Destiny Wears Spurs (23 page)

“I appreciate your concern, Cody, but I can handle this weasel myself.” She twisted around and tried to face Wendell, but the restraints of the seatbelt made it impossible.

“Dammit, Monica, sit down,” Cody snapped.

When she ignored him, he realized everything was going wrong and the turbulence was getting worse outside. Maybe it was a sign that he’d been a fool to think it could ever work between them. A stupid, crazy-assed fool.

Cody spotted a grassy clearing and began his descent, while Wendell and Monica continued to argue, oblivious to the danger of the storm.

“That does it.” She yanked off her seatbelt and lunged over the seat to take a swing at Wendell.

Cody whipped his head to the side and glared at her. “What the hell are you doing? Get your seatbelt on, now.”

“Not until I pummel this idiot.” She glanced at Cody and then grew silent as her face went pasty white. “Cody, look out!” She plopped back in her seat and fumbled for the seatbelt.

“What the ...?” He faced front and sent the plane into a dive, barely missing the pair of eagles circling high above the mountains.

Wendell squealed, “I don’t want to die.”

Cody cursed. Yanking hard on the yoke, he pulled back with all his might until he finally got the plane under control. A bead of sweat slid down his temple, but he didn’t flinch as he brought the plane in for a landing.

Damn. They were going too fast. “Hold on.”

Monica scrambled to fasten her belt just as they hit the ground hard, and he slammed on the brakes. She screamed and shot out of her seat like a cannonball. Christ, she hadn’t fastened her seatbelt in time. She hit the windshield and then fell on his lap, going limp.

He unbuckled his seatbelt and opened the door to the plane. Sliding out from under her, he climbed down and carried her out of the plane, then laid her on the ground. Her head was bleeding and her eyes were already turning black and blue. He looked at her pupils.

Wendell shouted in pain, but Cody didn’t care. He wanted to kill the bastard for what he’d done to Monica. He fisted his hand and pulled back to give him the pummeling she had wanted to, when he heard a whimper behind him. Monica.

Cody released his hold, and Wendell fell to the ground with a cry of agony as he clutched his leg. “I’m not through with you, but she comes first,” Cody said in response and then rushed to her side. “I’m here, baby. Can you hear me?” He took her hand in his.

Cody panicked. He couldn’t leave her. That only meant one thing. He glanced at his plane, and his stomach twisted into knots. Jesus, if he lost her because of that deathtrap, he’d never forgive himself. He could radio for help, but that would take too long.

Cody strode over to a moaning Wendell, pulling him up by his shirt. “You slimy piece of shit. I want you off my ranch in exchange for your life. So help me God, if I ever catch you anywhere near my place again, I will kill you. Do I make myself clear?”

“P-Perfectly.” Wendell groaned, his eyes squeezing shut, and jaw clenched. “I just want you to know I never meant--”

“Save it. I’m sure you’ll have enough explaining to do when your boss hears what you did to his daughter.” He watched with some satisfaction as Wendell paled, and then he pushed him into the back of the plane.

“Yeah, well.” Wendell panted to catch his breath. “If you think Monica is serious about you, think again.” He cursed as he shifted. “She’s only using you. What makes you think a woman like that would even want to stay in a place like this?”

“I hope Hammond gives it to you good.” Cody slammed the door on the asshole, but couldn’t close the door on his old doubts as he picked up Monica.

“Monica, stay awake, honey. Stay with me.” Cody nudged her, but she mumbled again and turned away. Falling asleep with a concussion could be deadly. He worked quickly, laying her as carefully as he could in the passenger seat and tried to stabilize her head after he bandaged it with gauze from the first aid kit he kept on board. It wasn’t the best, but it was all he had.

After inspecting his plane, he was confident it was airworthy. It hadn’t sustained any major damage. The weather had cleared enough for him to take off, so he prayed for the best and went for it.

Wendell didn’t say a word for the rest of the trip, other than the occasional moan. Good damn thing, because Cody was close to killing him anyway. Instead, he focused on what he had to do. He called ahead so the hospital would be ready when they arrived.

Cody flew for what seemed like forever, but they finally landed at the airport where an ambulance waited. A man opened the passenger door of the plane before Cody had unbuckled his own seatbelt.

“Be careful, her head is cut, and I think she has a concussion.” Cody climbed down from the plane and ran around the front to the other side, then spat, “The slime ball in the back has a broken leg, but I don’t want him riding with her. He can rot in hell, for all I care.”

“It’s okay, Mr. Rafferty, we’ve got it covered. There’s another ambulance on its way.” The man finished unbuckling Monica’s seatbelt.

Cody stepped back and let the EMTs do their job. They strapped her to a gurney and rolled her into the ambulance. He climbed inside and held her hand as the ambulance whisked them away to the nearest hospital.

The hospital buzzed with noise and activity when they arrived. In a flurry of motion, they wheeled her away for a series of tests, leaving him alone, forbidden to follow. He filled out paperwork and called her father to let him know what had happened. That hadn’t been at all pleasant, but Cody deserved Hammond’s anger. Monica’s accident wasn’t entirely Wendell’s fault.

His shoulders slumped, and he put a hand over his face, trying to block out the image of her blood-soaked head. Stupid. God, it had been foolish to think that things could work between them. She wasn’t cut out for this. Her father had even said she hated the country. She was a city girl, and she needed to go home where she belonged.

“Miss Hammond is fine. She’s in her room now. She has a concussion, but nothing is broken. We gave her something for the pain, so she’s sleeping now.”

“Good, that’s good.” Relief washed over him, and he staggered, grabbing a chair for support. Monica was okay, he repeated to himself but still couldn’t believe it.

The nurse pursed her thin lips. “You should go home and get some rest, or you’re liable to wind up in here, yourself. We’ll call you when she wakes up.”

“I’m fine.” He stared her down so she’d know he was serious. “I’m not going anywhere.”

She sighed, shaking her head and plopping her hands on her plump hips. “I had a feeling you were a stubborn one. Would you like me to show you to her room?”

Cody nodded and followed the nurse down the hall. He would have to call Hammond again and let him know Monica was okay, then he would stay by her side until she woke up.

He hated hospitals. Hated the look of them, the smell of them, what went wrong in them, but he had to see for himself that she was all right. Only then could he get back to work. Only then could he get on with the rest of his life. Only then could he get the hell out of her life for good. There was no way things would work between them now.

* * *

Monica opened her eyes and then slammed them shut as a sharp pain pierced her skull. It felt like a drum line was holding practice on her brain. “Please make the pounding stop,” she whispered.

“Monica? You awake? Talk to me.” A warm hand gripped hers.

“Cody? Is that you?” She held onto the strength she felt in his hand. “What happened?” She couldn’t remember anything after arguing with Wendell on the plane.

“I’m here now. I had to take the plane down in a hurry, and we had a rough landing. You have a concussion, but nothing’s broken.”

“Are you sure? Because it feels like my skull is cracked in a million places.” She pried her eyelids open and another pain flashed behind her eyes, but she refused to give in to it.

“I’m sure. Doc says you’ll be good as new in a couple days. You just need to rest.”

She squinted until she made out Cody. “You look tired. How long have you been here?” His clothes were rumpled, his face unshaven, with deep worry lines etched around his eyes. But even in his dishevelment, he looked wonderful.

“Since yesterday. It happened yesterday afternoon, and you slept all night. I wanted to stay until you woke up and I knew for sure you were okay.” He stood and walked over to stare out the window. “Now that I can see you are, I’d best be getting back to work. Hank has put in enough overtime covering for me.”

“Oh, okay.” She sensed something different in his tone. A distance between them that hadn’t been there since she’d first met him. “When I get out, I’ll join you.”

He didn’t look at her. “I don’t think so. You need your rest, and I’ll see you at the end of the week.” He turned to her, but his face held no emotion. “We’ll go to the barbecue.”

She couldn’t read how he felt, but she knew in her heart something was wrong. And she didn’t have a clue how to fix it. “The barbecue it is.” What else could she say? “I’ll see you at the end of the week.”

“Take care of yourself.” He walked over, kissed her cheek, and then continued out the door without looking back.

Monica felt like crying. Things had been so wonderful between them before the accident, and now that damn wall of his had slammed back in place. He’d said they would see each other at the barbecue, but it felt like he was saying goodbye. May as well have been. Now she would only get one more night with him, instead of a whole week.

She’d promised herself from the beginning she would take whatever she could get. If one more night with him was all she had left, she’d make it the best night of her life. There would be no regrets. She’d go back to the city. She closed her eyes. Back to hanging out with her friends. She smiled. Back to shopping. Her eyes opened, and her smile faded. Back to her old life. She stifled a sob, and her heart broke a little more.

Back to a life without Cody.

* * *

Monica stared in the mirror above her dresser and gingerly touched her two black eyes, then the neon-orange Band-Aid in the middle of her forehead. Not a big deal to her, but a major disaster according to Cody. She hadn’t heard from him all week.

He’d sent Jake to get her when the doctors released her from the hospital, because he was busy watching the herd in the mountains. She assumed they were still going to the dance, so she got ready, just in case.

Then she glanced in the mirror again. Raccoon eyes stared back at her. The black had lightened into yellows and greens, but it was still just plain ugly. Why did she have to look like this, tonight of all nights? Her last night with him. She groaned. She wanted him to remember her as beautiful.

“I know. I’m worried he still doesn’t get it, since he didn’t demand Wendell’s resignation. And he had the audacity to lecture me about sleeping with clients. Like Wendell hasn’t slept with everyone. I’ll handle Wendell as soon as I return. So what did your detective friend find out?”

“Plenty. You were right about Worldwide Pharmaceuticals. Wendell had a guy in the lab stall the F.D.A. approval process on purpose so you wouldn’t have as much time. I don’t trust Thorndike. He could be dangerous. You want me to have Drew tail him?”

“No. I still don’t have enough. We know he was copying private documents and we know he tried to sabotage me, but that doesn’t prove he wanted to destroy my father. We’re still missing motive. This fight isn’t over yet. I didn’t give my father the campaign I came up with, but he did say to go ahead and present it. All I have to do is come up with the slogan. I’m hoping Cody will like it.”

“I thought what you described to me was damn good,” Nat said. “Must admit, I was pretty impressed. Your father’s company is a great company, and you’ve done him proud with a campaign like that.”