A Bid for Love (7 page)

“You know,” he said to her, his voice clearly puzzled, “this morning a note was slipped under my door. It said if I wanted to live, I shouldn’t bid on it.”

Cassi stiffened. “On what?”

“That’s just it. I don’t know. But it bothers me.”

Cassi forced a laugh. “It’s some poor fool’s idea of a joke.”

“You’re probably right.”

But Cassi noticed he didn’t bid on anything. Was he afraid? Should she be afraid? Maybe it wasn’t Jared who had sent the note, but Sam. Had he brought it up to test her?

This is ridiculous,
she thought.
Next, I’ll start suspecting Renae
.

The auctioneer brought out a new item and Cassi listened intently, but despite her attention, her thoughts wandered back to Jared. Where was he? She couldn’t see him in front or to the sides, and she didn’t want to turn around in case he noticed her interest. He had to be in the room, though. He certainly wouldn’t miss bidding on his precious Buddha.

Another interesting painting came up for auction, and Léon again outbid her. The next item was an intricate sculpture of a tree and a lion. She bid for it, against stiff competition from somewhere behind her. She allowed herself a glance over her shoulder to see that it was Jared who was upsetting her bid. Eventually she won out, paying slightly more than she should have, though the item would still bring her gallery a reasonable profit. She sighed with contentment. With the two items purchased, she had already more than compensated for her trip.

Finally, it was the Buddha’s turn to be auctioned, with a starting bid of two hundred thousand dollars. Cassi allowed others to begin the bidding to see who was interested. It soon became apparent that Jared and another man she didn’t recognize were her stiffest competitors.

Her thoughts flitted to Renae, and Cassi wondered if her friend had been serious about calling the hotel to get Jared out of the auction. Part of her hoped Renae would do just that, while the other part wanted to win in fair competition. But what if he had more money than she did?

The bid was now at two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. If Renae was going to act, she should do it soon. Cassi glanced behind her and saw that Jared had a thin phone to his ear.

She jerked her face forward again and raised her number to bid two fifty-two on the Buddha. Had a hotel worker come in and given Jared notice of an emergency phone call? Was Renae even now on the phone with him? Cassi hadn’t seen anyone come in with a message, but she had been intent on the bidding. It was entirely possible that Renae’s plan had backfired, simply because they had overlooked the likelihood of him checking out the so-called emergency on a cell phone.

Behind her, Jared bid again and Cassi raised her card to top him. The other bidder also raised his card. Next to her, Cassi could feel Sam watching to see if she would bid again.

“Excuse me,” a voice at her side said softly. She looked up to see a hotel employee. “There’s a message for you. It’s urgent.” Cassi took the paper he proffered. It read:

Your friend has gone into labor. She’s bleeding and we’ve called an ambulance. It will be here shortly to get her. Please come. She’s asking for you.

Horror swept through Cassi. Renae in labor? Bleeding? She looked first at Sam beside her and then risked a glance at Jared, feeling suddenly faint.

Could this be a joke? Jared had been on the phone. Had he arranged this note to get her out of the competition? Maybe Renae had called him, and this was his way of getting revenge. Or maybe he had come up with it all by himself.

These thoughts raced quickly through Cassi’s head as she weighed the options. Her heart pounded, and she completely forgot about the Buddha.

Renae is my friend,
she thought, coming to a decision. If there was even a remote chance that she needed Cassi, she had to be there for her.

Cassi arose.

“But—” Sam began.

Cassi shoved the note into his hand for explanation before running out the door. Her abrupt movements caused a slight stir in the audience, but she was beyond caring. Her only thought was for Renae.

CHAPTER NINE

The Monday afternoon auction went quickly. Jared bid for a sculpture, only to quit bidding when the price lowered the potential profits below Laranda’s high requirements. For himself, he would have kept bidding because of the beauty of the piece. He felt a strange satisfaction when Cassi won the bid. The sculpture would not bring as much profit to her gallery but would most likely result in a satisfied buyer and repeat business. It was the way Jared would run a gallery, if he owned one.

The Buddha finally came up for bid. As expected, Cassi was a strong contender, and Jared pulled out his phone to call Laranda in New York.

“There’s stiff competition,” he said, keeping his voice low.

“Get it.” Laranda’s voice sounded strangely tense. “I don’t care what it takes, I need that Buddha. I’ve got a buyer waiting.”

“Okay. Don’t I always come through? I just wanted to be sure how serious you are.” As he spoke, Jared raised his card to up the bid on the Buddha again.

“I know, Jared. You always do what you can with what I give you. This is just very important to me.”

“You’ll tell me later?”

“Yes. And I’ll give you a bonus you won’t ever forget,” she added huskily. Jared couldn’t miss the romantic innuendo but chose to ignore her.

“G’bye, Laranda.” Jared clicked his phone shut.

The bid for the Buddha was now at two hundred and sixty thousand dollars. As Jared raised his card again to top the bid, he saw a uniformed hotel worker walk up to where Cassi was sitting and hand her a note. Her back stiffened, and her gaze swung around to meet Jared’s. Her face was stark white against the dark of her hair and eyes, seeming small and lost in the array of wild curls.

She stood abruptly, pausing only to shove something into the hand of the man seated next to her. As the man turned his head, Jared saw that it was Sam Boader. Before Jared could decide how he felt about that, Cassi was running out the door, her hair streaming behind her. In her deep mauve dress, she captured almost every eye in the room.

What’s wrong?
Jared thought, amazed that she would leave the auction at this critical moment. His first urge was to follow her, but he wondered if she would welcome his interest.

Another buyer bid on the Buddha, and the auctioneer was calling for higher bid. Jared raised his card without thinking. His mind was on Cassi. He could almost see her white face still staring at him. He remembered the innocence of her voice and the makeup-less face on the morning they had met.
Since when do I have to be given an invitation to care about someone’s problems?
He was human, she was human. That was all that mattered.

Jared bid three more times, but finally he could stand it no longer. “Four hundred thousand,” he said aloud, raising the bid nearly seventy thousand dollars. People gasped slightly at the jump, but the auctioneer only smiled.

“I have four hundred thousand. Do I have four hundred thousand and one? Anyone for four hundred and one? Four hundred thousand going once, twice, and sold to number eighty-nine.”

Jared was out of his seat in an instant and next to Sam. “Where’d she go?” he whispered, ignoring the stares from those around them.

Sam handed him the piece of paper, and Jared read it quickly, his heart constricting at the contents. He recalled only too vividly when something similar had happened to one of his sisters. Her placenta had come loose at the onset of labor, and the baby was saved only by an emergency C-section. The doctor had gravely informed them that if Trisha had arrived at the hospital even minutes later, the baby would have died.

Jared was out the door and in the hotel lobby before he realized he was moving. He only knew there was a possibility Cassi’s friend could lose her baby, and maybe somehow he could help.

CHAPTER TEN

Cassi looked anxiously around as she neared the main lobby. The elevator dinged, and she whirled to see Renae supported by two women hotel employees. She was disheveled and in obvious pain.

“Cassi!” Renae said when she looked up. “I’m so sorry. But the baby . . . I’m bleeding!”

Cassi didn’t know what that meant, but she did know that a woman generally wasn’t supposed to bleed until after a birth. She put her arms around Renae.

“I didn’t want to get you out of the auction,” her friend sobbed. “I didn’t know what else to do.”

“I don’t care about the auction.” Cassi fought to keep her voice calm.

“The ambulance is here,” one of the hotel workers said. Even as she spoke, two men and a stretcher moved quickly toward them. In moments they had Renae on the stretcher and in the ambulance.

“Why is she bleeding?” Cassi asked, wishing her heart would quit beating so frantically.

“The placenta is probably pulling away from the uterus,” one of the EMTs explained. “That means we have to get the baby out before it comes off altogether or he won’t be able to breathe.”

“She,” Cassi corrected. “It’s a girl. But what if she doesn’t come?”

“Then the doctor will take her by C-section,” the man said. “But don’t worry too much. Her heartbeat’s still strong, and that means we have time.”

Not wanting to retrieve her own car or worry about finding the hospital, Cassi hurried to one of the taxis that waited in front of the hotel. As the car raced through the streets of Los Angeles, Cassi’s mind was far removed from the auction and all its comparatively unimportant matters. At the hospital, she finally remembered to call Trent while the doctor on call examined Renae.

“I’ll find someone to stay with the kids and be right there,” he said after Cassi explained the situation.

“Just bring them. I can take care of them. Renae needs you now!” Cassi’s tears were near the surface. She felt terrible that not only was the baby’s life threatened, but that Renae had to face the situation with a strange doctor and without her husband.

Cassi filled out the papers she was handed, and then went to sit with Renae as the doctor explained the problem. He was rather short and bald, his demeanor calm, and Cassi liked him immediately.

“The placenta has come partly loose,” he said to Renae. “That’s why you have the bleeding. But your baby is in no immediate danger. We can keep an eye on you and see if we can’t get the baby here naturally. If his heart rate drops, we’ll have to take him caesarean, though I’m hoping that won’t be necessary. You’re already dilated to a four.”

“Her,” puffed Renae as another contraction took over. “My doctor said it was a girl.”

“Well, he may be wrong,” the doctor said with a smile. “Our ultrasound indicates that it’s a boy. I hope that isn’t a disappointment.”

Cassi had to smile. “She has one boy and three girls. I don’t think she’ll be too unhappy to have another boy.”

Renae nodded but was too busy breathing through the contraction to answer aloud. When it was over, she began to sob softly. “I want Trent.”

“He’s on his way,” Cassi said.

“Would you like something for the pain?” the doctor asked.

Renae shook her head. “I heard it can slow down labor. I don’t want to risk that.”

“That is true, but I’m keeping an eye on your baby. Let me know if you change your mind.”

Renae’s jaw clenched in determination. “I won’t.”

The doctor left them in the care of several nurses who seemed to know what they were doing. Renae’s obvious pain made Cassi nervous. Birth was something she had never been close to before.

“Is there anything I can do?” she asked.

Renae didn’t answer. Her tear-streaked face twisted in a grimace and deep lines etched around her mouth. She panted and writhed on the bed. Beads of sweat dotted her forehead.

When the contraction was over, she looked up at Cassi. “I’m so afraid. I don’t want to lose my baby. I need Trent. I can’t do this without him!” She gave a long, shuddering sigh, and Cassi patted her shoulder awkwardly.

“I’m so sorry.”

“It’s just that I can’t stop this feeling of dread. I think I’m going to lose my baby.” She said the last sentence in a whisper so the nurses wouldn’t hear and jump to reassure her. “Please, go see if Trent is here yet.”

“Okay,” Cassi escaped gratefully from the room, though she knew her effort was futile. Trent wouldn’t arrive for another hour.

As she gazed around the hall outside the delivery area, Cassi felt faint. She could never remember being so helpless. Despite the doctor’s apparent confidence, Renae’s fear made her worry for the unborn baby.
Please,
she prayed.
Please help Renae.
She thought of her friend lying in agony and knew she would have to return to her bedside, bringing nothing to help her.

She started to walk down the hall, but from the corner of her eye she saw a familiar figure approaching at a fast walk.

“Jared,” she whispered, though he was too far off to hear. She couldn’t stop the relief flooding her body at the sight of someone—anyone—she knew, even as remotely as she knew him.

He came toward her quickly. “Is she all right?”

Cassi shook her head, not understanding why or how he was at the hospital. “The placenta’s coming loose. The doctor says she may need a C-section. He seems to have everything under control, but Renae’s frightened. She keeps crying and calling for her husband.” Cassi’s voice broke on the last word. She looked up at Jared through her tears. “I’m not sure what to do.”

“I have an idea,” he said, turning his head around as if searching for something or someone.

Cassi wondered what he was looking for, but she soon had an answer when the man they had met at church the previous day came hurrying toward them.

“He used to volunteer in a crisis center,” Jared said. “Plus he’s helped his wife through birth a ton of times, so I called him.”

“Two times in one day, eh?” Larry Smithy said to Jared.