The Backup Plan (25 page)

Normally he was not a patient man. He was used to spotting problems and solving them quickly and decisively. There was one way he could do that with Dinah. All he had to do was pick up the phone and call her bosses. Hell, he might even be able to get answers on the Internet by tracking what had happened in Afghanistan around the time Dinah had come running home. Much as he wanted the answers to come from her, he was prepared to do it the hard way if he had to and risk her wrath in the bargain. At least there would be no secrets between them when she left.

Before he could act on his decision, though, Cord heard the outer door of his office slam, heard Bobby's terse greeting to their secretary, then saw his own door being wrenched open and slammed against the wall as Bobby strode in. Judging from the glint in his brother's eyes, Rianna hadn't kept her end of the bargain. Cord braced himself for the inevitable scene. If Dinah leaving was his worst nightmare, the one about to begin came in a close second.

“You and Dinah!” Bobby shouted, clearly infuriated, though there was unmistakable hurt behind his tone. “That's why I was exiled in Atlanta for weeks on end, so you could get it on with Dinah Davis?”

Cord leveled a look at this brother. He wouldn't lie to him and make it all worse. “Yes. How did you find out?”

“Does it really matter?”

“No, I suppose not, but my guess is that Rianna blabbed. I knew when she walked away after finding
Dinah at the house with me that she was incapable of keeping a secret,” he muttered.

“Forget about Rianna's role in this. The point is that you should have told me yourself,” Bobby said. “You should have called me up weeks ago and told me Dinah was back in town.”

“Probably so,” Cord admitted.

“Then why the hell didn't you?”

“I decided it was a bad idea.”

“Why? You know how I feel about her.”

Cord raised an eyebrow at that. “Really?”

“Oh, for heaven's sake, Cord, Dinah and I will al ways be friends.”

“And if she wanted more than that?”

Bobby's already grim expression turned downright explosive. “What the devil do you mean by that?”

“Dinah came back here specifically to see you,” Cord admitted reluctantly. “She was all caught up in some ridiculous nostalgia thing. It wasn't healthy, Bobby. Not for either of you.”

“Who were you to decide that? Didn't you think I had a right to know?” Bobby asked incredulously. “Dammit, Cord, what gave you the right to keep us apart? I thought you learned your lesson that last time you tried to come between us. You know how much I loved her.”

“That was a long time ago,” Cord said defensively. “I'm your brother. I was looking out for you back then and I'm doing the same thing now.”

“Oh, really?” Bobby said skeptically. “As if I believe that.”

“Okay, if you want the unvarnished truth, here it is. Maybe I was looking out for myself,” Cord conceded. “Dinah turned up at the house one night and to tell you
the truth, I think I went a little nuts. The woman always did twist me in knots. That night was no exception.”

His straight answer promptly deflated Bobby's outrage. He sank into a chair and stared at Cord. “She came to see me and you just decided you had to have her for yourself.”

“It wasn't like that, at least not entirely. In case you've forgotten, you have a fiancée. I assume you're in love with her.”

Bobby regarded him incredulously. “You kept quiet and kept me away to protect Rianna? Please, Cord. The noble act doesn't suit you. This is all about you.”

“Not entirely,” he insisted. “I was thinking about your engagement.”

“And the rest? I'm assuming it was more than your usual need to get some forbidden female into the sack, because if it wasn't, Cordell, I will personally skin you alive.”

It was now or never. He had to admit the truth and let the chips fall where they may. There was no other choice.

“I'm in love with her,” Cord said quietly, then gave his brother a wry grin. “Ain't that a kick in the pants?”

Bobby blinked hard. The last of his temper dissipated. “It is a surprise, I'll give you that.” He studied Cord intently. “Are you sure?”

Cord laughed at his brother's doubtful expression. “As sure as a man like me with no experience in that particular arena can be.”

“Well, I'll be damned.”

“Since we're getting all the cards on the table, you ought to know that she came home because of that stupid backup plan the two of you agreed to years ago. She didn't just want to see you, Bobby. She wanted to marry you.”

Bobby's mouth gaped. “Then she really did come home for me? That wasn't just some crazy idea you got in your head?”

Cord shook his head. “It was all about you.”

“Well, I'll be damned,” Bobby said again.

“How do you feel about that?” Cord asked, feeling surprisingly uneasy.

Bobby's expression turned thoughtful. “Honored, I guess.”

“And? Would you have dumped Rianna and married Dinah?”

“Hell, no,” Bobby said without hesitation. “Dinah was like this dream for me. I loved her, no question about it, but the handwriting was on the wall for the two of us years ago when she turned down my proposal. I knew that no matter what happened, she'd never love me the way I loved her.”

Cord breathed a sigh of relief. “Good to know.”

“I could have told you sooner if you'd asked me,” Bobby pointed out.

“I didn't know how much the answer mattered until you walked in here just now.”

Bobby's gaze narrowed. “What would you have done if I'd said I still wanted her?”

“I'd have done the right thing,” Cord said. “I'd have walked away.”

Bobby shook his head. “Who are you trying to kid, Cordell? No, you wouldn't. You never did like to share. This time you'd have fought me tooth and nail to keep her. I'm not blind or dumb, I know that stunt you pulled years ago wasn't entirely altruistic. You wanted her for yourself even then, but you couldn't make yourself admit it to me, to Dinah or, more than likely, even to yourself.”

Cord grinned, accepting the truth of his brother's words. He'd had his fill of being noble about Dinah the last time around. “Yeah, I guess you're right. I would have fought you for her this time. Keeping the two of you as far apart as possible seemed like a good way to prevent her from coming between us.”

Bobby gave him a long, considering look. “Does she feel the same way about you?”

“We're working on it,” Cord admitted. “Her life's a little mixed up right now. In fact, she just announced last night that she's going back to Afghanistan for a while. Says it's something she has to do.”

“And you're okay with that?” Bobby asked, obviously shocked. “You've got her now and you're letting her go?”

“To tell you the truth, I hate it, but what are my choices? It's been plain since she got here that her head's all messed up. If this is what it takes to finally make her feel good about herself again, then how can I stand in her way?”

Bobby shook his head. “The self-sacrificing crap doesn't suit you, Cordell. Lord knows, I don't want you to make the same mistake I did by just standing by and watching her walk away. Fight for her. Make her want to stay.” His expression turned thoughtful. “Maybe I should talk to her.”

“Forget it,” Cord said fiercely. “I do not want my baby brother interfering in my love life. I can work this out with Dinah just fine on my own.”

“Yeah, I can see that,” Bobby said scathingly. “You're about to watch her jet back into a war zone.” He gave Cord a disgusted look. “And people say you got the brains in the family.”

“What would you suggest I do?”

“Ask her to marry you,” Bobby said at once. “And if you can't talk her into doing it before she leaves, then get the damn commitment in writing and set a date. If her mama's got a wedding all planned, that ought to guarantee Dinah will come back to you right on schedule. Mrs. Davis will see to that, if she has to fly over there and haul her back.”

The idea held some appeal, but Cord knew he couldn't do it. Dinah had to come home when—and if—she wanted to, not because she had an obligation to show up for a ceremony. It would never work otherwise.

“Sorry. Not a good idea,” he told Bobby. “But thanks for the advice.”

“I think you're making a mistake,” Bobby said.

“Won't be the first time,” Cord retorted blithely.

Unfortunately, though, it might be the only mistake that had ever truly mattered.

D
inah was packing when she heard a male voice downstairs, then footsteps heading her way. Assuming it was Cord, she kept right on packing.

“If you aren't a sight for sore eyes,” Bobby said from the doorway of her room.

Dinah whirled around, a smile spreading across her face. “Bobby!”

She flew into his outstretched arms. “Oh my gosh, it is so good to see you,” she said, holding on tight.

She studied his once-familiar face and saw the new maturity in the lines around his eyes, the softer line of his jaw. He hadn't aged as well as his older brother, but he was a handsome devil just the same. And, oh, how she'd missed him. She hugged him harder.

“Even better to see you,” he said. “I just found out you've been hanging around Charleston for weeks now.”

“You didn't know? I thought Cord was going to let you know I was back. I assumed when you never called it was because of your engagement.”

“Does it really matter now?” he inquired lightly.

“I think it does,” she said stiffly.

“Even though you've spent all these weeks making a fool of yourself over my brother?”

She tried to work up the proper indignation over Cord's latest betrayal, but it simply didn't matter anymore. She was with the man she was meant to be with. She let the surge of anger go and grinned at Bobby. “Is that the way he tells it?”

“Is that the way it is?” he countered.

“Pretty much.” She met his gaze and was happy to discover that there wasn't the slightest spark of attraction. There was just the warm comfort of being with an old and dear friend. It was nothing at all like what she felt with Cord.

“I love him,” she admitted candidly.

“Then why the hell are you packing?” he asked.

“I have to go back to work.”

“Have to or want to?” he demanded, sitting on the edge of her bed and regarding her with an unflinching look that insisted on an honest answer.

She faltered a second under his unyielding gaze. “Have to,” she insisted. “A lot happened when I was there before and I need to face it and put it behind me once and for all.”

“You can't do that here?”

“Actually I have done a lot of that here,” she said. “Unless you'd seen me when I first got here, you can't possibly have any idea how much better I am. But I have to go back to take the final step.”

“And what about my brother?”

“I won't be any good to him unless I do this,” she said, hoping Bobby could understand. She wasn't entirely sure Cord did. He said all the right words, but the hurt was in his eyes every time she looked at him. It killed her. It reminded her that she'd once done the
same thing to his brother. Cord knew from experience that she wasn't all that reliable when it came to coming home for a man.

“I do love him, Bobby. I want to come back here and be with him.”

“That's something, I suppose. But I swear if it was me, you'd never walk out that door. I wouldn't take a chance on losing you.”

She gave him a sad look. “But you did just that when I left ten years ago.”

“I know and I regretted it. That's why it's a whole lot easier for me to see what a mistake it is. A job's just a job, Dinah. It's love that matters in this world. It's the only thing that matters. I hate to see you and my brother throwing it away.”

“We're not throwing it away,” she argued. “We're putting it on hold for just a little while.”

“And what if it turns out to be forever?” he asked. “You won't be the first person to die over there, Dinah.”

She knew better than he could possibly imagine how true that was. “I have to believe it won't turn out that way,” she said simply.

“And what if you're wrong? Is it okay with you that Cord will be back here living with a broken heart because the only woman he ever loved is gone and he never had the chance to love her the way she deserved to be loved?”

Dinah thought about that long after Bobby had gone. Was it okay with her? Look how she'd felt after Peter had died. Had it been worth it knowing that he'd died doing something he loved? Had it been okay that she'd had to go on alone? Aside from the fact that he'd died practically in front of her eyes, no, none of it had been okay.
If she'd had a choice, would she have wanted Peter to spend the rest of his life doing the kind of camerawork at which he excelled, knowing that he was at risk of dying every day?

It was a hard question, especially knowing how things had turned out. But, yes, she conceded reluctantly, she would have encouraged him to continue, be cause it was what he loved. And that was the unselfish gift Cord was giving to her.

She understood on some level how selfish it was for her to go. Goodness knows, Maggie had had enough to say lately on Dinah's tendency toward selfishness. She was leaving Cord here, knowing that every day would be filled with anguish and uncertainty and, perhaps in the end, nothing but heartache. All so she could prove something to herself, something she'd already proved a thousand times in the past. She'd been the best and brightest, the most courageous. She was worthy to be a Davis, even if she hadn't done things the traditional way. She didn't have to prove it over and over for it to go on being true.

Maybe the real courage—the real maturity—was in moving on, doing what was best for her
and
for the man she loved.

As the truth of that sank in, she began taking clothes out of her suitcase and tossing them right back into drawers. When everything was back where it belonged, when she'd called Ray and told him her decision, then listened to the genuine relief in his voice as he'd given her his blessing, she borrowed her father's new motor cycle, spent a few minutes getting the hang of handling it in the driveway, and then headed for Covington Plantation.

She had a question on her mind, maybe the most im
portant one she'd ever asked. And for once she was the one in a hurry for an answer.

 

Cord was working on a scaffolding at Covington Plantation. He'd never been fond of heights, but he'd learned to scramble around on the roof as surefooted as a mountain goat and, when it was required, he could spend hours on a scaffolding like this one scraping off paint or replacing rotting boards.

It was peaceful high up off the ground and there was a breeze stirring. He could barely hear the distant sound of hammers on the other side of the house, the faint strains of a radio from inside.

The mindless task of scraping paint gave him time to think, which on a day like today wasn't the best thing in the world. The only thoughts spinning through his head had to do with Dinah leaving and, worst of all, maybe never coming back. He told himself he had to face it, but it made his stomach churn. The thought of never seeing her again, never making love to her or having babies with her left him with an aching heart. He'd sure as hell never expected to care this much about any one, especially an uppity woman like Dinah, who'd al ways struck him as being way out of his league.

The roar of a motorcycle broke into his troubled thoughts. He looked into the distance and caught just a glimpse of the candy-apple-red Harley coming up the winding driveway. The damn thing was going way too fast for the condition of that bumpy roadway.

Certain it had to be Marshall Davis with a death wish or maybe even Dorothy in some maddening attempt to recapture her youth, he was about to lower the scaffolding to the ground to ream out whichever one
it was when one of the ropes holding the scaffolding broke. Taken by surprise as the boards tilted precariously, Cord tried to catch onto one of the remaining ropes, but he was too late. It slid right through his hand.

Next thing he knew, he was plummeting straight toward the ground in a dive that promised to hurt like hell when he landed. Just before he hit the ground, he realized that the woman who'd arrived on the Harley was Dinah. He caught one glimpse of her stunned gaze, slammed onto the hard ground and lost consciousness.

 

Every damn bone in his body felt like it was broken. Cord swam back toward consciousness, dimly aware of Dinah's gut-wrenching sobs and the gentle, probing touch of her fingers, light against his pounding head.

“Don't die on me, Cordell Beaufort. Don't you dare die on me,” she said, her voice thick with emotion and anguish. “Oh, God, I can't do this again. I can't lose you.”

Cord recognized that there was something significant in her words, but he was too out of it to put his finger on it. He just knew she needed him to stay awake, needed him to reassure her.

“You can't get rid of me that easily,” he managed to murmur, fighting the waves of pain washing through him.

Just before the world turned dark again, he felt her tears on his cheeks and heard her shouting for help. He wanted to reassure her that he wasn't dying. He wanted to console her, but the effort was beyond him.

“Hold on,” she kept whispering in his ear. “I'm right here, Cord. Hold on to me. Don't leave me.”

“Won't,” he whispered, the one word a desperate struggle.

This time when he blacked out, he couldn't seem to fight his way back.

 

The waiting room was filled with anxious men from the crew out at Covington. They'd all come running at Dinah's shouts and taken charge. Someone had called the paramedics. Someone else had tracked down Bobby. They'd even called Dinah's mother. She was sitting beside Dinah right now, her complexion pale, her hand tight around Dinah's.

“He's going to be just fine,” she assured Dinah. “Cord's tough.”

“He certainly has a hard enough head,” Bobby commented from his place on Dinah's other side.

“He was wearing a hard hat,” Dinah said. “But I think it fell off before he hit the ground. He landed right at my feet. I heard something snap, looked up and he was tumbling through the air.”

A sob bubbled up in her throat at the memory. “I tried to catch him, but I wasn't fast enough.”

“And he would have broken half your bones, if you had,” Bobby said.

“But it would have been a softer landing than him hit ting the ground,” she lamented. Once again she had failed someone she loved. It was the only way to look at it.

Maggie and Warren came rushing into the waiting room. Maggie regarded Bobby with surprise, then turned to Dinah. “You okay?”

“I'm not the one who fell off a scaffolding,” she said.

Warren regarded her with understanding. “Want to
take a walk?” he asked. “We can bring back some coffee for everyone.”

Grateful for his discretion, Dinah nodded at once. “Yes. That's a great idea.”

Maggie regarded her with worry. “Need any extra help?”

Warren gave a subtle shake of his head. “We can manage. Right, Dinah?”

As soon as they were in the hallway, she stopped and leaned against the wall. “I don't think I can bear it if he dies,” she told Warren.

“Have the doctors said anything about him dying?”

“They haven't said anything, period, not even to Bobby. The nurses keep promising to have news from the doctors soon, but no one's come to talk to us.”

“Isn't it more important that they help Cord?” he asked reasonably.

“Yes, of course, but the waiting's so hard.”

“Harder for you than the others?” he suggested.

“Of course not. Everyone in that waiting room cares about him.”

“Of course they do, but they haven't had another man they love die right in front of their eyes, have they? You've been having flashbacks ever since Cord fell, haven't you? His fall and Peter's death have gotten all twisted together in your head, haven't they?”

She nodded.

“It's not the same, Dinah.” He tucked a finger under her chin and forced her to face him. “And you're not to blame. You're not some sort of curse to the men you love.”

She gave him a startled look. “How did you know that's what I was thinking?”

“That's why you pay me the big bucks, to figure out
what's going on in your head, sometimes even before you do.”

She sighed. “I rode out there to tell him I wasn't going back to Afghanistan, that I was going to stay here with him.”

Warren smiled. “Best news I've heard in a long time. I imagine he'd think so, too.”

“What if…?” Her voice trailed off.

“You will get to tell him,” he said confidently.

“You can't be sure of that,” she retorted.

“Sure? Maybe not, but I do believe in the power of prayer and positive thinking. Now let's get that coffee and go back into the waiting area, so we'll be there when the doctors finally do come.”

She slanted a look at him. “I don't suppose you have any pull around this place, do you?”

“What kind of pull?”

“Can't you go back in there and find out what's going on? Or better yet, take me.”

Warren gave her hand a squeeze. “Go get the coffee. Meantime, I'll see if I can track down somebody who can give us news. Cord doesn't need you to be underfoot while they're trying to patch him up. He needs you out here thinking good thoughts.”

Dinah wanted to snap that it was going to take more than that to heal his injuries. She'd said a million prayers on that short walk toward Peter, but they hadn't done a lick of good. They hadn't brought him back, hadn't made him whole. Like Humpty-Dumpty, some things were just too broken to be put back together again.

Her breath caught on another sob, so she forced herself to do as Warren had asked and go to the cafeteria for coffee. Doing something helped her to hold it together.

But when she got back to the waiting area just as the
doctor was describing the extent of Cord's injuries, she heard the words
fractured skull
and then
touch-and-go.
She promptly dropped the tray of coffees she was carrying. It hit the floor with a clatter that brought all heads turning in her direction.