Authors: Tessa Dayne
He stared at the cell phone, debating on whether or not he should call and cancel his trip to Madrid. Yes, he needed to go, to do some sword training with Bob, but it wasn’t as necessary as staying here with Paige was. His heart told him to make the call, to say he wasn’t coming to Spain until Paige woke up. His head told him that he had obligations, not only to the studio and to the director, but also to himself and a binding contract.
Besides, he knew Paige would want him to go. That she wouldn’t want him to break his word because of her. He could be back to the States within hours. All he had to do was have an open ticket waiting for him at the airport.
His heart broke, knowing that he had made the only decision he could. There was no way he could be in two places half a world apart. Slowly releasing his pent up breath, Jonas took a small sip of his tea.
Picking up his mug, Jonas walked to the kitchen window. In the dim moonlight, he could see the huge snowflakes falling, coating the ground, the tree limbs, and the frozen lake beyond the backyard. If it continued to snow at the current rate it was coming down, he’d be lucky to make it out of the driveway in the morning, let alone getting back to the city.
Debating on whether he should return tonight or chance waiting until morning, Jonas raised the mug to his lips, only to find it empty. When had he drained his mug? Glancing at the clock on the wall in the kitchen, he was surprised to find close to an hour had passed since he had found himself at the window.
Sighing, Jonas headed for the sink. He rinsed out the mug and sat in on the counter. He had put off going back into the bedroom long enough. Their belongings weren’t going to pack themselves. As much as he didn’t want to pack Paige’s things, he knew that to leave them here was ludicrous. Once she came out of her coma, she wouldn’t want to come all the way out here. She would need her family around her.
Turning off lights as he headed back the hallway, Jonas found himself in the dark, just the thin sliver of moonlight streaming through the window at the end of the hall lighting his way. His hand on the doorknob, Jonas felt his heart seize. He hadn’t been able to stay in the room earlier, and he could already feel the tears welling up.
Taking a deep breath, Jonas pushed into the room. The moonlight had yet to reach this side of the cabin and the room was dark. Easing the door closed, Jonas leaned back against the hard wood and closed his eyes. The smell of her perfume permeated the room. He hadn’t noticed before. Then again, he hadn’t stepped into the room but a foot before. His heart just couldn’t handle it.
Opening his eyes, he stood there, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the dark room. He could just make out the shadowy outline of the bed, the chair and the fireplace. Taking a deep breath, Jonas stepped further into the room. In three steps, he was by the bed. He sat down, placing his hands on the mattress on either side of him.
With a heart-wrenching cry, his fingers curled around silky satin. Paige’s nightgown, the one she had purchased in New York City and had worn Christmas Eve for him. Tears streaming down his cheeks, Jonas brought the gown to his nose and inhaled deeply. Her soft scent clung to the material, bringing the reality of her absence back to him in full force.
Sobs wracked his frame, the cries echoing in the dark room. Why? Why had this happened? His fingers grasped the satin gown, twisting it mercilessly as he pressed it into his face. The whole accident didn’t make sense to him. Why would God give him Paige, only to nearly take her away? What about the baby? He would have loved the child as his own. Why?
There were no answers for him and the heartache deep in his chest wouldn’t relent. Slowly, he curled into a tight ball, lying down on the mattress, his head resting on Paige’s pillow. The tears finally slowed, his breathing evened out, and the tight clenched fingers around the silk nightgown relaxed as Jonas fell asleep.
~*~
Chapter
Twelve
~*~
Jonas woke, cramped and cold. He glanced at the clock and groaned. It was early, too early to be up at any rate. Slowly, he uncurled and sat up, the aches in his bones reminding him that he wasn’t as young as he used to be. Depositing Paige’s gown on the bed, he stood and stretched, hearing the familiar pops and cracks as he worked out the kinks in his back and neck.
Crossing the room to the window, Jonas pulled the curtain back and groaned again. The snow was still falling. He seriously doubted he would even make it out of the house, let alone the driveway. Allowing the curtain to fall from his fingers, Jonas cursed the weather.
How was he supposed to get back into town? Reaching for his cell phone, he flipped it open, figuring on calling his mother, only to find that there was no service.
“Aw hell!” he cried, tossing the phone to the top of the dresser. Now he couldn’t even call his mother to check on Paige’s progress or to let her know it would be a while before he could get back into town.
Deciding that since he was awake, he would make better use of his time if he were to shovel snow, Jonas changed into warmer clothes. Heading into the living room, he pulled on his boots and heavy coat, and then went looking for a pair of gloves. Finding them in the closet, he tugged them on and headed out to look for a shovel.
~*~
Evelyn looked out the hotel window and smiled. The snow was beautiful, even if it meant that Jonas couldn’t get back into town this morning. He actually could use the extra time to get his head wrapped around the baby’s loss and the fact that Paige was seriously injured.
“Paper’s here,” Ian said, holding it up from the cart he was wheeling into the room.
Evelyn took the paper and was relieved that the accident and subsequent write up wasn’t on the front page. She flipped through the pages and finally found the write up on page twelve. Reading it, she was pleased with what she saw. They had done as she had asked.
“Well?” Ian asked.
“It’s okay. They left out the fact that your father went up to the cabin. It just states that he’s in seclusion with the families while waiting for word on Paige’s condition.”
“That’s good. Have you heard from him this morning yet?”
“The phones are out. I imagine we will hear from him as soon as he can get through.”
“I bet he’s going crazy up there.”
“I’m sure he’s trying to find a way back here,” Evelyn said, pouring a cup of coffee.
“I know he is,” Ian said.
~*~
Jonas leaned against the top of the shovel handle, his breath coming out in short gasps. The warmth of his breath mingled with the cold air, and the resulting fog circled around his head. He looked around and nearly groaned at the sight. Even working for over an hour, he had barely put a dent in the heavy snowfall that covered the walk and driveway.
A soft rumbling reached his ears and frowning, Jonas turned to see where the noise could be coming from. Surprisingly enough, a huge truck with a plow on the front was coming up the driveway, the snow flying to the side of the road in a huge wave.
The truck stopped and a man
with dark hair, bundled up in a large winter parka jumped out of the cab. “Thought you might need some bailing out!” he called.
“Sam?”
“Indeed! You must be Jonas. William called and said you would be up here. When we got hit with that blizzard last night I knew you were going to be stranded out here.”
Jonas looked around at all the snow and nodded. That was an understatement. He could have shoveled all day and he would still be stuck in the cabin. Now that Sam was here, there was at least some hope of getting out of the driveway.
“Well, I’m glad you showed up. I was beginning to think I would never get out of here.”
“I will have you out of here in no time. I can’t say how the main roads have fared. You may not get far until tomorrow.”
“I have to try,” Jonas said, his thoughts still on Paige.
“That Paige is a fighter. She always has been. She’ll be just fine, you wait and see,” Sam said climbing back up into his truck.
“From your lips to God’s ears,” Jonas whispered, moving out of the way and back to the sidewalk to shovel more snow.
~*~
Several hours later, the snow had finally stopped falling and thanks to Sam and his plow, Jonas headed back into the city. He figured that by the time he arrived, the afternoon visiting hours would just be about over.
Thankfully, he didn’t have to worry about that. The doctors were accommodating the needs of the family, allowing someone to be with Paige at all times.
Jonas followed the traffic and finally found himself at the hospital. Pulling into the underground lot, he circled around until he found an empty space. He was just about to pull in, when he noticed a man going to his car that looked very familiar. Darren.
Frowning, Jonas parked and scrambled out of the car, intent on confronting him. He glanced around and in the short time it took for him to park, he was gone, swallowed by the shadows. Cussing softly, Jonas sprinted to the elevators. If Darren had been here, then he had tried to see Paige.
Leaning back against the wall, Jonas rode the elevator to the ICU floor, his mind racing with the cruel things he’d like to see done to one Darren Armstrong. The elevator dinged its arrival at ICU and the door slid open. Jonas stepped out and spotted Paige’s older brother, Marcus at the nurse’s station.
“Marcus, can I talk to you?” he asked, pulling him aside for a moment.
“What is it, Jonas? You seem upset.”
“I think Armstrong was here. I saw him in the parking garage.”
“When?” Marcus asked, striding to the desk.
“Just now,” Jonas answered.
“Miss, can you tell me if my sister had any other visitors today?”
The nurse pulled the log and scanned it for the names. “Evelyn Barnett, William Harper, Darcy Milian and you. That’s it.”
“Anyone lurking on the floor, acting suspicious? Like they didn’t belong?” Jonas asked.
“No, sir. No one,” she answered.
“I don’t want him anywhere near her, Marcus.”
“Calm down. I’ll take care of it. Go see Paige.”
Jonas nodded. “Thanks, Marcus.” He turned and headed into Paige’s room, closing the door softly behind him.
Jonas leaned over Paige and placed a soft kiss on her lips. “Hello, beautiful,” he said, easing down into the chair positioned by the bed. “I met Sam this morning. He came and rescued me from the blizzard. You should have warned me about the snow at the cabin of yours,” he teased, holding her hand in his.
Blips and bleeps answered him and he sighed, continuing. “Anyway, I got here as soon as I could. I hated being away from you for even a moment. How am I going to manage months on end when I leave for filming?” he asked her, knowing she would tell him to buckle down and accept things as they were. It wasn’t anything different really. They had already gone through this.
“I know….we discussed this already. Things are different now. You need me here more than ever.”
“You can’t turn down this role, Jonas,” he heard her say. “Not for me.”
Jonas closed his eyes, wishing the voice in his head had come from the woman lying in the bed beside him. But it hadn’t. They’d had this conversation a few times and the results were always the same. He had to go or he would eventually regret it.
“I know, I’m going, but in a few weeks. Until then, I will be here, waiting for you to wake up and come back to me.”