Page 24 of Waiting for Devon
Though Shane considered the evening a success, he was quiet and withdrawn on the way back to the Barrington estate, and Devon could sense his outrage beneath the surface.
Touching his arm, she said, “Thank you for your interference on my behalf tonight.”
“I’m sorry you had to go through that.”
“Don’t be sorry for me. I’m just concerned about Alana. Those people will rip her to shreds. I’m beginning to think the kindest thing you can do for her is to let her go. She can’t survive in your world.”
His hands gripped the wheel so tightly his knuckles turned white. “No, I won’t let her go. She’ll learn, Devon. She’ll be fine.”
“Is this really what you want for her?”
“It’s not as bad as you make it sound. Alana already knows these people.”
“If you say so, but I don’t think it’s going to work.”
Upstairs at the Barrington estate, Devon changed her clothes and wondered if Reed had returned from his date with Lara. She found it odd that a surge of hot jealousy possessed her as she watched Reed kiss Lara, much the same way he’d kissed her.
The sudden ringing of her cell phone disrupted her thoughts. When she noted the caller, she froze. She could almost feel Emmaline’s urgency, and she knew why. “Uh, hi, Em,” she greeted her sister with false gaiety.
“You have a lot of explaining to do, Devon. I knew something unusual was going on with you and this man you mentioned, but imagine my surprise when I saw you and yourfiancéon CNN, in addition to every tabloid show on the air. How in the world did you wind up engaged to a multi-millionaire playboy who’s being touted as the country’s most popular soon-to-be-ex-bachelor? This time I want the truth. Caleb saw the same broadcast, and he’s livid with you for lying to him.”
“Em, I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you and Caleb about Shane, but it’s not what you think. I’m not really engaged to him.”
By the time Devon finished her tale, Emmaline was even more flabbergasted and disappointed in her sister’s actions. “I’ve never known you to be so irresponsible, Devon. You’re taking a huge risk, both professionally and personally, and I pray it doesn’t backfire on you.”
“I can’t change things now, although I wish I could. Hopefully, it won’t be too much longer before Jasper Barrington relents and gives Shane what he wants.”
“Huh. I wouldn’t hold my breath if I were you. Look, I have to go. Call Caleb. He’s concerned about you in spite of your stupidity. His words, not mine.”
“I will. Thanks, Em, for not beingtooupset with me.”
Emmaline chuckled. “I’m sorry it’s a farce. I could get used to having a multi-millionaire for a brother-in-law.”
The day beforethe Fourth of July Devon received a frantic call from Jill. “What is it?” she asked as a terrible feeling in the pit of her stomach took root. “I can barely understand you.”
“Oh, Devon!” Jill cried. “Something horrible happened last night. Chrissy Lockridge died.”
The color drained from Devon’s face, and she sank onto her bed. Chrissy Lockridge was the little girl who began chemotherapy shortly after Devon left San Francisco. Fighting a wave of nausea, she asked in a hoarse voice, “How? What happened?”
“Dr. Franklin said her heart couldn’t take the strain and gave out. It just gave out, and she was gone. In the blink of an eye, they said. It happened that quickly.”
“Thanks for letting me know.” She pressed the END button.
Tears rolled fast and furiously, blinding Devon as she fled the house. She didn’t stop running until she entered the main stable and found an empty stall where she sobbed her heartbreak. Chrissy Lockridge died because Devon wasn’t there. She broke her promise and an innocent child died. Devon doubled over and rocked back and forth as she cried Chrissy’s name until her throat was raw. Remembering her own loss cast her into a pit of despair.
Reed heard heart-wrenchingsobs coming from the stall next to Pale Promise’s. “Blair!” he called with concern. “Is that you? Why are you crying?”
Devon leaped to her feet as Reed opened the wooden half-door, and they stared at one another. “I’m not Blair,” she said and tried to brush away her tears. She couldn’t stop crying regardless of her effort to control herself.
“I can see that,” he responded in a soft tone. “What’s wrong, Brooks?”
“I lost a patient last night. Chrissy Lockridge. She died undergoing chemo for a brain tumor. I should have been there. Oh, God, I should have been there.”
Needing comfort, he supposed, she threw herself against him and cried into his shoulder, soaking his white T-shirt.
Stunned by her raw pain, Reed let her cry until dry wracks shook her body. When she lifted her head, he gazed into her luminous brown eyes and cupped her face with his hands.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
