Carly's Gift (21 page)

“After about ten more hugs like this one I'll give that some thought, too.”

Barbara stepped forward. “I think you and Ethan should have some time alone. Why don't Eric and I go to the cafeteria and get us all something to drink?”

Carly turned her attention to her mother. “Where's Wally?”

“He went to Admitting to see if he could find out how the Linndale police plan to handle this.”

How like Wally to take care of the potentially messy little details so quietly and unobtrusively. Releasing Eric and guiding him toward Barbara, Carly said, “Bring me back a cup of tea, would you?” She turned to Ethan. “Do you want something?”

He answered without looking at either of them. “Nothing for me.”

“We won't be gone long,” Barbara told her, slipping her arm through Eric's and heading down the hall.

When they had rounded the corner, Ethan said, “You never used to drink tea.”

She blinked. “What?”

“Up until four months ago I don't think I ever saw you drink anything but coffee. It just seems kind of strange that you've changed, that's all.”

She was too dumbfounded to answer immediately. When she did, she didn't try to shield him. “Your paranoia has reached new heights, Ethan. You even managed to take me by surprise this time.” On a roll, she made no attempt to hold back. “You've known all along that Shawn was going to be all right and yet you let me spend the past hour in hell.”

“I didn't—”

“Don't try to defend yourself.” She was seething. It would take a long time to forgive him this one. “Don't make excuses. As a matter of fact, I don't even want you to talk to me.”

“What's with you, Carly? I've done everything I could to make you happy these past few months. I give and give and you take and take and where does it get me?”

“For Christ's sake, could you stop thinking about yourself for just one day? This is hardly the time or place to get into what you think is wrong with our marriage.”

“With you there's never a time or place. How long do you think I can go on putting in ninety percent to your ten?”

“I won't talk to you about this now.”

“When, then?”

“Ethan, stop it.”

“I want to know when you think you might find a little time for me, Carly? Is that so much to ask?”

He wasn't going to let it go. “All right. We can talk about this as much as you want when we get home.”

“The minute we walk in the door or after you've unloaded the dishwasher and fed the dog? What's it going to take for me to get through to you that this is important to me? Damn it to hell, I want to know when.”

“Tonight, after Eric is in bed. Is that specific enough?” She saw Wally approaching out of the corner of her eye. He had his red-and-gray plaid jacket draped over his arm and the hint of a grin on his angular face. With two quick strides he was beside them.

“What did you find out?” she asked, folding her hands in her lap to keep him from seeing how badly they were shaking.

“I talked to the Linndale sheriff. He told me as far as he was concerned the ball was in my court and I could play it any way I wanted.”

“What does that mean?”

“Neither one of the kids will be charged with anything. I am going to talk to the Bradfords, however, and see if there isn't someplace else they can keep that thing until both of their boys get a few years on them.”

She went to him, stood on tiptoe and gave him a kiss. “You're always here for me when I need you.”

He put his arms around her and held her tight. “My pleasure, missy.”

They stood holding each other for several minutes while Carly drew quiet strength from the man she passionately wished had been her real father.

“Where've your mom and Eric got off to?” Wally asked when she finally lifted her head from his shoulder.

She stepped back and glanced down the hall. “The cafeteria. They should be back in a few minutes.”

Wally laid his jacket on the chair. “How ya holdin' up, Ethan?” he asked, as if just noticing him.

“I'll be all right.”

“It's a scary thing to have something like this happen to one of your kids.”

Ethan gave him a look that said, “How the hell would you know?”

Carly could have kicked him. She had her mouth open to tell Ethan to go outside and walk around until he'd worked off some of his anxiety when she noticed his gaze was fixed on something down the hall. She turned and saw Barbara and Eric in the company of a woman dressed in surgical scrubs all headed their way, and smiling.

“He's okay, Mom,” Eric shouted, breaking ranks and running toward her.

Carly caught her breath in a quick cry of relief. She looked at the doctor for confirmation. The tall, slender woman nodded.

“He's one lucky young man,” she said, coming to a halt in front of Carly. She held out her hand. “Evelyn Webster. You're the mother?”

“Yes—Carly Hargrove.” After shaking hands, Carly introduced Wally.

“I should start out by telling you that thanks to the helmet he was wearing, he's going to be fine,” Dr. Webster said. “The breaks were clean and relatively easy to set—”

“Breaks?” Carly repeated. “Plural?”

The doctor reached up and pulled off her surgical cap, then ran her fingers through her short, dark blond hair. “There was a compound fracture of the right humerus and a hairline crack in the right tibia.”

“He broke his arm
and
his leg?”

“No one told you about the results of the X-rays and what we were going to do in surgery?”

Carly spoke quickly, her compulsion to present a perfect family picture to the outside world taking over. “We haven't had a chance to talk. I only got here a few minutes ago.”

The look the doctor gave Carly told her the good doctor wasn't buying her explanation. The openness and warmth turned crisply professional. “Is Shawn left or right handed?”

“Left,” Eric answered.

“That will help some. I'm going to keep him here for several days, and even though he's been fitted with a walking cast, he's still going to need a lot of help moving around when he gets home, especially for the first couple of weeks. Is there someone who'll be available?”

“My wife will be taking care of him,” Ethan said.

The doctor looked to Carly for confirmation. Carly nodded. “I'll want to meet with you before I release him.”

Finally, it was Carly's turn to speak. “When do you think that will be?”

“Two or three days.” She made a move to leave.

“Can I see him?” Carly asked.

“He should be in his room in another hour or so. You can check with his floor nurse.” She added a nod of finality and headed back down the hallway.

When she was sure the doctor was out of earshot, Carly turned on Ethan. “You knew all this and you didn't tell me?” Her rage left a bitter taste on the back of her tongue.

“Keep your voice down,” Ethan said, taking her arm and steering her away from the others. “You of all people should realize how upset I get when something like this happens. The nurses in Emergency stuck the release papers in front of me and told me to sign them at the same time they were telling me what they were going to do to Shawn. I was having trouble remembering my own name, let alone all the medical jargon they were throwing my way.”

She wrenched her arm free. “Broken bones are pretty hard to forget.”

“What is the matter with you? You're acting like this is my fault when you're—”

“Don't say it, Ethan. Don't even think it.”

Whether it was the fury in her eyes or the tone in her voice, something made him back off. “Look, we're both tired and upset. Why don't we get out of here for a while and find someplace to eat? We have an hour before they bring Shawn to his room.”

If pressed only a little, she could have come up with a hundred things she would have preferred doing, none of them involving him.

When she didn't immediately answer, he went on, “Eric is upset enough by everything that's happened. The last thing he needs is to see us fighting.”

“I should call Andrea.”

He checked his watch. “It's after ten there. She's probably already in bed. Besides, if you wait until tomorrow, Shawn will be able to talk to her, too, and she'll believe you when you tell her he's okay.”

She knew he was right, but she hated giving in. She went over to where Barbara and Wally were waiting with Eric. “Ethan has suggested we go out somewhere for dinner instead of waiting around here.”

“I think that's a terrific idea,” Barbara said. “You're going to have to keep your strength up for what you've got ahead of you.”

“I know a good place close by,” Wally added.

Ethan clapped his hands in triumph before rubbing them together. “Then it's decided.”

Carly shuddered when he helped her on with her coat, adjusted her collar, and let his hand linger lovingly at her neck. She realized with a start that something had changed between them; she wasn't yet sure what it was, only that from the feel of it, it was permanent.

They were outside, on their way to Ethan's car, when he put his arm across her shoulders and brought her close. “I can't help but feel that you think I owe you an apology,” he whispered.

When, after several seconds, she didn't respond, he went on, “Aren't you going to say anything?”

If he were to say the right words, in the right way, she would not be able to stop herself from forgiving him—there were too many years of precedents. “I'm waiting to hear what you think you've done wrong.”

He nuzzled his face against her hair, making a soft sighing sound. “I knew you'd come around,” he said.

She pulled away from him. “What's that supposed to mean?”

He gave her a stunned look. “That you realize I've done nothing wrong and there isn't any reason for me to apologize.”

She started to answer him and then stopped. Without the need to play to Ethan's ego, she could concentrate on Shawn and getting him home. “Thank you, Ethan,” she said, not at all surprised that he had completely misunderstood her.

He smiled, then pulled her to him for a kiss. “You're welcome.”

Eighteen

The sounds of
breakfast trays being delivered to patients brought Carly out of a drifting sleep. She opened her eyes and focused on Shawn. He was staring at her. “Good morning,” she said, sitting up in the chair and stretching.

“Where's Dad?” he asked.

She got up and went to the bed to touch his forehead and then place a kiss where her hand had been. “He and Eric went home last night, but he'll be back as soon as he gets Eric off to school. How do you feel?”

“Crummy.”

She gave him a commiserating smile. “I'm not surprised.”

“Are you mad?”

Plainly he'd been doing some thinking while he waited for her to wake up. The night before he'd still been under the effects of the anesthesia and unable to finish a sentence without falling asleep. “A little. But I'll get over it.”

“What about Dad?”

“You'll have to ask him.”

“Is Eric okay?”

She brushed the hair back from his forehead, taking incredible pleasure in the simple gesture. For the past months she'd been so caught up in Andrea, she'd been temporarily blinded to the daily riches Shawn and Eric brought into her life. “He was pretty upset for a while, but as soon as he found out you were going to be all right, he calmed down.”

“I'll bet he was scared.”

“That's one bet you'd win.”

“You were probably pretty scared, too.”

She thought about all she had gone through the day before and an unexpected grin formed. “I was terrified until I got here and found out for myself that you were going to be all right.”

He reached up to grab the bar hanging down from a hook in the ceiling and caught his breath against the pain the motion caused. “I had no idea it would be so heavy.”

“What?”

“Joey's motorcycle. It must weigh a ton.”

“Grandpa Wally stopped by there on his way home last night. He said it looked like when you hit the curb the bike just went out from under you.”

“All I know is that I was sitting on the thing one minute and it was sitting on me the next.”

“It must have really hurt.”

“Not at first. I think I was too scared to feel anything. But I knew my arm was broken as soon as I tried to move it. I thought my leg was just stuck.”

“Well, it looks like you're finally going to get that laptop you've been wanting.”

He brightened. “No kidding?”

“It's the only way you're going to be able to keep up with your schoolwork.”

“Gosh, maybe I should have done this when school started.”