Waiting for You (RightMatch.com Trilogy) (28 page)

“Go ahead. I’ll set my watch to wake us every hour.”

“Don’t leave me.”

“I won’t. I promise.”

o0o

After five hours, Dana seemed good so Joe turned off his watch. But he was roused at nine by a noise out in the kitchen. Dana was sound asleep because of the pain medicine he’d forced her to take, so he eased himself off the bed. After hitting the john, he left the bedroom and headed to the kitchen. Where he found Jeremy and Ruth having coffee. When they saw him, their faces beamed with smiles. It took him a minute to realize why.

“Nice seeing you again, Sarge,” Jeremy said.

They assumed he and Dana had reconciled. “Um, it’s not what you think.” He faced Ruth. “Dana’s okay now, Ruth, but somebody threw a brick at the back window of the studio at midnight. Dana was there, looking out, and the impact sent her backward onto the floor.”

Ruth bolted up. “
What?
”

Jeremy rose, too, while Joey explained the situation. Ruth went stark white when she heard the whole thing.

“Do the police know who did it?” Jeremy asked.

“The Fairfield captain called me while we were at the hospital. Apparently patrons from the café next door saw somebody peel out of the parking lot. But the car smashed into a tree, so they went outside. The person backed up and tore out, but they have a plate number.”

“Oh, my God. I’ve got to see Dana.”

“She’s asleep.”

“I won’t wake her. I just have to see her.”

Ruth left and Jeremy sighed heavily.

“This could affect you, Jeremy. Ruth’ll feel guilty for not being with her tonight.”

“We’ll work it out. I know that now.”

“Care to give me some lessons?” Joey asked, crossing to the coffee pot and pouring a mugful.

Before Jeremy could answer, the front bell rang. Joe crossed to the foyer and opened the door. On the stoop stood Bill Jordan. He said without preamble, “I have news and you aren’t going to believe it.”

Joe let the guy in. “Tell me straight.”

“The person who threw the brick is a thirty-nine-year-old suburbanite. A woman. The country-club set.”

“You’re kidding. Was she high on something?”

“Alcohol—and she was pissed. At your girl.”

“At Dana?”

“Yeah, she wanted to get her daughter into the Devlin School and they were filled up. Then her kid told her Dana let somebody in who wasn’t even on the waiting list.”

“Oh, my God. My daughter was the one accepted.”

The guy rolled his eyes. “All this for a dance class? I don’t get it. To be fair, the girl was acting out and the mother thought she’d be motivated by being in such a prestigious dance school with restrictions. The mother also just started anti-anxiety drugs, which have been known to cause erratic behavior especially when mixed with booze. But in any case, the woman had no idea Dana was there at midnight.”

“She must have seen her through the window, dancing.”

“No, Ms. Devlin turned the lights off and was just leaving the room when she saw something out the window and went to investigate.”

“It’s still a crime.”

“Oh, I know. And she’ll be prosecuted.” He looked behind Joe. “Is Ms. Devlin here?”

“Yes, but she’s sleeping.”

“No I’m not.” Joey pivoted and saw Dana sitting stiffly in the chair next to Ruth. Her hair was disheveled, her face as pale as Ruth’s and creases marred her lovely forehead. “I overheard what you said. I’m incredulous.”

“Me, too,” the captain muttered.

But Joe wasn’t paying attention to them. He was thinking how, indirectly, he’d been the cause of Dana’s bruised and battered condition.

o0o

“I think it’s too soon for you to be back.” Ruth frowned over at Dana as she entered the office. “Judith and the demonstrators can handle the kids.”

“I know. But I’m going stir crazy. I won’t do any demos. I just want to work.”

Folding her arms over her chest, Ruth stared at Dana. “Still haven’t heard from him?”

Dana shook her head. Joe had left the morning they got the news about Elyssa Langston and he hadn’t contacted her since. She’d tried his cell, emailed and texted him to no avail. Obviously, he didn’t want to talk to her. “I just hope he doesn’t feel guilty about Kara being accepted here.”

“That boy feels guilty about everything. Then again, he’s had a tough life.”

Ruth had been making noise about Dana’s unwillingness to give Joe another chance, and truth be told, Dana was wavering about it anyway.

“You don’t have to stump for him, Ruth. I’m changing my attitude toward our situation.” He’d been the only one she’d wanted to see when she was hurt, and that meant something!

“What are you going to do about it?”

“I honestly don’t know. He’s not taking my calls or texts. And I haven’t wanted to contact the girls, but I did call Leona. She said he called and told the kids he’d be away for a few days.”

“Well, I hope you hear from him soon. The longer you don’t talk to him, the worse he’s going to feel.”

Ruth’s words plagued Dana as she went through the day. Almost as much as thoughts about the Langston family. Still, she was shocked when Elyssa Langston showed up at the studio around suppertime.

“What are
you
doing here?” Ruth asked, standing in front of Dana.

The woman’s hair was scraped back off her face in a messy ponytail and her hands were clasped at her sides. “I…I’ve come to apologize.”

Dana wheeled around Ruth. “Come in, Elyssa.” She looked up at Ruth. “I want to talk to her. You can stay or leave.”

“No way will I leave you alone with this woman. I’m staying.”

The three of them sat at the table by the window. “Ms. Devlin, I’m so sorry for what I did to you. Things have been really rough at home.” The woman’s eyes clouded. “Sara’s been running with a wild crowd. I thought if I got her in here, she’d be with nicer girls. She loves dance. It’s the only thing I could think of.”

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Langston. If I’d have known more, I might have done things differently.”

“I should have told you instead of…” She motioned to the studio. “I can’t believe I did that. Just before I came here, Sara was picked up by the police for smoking weed, my husband flipped and blamed me and I…lost my mind for a while.”

Ruth’s face softened. “Are you getting some counseling?”

“Yes, I’m seeing a psychiatrist. My lawyer thinks that will help my case. I’m making restitution of course, for the window, but I can never make up for what I did to you, Ms. Devlin.”

Reaching over, Dana grabbed the woman’s hand. It was ice cold. “I understand, Elyssa. I do. And I’m not going to press charges.”

“It won’t matter. I committed a crime.”

“It’ll matter. I’ll come to court and testify if I have to.”

“I don’t deserve this.”

“We all deserve second chances. Now, you know we’re expanding next door.”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Well, we are. And I’ll make sure Sara’s on the audition list when that space is ready for instruction.”

After a weepy Elyssa Langston left, Dana felt better.

Ruth went in for the kill. “That was very interesting what you said about second chances and forgiveness. Physician heal thyself,” she quoted.

Dana nodded. “I told you I was trying. I can’t find Joe. Where the
hell
did he go
?
”

o0o

“Hi, Sergeant.”

“Good morning, Joe.”

“So you’re back, buddy!”

Joe smiled at the group of people taking this seminar at a conference hall on Canandaigua Lake. The therapist he’d started seeing recommended doing research on Dana’s situation and he’d found this workshop online. He’d taken four days off from work to participate.

He looked around. Several people in the group were women, in all stages of ability. A few men joined them. Joe was the only solo member. They’d teased him when he’d told them he was hoping the workshop would help him get his girl back.

One woman started talking about what she wanted out of life, more than anything in the world, after an injury which was similar to Dana’s.

But Joe’s mind drifted.
He hadn’t called Dana or answered any of her texts or messages. He’d gotten his head on straighter after the accident, three sessions with his therapist and then come down here.
They did need to talk but not before he stacked the deck. This workshop was one way.

He glanced at the moderator, who was glowing today. God, he was dying to see Dana glow like that.

o0o

Joe hadn’t contacted her in ten days, and Dana had gone through many stages regarding Joey’s disappearance from her life. The first had been worry, which turned to anger at his refusal to answer her texts. The last was resignation. Maybe he’d given up on her because of the newest blow about Kara’s role in the brick-throwing incident. Whatever made him stay away, she was incredibly sad.

Today was cold outside, but she went racing anyway at the high school’s outdoor track. The wind slapped her face, though the nylon sweat suit she wore broke the impact on her body. Rounding the circle, she thought about being here with Joe, how she’d fallen, how concerned he’d been. Sometimes she wondered how she’d doubted him—he’d gotten her out of her comfort zone on so many things. Had she been naïve to think he’d have no doubts? She’d been upset after she’d found out about his dad’s ALS, so she knew all along the potential for repercussions for what he’d gone through as a child. Did he just need more time that she hadn’t given him? Had she been unrealistic about her reservations?

After countless laps, she rolled off the track and drove home. When she reached the house, she saw two vans in the driveway. “Oh, thank God.” She put her head down on the steering wheel. One was Joe’s. She had to take deep breaths to calm herself. She didn’t care who the hell he’d brought with him, just that he’d come to her.

Making her way out of her own van seemed to take forever. Soon, she wheeled into the house through the garage entrance. No one was in the kitchen. She didn’t call out but made her way into the living room. Where she found Joe, sitting next to a nice-looking woman about Dana’s age.

Who was in a wheelchair. What was going on here?

“Joe?” she said in a croak.

He glanced up and his face bloomed with the best smile she’d ever seen. “Hey, there she is.” He stood, crossed to her, bent down and kissed her. Then he squatted in front of her. “I got somebody I want you to meet.”

She glanced at the visitor. “Hello.” The woman gave her a tiny wave. Dana turned her attention back to Joe. “What’s going on?”

“You’ll know soon enough. Right now, I want you to promise me that you’ll hear us both out. Don’t object. Don’t give counterarguments. I’ve done a lot of research on this, both on the Net and in person.”

“You’re scaring me, Joe.”

“No, sweetheart. This is good. So good for us.”

Dana swallowed hard. She remembered when they’d first met, he’d asked her about new treatments for her disability. Dear God, please don’t let him argue about fixing her. She thought she’d die if he did, because it would mean he couldn’t accept her as she was.

Trust him!

She would. Head held high, she looked over his shoulder. “I’m afraid Joe’s being rude.”

The woman smiled. “No, just covering all the bases.” She looked at Joe.

“Yeah. Now, Lynne.”

Slowly the woman wheeled over to her. There was something about her…as she got closer, Dana’s heart beat sped up. When she reached Dana, her whole body was trembling. What was Joe doing? How could he hurt her like this?

Then Lynne said, “I have a crush injury identical to yours. I’ve been in this chair my entire adult life.” Then she put her hand on the little bump in her stomach. “And this is my second child.”

Dana burst into tears.

o0o

Oh, no, he’d made her cry again. Geez!

“Honey, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you cry.”

Still, the tears.

“Look, Lynne runs a workshop for women with paralysis who want to have children. I, um, took it.”

Now Dana sobbed.

“I did research, too. On the Net.” He picked up the stack of papers he’d set on the table. “Here’s the information and personal testimony.”

More crying—harsher.

Lynne wheeled even closer. “Dana, stop crying.”

“I…can’t.”

“You can have a child. You can get help taking care of him as an infant, toddler, forever if you want, but you won’t need that. Once my son reached ten, I was no longer terrified I couldn’t take care of him. There are techniques for emergencies, like always having someone on call, constant carrying of your cell phone, as well as live-in help.”

No dent in Dana’s sobs.

Lynne stopped and looked helplessly at Joe.

“Dana, please! Don’t be sad.”

She must have cried herself out because she did wind down…eventually.

He put his hands on her knees. “Oh, geez, I thought you were going to cry forever.”

She was staring at Joe. He couldn’t read her expression or tell what she was thinking.

“Honey, please, keep an open mind.”

“I…what?” Now she seemed confused. She glanced at Lynne. “Oh, you think I’m…oh, no. I’m not upset by you bringing her here.” She grabbed Joe’s hand. “Just the opposite. You’ve given me a chance at something I wanted and never, ever thought I could have. Thank you so much.”

Joe let go of her hand, fell back spread-eagled on the floor. “Jesus, thank God.”

They spent the next couple of hours talking with Lynne. Joe knew everything she told Dana, but watching Dana’s face during Lynne’s convincing recitation was mesmerizing. At four, when she left, he was enervated.

Dana turned to him, where he sat on the couch. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Well, don’t get too far ahead of yourself. There are caveats here, woman.”

Giving him a sham frown, she asked, “What are you talking about?”

“This having a baby stuff will only work within certain parameters.”

God, she loved when he got devilish. “What are they?”

He picked up a paper. “You haven’t read the research yet. This first article says women have the most luck getting pregnant with officers of the law.”

“It does, does it?”