Unfinished Business (27 page)

 
Cheers went up in the tower. It was a long way from a smooth landing, but Christy had brought the plane down in one piece.

Inhaling deeply, Jake Madaris leaned back in his chair. He knew his hair was no longer sprinkled with gray but was probably completely gray by now. He didn’t want to recall the touch-and-go moment when the plane had dipped and come close to hitting the side of a mountain. He doubted everyone’s hearts would be the same after that experience.

“Damn, I’m glad that’s over,” Trevor Grant was saying, wiping sweat from his brow. Six other men nodded in agreement.

“Mr. Madaris, we have special transportation to take you to the hospital,” the airport security officer was saying. “Medical help is being dispatched to the airfield, which will take them to Honolulu General. I’m sure your niece will want to see all of you.”

Jake nodded. He then turned to the seven men with him. “Let’s go.”

“We did it, sweetheart,” Christy whispered as she leaned over and cupped Alex’s hot cheek and gently kissed him. He was still passed out, but she had to believe he was hearing her words.

Her heart was still pounding from landing the plane, but she had done it. Her determination to take care of Alex had made her do it. It was as if he had unconsciously willed some of his strength and control to her when she needed it most.

She glanced around. The ambulance had arrived with its siren blasting. As soon as the vehicle came to a stop in front of the plane, the EMTs quickly descended, opened the plane’s door, and went to work on Alex.

“What about you?” one of the men asked her. “Do you need medical attention as well?”

Christy shook her head as she watched what was happening to Alex. “No, I’m fine; just take care of my husband, please.”

The men were taking his vital signs and had started an IV. She fought back tears, calling upon Alex’s strength and control once again when they removed him from the plane on a stretcher and she saw how much blood he had lost.

She paused and lifted her gaze up to heaven, closed her eyes, and prayed for God to intervene and make Alex well.

They made it to the hospital in less than thirty minutes, and with Christy following close behind, the medics rolled Alex through a pair of glass double doors. Eight men who were standing in the waiting room rushed out the moment they saw Alex.

“Christy!”

She turned, and from the way everyone was looking at her she knew she must look a sight with her torn blouse and blood-splattered jeans, but at the moment she didn’t care.

She was about to say something, tell everyone how glad she was to see them, when a nurse and doctor came rushing forward. A concerned frown covered the doctor’s face as he checked Alex’s leg. The doctor then glanced over his shoulder and quickly asked, “Who’s the next of kin to approve medical treatment?”

“I am.”

Both Christy and Trask had spoken the words at the same time. All eyes that turned to stare at Christy were confused. The doctor also turned around. “OK, which one of you is it?” he asked, his frown deepening.

Trask, who hadn’t taken his eyes off Christy, said, “I’m his brother.”

The doctor then switched his gaze to Christy. “And you are?”

Knowing everyone was watching and waiting for her response, she said, “His wife.”

“Wife!” That shocked exclamation came from seven pairs of lips. Jake didn’t say anything. He merely silently looked on.

Christy lifted a very stubborn Madaris chin and met seven very shocked gazes, three in particular. “Yes, his wife.” She then gave the doctor her full attention. “Please do whatever you have to do to make him well.”

An angry Dex stepped forward. “What the hell do you mean, you’re his wife?”

Christy glared up at her brother. “Just what I said, Dex.”

Jake thought that now was the time to intervene. He placed a protective arm around his niece. “Dammit, Dex, calm down. Alex had to marry Christy to get her off that island.”

Dex’s anger quickly vanished. “Oh.”

“Then it’s just a matter of getting it annulled,” Clayton said with a relaxed smile now that he understood things.

“That should be easy enough, since it hasn’t been consummated,” Justin added.

Christy stepped away from Jake and was in her brothers’ faces so fast they didn’t have time to blink. But they did have the good sense to back up. “There won’t be an annulment,” she snapped. “And as far as our marriage not being consummated, you’re wrong. It’s been consummated several times over and then some, thank you very much.”

No one said anything. Startling silence reigned supreme until the doctor cleared his throat and spoke up. “Uhh, we need to get this man to surgery right away. An artery was punctured and he’s lost a lot of blood already.”

Everyone went into action again as the medics wheeled Alex’s stretcher toward double doors. “Hey, Doc,” Dex called out.

The doctor glanced back over his shoulder. “Yes?”

Dex’s expression looked hard, almost made of stone. “You do just like my sister requested and make him well. Just so I can have the pleasure of killing him all over again.”

Trask snapped his head around and glared at Dex. “Like hell you will!”

“Dexter Jordan! Trask Elgin!”

Anyone familiar with the Madaris family recognized that stern and firm voice and all eyes quickly went to the hospital’s entrance door. Jonathan and Marilyn Madaris entered the room, surrounded by the wives of all eight men. The men shook their heads upon seeing their wives and knew only one person was responsible for their being there: Syneda. Seven pairs of eyes went to Clayton, who merely shrugged.

The presence of Christy’s father unleashed a flood of pent-up emotions. She had tried to be strong and stay in control, but the sound of his voice made her fear of losing Alex that much more real and suddenly she couldn’t stop the panic and fear that gripped her.

Christy met her father’s gaze and somehow he understood what she needed and automatically he smiled and held open his arms. “Dad.” His name came out on a sob and she raced across the room to him and broke down and cried.

“It’s OK, sweetheart,” Jonathan Madaris was saying softly, tightening his arms around her. “Alex is going to be all right. You got to believe that.”

Her father continued to hold her protectively in his arms and she fought to find that strength again. She refused to think that she was losing Alex and that the love they had finally found would be snatched away from them. In the deep recesses of her mind she willed Alex to be OK. She needed him in her life and didn’t want to think of a life without him.

Marilyn Madaris pressed a cold cloth to her daughter’s eyes, which were swollen from so much crying. Marilyn had tried to get Christy to drink something and she hadn’t. She just sat there, staring at the double doors Alex had been wheeled through a half hour ago, as everyone waited for word on his condition.

Jonathan had his sons somewhere in a private room and probably was reading them the riot act. He was breaking the news to them that Christy was no longer a little girl but a young woman who was old enough to make her own decisions. It was time they realized Christy had a life, and they needed to respect that. Marilyn knew her husband and was sure that by the time the talk ended, Justin, Dex, and Clayton would have a new attitude or would keep the old attitude to themselves. It was a known fact that it took a lot to make her husband angry, but when he reached that point all hell was known to break loose.

She again focused on her daughter. It was evident that she was tired, completely exhausted. And as Marilyn looked at Christy’s clothes she didn’t want to think of what she’d gone through to bring her to this point. Marilyn had listened to Jake while he had briefed them on how their baby girl had miraculously landed a plane. With mountains looming all around, Christy had somehow brought her and Alex to safety.

Yes, Marilyn thought, there was no doubt in her mind that her pampered daughter had grown up a lot during the past twenty-four hours. And according to what Jake had also shared with them, Christy was now a married woman, a woman who had stood up to her brothers in proclaiming that fact. It seems what may have started off as a marriage of convenience just to get Christy off that island was now anything but that. Christy had gotten the man she had always wanted, and Alex had gotten the woman that he loved.

“Mom?”

Marilyn glanced at her daughter. “Yes, sweetheart?”

“Alex is going to be all right, isn’t he?”

Although she’d been told just how serious Alex’s condition was, Marilyn had to believe he would be OK. She had to believe it for all their sakes, especially Christy’s. “Yes, sweetheart, I believe in my heart that he’ll come through this because he knows how much you love him and that you’re depending on him to get better.”

Christy fought back the tears. “I love him so much, Mom.”

Marilyn nodded and smiled. “Yes, and you always have.”

Christy smiled, too, through her tears. “Yes, I have.” Then a regretful frown touched her features. “I’ve been so mean to him since that night of the auction.”

Marilyn pushed back a lock of hair from her daughter’s face. “I’m sure he understood why, sweetheart. He had hurt you and you were protecting your heart from further pain. At some point he realized that, and I think that’s why he was so diligent in trying to prove he was worthy of your love. At first he was afraid to love you because in his mind there were too many opposing factors that stood in the way: the differences in your ages; his relationship to our family, especially to your brothers; and your inexperience, just to name a few. Jonathan and I appreciated the fact that he wouldn’t take advantage of your love. But now it seems that the two of you have worked through your differences and are a happily married couple just like it was meant to be.”

Christy didn’t say anything and Marilyn hoped she had given her daughter something to think about. She shook her head, knowing her husband was somewhere giving their sons a lot to think about as well.

Jonathan Madaris stared angrily at his three sons. They had inherited his stubbornness, two of them to the nth degree. But even worse, when it came to Christy, all three were over-protective beyond reason.

“I want to know why you’re against Christy and Alex being married?”

It was Dex who spoke up. “Dad, it’s nothing against Alex personally of course, but Christy is too young to get married.”

“And Alex isn’t ready to settle down, either,” Clayton added tersely. “Although his business has always been the most important thing in his life, he’s still into women. He can hook up with one whenever he wants.”

“And I personally don’t think Christy is ready for marriage,” Justin tacked on. “It’s a big responsibility and Christy’s priorities are still her hair and nails.”

Jonathan turned to Dex and lifted a dark brow. “If I remember correctly, Dex, when you married Caitlin the first time around, she was a lot younger than Christy is now and the two of you had only known each other for two weeks.”

Dex frowned. “That’s not the point, Dad.”

Jonathan leaned against the closed door. “Then maybe it should be.”

He then turned to Clayton. “And I don’t know of anyone who was more into women than you, so how can you talk? But being all into women didn’t stop you from falling in love with Syneda and settling down, thank God.”

He then turned his attention to his oldest son. “I remember when Marilyn and I thought that you and Denise weren’t ready for marriage, either, but the two of you proved us wrong. Just think how things would have been had we or her parents stood in the way of your marrying her.” Jonathan knew he was reminding Justin of how determined he’d been to marry his first wife, Denise. They had shared five years together before she had died of a brain tumor.

“And as far as Christy’s appearance being her top priority,” Jonathan continued, “I think you’d better take another look at her today. She doesn’t give a damn about her hair, nails, or what she’s wearing. The only thing she’s concerned with right now is the man she loves.”

He inhaled deeply before he said, “Your eyes have been closed to what’s been going on with Christy and Alex.” Still angry, he was determined to make his sons see reason. “Christy has loved Alex since she was thirteen, when he gave her that ring on her birthday and promised to marry her. To all of us it was a joke, but to Christy it was the most important event to ever take place in her life, and since that day she has been waiting to grow up just so the two of them could marry.”

Clayton shook his head. “That’s crazy, Dad. Christy was just a kid. Alex didn’t think of her that way. He only gave her that ring to stop her from crying. We all knew that.”

Jonathan nodded. “Yes, we all knew that and over time we assumed that as Christy got older she knew that as well, but that wasn’t the case. Although Alex never encouraged her in any way, your sister went through high school and college actually believing that she and Alex were promised to each other. In fact, she reminded him of his promise three years ago, the night of the private auction at Sisters. Up until then, Alex hadn’t had a clue of Christy’s feelings.”

“What did he do?” Justin asked quietly.

Jonathan sighed deeply. “He made the worst mistake a person could make with a Madaris. In rebuffing her advances, he injured her pride by telling her he had no intention of marrying her and that she needed to grow up, get out of fantasyland, and start dating guys her own age.”

Dex shook his head. “No disrespect, Dad, but although I agree with anything Alex told her, I’m sure saying it put him on her shit list,” he said. He knew all too well about the Madaris pride since he was full of it. It was only when he had put his fierce pride aside that he had been able to open up his heart to love again and have a new beginning with Caitlin.

“Yes, and Alex would have permanently remained there if he hadn’t started realizing something.”

“What?” Clayton asked.

“That he was in love with Christy. And when she returned home from college, if the three of you had been more observant, you would have noticed how taken Alex was with your sister and how hard he was trying to fight it. And knowing Christy, I’m sure it was her intent to play the vixen and put salt in the wound by deliberately making sure Alex knew just what he’d lost.”

“Damn, we didn’t have a clue,” Dex said, shaking his head.

Jonathan shook his head. “Well, it hasn’t been easy for him. Any other man would have said the hell with it and walked away. From what I understand, your sister has put him through pure hell, yet he refused to give up on her.”

Jonathan sighed deeply. “Alex is a fine young man, and like Trask and Trevor I’ve always considered him as another son. I can’t think of any other man I’d want to have my daughter—a man who would do just about anything to keep her safe, which is proven by the fact he’s in there fighting for his life. Not once did he try to take advantage of Christy’s feelings and he has always treated her with the utmost respect, and as her brothers you couldn’t have asked for more than that.”

“But why didn’t he let us know how he felt?” Justin Madaris asked.

Jonathan smiled. “Because he knew just how overprotective the three of you were of Christy. And then there was the friendship the four of you shared, which was special to him. Alex knew it wouldn’t have been anything personal, but he, like everyone else, had long ago accepted that when it came to a man in Christy’s life, as far as you all were concerned, no man, not even him, would have been good enough for her.”

Jonathan shook his head sadly. “It wouldn’t have bothered the three of you in the least if she grew up an old maid, which I think is kind of pathetic considering the fact that you’re all happily married. I think it’s pretty damn selfish that you wouldn’t want your sister to share that same happiness. It’s time the three of you stop treating her like a little girl. If you haven’t noticed lately, Christy has blossomed into a woman, and I can’t think of a finer man to have as my son-in-law than Alex. I know in my heart he will love her; he’s already proven just how far he will go to protect her, and I think you’ll all agree he will treat her right. What more can we ask for or expect?”

Jonathan glanced down at his watch. He hoped it wouldn’t be too much longer before they got word on Alex’s condition. “Over the years I think it has been admirable the way you’ve always looked out for your baby sister, but the time has come to back off and let her live her own life. I’m going to leave you in here for a moment to think about everything that I’ve said.”

Jonathan then opened the door and walked out of the room.

Trask looked at his wife as they sat in a corner of the waiting room. “How long have you known about Alex and Christy?”

Felicia met her husband’s gaze. She sighed deeply, glad everything was out in the open. “For a few years now.”

Trask leaned back in his chair and frowned. “And you didn’t think I had a right to know?”

“Yes, but it wasn’t my place to tell you, Trask. Alex is your brother. It was obvious he had a lot of decisions to make concerning Christy, and the last thing he needed was for you to muddy the waters.”

Trask’s frown deepened. “I wouldn’t have done that.”

She leveled her gaze at him. “Yes, you would have, Trask Maxwell. Clayton is your best friend. You knew his attitude regarding any man in Christy’s life. You would have tried finding a way to talk what you would have considered as some sense into Alex.”

Trask fell silent for a moment. He couldn’t disagree with that. “I know it wouldn’t have been anything personal against Alex, Felicia, that’s the way Justin, Clayton, and Dex are toward Christy. Everyone has known that. That’s why I can’t really fault Dex for being so angry now.”

“Well, it’s time for them to change their attitudes. If none of you have noticed lately, Christy isn’t a kid anymore. She’s a woman. And right now everyone’s main concern should be on Alex pulling through. From what I understand, his condition is serious.”

Trask nodded and blew out a ragged breath as he stood. “Yes, and I need to call Momma and let her know. I’ll be back in a second.”

Felicia watched as Trask walked over to the bank of telephones. She hoped and prayed for Christy’s and Alex’s sake that her cousins came to terms with the decisions Christy had made.

Christy glanced at the clock on the wall. What was taking so long? It had been over an hour already and still there hadn’t been any news about Alex.

She had spoken to Trask and he’d told her he had contacted his mother to let her know about Alex. Jake had called his good friend, movie actor Sterling Hamilton, who had agreed to fly Jolene Maxwell Thomas to Honolulu in his private jet.

The double doors opened and the doctor walked through. Christy rushed over to him as fast as she could. “How is he?” she asked. Then panic kicked in at the look on the doctor’s face. He sighed deeply and shook his head.

“I can’t make you any promises, Ms. Maxwell. There was extensive bleeding and we did all we could to stop it, but your husband has lapsed into a coma. I’m sorry.”

Christy sighed deeply, refusing to cry; refusing to believe what the doctor was telling her. She felt strong arms around her shoulders and looked up to see her brothers had come to stand by her side.

The doctor in Justin asked the one question they all needed to know. After introducing himself to the doctor, he asked, “What are his chances, Dr. Shane?”

Christy’s heart nearly stopped when the doctor met Justin’s gaze and said, “Not good. Like I said, he lost a lot of blood, and just like I’d thought, an artery was punctured. It’s surprising he didn’t bleed to death before he got here. One thing: the man has a strong constitution for survival, but still, the human body, as you know, Dr. Madaris, can only take so much.”

Christy pulled up all the Madaris stubbornness that she could muster and said, “He
will
pull through. He
will
!” She then inhaled deeply and fought back her tears. “When can I see my husband?”