Topaz Heat (Christian Romance) (The Jewel Series) (12 page)

Derrick paused inside the restaurant and let the hostess rush off in a panic to find an empty table during the lunch rush. He knew enough of Maxine and her sisters’ story, knew that their mother was a heroin addict who bounced from man to pimp, carrying her daughters with her. “And little girls like you and Sarah might have protection now.”

“That is our prayer.”

As the hostess seated them, Maggie Rogers, the Viscolli Boston Event Coordinator, approached their table. Derrick stood and introduced her to Maxine, then enjoyed his lunch while he watched the two women wield their imaginations to finalize the remaining details of Sarah’s birthday party.

“WHY
can’t you stay with me?”

Sarah stopped dreaming of a long bubble bath and gently pried loose the hand that gripped her arm while she spoke in soothing tones. “I wish I could, Mrs. Kline, but I just take care of you until your baby’s born. The next set of nurses specialize in your care after the baby is here.” She went to the window and pulled the blinds shut, blocking out the fury of the lightning in the night sky.

“But I know you.”

“I know.” She smiled and patted her shoulder. As she spoke, she crossed the room to the door. “But, trust me, you don’t want me in charge of you and baby Jonathan. I wouldn’t know where to even begin, and these ladies do.” A bubble bath, maybe some chamomile tea.

“But …”

“And your husband will be here any minute. You’ll feel better once he’s here. I promise.”

She had the door opened and was almost out. “Can you come visit me?”

Her smile stayed in place as she turned around. “Of course. I come up here before every shift.” Mrs. Kline bit her lip but nodded. Sarah let the door shut softly behind her and stopped in the hallway to roll her head on her shoulders.

There were four babies in their little beds behind the nurses’ station. She smiled when she saw them. Some mothers knew this was the only chance for sleep they were going to get for the next several months, and let the nurses take them until it was time to feed them.

She leaned against the counter enclosing the nurses’ station and propped her chin in her hands. Her roommate, Melissa, held a baby against her chest and gently patted its back. The baby would start to doze but then would jerk awake and whimper. Another nurse was rubbing the back of a baby that lay in one of the cribs while she spoke on the telephone.

Melissa modeled to get through nursing school. She was just under six feet tall, with skin the color of mocha and pale green eyes. Her mother was Nigerian, her father British, and she had been raised in Texas, giving her the oddest sounding accent Sarah had ever heard.

Babies loved her accent, though. She could soothe the fussiest one, and had always been able to. Sarah smiled as the baby fell into a deep sleep. Melissa adjusted it more comfortably against her shoulder and looked at the clock. “It’s after midnight, kid.”

“I know. We were pushing at ten.”

“Kline?”

“Yes. She’s going to need a little extra care.”

“Okay. Any story?”

“Sure. Her husband decided he could risk a business trip and leave his pregnant wife alone for a week in a town where she doesn’t know anyone. They just moved here a month ago, and she’s so shy that she doesn’t even know her neighbors. She was hysterical by the time she got here.” She straightened and raised her arms over her head.

Melissa raised an eyebrow. “How early was she?”

“Does that matter?”

“Absolutely. I’d rather know all the facts before I demonize the husband.” She slowly transferred the baby to the bed. “How early?”

Sarah sighed. “Six weeks.”

“Well then, he’s probably as hysterical as she was.” She stood and brushed the front of her shirt. “I’ll just go make her comfortable. Do you know when he’s expected?”

“Any time.”

“Good. Now, you go on, take a long bath, sip on a cup of tea, and try to get some sleep. Just take care going home. The weather is getting nasty out there. I think summer is finally over.”

Melissa stopped talking and stared over Sarah’s shoulder. “Oh my. Very nice. I pray that this isn’t Mr. Kline and that my lipstick is still in place.”

Her laugh surprised her. “You’re awful.”

“You haven’t looked behind you, yet. Wait until you do.”

“If I look, then he’ll know we’re talking about him.”

“Shh, here he is.” Sarah watched Melissa put on her best beautiful model smile. “Hello.”

She felt his hand on the small of her back the second she heard his voice. Every muscle in her body that had slowly relaxed over the last five minutes immediately tensed up again. “Hello,” he said.

Sarah turned her head and glared at Derrick. “What are you doing here?”

He looked too good. She hated him for it. Dressed down in jeans and a cotton sweater, wearing a leather jacket as black as his hair that only further darkened his eyes, he stood close enough for her to see the raindrops glistening in his hair. Close enough for her to smell the subtle spicy cologne that it seemed he and he alone ever wore.

His teeth seemed whiter against his dark skin and the black coat when he grinned at her. “I came visiting.”

“Visiting hours are over.”

“Not when the person I’m coming to see got off her shift an hour ago.”

Melissa leaned forward and held out her hand. “I’m Sarah’s roommate, Melissa,” she purred. Sarah rolled her eyes. “And you are?”

Derrick grinned and took her hand, giving it a light squeeze. “Derrick DiNunzio. Nice to meet you, Melissa. I actually saw you at the memorial service.”

“Ah, Derrick. The long lost Prodigal brother. Robin and Maxine speak of you so often. Sarah, not so much. You’re back in Boston for good?”

“That’s my plan.”

A man in a soaking wet trench coat with wild eyes rounded the corner. He moved so fast Sarah thought he would run right into the counter, but somehow he managed to skid to a stop at the last possible second. He was out of breath, and had to pant. “My … wife …”

Melissa hurried around the counter and took him by his arm. “You must be Mr. Kline. You poor dear. Come with me, sir, and we’ll take you to your wife and your little boy.”

“I just … I can’t believe … I …”

She cooed to him as she led him away. “Shush, now. Everything’s all right now that you’re here. Try and take slow breaths, Mr. Kline. You don’t want to upset your wife or the baby.”

Derrick watched her walk away, deciding it was a shame that he found other women so pale in comparison to the one quietly seething next to him. “Poor guy,” he said.

Sarah’s shoulders came back so quickly that he was surprised he didn’t hear them snap into place. “Poor guy? His poor wife just went through eight hours of hard labor by herself a month and a half early, and you say poor guy?”

She stormed away, and Derrick slipped his hands into his jacket pockets and grinned while he followed her. They made it to the bank of elevators before she whirled around and glared at him. “What are you really doing here?” she asked again as she jabbed at the call button repeatedly.

“Oh, I just came to see if I could get you into an argument.”

That tripped her up, and for a moment, all she could do was stare at him. Then she blinked. “What?”

He shrugged and leaned his shoulder against the wall. “Maxi and Robin are both worried sick about you. I figured since you fly into a rage at my mere presence, I could help out.”

“Help out how?”

“By giving you a genuine emotion other than grief.” Then he smiled. He felt arrogant and hopeful all at once.

She hissed a breath between her teeth. “What I feel and what I don’t feel is none of your concern.”

“Of course not. But I’m not here out of concern for you. I’m here for them. They both told me they can’t even get you out of bed. Is this really your first day back at work?”

“You don’t even know. You can’t know. He was my daddy. He saved me and now he’s dead.”

She’d started quivering so hard that her teeth nearly rattled. He grabbed her arm and gave her a small shake. “I’m sorry it happened, Sarah. I’m sorry. I’ve been there, remember? My mom died right before I moved to New York. I wish I could take the pain away, but I can’t. No one can.”

He expected tears, but none came. She just trembled hard enough to worry him and blinked them back. “Have you cried yet? Have you let yourself cry?”

They were cut off when the elevator finally arrived, and they had to wait while an orderly pushed a man in a wheelchair out before they could get in. “I’m exhausted, Derrick. Really, could we do this another time?”

“You haven’t have you?” He put his hands on her shoulders and looked down at her. “Sarah, you have to let it out. Don’t hold something like that in. No wonder you’re such a wreck.”

She jerked away from him and stepped with her back against the corner, putting as much distance between them as possible. “Stop it! Just leave me alone. Forget I even exist.”

Derrick sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “I wish I could. You have no idea how much I wish I could.”

The elevator jerked to a stop so quickly that he lost his balance and fell against the wall as the lights went out. He retained his balance, but in the total darkness, he felt completely disoriented. “Sarah?” He panicked when she didn’t answer, worried that she’d hit her head or something. He dug around in his pocket until he found his cell phone. The lit screen almost illuminated the entire small enclosure, and he turned around.

Sarah was crouched down with her back to the corner, sitting against her heels with her arms wrapped around her legs. She stared up at him with a pale face and eyes so inundated with fear that it wrenched his gut. He knelt next to her and started to reach for her but she shrank back and her breath started to wheeze. “Are you okay?”

The emergency lights came on, providing a dim but constant light, so he pocketed his phone. “Sarah?”

“Don’t touch me!” she shrieked.

He jerked his hand back and held it up so that she could see his empty palm. “Okay. Okay, don’t worry. The power must have gone out from the storm. Looks like the generators don’t run the elevators.”

“Get away! Stay away!” She screamed, gripping the sides of her head and burying her face against her knees.

He decided she must be claustrophobic. “Just take deep breaths, sweetheart. I’m sure we’ll be moving soon.”

Sarah could smell the dank mildew. It got worse the farther back into the closet they went, and her sisters always put her way in the back, blocking her with their own young bodies. Her back was against the wall, and she could hear something moving just on the other side.

Only it wasn’t moving like a person. It was one of the monsters. One of the monsters she couldn’t see because her glasses were gone again. They hid behind the walls or stayed just out of reach, just out of sight where she couldn’t see, becoming blurry shadows that danced around her, taunting her, hitting her, pinching her.

She could hear her mother, screaming those horrible words to him. Other voices came, men and women, laughing, taunting. She was hungry. It seemed like she was always hungry. But the last time she complained, the man made her eat the raw meat right out of the package. Her stomach gave a greasy turn remembering having to swallow the raw, red meat. When she cried, he slapped her and told her never to complain to him again. That was the last time her glasses disappeared.

His voice stood out from the rest, and she cringed even further back, toward the monsters. They just scared her. He made her sister Robin scream in bed at night.

Maxine would come to her then, crawl in bed with her and they would hold each other until it was over. Sarah would close her eyes and try to block out the horrible sounds coming from the other bed, and sometimes Maxine would risk attention by softly singing in Sarah’s ears. Robin wouldn’t let them touch her for a while after he left, so they would stay together and cry for her, because she never did cry.

The lights came on and she flinched away. That wasn’t right. There wasn’t a light in the closet. It was always dark. She blinked and the world came into focus. She wasn’t in a closet – she was wrapped in Derrick’s arms on his lap, buried against his chest, sobbing so hard her throat hurt. He was rocking her, talking nonsense in a soothing voice.

Horrified, she pushed away, but he hauled her back down. As the elevator came to a stop, he gripped her tighter and pushed with his legs, sliding his back up the wall until he was standing, still cradling her.

She took a deep breath and rested her head on his shoulder. She felt tired – so tired. “I’m okay now,” she said. She patted his chest – his rock hard chest. “I’m fine.”

He gave a harsh laugh as he carried her through the empty central lobby of the hospital and into the parking garage. “I’m not.”

“Derrick, really …”

“When you can say that without sounding like a beaten puppy, maybe I’ll believe you.”

Her energy was shot. She’d argue with him about it in a minute. For the time being, she just relished the strength of his arms as he carried her.