Stormy Passion (39 page)

Brenna's last conscious thought as she
slammed into a tree was.
Who is that screaming
?

Taylor crouched low making short turns to
increase his speed. It was still too slow.

Faster and faster, he ran through the tracks
left by Brenna. She'd break her neck if she hit that ice at full
speed. He had to catch her before--before it was too late.

Why hadn't he gone first? His jaw stiffened.
Why hadn't he realized something was wrong? He knew why. When
Brenna was near he ceased to think logically. Taylor tightened his
body, pulling his arms in closer to his sides on the flats. Where
was she?
Don't let her get hurt
, he prayed. He couldn't lose
Brenna after he'd just found her. He just couldn't.

Taylor neared the turn where the snow machine
should be positioned. The man at the top mentioned the sixth turn.
Taylor slowed until he came to a stop just before entering the
bend. Leaning over, he grabbed his knees trying to control his
labored breathing. He wasn't in the best of shape.

Kicking off his skis, he started around the
turn. A single ski stood straight up in the snow as if it marked a
grave. “No!” Taylor's anguished voice echoed through the mountains.
Chills ran rampant over his body.
Get a hold of yourself
.
Brenna had to be here someplace. He scanned the area, searching
every lump and bump until his eyes focused on a group of tall
pines. At the bottom lay a bundle of red. A bundle that wasn't
moving.

The shortest way to Brenna was across the
ice, but if he broke his leg in the process he wouldn't be much
good to either of them, so Taylor forced himself to take the other
way around.

The cumbersome ski boots slowed his pace as
he skirted the ice to get to her. His gaze never left her body.
“Brenna!” he shouted frantically.

She didn't move.

Taylor feared the worst. He prayed the whole
time he inched toward her. Finally, with his heart lodged in his
throat, he reached her.

“
Brenna,” he said as he ran
his hand over her arms, checking for broken bones. He felt her
throat for a pulse and gave a silent prayer of thanks when he found
one. Still, she hadn't responded. Gently, he rolled Brenna over and
cradled her in his arms. She had an egg-size lump on her head that
had already turned a reddish-purple. More than likely she had a
concussion, and he prayed there was nothing more
serious.

“
Brenna,” he choked out her
name. When she didn't open her eyes, he pulled off his gloves and
pushed the hair from her face. Somewhere during her ordeal, she'd
lost her headband. He couldn't stop touching her face, tenderly
caressing her cheeks and forehead, trying to give her his
strength.

Without thinking, Taylor lowered his head and
brushed her cold lips. “Speak to me, love. Open those beautiful
eyes,” he murmured against her mouth. “T--tell me to go to hell . .
. anything . . .”

Taylor felt a slight movement. He jerked his
head back and stared at her, willing her eyelids to open. He saw a
teardrop on her cheek, and only then did he realize that he was
crying.

It seemed like an eternity before her long,
sooty lashes fluttered open just as Taylor looked up to see the
bright orange jackets of the ski patrol coming. He glanced down at
her with blurred vision; he saw confused green eyes, starring back
at him.

“
Am I dead?” she managed to
get out in a soft whisper.

“
No.” Taylor wanted to
shout with relief; instead he smiled and tightened his arms around
her. “You're very much alive.”

“
Then why are you
crying?”

He gave a strangled kind of laugh. “Men don't
cry, sweetheart. It's just the cold wind.” He brushed off her
comment. “Are you all right?”

“
My leg hurts,” she said
just as the ski patrol arrived, “And I have one hell of a
headache.”

One of the men called out, “Is she
injured?”

“
Yes, hurry!” Taylor said
impatiently

“
Taylor.” Brenna gained his
attention again.

“
Yes,
sweetheart.”

“
I lo--.” She passed out
never finishing her sentence.

The snowmobile stopped, and several men
jumped off. “Looks like she's broken her ankle,” one of the
paramedics commented after a quick examination. Reaching into his
bag, he pulled out an inflated splint and placed it around her
ankle. Next they placed a spinal collar around her neck.

“
What's that
for?”

The paramedic didn't bother to turn around,
instead he said over his shoulder, “For precaution.”

“
Will she be all right?”
Taylor asked.

“
I hope so. I don't like
the looks of that lump on her head.” The man bent over and he and
another paramedic lifted Brenna into a stretcher-basket.

Another member of the ski patrol brought
Taylor his discarded skis. “Look, we only have room for--”

“
Brenna. Her name is Brenna
Fox.”

“
Here are your skis.” The
young kid handed them to Taylor. “You'll have to go down on your
own power. I assure you you'll be safe the rest of the
way.”

“
Thanks.” Taylor brushed
the snow from his boots and slid them into the bidding. “Where are
you taking her?”

“
To Ridgeway Hospital,” the
medic said as he started the snowmobile. “Are you her next of
kin?”

“
No. She has a sister down
below.”

“
In that case you better
get her to the hospital.” The unspoken threat of something more
serious lingered in the medic's eyes.

Taylor looked down at Brenna one last time.
What had she been about to say? It sounded very much like love. Had
she finally admitted she loved him and regretted leaving? The way
she'd been acting he couldn't be sure, but what if she did love
him. What then? That only presented new problems.

He squeezed her hand and his stomach
tightened. He didn't want to leave her, but Taylor knew he had to
get Lisa and Carol who didn't know what had happened. He prayed
Lisa had the keys to the Jeep or they would have no transportation
to the hospital.

Taylor thought about the dilemma he was
slowly digging himself into as he skied the rest of the slope. He
and Brenna were so different from the young kids who had fallen in
love. She'd made a new life for herself, one that didn't include
him. And he had his own life, but that wasn't saying much. He'd
worked hard at the bank and established three new branches since
he'd taken control. He couldn't give that up and he didn't think
Brenna would return to River Run.

Then there was Carol.

Taylor knew he didn't feel for Carol what he
did for Brenna. But he wasn't sure if what he felt for Brenna was
anything more than old memories . . . what could have been. Until
he stepped into this town he would have sworn that his love for her
was dead and buried with the past. Maybe he was in love with a
memory and nothing more.

When Taylor reached the bottom of the run, he
wasted little time skiing over to the bunny slopes where he spotted
Lisa right away preparing to go down a small hill.

“
Wait a minute,
muffin!”

“
Taylor! What are you doing
back here so soon?”

He didn't answer as he searched around for
Carol. “Where is Carol?”

Lisa pointed to her right. “She's over there.
I think she likes the ski instructor.”

He followed to where Lisa had indicated and
saw Carol sitting on a bench, talking to her instructor. She was
laughing and looked very happy, he thought. Much happier than when
she was with him. Just maybe Carol was having her doubts, too.

“
Come on, Lisa.” He took
her hand. “We've got to go.”

“
Why?” Lisa asked. “And
where is Brenna?”

“
She has had a small
accident.” He cupped his hands and called, “Carol!” Seeing her look
up, he motioned for her to come over.

Lisa grabbed his arm. “What do you mean? Has
she been hurt?”

“
Yes, muffin. She's broken
her ankle.” He saw the tears spring into the child's eyes, and he
pulled her to him. “Don't cry.” He rubbed Lisa's back. “I promise
Brenna is going to be all right.”

“
What's wrong?” Carol came
up.

“
Brenna's had an
accident.”

“
How?”

“
I'll explain in the car.”
Taylor held Lisa back and wiped her eyes. “Lisa, do you have the
keys?”

She wiped her cheeks and dug in her pocket
producing a shining set of silver keys. “We always carry two sets
when we go off in case something happens.”

“
Good.” He took the keys
and heaved the skis on his shoulder. “Come on, let's
go.”

Taylor explained what had transpired as they
drove to the hospital. The congested festival traffic slowed their
progress to a snail's pace. He managed to keep his composure when
he really wanted to tell everyone to get the hell out of his
way.

Finally they arrived at Ridgeway Hospital.
Lisa called this place a hospital? Taylor had his doubts. The place
was smaller than his house back home. But once inside the building,
he felt a little better. At least it smelled like a hospital, and
the head nurse looked like a football player.

“
Where is Brenna Fox?”
Taylor demanded.

The nurse peered over the rim of her reading
glasses not the least bit intimidated with his tone of voice. “Are
you her next of kin?”

“
No,” Taylor said as calmly
as he could. “Just a friend.”

“
I'm her sister,” Lisa
interjected, squeezing herself between Taylor and the nurse's
station.

The nurse turned her stiff-necked head
towards her. “Lisa, dear, I didn't recognize you.” The old
battle-ax then smiled. “Brenna broke her ankle, and they're setting
it now. You can have a seat in the waiting room.” The nurse pointed
down the hall. “I'll call you when you can see her.”

“
Are you sure she's okay?”
Lisa persisted.

“
The doctor will talk to
you later, but Brenna will be just fine. So don't worry,” the old
battle-ax did take time to reassure her. “I promise.”

Taylor reluctantly left with the two ladies,
moving down the brown and white tiled hallway to the sitting room
where he sat down on a brown vinyl couch and folded his arms across
his chest to begin the long wait.

“
This place looks a lot
different inside,” Carol commented as she bent over and picked up a
magazine from one of the end tables.

“
I used to spend a lot of
time here,” Lisa admitted.

“
I can't believe they
haven't flown Brenna to Asheville,” Taylor grunted. “To a real
hospital.”

Lisa cocked her head to the side. “Are you
angry, Taylor?”

Taylor relaxed and smiled at the child. “A
little,” he confessed. “But not at you. At myself,” he admitted. “I
should never have let your sister go down the slope first. But
having said that, I want Brenna to get the best care, and I'll pay
for everything.”

“
This is a good hospital
even though it's small. We have a good orthopedic surgeon right
here. He's the one who operated on my hip, when the other doctors
said I’d never walk again.”

“
Isn't that unusual in this
rural town?” Carol butted in. “And what kind of accident were you
in?”

“
Well, you see, Dr. Mac got
fed up with the city life, so he and two other doctors moved here
to Hollow Ridge. Dr. Mac said he didn't want to be the richest man
in the world. He just wanted to help people and have a nice place
to raise his family.”

“
But what about your hip?”
Carol asked. “Did you fall?”

“
Taylor hasn’t told
you?”

“
No I haven’t, muffin,”
Taylor said quickly, then address Carol, “Lisa was shot. It’s a
long story. I will explain later.”

Carol shrugged.

Taylor asked, “Lisa, you said the doctor had
a family?”

“
Dr. Mac has twin girls
that are my age. We go to school together.”

“
If you're going to be an
orthopedic doctor, a ski resort would be a perfect place to
practice.” Carol laughed. “I'm going to miss this place when we
leave tomorrow.” She looked at Taylor. “Won't you?”

Taylor stared at Carol a moment before
answering a weak, “Yes, I will.”

After two hours, Taylor had shifted into
every imaginable position, and still the couch was as hard as a
rock. Would that doctor never come out? Taylor checked his watch
again.

Glancing over at Carol, he saw her sitting
comfortably in a recliner, reading a magazine. And Lisa had curled
up on the couch across from him sound asleep. She looked so much
younger in her sleep, almost like an angel. He shifted in the chair
again. He'd tried reading, but his mind kept drifting back to the
split-second he'd seen Brenna crumpled under a tree not knowing if
she were dead or alive. His heart raced at the thought that he
could have lost her forever. He glanced at his watch again; he'd
give the doctor ten more minutes and not a minute more.

“
I got here as soon as I
heard,” Geraldine said as she rushed in the small sitting room out
of breath. Her coat was half on or half off her shoulder and her
hat sat sideways on her head. “How is Brenna?”

Everyone jumped at the sudden sound. Lisa sat
up, rubbed her eyes, then she went over to hug Geraldine. “Brenna
has broken her foot.”