Jay felt the gentle touch all the way to her toes, but as much as she enjoyed the simple contact, she was aware of something else, too. She grasped the hand that had caressed her face in her own soft hands and turned it over to examine the palm. She gasped when she saw that it was raw and bleeding. Then she got a closer look at the rest of the anchorwoman.
“You need to go to the hospital, Katherine. You’re hurt.” She began to pull on the statuesque woman’s good hand to get her to stand.
“No, Jay, the hospitals all have their hands full with the seriously wounded. I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not, you’re bleeding, you’re cut, and you need to be seen,” the blonde prodded stubbornly.
Trying to change the subject, the tattered woman said, “My friends call me Kate.”
“Oh, are you including me in that number?”
“Sure.”
“Boy, you’re easy.”
“Don’t let it get around,” Kate replied, smiling tiredly at the repeat of their very first conversation.
“Your secret’s safe with me,” Jay winked. “And now that we’ve got that settled, let’s get you to the hospital.”
Seeing that she was going to have to do something to placate Jay, Kate decided to take a different approach. “I don’t want to spend hours sitting in an emergency room; my doctor can handle my injuries.”
“At this hour?” Jay questioned skeptically.
“She’s a friend of mine,” Kate answered reasonably.
“Okay, then call her, because I’m taking you there right now.”
“That’s really not necessary.”
“Let’s go find a pay phone,” Jay said determinedly.
“All right, all right already, I know when I’ve been outmaneuvered.”
Kate sighed and led her companion over to the nearby convention center, where a pay phone sat outside the entrance.
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Lynn Ames
Now Jay was feeling a little sheepish. “Um, I took a cab here. You do have a car, right?”
The anchorwoman laughed for the first time in many hours. “C’mon, one of my co-workers dropped my car off nearby hours ago.” She led the way across the plaza to the opposite side away from the capitol.
36
The Price of Fame
lthough she put up token resistance, Kate secretly was glad that AJay wanted to drive her. She didn’t think she could keep her eyes open long enough to watch the road, and the blonde seemed only too happy to slip behind the wheel of her sporty little BMW convertible anyway.
She sank into the leather of the passenger seat with relief and, after listening delightedly to the vertically challenged woman mutter under her breath for a few minutes about how far up she had to move the driver’s seat in order to reach the pedals, Kate directed her through the city and out into the suburbs beyond.
The tired woman had just about drifted off when a thought occurred to her. “Jay?”
“Hmm?”
“What in the world are you doing here in Albany and how did you find me?”
Jay laughed at the last part of the question. “Well the ‘how did I find you’ was simple; anyone with access to a television set could have found you, Kate. As for what I’m doing here, I’m doing an in-depth profile on the governor for
Time
magazine. I’m based in New York City and I was hoping to interview him there, but the only way they could fit me into his schedule was to do it up here. It’s going to be next week’s cover story; they consider him a real future contender for the presidency.”
“Mmm, they’re right about that. Wow, that’s fantastic, congratulations.”
“Thanks. I was supposed to meet with him this aftern—I mean yesterday afternoon now, I guess, but the disaster changed all that.”
“What time was your meeting set for?”
“Four o’clock. I was just getting showered and changed when I saw you on CNN and then someone from the governor’s office called to postpone.”
37
Lynn Ames
“Mmm, I’m glad you hadn’t left yet.” Kate couldn’t imagine what her reaction would have been to finding out that the cute blonde had been caught in that explosion.
They were both quiet then, each woman alone with her own thoughts.
At 12:15 a.m. they pulled up to a brick office building where they were greeted by a wiry, bespectacled woman in her mid-40s. “Kate, come on inside and let’s get you looked at.” Even as she appeared to be focused entirely on her patient, the woman’s sharp eyes took note of her companion and the way the injured woman looked at her. While most people wouldn’t have noticed anything at all there, she knew her tall friend well, and she knew she had never seen her look at anyone that way before.
“Dr. Barbara Jones, please meet Ms. Jamison Parker. Jay, this is Dr.
Jones.”
“Barbara, please. It’s nice to meet you,” the doctor said as she reached out bony fingers to grasp the blonde’s hand in a firm handshake.
“Likewise,” Jay answered.
Once inside, the doctor led the way back to one of the examination rooms. “Feel free to come along for the ride, Jay, our Kate here could use a distraction.” The writer hesitated, wanting to give her companion her privacy.
Sensing her unease, Kate said, “It’s fine, Jay, a heck of a lot more entertaining than waiting outside in Barbara’s waiting room; there isn’t a magazine out there that’s less than a year old.”
Barbara poked the injured woman in the side and rolled her eyes.
Jay blushed, clearly embarrassed by the doctor’s assumption that Kate would welcome her presence. She looked over at the dark-haired woman, who appeared to be taking it all in stride, and decided to shove aside her discomfort.
Which was fine until Kate started disrobing. Suddenly Jay found the diplomas on the wall fascinating. The anchorwoman smiled behind her back.
When Barbara returned, she had gathered several suture kits, some fresh bandages, and cleansing solution. “Geez, Kate, you look like hell.”
“Thanks for the compliment, I feel better already.”
From her vantage point in the corner Jay smiled at the easy camaraderie between the two women.
With an efficiency born of years of practice, Barbara examined her friend from head to foot, stitched two major gashes on her hand and forearm, and applied burn ointment to her hands and salve to the cuts on her face and arms.
“Do try to stay out of trouble now, will you?”
38
The Price of Fame
“You know that it’s the trouble that always finds me, Barbara,” Kate joked hoarsely. “Not the other way around.”
“Yeah, right. Now get out of here so I can get some sleep.”
Just as they were headed back to the exit, the phone rang.
“Now who would that be at this hour?” Barbara wondered aloud.
“Well,” she sighed, “if they tracked me down here, it’s a sure bet that I should answer it.”
After a moment, she handed the phone to her patient, shaking her head. “It’s for you,” she said, her eyebrows hiking into her salt-and-pepper hair.
“Hello, this is Katherine Kyle.” Now she was all business, all trace of exhaustion gone. Jay marveled at the transformation.
“Hiya, kiddo,” her producer greeted her. “I figured when I couldn’t get you at home that you might have stopped for some TLC.”
Kate sighed in exasperation. “First of all, how in the world did you track me down and what could you possibly want now, Phil?” she said with a mixture of wonder and respect. “And secondly, I thought you told me to take the rest of the night off.”
“Number one, I have many skills,” he said proudly. “Number two, I did, and now it’s tomorrow morning.”
Kate groaned. “Okay, what is it?”
“Great news. You’re a star and you’re in demand; all three networks want you on their morning shows tomor—er...today. First appearance at 7:05 a.m. You have to be in makeup at 6:00 at the NBC
Today Show
studios.”
There was dead silence on the anchorwoman’s end.
“Kate, did you hear me?”
A heavy sigh. “Yeah, I heard you.”
“Terrific, a limo will be outside your house at 3:30 a.m. That’s...two and a half hours from now. Better get your beauty rest, not that you need any.”
“Gee, thanks, buddy. I’ll fly back and be here in time for the 6:00
’cast. Get me some reservations, will you? And Phil, I’m going to call you at 6:30 a.m. sharp, and I want an update on everything we know to this point. See ya.” She hung up before he had a chance to respond.
When she put the phone down, both Jay and Barbara looked at her with inquiring eyes.
“I’m the catch of the day, apparently; all three networks want me on their morning shows...six hours from now.”
“Oh Kate,” both women groaned together.
“Kate, you’re in no shape to travel to New York right now, that’s insane!” Jay was well and truly worried about her friend.
“That’s okay, they’re sending a limo to drive me.”
39
Lynn Ames
“Oh, well, that makes it all better then,” the writer said sarcastically.
Barbara decided right then and there that she liked her. A lot.
“Come on, Jay, let me get you back to your hotel. Thanks for taking such good care of me, Barbara, as always.” And with that, the three women walked into the parking lot.
As Kate was getting into the passenger seat, Barbara escorted Jay around to the driver’s side. The look in her eyes when she was watching Kate hadn’t escaped Barbara, either. “Take good care of her, Jay, she’s a special one.”
Jay blushed, but nodded her head. “I know.”
The ride to the hotel was companionably silent, as both women were too tired for conversation.
Once there, Kate insisted on walking Jay to her room. But before they could get beyond the lobby, the desk clerk called out, “Excuse me, are you Ms. Parker?”
“Yes, I am,” Jay answered, surprised, approaching the desk.
“Thank God,” the clerk exclaimed, relieved. “I’ve got a message for you; this woman has been calling every half-hour.”
Jay smiled and shook her head. “Ah, that would be Trish.” To Kate she said, “My editor.”
Jay accepted the piece of paper from the clerk and read the note, groaning.
“What is it?”
“The governor has rescheduled the interview for...2:30 p.m. today...in his New York City office. It seems he doesn’t want to appear to be cowed or deterred by terrorists.”
Kate thought for a minute. She really didn’t want to say goodbye to Jay again so soon. “I’ve got an idea.” At the younger woman’s raised eyebrow, she continued before she could lose her nerve. “How about if we get you checked out right now? You can come to my house with me, we can shower there, get changed and ready, and then you can ride with me in the limo back to the city.” When Jay didn’t respond right away, Kate rushed on, “That is, if you don’t mind traveling at that ungodly hour, and I would love it if you would accompany me on the rounds to the shows. If you want to, I mean; I think you’d have plenty of time before your interview with the governor.” She could never remember being so nervous and anxious about an answer before; it had never mattered like this.
Jay was floored by the offer. “That sounds great, are you sure?” At Kate’s bashful nod, the blonde turned toward the elevators. “I’ll just go 40
The Price of Fame
get my stuff and be down in a minute.”
Heck,
she thought to herself,
I’d
walk
to New York if it meant I could spend more time with you.
41
Lynn Ames
42
The Price of Fame
fter throwing her few things together the writer placed a quick Acall to her edito
r.
“Sure,” Trish practically yelled at her in her heavy New York accent.
“You, the most responsible person I know...first you hang up on me, and then, if that isn’t bad enough, you go flying off somewhere and don’t even bother to get in touch with me when the whole world is exploding up there. Jesus, Jay, I thought something really bad happened to you.”
“I’m sorry, Trish, I guess I didn’t think about it that way; don’t worry, everything’s fine. I don’t have time right now, but I promise to explain it all to you the next time we talk, okay?”
The editor could never stay mad at her young friend for long. “Yeah,”
she said. “Okay this time, but no more heart attacks, all right? I’m too young to die.”
“Cross my heart, Trish. Listen, I’ve already got a ride back to the city, and I’ll be there in plenty of time for the interview.”
“Jay,” the editor said seriously, “there’s an awful lot riding on this interview now given what happened. Make me proud.”
“Have I ever disappointed you?”
“Nope, and don’t let this be the first time, either.”
“Bye, Trish.”
“See ya, kid.”
The ride to the television anchorwoman’s house took a little over twenty minutes, Kate driving this time, since it was easier than giving directions. When they pulled into the driveway, Jay was amazed at how beautiful and big the house was. “Wow, Kate, this is impressive.”
“It’s home,” she shrugged.
The house was set back from the road, which was a cul-de-sac, the driveway shaded by large old oak trees and extending perhaps three hundred feet, with a circular drive leading to the front door and a 43
Lynn Ames
continuation to the side leading to a three-car attached garage. From the front door, the writer couldn’t even see the lights of the neighboring houses.
The house itself was spectacular, contemporary in style with large windows, including one huge rectangular window above the entranceway topped by a second, semicircular window. Through that opening Jay could see a beautiful hanging gold and glass light fixture that presided over a wide-open expanse.
Kate unlocked the front door, insisting that she would not take her guest in through the garage. Jay was stunned by the elegance of the interior: it was airy and open, with a high cathedral ceiling and skylights in what she could see was the sunken living room. And yet it also had a cozy feeling that was most likely a result of the post-and-beam construction and the choice of furnishings.
Before Jay could make any more observations, Kate called out, “Hi, honey, I’m home! Fred, are you here, I brought somebody home to meet you.” Kate completely missed the look of total shock and dismay on her companion’s face.