The Billionaire Playboy (5 page)

“The states have
limited resources. They do the best they can but there's too much bureaucracy. That's
one of the reasons I started the relief foundation.”

His words cut
through her momentary day dream. “You started it?” She could hear the utter
disbelief in her voice and the expression on Jake's face told her he had heard
it as well.

“Even we
playboys need something to do during the day when we are not cruising around in
our expensive cars looking to pick up women.” Jake's voice was both sarcastic
and amused at the same time.

Nice going. You've managed to insult him twice in
one day
.
“I'm sorry. Really I didn't mean to...”

“You need to
stop listening to the media, Doc. More than half of what they print is either
pure B.S, or skewed beyond belief.”

Charlie opened
her mouth to reply but the cell phone in Jake’s pocket went off at that exact
moment.

“I need to take
this. It's my assistant in Virginia.”

Without another
word he left, leaving Charlie to wonder what else the media got wrong about
Jake.

For the rest of
the afternoon Charlie didn't see much of Jake. He had not spoken to her again
after his phone call. Whether or not that was because he was annoyed by her
earlier comments, she didn't know. After hanging up with his assistant he spent
some time making other calls before the last few supply trucks rolled in and
the volunteers returned to unload them. Every once in a while Charlie got the
feeling that someone was watching her, but only once did she catch Jake eyeing
her.

He's probably
right, she thought as she helped carry things out to Mrs. Anderson's car. The
news and media rarely got the important news right, so why would it get
anything else right? Besides she should know by now not to judge a person
without getting to know them. And even if Jake was a rich playboy who went from
woman to woman it didn't matter right now. All that mattered was that the town
got the help it needed.

Turning to head
back inside, Charlie stopped when she saw a short chubby figure running up the
road toward the senior center. At first the person was too far away to make out
a face, but when the individual got closer Charlie recognized the runner. Jessica
Quinn lived at the bottom on the hill with her grandparents.

Panting, Jessica
all but collapsed at Charlie's feet when she reached her. “My
grandfather...fell...off... the ladder. Can't … get...up. No...phone or ...car.”

Charlie didn't
wait for Jessica to continue. She knew Jessica's grandfather and a fall from a
ladder could kill a man his age. “Don't move.”

Without any
hesitation Charlie bolted into the senior center. Thankfully Jake stood just
inside when she entered. “I need a ride …
now
.”

Jake pulled his
keys from his pocket. “Let's go.” He didn't need any further explanation. He
knew by her expression it must be important. Before he could say anymore, she
rushed back out the door and was half way to his SUV.

“Where to?”

“Down the hill
to the big old yellow house. Jessica's grandfather fell.” Charlie nodded
towards the other woman who climbed into the backseat of the SUV. Charlie
handed the woman her cell phone. “It's 911, tell them what happened.”

Gravel and dust
kicked up as Jake sped out of the parking lot and he listened as Jessica
answered the 911 dispatcher's questions from the backseat.

“He turned
eighty last month. He wasn't moving when I left. Please hurry.” Jessica's voice
quivered and he sped up.
 
He could only
imagine how she must be feeling.

There was no
missing the huge monstrosity of a house with the crooked wooden sign hanging
out front that read Blackthorne Farm; it was the only house on that stretch of
road.

Before the truck
came to a full stop Charlie opened the door and jumped out. Throwing the truck
into park, Jake watched as she sprinted across the lawn toward the prone figure
on the ground. Would it be better if he kept Jessica back at the truck, out of
the way? An upset granddaughter might make the situation worse. Then again,
Charlie might need help and who knew how long it might take for the EMTs to
arrive. He'd passed the fire station on his way into town so he knew it was
located on the other side of town.

Pulling the keys
out of the ignition, Jake looked back at Jessica whose breathing remained
labored from her run. “You're welcome to stay and wait here. I'm going to see
if the doctor needs help.”

Jessica shook
her head causing her light brown bangs to fall into her eyes. “I want to be
with him and my grandmother.”

Jake could see
the worry and fear etched on her tear-stained face. He could understand her
desire to be with her family. After getting out himself, he pulled open her
door and helped her out of the SUV. Then he grabbed the first aid kit from the
trunk and he followed Jessica up to the house where a seven-foot ladder
remained propped against the house. On the ground lay an unmoving figure, his
white hair covered in blood and his left arm bent at an unnatural angle. Next
to him sat a weeping woman with a long gray braid and glasses.

“He's breathing
but unconscious. His pulse is strong though,” Charlie said when they joined her.
“I need something for his head. He's got a nasty gash and is losing more blood
than I'm comfortable with. There is no question that his left arm is broken.”

Jake handed her
the gauze pads from the kit, impressed at how calm and collected she remained
as she continued to do an assessment of the elderly man. She didn't appear
fazed at all by the situation unlike the two crying women kneeling next to the
man.

“His neck looks
fine, but I don't want to move him. His skin feels cool. Is there an emergency
blanket in the kit?”

A quick search
turned up the blanket the doctor wanted. Jake tore open the package and covered
the injured man with the metallic-colored blanket. “What else can I do?” He
felt useless standing there as she worked.

Charlie didn't
say anything, she only nodded toward Jessica who had started to sob
uncontrollably the minute she saw the blood.

Nodding to let
Charlie know he understood, he leaned down and placed a gentle hand on
Jessica’s shoulder. “We should move so we're not in the way.” Jake tugged
Jessica and her grandmother to their feet and led them past the driveway where
a Honda Accord sat squashed beneath a huge tree and towards the farmer's porch.

“I've never seen
a car that flat before. Have you?” It was a stupid statement but his intent
wasn't to have an intelligent conversation. He meant to distract the women. In
the distance the wail of an ambulance siren could be heard and he feared its
arrival would only distress them even more. “I think you might need a new car.”

Jake managed to
get Jessica and her grandmother into rocking chairs on the farmer's porch. His
ridiculous statement about the car earned him half a smile. “That tree had some
nerve falling on the car like that.” The sound of tires going over rocks told
him the ambulance had arrived.

Jake kept up as
steady stream of chatter and used his body to block Jessica's view of her
grandfather as the EMTs secured him to a stretcher. It appeared as if he still
had not regained consciousness, and, by the way the responders had moved him
from the ground to the stretcher, he assumed they were worried about possible
neck and back injuries too. In a young person either of those injuries could be
difficult to heal from, but in a person his age they could be life altering.

“I'm riding to
the hospital with them,” Charlie called over as they wheeled the stretcher
toward the ambulance.

Jake almost
suggested that Jessica or her grandmother ride in the ambulance instead, but
changed his mind at the last minute. The women weren't exactly calm and they
might get in the way. Besides, an extra set of experienced hands might be
useful on the way to the hospital. “We'll meet you there.” If the tables were
reversed he'd want to be at the hospital and the pancake of a car in the
driveway wasn't going anywhere.

Charlie threw
him a thumbs-up and pulled the ambulance doors closed behind her.

***

Jake grabbed the
box of tissues from a table in the hospital waiting room and brought it over to
Jessica and her grandmother. They had been there for almost two hours and
already the two women had gone through five of the tiny boxes of tissues the
hospital left out for patients.

“Here are some
more.” Jake handed Jessica the box and then took the seat next to her again. Like
everything else in the room it was cheap but functional. “Can I get you
anything? Some water?” His eyes darted across the room to the vending machines
in the corner. The row of colorful machines provided the only color in the
stark white room. “A snack?”

Jessica pulled
out a few tissues before handing the box to her grandmother. “No, thanks. I'm
fine,” she said between sniffles. “This is my fault. I should have gone up the
ladder.” Her voice cracked as she spoke. “Or made him wait till someone else
could come by.”

The anguish and
guilt he heard in Jessica's voice had him putting his arm around her shoulder.
  
“It wasn't anyone's fault. It just happened.”
What else could he say?

“He's right Jess.
Your grandpa wouldn't have listened anyway. You know how stubborn he is.” It
was the first time Mrs. Quinn had spoken since they'd left the house.

“I just wish we
knew something. What is taking so long?”

“Dr. O’Brien is
with him. As soon as she knows something, she'll tell you.” As if by magic the
minute he spoke her name, Charlie walked through a door marked “Hospital
Employees Only”. When she saw the three of them sitting together she paused
briefly before continuing toward them. From her expression he couldn't
determine what kind of update she was about to deliver. Unlike the women
sitting next to him, Charlie seemed remarkably able to control her emotions. Perhaps
one had to in order to be a doctor. He had never thought about it before.

“You can come
and see him now. It might still be awhile before he is moved to his own room,
but you can both sit with him until then.”

Neither Jessica
nor her grandmother waited to hear another word. Both came to their feet and
started toward the door leading back to the patient examining rooms. He
expected Charlie to follow right behind them, but she didn't.

“Thank you for
bringing them over.”

He could see the
surprise in her hazel eyes but didn't understand it. Had she thought he would
leave the two women back at their house with no way to get here? He had told
her he would meet her here. Or was she surprised to find him still in the
waiting room with the Quinns? While sitting in a hospital emergency room was
rather low on his list of fun things to do, he couldn't in good conscience just
drop them off and leave.

“Not a problem.”

Chapter
3

It had been four
days since Charlie walked into the emergency waiting room to get Jessica Quinn
and her grandmother and found Jake with his arm around Jessica's shoulder in an
attempt to comfort her. She'd expected Jake to drop Jessica and her grandmother
off and then leave. She'd been even more surprised to find him still sitting
there an hour later when she'd been ready to leave.

That afternoon
she started to re-assess her opinion of him.
 
From everything she'd seen he was nothing like
the man they portrayed in the media. He came across as a caring and
compassionate person who wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty, someone she
could easily she herself dating if he lived in town. But he didn't. After this
crisis passed he would move on to another one and probably forget about this
little town. Not that she would blame him. North Salem wasn't the most
interesting place in the world, especially compared to the places he could
travel to whenever he got the urge.

You haven't exactly lived in a bubble.
Charlie poured
cream into her coffee and then mixed in sugar. Thanks to the Navy she'd been to
parts of the world she never would've seen otherwise. While many of the places
weren't vacation hot spots, she'd still gotten away from Massachusetts, unlike
her mother and brother. Both of them had spent their whole lives on the East
Coast. Had her mom been any further south than Virginia? She'd never stopped to
think about it before now, but she didn't think so.

What places had
Jake been to? She'd just started to make a mental list of all the places their
billionaire guest had probably been when he walked into the dining room.

“Good morning. Please
tell me there is more coffee.”

Charlie didn't
bother to stifle her laugh. It seemed as if she and Jake had a least one thing
in common. They were both addicted to coffee. “You're as bad as me. Ma just
made some more.” She pointed to the coffee urn on the sideboard. “She made some
muffins too.”