Then Came Indecision (Southern Love #2) Page 6
“Wait.”
“What?” he asked.
“What about Gabe?”
“Are you fucking kidding me?”
She looked at him. “We have to do something. The cars won’t see him. They might run him over.”
“Good,” he snapped.
“Paul…”
“No. Fuck that.”
“Baby?”
He sighed. “That isn’t fair.”
“I’m not just leaving him there. He probably needs medical treatment.”
He took a deep breath but said nothing for a long time. “I’m only doing this for you.”
“Thank you.”
He put her down then grabbed Gabe from the ground, putting him over his shoulder. They walked back to the car, and Paul put Gabe in the backseat. When he slammed the door, the entire car shook. The door almost fell off. He gave her a long glare before he got into the driver seat.
When they drove to the hospital, Paul held her hand, squeezing it. His thumb moved over her knuckles, warming her with his natural heat. After they stopped at the emergency department, Paul grabbed Gabe and carried him inside. Minutes later, he returned.
“What did you say?” she asked.
“That I found him like that.” He drove from the hospital and back to the house. The way he gripped the steering wheel showed Alexandra how angry he was. “What the fuck is wrong with you?” The explosion was so sudden, it caught her off guard. “You don’t owe him shit, Alexandra.”
“I’m a nurse. By my oath, I have to help anyone and everyone. It doesn’t matter what their crime is.”
He stared at her. “I thought you weren’t a nurse?”
“Uh…”
Paul shook his head. “That fucker should have died. You should have just let me kill him.”
“Let it go,” she said gently.
“No. I would have fucking died if something happened to you.”
“I know…”
“No, you don’t fucking know.”
Alexandra looked at her hands in her lap.
“How can you be so damn calm about this?”
“I know he’ll regret everything in the morning. He was just drunk.”
Paul slammed on the breaks in the middle of the road. The car slid to a stop. The seatbelt dug into her skin as it held her back. “He was just drunk? That’s not an excuse. Rape is still rape.” He glared at her like he might rip her throat out.
Alexandra kept her mouth shut.
“How can you forgive him for what he did but you won’t forgive me?”
“I did forgive you.”
“Then take me back. If he’s going to be your friend again, then I should be your boyfriend again.”
“I never said we would be friends again,” she said.
He shook his head. “I love how caring and compassionate you are. I admire you for it. But why isn’t it applying to me right now?”
She looked out the window.
“Answer me!”
“Because you’re different.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
She took a deep breath. “I expect everyone to treat me bad. When they do it, it doesn’t bother me. But with you…I expected nothing but perfection from you. And when you hurt me, it hurt a million times more than it should have.”
He stared at her. “Is that why you still have feelings for this guy? Because you didn’t expect him to be a good guy?”
“No…”
He rested his head on the steering wheel for a moment before he drove the rest of the way home. They were silent as they passed the endless fields. When they arrived at the house, the dogs didn’t move from the porch, recognizing Alexandra through the window.
When they walked inside, it was pitch dark. Martha was already asleep in her bedroom. Only the sound of the creaks of the floorboard could be heard. Alexandra stood there awkwardly.
Paul turned to her. “Let’s go to bed.”
Alexandra was too shaken up to sleep.
Paul walked into her bedroom.
Now Alexandra was confused. She followed him and saw him pull his jeans off. “What are you doing?”
“Don’t start,” he snapped.
“Don’t start what?”
“I’m sleeping with you.”
She stared at him. “Your bed is on the couch.”
He stared her down. “No.”
“No?”
“I can’t sleep unless I feel you in my arms. I need to know you’re safe. My world almost ended. You will do this for me, Alex. I won’t do anything but hold you. You have my word.”
She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
“I’ll turn around so you can change.” He faced the opposite wall, standing in his boxers. She stared at the outline of muscles in his back, seeing every groove. After a moment, she pulled his shirt off and dropped the remains of her dress. She returned his shirt to her body then got into bed.
“Are you done?” he asked.
“Yeah,” she said quietly.
He came to bed and got under the covers. His arms immediately hooked around her waist and dragged her to his chest. He buried his face in her neck, breathing deeply. His chest pushed against her back every time it expanded. Alexandra knew how upset he was by listening to him. His heart thudded against her back, racing like it would give out.
Paul kissed her neck then her head before he lied still. His hand never left her waist. It was large enough to span her stomach. They hadn’t slept together in months. Alexandra thought it would be weird but it wasn’t. It felt like it did months ago before everything fell apart.
When she reflected on the events of the night, she thought she would feel panicked and scared. But she didn’t. Feeling Paul next to her, his large body wrapped around her, assuaged any fear she had. Nothing could hurt her when he was watching over her. She was safe.
Chapter Eleven
Blaise was more frustrated than he’d ever been. The specialist was out of town so they’d been waiting days for his return. Blaise just wanted to fly home and return later, but he knew that would be a waste of time.
The worst part was being away from Alexandra. Danielle was finally out of the house and out of his life forever, and he wanted to scream the news from the highest mountain. He could finally tell Alexandra everything and hope for the best. Knowing how much pain she was in made it a million times worse. She was suffering for no reason. But it gave him peace of mind that she still loved him just as much as she did before. She wouldn’t have called if she felt otherwise.
His phone rang in his pocket, and he pulled it out quickly, hoping to see Alexandra’s name on the screen. He sighed when he realized it wasn’t her.
“Hello?”
“Hey,” Danielle said quietly.
“What?” he snapped.
“What the hell is your problem?” She sighed into the phone. “You haven’t checked on me once.”
“Why does everything revolve around you?”
“Because my life is in danger!”
“Fuck you, Danielle. You poison my crops then complain I’m not babying you?”
“What? Poison your crops? What the hell are you talking about?”
“You know damn well what I’m talking about.” He breathed heavily into the phone, clenching his fist.
“Blaise, what’s going on?”
“You really don’t know?”
“No! Now tell me.”
He sighed. “My crops have pesticide poisoning. The workers got it too. They all had to go to the hospital for a few days, but no one was seriously injured. Now I’m in California to see a specialist. Hopefully he can help.”
Danielle was quiet for a long time. “I’m so sorry. I had no idea.”
Blaise heard her lie everyday, and he could tell she wasn’t doing it now. “I’m sure it’ll be fine.” He didn’t think that at all. If his crops didn’t improve, he would have to start over even though the planting season was far gone, and he’d lose sig
nificant business. He would have to lay off his workers until the next season.
“Blaise, I promise I had nothing to do with that. I don’t know anything about pesticides.”
“The order form was changed, increased by ten times the amount. Someone changed it and I know it wasn’t me.”
She moved the phone to a different ear. “I’m pissed you assumed I had anything to do with that.”
“You lived with me. You had access to everything.”
“And didn’t that slutty secretary?”
Blaise growled. “Don’t talk about her like that.”
“I bet she did it. She was pissed you used her and now she wants revenge.”
“No,” he said simply.
“What do you mean no? It’s the only expLisation.”
“Shut up,” he snapped. “Alexandra would never do that.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure…”
“It was either Cole or Uncle John.”
“Your own family?” she asked incredulously. “Doubtful.”
“They both have a motive. I rejected their business proposition and they weren’t happy about it.”
“Cole’s only income is the cotton. Why would be sabotage his livelihood?”
Blaise shrugged. “He’s never been bright. John probably talked him into it.”
“Then you should be yelling at them, not me.”
“I would apologize but I don’t care enough to.”
“Don’t be an asshole,” she snapped.
“You stole a year of my life. I can be an asshole if I want.”
Danielle was quiet.
“Why did you call?”
“I thought you would be at least a little worried about me.”
Blaise ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. “Did you not listen to what I said? I have a crisis on my hands.”
“I didn’t think that would make me any less important.”
Blaise was fed up with her selfish nature. “Has he bothered you?”
“No…”
“Then what’s the big deal?”
“I haven’t gone anywhere.”
“How are your parents doing?” he asked.
“They were surprised when I came back.”
“You should tell them what’s going on,” he said. “That way they know what to look out for.”
“No,” she said quickly. “I don’t want to scare them.”
Blaise ran his fingers through his hair. “Do you want a gun?”
“God, no.”
“Then I don’t know what you want me to do.”
“You know exactly what I want.”
“It’s not going to happen,” he snapped.
“Are you and your lady friend back together?”
“No,” he said sadly. “I haven’t had a chance to talk to her. She hardly takes my calls, and when she does she doesn’t want to talk about our relationship.”
“You should just forget about her and move on.”
“And if I did, I still wouldn’t go back to you.”
“Come on, Blaise,” she said. “I’m the hottest girl in this town. You can’t do better than me.”
“Alexandra is a lot better,” he snapped.
“Not really.”
“I’m tired of arguing with you. Bye.”
“Wait,” she said quickly.
“What?”
“I miss you…”
Blaise remained silent.
“Is there anything I can do to help the fields?”
“No. Don’t worry about it.”
“Okay.”
He hung up, wanting to sever the connection between them as fast as possible. He stared at the phone for a long time, thinking about Alexandra. They hadn’t talked in a few days and he missed her. He decided to call her. It was early in the morning in Georgia.
“Hey,” she said quietly.
Just hearing her voice made him feel better. “Thank you for answering.”
“I was just thinking about you.”
“Are you in the fields?”
“Yeah.” She walked forward, the phone moving slightly. “How is everything going?”
“I’m still waiting for the specialist,” he said with a sigh.
“Is there something I can do? I can work on your fields when I’m done here.”
“No,” he said with a smile. “I’ve gotten it taken care of. And the cotton is so bad, I don’t think pampering will help much.”
“I’m so sorry, Blaise.”
“I know.”
“Do you know who did it?” she asked.
“It was either my brother or my uncle.”
“That’s horrible,” she said sadly.
“Well, money changes people.” He felt the depression take over. “I wish my dad was still here.”
Alexandra was quiet for a moment. “I’m sorry.”
“He always knew how to handle everything, and when he did, he made it look easy. I had no idea it was so stressful. I know he would be disappointed in me right now.”
“That’s not true, Blaise,” she said gently. “This is out of your hands.”
Blaise lost his voice.
“Blaise?”
“Hmm?”
“It’s not your fault.”
“Yes it is,” he said.
“You’ll figure it out. I know you will.”
He sighed. “I wish you were here.”
Alexandra was silent on the other end.
Blaise needed to hear the words that would make him feel better, the words that made his spine shiver and his palms grow damp. “Alexandra, I should go.”
“Me too.”
He waited for her to say it. The last time he spoke it, she hung up without saying it back.
“I love you,” she whispered. Her voice cracked like it was difficult for her to say. All her emotion was within her words, showing him how much she was still hurting.
“I love you too.”
She breathed into the phone.
“Everything will be better soon. I promise.”
Chapter Twelve
When Alexandra went to work the next day, it was hectic. The ER was saturated with patients. All of them seemed to have a cold or something minor, nothing an outpatient exam couldn’t take care of. Despite her annoyance, she kept a smile on her face and did her job.
Betty, the charge nurse, came over to her. “Alex, I didn’t know you were a nurse.”
She turned in her seat, feeling her heart race. “Uh…”
“It says it right on your application.” She looked at her with a smile on her face. “We have an opening on this floor.”
“Um…”
“You’re a nurse?” Suzie’s eyes were wide. “Why are you working here, then?”
“I’d like to know the same thing,” Betty said.
Alexandra felt cornered. “It’s just too hectic to work full time while I’m in school.”
“Oh,” Betty said. “Are you getting your master’s in nursing?”
“Actually, no. English.”
They both looked confused.
“Do you not like nursing?” Betty asked.
“No, of course I do.”
“Then what’s the problem?” Suzie asked.
Alexandra glanced between them, unsure how to respond.
“The patient in room 8 is out of bed again,” the nurse said with a sigh. She looked at Betty, asking her what to do.
Betty rubbed her chin. “We’ll have to get a restraint.”
Alexandra didn’t believe in the use of restraints. She thought it was inhumane and should only be used in life-threatening situations. “But the patient isn’t hurting anyone.”
“Do you know how many times I’ve put that catheter in her?” The nurse stared Alexandra down.
“I’ll have Dr. Kenley sign off on it,” Betty said.
Alexandra didn’t like that. “Let me try something.”
The nurse glared at her. “Super tech to the rescue.”
The patient was standing in her gown, moving the garbage to the other side of the room. She had schizophrenia and a muscular disorder, making it hazardous when she walked around.
“Ms. Tanner, do you need help?”
“I got it,” she said as she moved the bin.
Alexandra watched her for a moment. “Why don’t you take a seat?”
The woman ignored her.
She sighed as she watched the woman walk around, the IV pole trailing behind her. “You need to lay down, Ms. Tanner.”
She stopped and stared at the cabinet, her eyes looking at the different drawers.
Alexandra realized there was nothing she could do. The patient was clearly intent on doing what she pleased. She eyed the bed and noticed how well it was made. The dirty towels from the linen were folded and placed on the table. It gave her an idea. “I’ll be right back, Ms. Tanner.”
The woman opened the drawer and looked inside.
Alexandra left the room and walked to the cart. She grabbed a stack of clean towels and shoved them into a bag, ruining the folds.
“What are you doing?” Betty asked.
“I have an idea,” Alexandra said. She placed the pile of towels beside her desk along with a chair then returned to the room. “Mr. Tanner, can you help me with something?”
She stopped and looked at her. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. “What?”
“Come with me,” she said with a smile. She pulled out a wheelchair and nodded to it. “Sit down.”
The woman slowly walked to the chair and sat down. Alexandra arranged the IV pole and the catheter before she wheeled her out and put her next to her desk.
Alexandra nodded to the towels. “Could you fold these for me?”
The woman stared at them before she started going through them, arranging them in a perfect pile. When she was finished, Alexandra mixed them up and put them back on the desk. The woman folded them again.
Betty watched her. “Interesting…”
“She just needs something to do,” Alexandra whispered. “I’ll watch her.”
“We’re just waiting for her x-rays to come back,” Betty said. “She should be discharged in an hour or so.”
“Okay,” Alexandra said. “I’ll be here the whole time.”
Betty nodded. “Good thinking.” She walked away and returned to her desk.