Close Your Eyes (34 page)

‘I am sorry, madam
,
but you’ll need to go through the check.’ His voice carried a note of authority as he pointed to the
newly erected
checkpoint,
where
two other officers
waited
.

‘
Sure
, right away,’ she stammered, feeling rather awkward and surreal. It had never occurred to her that in order to see Ry
an
,
she would need to go
through
security measures,
and she
made
a mental note to mention it to him later.

‘
Meg
?’
Matt
appeared at her side
. His
eyes
took in
her pale face before he turned to the officer and explained
.
‘
That
isn’t
really necessary, sir.
Meg
is here with us,
with our family.’ His arm went around her shoulders in a
self-explanatory
gesture.
The
policeman nodded
seriously
and apologized.

‘Well,
this is
a bit of a zoo, isn’t it?’
He
asked
Meg
an
convers
at
ionally
. His
pose
relax
ed
slightly
. ‘
We
have been trying to sort it out, ever since the
McConnells
started this mess.
’

‘You did an excellent job.’ Matt’s reassuring voice brought smile to the policeman’s somber face. ‘
I think that b
y now
,
we
should be
pretty much safe
, though we probably destroyed
the local crime statistics for years to come.’

‘It was something
right out of a crime drama
,
if you ask me,’ the policeman
said seriously
. ‘Still, you were very lucky that nurse was there
to step
in when needed. Who knows what would
have
happen
ed
otherwise?’

‘Is she
okay
?’
Meg
turned to
Matt
. Worry made
her voice
hoarser
than usual. ‘
My
mom said she
was
hurt when she tried to disarm
that
woman.’

‘She is totally fine,
Megs
.’
His voice reassured her.
He
led
her to the elevator
.
‘
Just
a minor scratch, nothing more.
You can see for yourself
. S
he is up there, talking to
G
randdad as we speak.’

Stepping out of the elevator,
Megan
looked at the wide hallway
. T
he beige tiles reflect
ed
some of the morning sunlight pouring through the
large,
evenly spaced windows. At the far end of
the hallway
was Ry
an
’s room
. T
he half
-
open door allow
ed
a cacophony of voices
to escape
. They walked over,
Matt
’s hand pushing the door aside in one smooth gesture.

It
seemed as if the whole
Harper
family was gathered around the bed
where Ry
an
sat
propped up against
the
pristine
pillows.
Rupert
and
Rosemary
were
deep in conversation with Elisa and her husband.
Meg decided with relief that they looked friendly.
Elisa said
something that
made
the
whole
group laugh
.
The laughter
was a strangely alien sound
to anyone who
had seen
them together before.

Maybe this whole disaster had a purpose after all?

His blue eyes resting on her face with warmth that was certainly not usual,
Henry
Harper
was
engrossed in a serious discussion with
a
visibly flustered Alice Cooper. But then again, she
had
saved his favorite grandson
.
And probably
,
by now
,
he
would have
remembered her parents
,
as well.
Meg
felt a tiny stab of jealousy as the old man
, his features soft and friendly,
patt
ed
Alice’s hand. She was ashamed right away
and
angry with herself for her selfish attitude. Alice
had
helped save Ry
an
,
and
any attention she was getting
was w
ell deserved.
Alice’s
left hand was wrapped with
thick
gauze
, which reminded
Meg
an that
the nurse
hadn’t
escape
d
the wrath of the
thieving
manager and his family
totally unscathed
.

She glanced at Ry
an
,
who was
partially
obstructed from her view by
the
people gathered in the room
. Megan wished
that
the others
would
disappear
for a moment
,
so
she could be alone with Ryan.
She wasn’t sure
exactly how she should react in the presence of all these watchful eyes.
Her first impulse was to run to his bed and kiss him, if only to reassure herself he was really fine. But then again,
he had
told
her plenty of times how much his grandfather disapproved of people who made public gestures,
which
he considered cheesy and gaudy.
She certainly didn’t want
to come
across as dramatic or clingy.

In the end
,
she walked up to the bed, saying hello to everyone and smiling at Ry
an
, who looked much better than
he had
yesterday. His pallor was gone
,
as were the dark rings under his eyes,
and
his animated face and smile
filled
her with gladness.

‘Hi there,’ she said in a husky voice, swallowing hard to get rid of the unexpected tightness in her throat.
T
he stress and tension of the last twenty
-
four hours seemed to have
finally
caught up with her
. T
ears burn
ed
behind her eyelids and threaten
ed
to spill
over
. She didn’t want to make a spectacle of herself
. She blinked rapidly as she
sat
down
on
his bed.

‘Hi,
Megs
.
’
Ryan put his arm around
her
and
pulled her lower,
then kissed
her awkwardly. It was a quick and innocent kiss
, n
ot one of a lover glad to be reunited with the woman he loved and missed.
She suspected
he didn’t feel like anything more with his family looking on,
so she
subdu
ed
her impulse to kiss him back properly.

It
will
have to wait for later
.
S
he straightened, looking at him properly from such a close distance.

‘Are you ok
ay
?’
She could tell something was off, and
not
being
unable to pinpoint
the problem frustrated her
.
She had to admit that h
e looked good,
e
ven better than good, to be honest.

Almost… smug
.
She was
unable to find a different description.
As if he
’s
enjoying himself instead of reeling from the horrifying experience.