Page 19 of Crashing Into Me
Most men she knew would have been embarrassed after talking about their feelings the way he did the night by the fire, but he thanked her and seemed to really appreciate the opportunity to get it off his chest. He just moved along like nothing had happened at all and wasn’t behaving stand-offish. He was being the opposite. Something brand new to her.
They didn’t say much during the hour and a half it took to put everything away—just the occasional, “Where do you want this?” of various snacks they got. She loved plain potato chips with ridges and spinach dip, and peanut butter cookies. He was way healthier than she was, buying freeze-dried edamame and natural, unroasted nuts and seeds. Now she knew why his body was in such good shape and kind of liked getting a peek into his lifestyle choices, other than the bourbon or the driving while intoxicated and hitting little defenseless ladies’ part.
They had developed a rhythm and moved in unison as they put things away, and by the time they were finished, she was starving, and it was one o’clock. Lana had plans to visit Rachel today, but she had to grab a snack first as her blood sugar had plummeted. Her thought was that if she hurried, she could make it there and back by four o’clock before the weather was really too bad to maneuver in. She was putting the last of the paper bags in the recycling bin as Kayden dragged wood from the backpatio of the garden, into the living room, and started stacking them.
“I’m gonna get started on this before it gets too bad and maybe lunch after?” he asked, all domestic-like.
“Sure,” she replied, “How long do you think that’ll take you?”
“Couple of hour’s tops.” He had chopped a ton of wood, and it was all stacked on the lanai.
“Ok, sounds good.”
Lana ran up the stairs as he made his way through the glass doors and onto the patio again. Feeling now was as good a time as any to get going to Shelby, she wanted to get a warmer jacket before leaving. Stopping mid-step towards her room, she turned to the guest room Kayden used, knowing she didn’t have anything near as warm as he would. She figured she could borrow the leather jacket he wore outside Aunt Mae’s the other day.
Entering his room, the aroma of his cologne was all she could smell. Instinctively, her eyes fell on his dresser, and she saw the bottle and picked it up to observe the label. It was called “212 by Carolina Herrera.” Resting it back down, she took a moment and glanced around the room. He was neat—very neat. Nothing was out of place as opposed to her room, where she made her bed when she felt like it and dropped trou in the middle of the room.
She looked out the window and could see him down in the garden moving wood as fast as he could, braving the falling snow. At least he was wearing a shirt this time. She looked forward to getting back and having lunch with him and thought they could even catch a movie later.
Lana walked over to the closet, eased it open, and admired the colors before her. All his shirts, pants, and jackets were color coordinated, as well as his socks and underwear. There wasn’t a thing out of place. His shoes were polished and sitting on racks, ties, and watches; everything you could think of was there, and itall had a place. Spotting the thick black leather jacket, she took it off the rack and slipped it on. Instant warmth.
As she closed the closet doors, a cell phone began to ring. Her eyes were drawn to the flashing lights of the device on the bedside table. Maybe it was someone or something important? She picked it up and realized it wasn’t a call but a text message. The banner on the screen showed the message, and she read it instinctively:
“Really can’t wait to see you and repeat the fun times on the hill -K.”
Who the hell was K?Resting the phone back down and angling it the way she found it, she started backing out of the room.So he does have a girlfriend.She stalked out of the room, upset with herself. It served her right. Why would a man she barely knew tell her the truth about anything? And this K definitely seemed to have plans with him at the house later. Men. They were all the same.
DRIVING DOWN DELEVEAUX Circle,Lana had her windshield wipers on to combat the relentless snow. It wasn’t helping much as she could only see maybe ten feet in front of her. All she had to do was make it to the roundabout, and it’d be fine. Slowing to the stop sign next to Mason’s, the streets were now deserted. No one was out now, with the exception of one car driving down Patterson, the person probably on their way home to a cozy fireplace. Realizing the risk involved, she thought about turning around.
Thinking about that text message and how foolish she felt, she pressed the gas and pushed the truck forward around theturnabout and out of Hamby. She just needed a little space today.
IT WASN’T SNOWING nearly as badlythere in Shelby, at least not yet. Lana valet-parked the truck and ran inside from the frigid temperature, brushing the snow from the leather coat before it got wet. Kayden would probably kill her if she ruined his jacket—it probably cost more than she made in a year. Walking up to the reception desk, she saw the same woman who was stationed there every day, Nancy.
“Hi, patient name and your ID please,” she said.
Lana reached into her jeans and laid the ID on the counter.
“I’m here to see Ms. Rachel Brown; she’s in room two-twenty-two.”
Nancy took the ID and punched something into the computer. She looked up at Lana and her shoulders slacked, her expression one of concern.
“Are you family?” she asked.
“No, but I’ve been here before. Every day for the past week and a half, in fact. What’s going on?”
Nancy took her glasses off, and that scared Lana. She knew that look all too well, being a Nurse. It was the I’ve got horrible news face.
“I’m sorry, Ms. Brown isn’t in room two-twenty-two.”
“Ok, so where is she?”
Lana’s heart pounded in her chest so loud it was all she could hear. She and Nancy stayed locked eye to eye, and after a few moments of silence, Lana knew all she needed to. A lot of communication passed between them with just a look. Noddingher head, her eyes welled with tears, Lana grabbed the ID off the counter and turned away.
“I’m sorry, honey,” Nancy said.
Her head was swimming, and everything around her was a watery blob. She was breathless, unable to grasp the reality that Rachel was gone. Her head was swimming in a pool of thoughts and questions. What could have happened? Anything could have happened. A pulmonary embolism, internal bleeding—something went wrong with the surgery. And Kayden, he can now be charged with vehicular manslaughter. He hasn’t even gotten over what happened to his brother, and he’ll have this to deal with, too? Wiping her face free of the tears, she walked out of the lobby onto the overhang by the valet’s booth.
He approached, and she handed him the little pink stub. He grabbed an umbrella and disappeared to get her truck. Why didn’t she just stay put at the house? Surely the police will be notified soon, Kayden will go to jail, and if Rachel’s family presses charges, that’s it for him. His mother won’t lift a finger to help him out of it. The valet pulled her truck up to the curb and jumped out. She climbed in and shut the door, pulling slowly out to the road and on her way back to Kayden.
