Forty years of marriage and there had never been another for either one of them. Growing up, he’d always hoped to find a love like theirs.

He looked across the terrace and his eyes met Morgan’s. She smiled shyly at him and turned away. Tyler’s heart told him he’d done just that. There would be no going back.

It scared the crap out of him. He didn’t know what to do about it, so he did the same thing he’d always done when faced with a puzzling situation. He faced it head on.

“Would you like to escape the madness for awhile and take a walk?”

She started to set her half-empty glass on the table. “I’d love to.”

Tyler grabbed the open bottle of red wine and another glass. “No, bring your glass. It’s not far.”

He led her to the opposite side of the pool patio and down a row of ten ivory steps. An opening in the row of shoulder-high hedges bordered the far side. Tyler walked slowly beside her as they stepped through the opening.

“This is the maze, isn’t it? I could see it from the family room window. It looks really great from up there. How big is it?”

Tyler laughed. “Okay, we’ll play twenty questions. You’ve just asked me two. I’ll answer, and then I get to ask you two.”

Her eyes lit at the prospect of another game. He found it fascinating that she never tired of competing.

“Yes, it’s the maze. It’s ten acres. Now it’s my turn.” He turned left, then right, then left again. “How do you feel and why are you moving so stiffly? Did you hurt something we don’t know about?”

Morgan laughed. The sound caressed him and he thought about the way she’d touched him the other night.

“That’s three. I feel fine. Dr. Miller called earlier and said the results showed my head to be hard as ever with no apparent injury.” She stopped a moment and took a small sip from her wine glass. “These hedges are fantastic. Do you ever get lost in here? Oh, it’s still your turn. Sorry.”

He watched as she rolled her eyes at him and began walking again. “I’m moving stiffly because I am stiff. I always feel this way the day or two after I roll my car. The force of it stretches all your joints and ligaments so they ache a bit. Pretty much everything hurts. It’s nothing permanent. I think it happens to remind you that you’re human.” She held up her fisted hand and stuck up her fingers. “One, two, oh, and three. No, I didn’t hurt anything else.”

She wiggled her eyebrows and grinned wickedly at him. “It’s my turn.”

Tyler wondered what she would ask him. Maybe there’d be questions about Annie or something from his past. He led them left again, and right, then through a wide opening into a grass covered circle. Suspended from a high branch underneath a tall oak tree hung a wooden porch swing.

He gestured to the swing. “Please, sit down. We can rest a bit.” He filled his glass and refilled the remainder of hers. The empty bottle found a home on the grass not too far away. Pressing the ground with his feet, he gently rocked the swing and they moved softly, in silence.

“This is lovely. So peaceful.” She smiled serenely at him and leaned her head against the back of the seat. “I’ve got it.” She lurched forward, sloshing both wine glasses. “Oops. Sorry. It’s still my turn. What is the worst mistake you’ve ever made?”

Surprise made him chuckle. He thought about it for a moment. It helped to take his mind off wanting to kiss her. “I feel like a kid, playing truth or dare.” Aw, what the hell. Maybe he would make the worst mistake of his life right now.

His hand seemed to rise with a will of its own to stroke the soft skin of her jaw. At the touch, she turned to look at him, her brown eyes questioning. He cupped her chin and leaned down to touch his lips to hers. Wine flavored her soft pink lips as she opened for him. Heat hit him hard and fast. He worked to deepen the kiss, craving more. He turned her head further to match the angle of his face.