Feather Light (Knead Me) (25 page)

Parker fell silent, wanting to believe there was hope for him. Shaking his head, he tried to push Ann—Kelly—out of his mind. He closed his eyes and concentrated on each gentle stroke while he worked his way down to her shoulders.

“You’re like a son to me, Parker, the son I never had. And I’m going to give you some lasting advice. To love is to risk not being loved in return. If you dare hope, you’re opening yourself up to pain. You have to try and risk failure. Think of risk as a necessary evil in order to achieve what you want out of life. Not risking anything is the greatest folly, in my opinion. You have to give more than a hundred percent in everything you do, and not expect anything in return. If you can follow that, then you will find contentment in life, no matter if you end up with the person you love or not. The key is trying, hoping, and giving.”

They both fell silent while he pondered Mrs. Crawford’s advice.

“Parker, don’t press too much. I just want a light massage this time.”

“I’m barely touching you.” Then he heard a strange wheezing sound. He inclined his head in curiosity. He laid his palm on her back just as a shudder racked her body. “Mrs. Crawford, are you all right?”

There was no answer. Even before he trailed his hand along her shoulder toward her neck, he knew something was wrong. Parker pressed his fingers against her jugular, searching for a pulse. When he felt nothing, he leaned down and rested his ear against her back. He listened for breathing, but there was nothing. Turning and running toward the door, he caught his foot on the chair leg in the process. Parker stumbled forward but was able to brace his body against the wall to keep from falling. He felt for the knob and wrenched the door open.

“Call 911! I need someone who knows CPR! We have a possible heart attack victim here!” Parker was moving forward in a daze, blindly reaching for something familiar to ground himself. He’d lost count of his steps and had no idea where he was.

“I’m calling,” he heard someone yell. Then footsteps came rushing toward him.

“Parker, hold on to me. Tell me what happened.”

“I’m going to do CPR,” Joe, a part-time massage therapist, said as he squeezed past them in the hallway.

Ari took his hand and looped it around her arm. They pivoted and headed in what he guessed was the direction of room 101.

“She requested a light massage, and that’s what I gave her.” He stopped to catch his breath. “Then she complained that I was applying too much pressure, and then there was a wheezing sound and she went still.”

They reached the room, and Parker started feeling his way around. “Tell me how she looks. Is she alive, Ari?”
 

He heard her gasp before she answered. “I don’t know . . . she’s not moving, but Joe is working on her right now.” She choked back a sob.

After what seemed like eternity, they heard the distant sound of sirens. Cork walked in the door just as Parker pulled Ari against him to comfort her.

“What’s going on?”

He looked in the direction of Cork’s voice. “I think Mrs. Crawford had a heart attack.”

Parker heard more footsteps, and several people began speaking at the same time. Cork pulled him to the small adjoining room, with Ari sobbing against his chest. Orders were shouted from outside the room, and more people ran inside. Someone had turned the lights on, because he saw the blurred figures of several people huddled around the massage table.

“What happened to her?” a male voice asked.

“I was giving her a massage, and then she made a wheezing sound and stopped moving.”

“Couldn’t you tell she was having a heart attack?” another one yelled.

“No . . . he couldn’t,” Ari answered.

“Why not?” the first man asked.

“Because he can’t see, damn it!” Cork bellowed.

A hush fell over the room. Parker gritted his teeth, hating his blindness for the very first time in his life.

“Is she going to be okay?” Parker tried to move toward the people, but Cork held him back.

“We don’t know yet. We’re not getting any response. Not even a pulse.”

Then someone shouted, “Clear!”

Medical terms were thrown about in hurried exchanges by the paramedics as they worked to revive Mrs. Crawford. The noise made his head ache and added to his confusion, which was something he’d never felt before. He wanted to turn off the sounds around him, even if it meant shutting himself off from the rest of the world.

Parker closed his eyes and tightened his arms around Ari. “It’s going to be okay,” he whispered.

“I’m worried about you.” She continued to sob against his shirt while she clung to him.

“Don’t worry about me.”

“Parker, are you okay, bro?” Cork asked from his left.

“Yeah, just tell me what’s going on.”

“They’re taking her out right now. A cop is standing outside. I’m sure he wants to get all the details of what happened. I’ll go and talk to him right now. Stay here. I’ll be back.”

Parker heard the scraping of footsteps when the group moved toward the front entrance. The sharp wailing of the siren began, and in a matter of seconds, the sound faded away. He stayed where he was, afraid to move, not knowing where to go or what to do next. An inexplicable wave of sadness engulfed him while he waited for Cork to return. Ari stayed close, making sure she was touching him—a sign that he wasn’t alone.

He endured an hour of questioning from the cop and another investigator who came to let them know Mrs. Crawford had been pronounced dead at the hospital. Parker shook at the announcement but fought to keep his calm.

It was well after closing by the time he and Cork found themselves alone in his office. Ari and several other therapists had opted to stay since there was still a big group of photographers and curious onlookers waiting outside.

“Are you okay?” Cork handed him a bottle of water.

Parker took big gulps and realized he hadn’t eaten anything since he’d gotten up that morning. “I’m cool, but I need you to take me home. Call the agent tomorrow and apologize for our missed appointment.”
 

“No problem.”

While Cork was booking their flight back to LA, Parker went to the men’s room to get some time alone. He walked straight to the sink and splashed water on his face, trying to calm his nerves and conceal his weakness. He was perilously close to reaching his breaking point. Taking slow breaths, he fought the urge to bawl like a frightened child. All he wanted to do at that moment was to go home and hide, maybe for a long time.

Chapter 14

Kelly was having a bad day. Her meeting with the producer had been extended longer than she had hoped, and she’d almost missed her flight. She was hauling ass on the freeway and veering in and out of traffic. Jessica was a nervous wreck by the time they reached the airport. Dragging her wheeled carry-on behind her, Kelly snaked through the pockets of people who seemed to be in no hurry to get anywhere.
 

With her dark glasses and baseball cap providing enough coverage to keep her from being recognized, she whispered hurried excuses while she negotiated the long walkway to get to the exit. When she passed by one sports bar, she glanced at the television hanging overhead and saw a familiar face on the evening news. Her heart took a nosedive. Parker was trying to get into his New York office, and the hounding photographers were blocking his way.

Kelly froze, her heart aching for what she had put him through. She got a glimpse of his face, but his expression gave no indication of his emotions. God, if there was anything she could do to rewind the past weeks, she’d do what was right.

Not only had she screwed up big-time, but she’d also pushed him right into the middle of the storm that was her life. The urge to protect him from her lifestyle had been overwhelming, but looking back at what had transpired over the last few weeks, it seemed like she’d just made things worse by not telling him the truth. Had she kept her identity a secret just to shelter him from her invasive life, or had she done it for her own selfish reasons?

Kelly instructed the limo driver to take her straight to Parker’s New York office and found the place looking like a ghost town. During her first visit, it had been buzzing with energy, but today it almost seemed like someone had died. The usually perky receptionist appeared subdued when she walked in. When she glanced up from her desk, the woman didn’t seem surprised to see her.

“Is Parker available?” She removed her sunglasses and rested her arms on the counter.

“I’m sorry, but Mr. Davis flew out last night.” There was an intense sadness in the woman’s eyes.

Kelly’s face fell. Surely, she hadn’t flown thousands of miles just to miss him. “He left? But he usually stays for a week, doesn’t he?”

The woman nodded. “Something came up, and he had to leave.”

Kelly had a sinking feeling it might have something to do with her and the paparazzi she’d seen harassing him on television.

“Is Parker okay?”

“He’s fine, but he’s a little shaken. I’m sorry, I am not comfortable talking about him.” The woman sounded like she was done answering questions.

“Thanks for your help.” Kelly turned to leave.

“Ms. Storm?”

“Yes?”

“I’m rooting for a happy ending.” The woman offered a small smile before picking up an incoming call.

The words touched her deeply. “So am I.”

Kelly left with an insurmountable feeling of disappointment, which was directed at herself. She rummaged inside her purse for her cell phone and dialed Jessica’s number. Some passersby stopped to gawk at her, but at that point, she was beyond caring and hiding behind her sunglasses. There were more important things besides worrying about people watching her every move.

“Hey, I need your help. Can you book a flight for me? I need the first flight going out of JFK to LA”

“What do you mean first flight? Where’s Parker?”

Kelly heard her already thumping on the keyboard. “I missed him. According to his secretary, he left last night. I don’t know why, but I have a hunch it might have something to do with the paps.” She waved to the driver who was parked just up the street watching for her signal.

“They found out about him?” Jessica sounded incredulous. “The pictures didn’t show his face at all.”

“That’s what it seems like from the news. You know how they can find anything if they set their minds to it. And it’s obvious Parker is the flavor of the week now. I’m afraid he’ll end up hating me even more because of this.”

“Okay, give me a few minutes to find you a flight.”

The limo parked at the curb. Kelly didn’t even bother to wait for the driver to open the car door for her. “We’re going back to the airport. Drive as fast as humanly possible.”
 

Feeling a headache building, she closed her eyes and leaned back against the leather seat. Jessica came on the phone a few minutes later.

“Okay, you’re booked to fly out in . . . let me see . . . two hours. Just head to the kiosk of United Airlines and print your boarding pass. Call me if you need anything else.”

Kelly sighed. “Thanks.”
 

“Kelly? Don’t worry about anything. Just take care of yourself.”

A tear slipped through her lashes. “Why is this so much harder than I thought?”

“Because, my dear, love isn’t easy. Go and win that man’s heart.”

“I hope I’m not too late.”

“Don’t be too pessimistic. I’m rooting for you, babe.”

Kelly wished she had the same confidence. There were some things even fervent prayers couldn’t answer. Maybe she was too late.
 

“Thanks, Jess.”

For the duration of the ride to the airport, she tried to forget all the worries that had been gnawing at her but was unable to rid her mind of Parker’s haunting image. She was too tired to fight the memories of the last time they’d been together.
 

During the flight back to Los Angeles, Kelly powered up her laptop and secured a satellite Internet connection. She skimmed through the pages, something she’d thought she would never do in her life. When stardom struck, most of her friends in the business had advised her not to read articles about herself. For the most part, she had stayed away. But this time, she was curious to see what garbage they’d concocted about her.

Once she typed her name in the browser, an astounding number of articles appeared, some dating back three years. Pictures upon pictures of her graced the monitor, thousands if she kept looking. Most were taken during events, with her in a gown, walking the red carpet, attending a gala opening at the MET, or posing with countless costars in films. She felt very empty as she kept scrolling down the innumerable images of her basking in the glory of fame and fortune.

More pictures showed up of her and Matthew attending the Academy Awards together. Some were taken during happier times, and a few were of her alone, after their relationship had ended up in the dumpster. Then there was the picture of her crying aboard a friend’s yacht, taken by Rigor James using a telephoto lens.

Memories surged back in torrents, as if they’d just happened yesterday. She closed her eyes to stop the torment, but once the memories started, it was a futile effort. It all came back with a vengeance.