Rescue Me (a quirky romance novel about secrets, forgiveness and falling in love) (5 page)

He stepped closer until he was standing directly in front of her. "So why the sad eyes? You can't hide them from me."

"They aren't sad. They're tired. I couldn't sleep last night. Thinking about everything that needs to be done in the next--"

He bent down until his face was inches from hers. "Bullshit."

"You never swear."

"And you're never honest. You live by heaping one lie on top of another. Why can't you at least be honest with me? I'm your business partner, for one. And your friend..." He straightened, and Hailey breathed a sigh of relief. "...At least I've always considered myself your friend."

"Of course you're my friend."

"Well, as your friend, I've kept my mouth shut for way too long." He resumed cleaning the room, but only shifted things from one position to another.

Watching him, wondering what was causing his out-of-character behavior, she headed toward the door. "I don't know what you're talking about. I told you the truth." This was turning out to be one strange day, already.

"Then you're worse off than I thought. You believe your own lies," he said to her back.

She turned around and stared at him, the one person she trusted. His eyes, which she'd always found warm and welcoming, were now cold and determined. He never looked at her like that. "Why are you acting this way? Are you mad because of the shelter? I can find someone else if --"

"You know that's not the problem."

"Then what is wrong with you?" She felt her control slipping, and her eyes started burning. Darn it! She wouldn't overreact. It was worry. Shock. Yes, that was it. Pete was just being Pete.

She glanced down at her watch. Forty-five minutes had passed since she'd left home, and she still hadn't called the doctor back yet. Urgency pressed upon her, its weight heavy on her shoulders as she visualized the airline ticket sitting in her car. The flight departed at three. It was a little after noon now. "I'm sorry. I don't have time to talk. I have to catch a flight." She turned the doorknob.

He tugged at her elbow, and she glanced over her shoulder, annoyed and frustrated. Unexpectedly, he gathered her into his arms and held her close, his chin resting on the top of her head as he spoke, "I'm worried about you. That's all."

"Everything's okay." She tipped her head to look at him. "Honest." Feeling awkward in his arms, and with the lie, she slipped from his grasp and stepped through the doorway. "I'll call you when I land in Detroit. Thanks again, Pete."

"Anytime, Kiddo."

She skipped down the stairs and sprinted to her car. If she hurried to the airport, she could be there by quarter to one. Driving like a madwoman, she called Andrew and told him she was attending a conference in Los Angeles.

The entire drive, she couldn't shake the image of Heidi's face, pale and drawn, looking sicker than when they'd both had pneumonia.

Heidi had to get better. She just had to.

Rainer shook his head as images of Heidi's twin sister invaded his thoughts. Identical twins, my ass. They looked--and acted--as different as two people could. For one, Heidi was polite, reserved and respectable, with blond hair and a friendly smile.

Her sister, on the other hand, had black hair and wore the most ridiculous clothes imaginable. She was filthy, unkempt, rude and selfish. No wonder Heidi despised her.

The only thing they shared in common were those brilliant green eyes, like fine emeralds.

He sat on the couch, his eyes hazy from lack of sleep, and stared at the phone, wondering if she would call. Annoyed with the silence, he swept the television remote from the coffee table and punched the power button.

He glanced at his watch. Eleven-thirty. A half-hour until he needed to catch a shuttle to the airport. He couldn't even get on the phone to check on Heidi, didn't want to risk tying up the phone line. He sank into the couch cushions, wishing he were at home instead. His head pounded with every beat of his heart, his back ached and his legs were stiff. His eyelids dropped lower and lower, until all he saw was soothing blackness...

The shrill tone of the phone's ring startled him, and he scrambled for the receiver. "Hello?"

"Dr. Hartmann?"

It sounded like Heidi, but he knew from the tone of the caller's voice it wasn't. "Yes, Miss Jensen."

"I'm at the airport. Am I flying alone?"

He glanced down at his watch, and a bolt of alarm shot through him. He slammed the phone down. In a bound, he swept his carry-on into his hand and was out the door. When he reached the lobby, he checked out and grabbed a shuttle.

With only an hour before take off, he dashed inside the airport and took his place in line at check-in. He cursed as each minute ticked by, and the line didn't move.

"Don’t you just love traveling?" Hailey asked from behind, taking him by surprise. Her tone was soft and lilting, belying the sarcasm in her words. "I'm checked in. Can I help?"

"Why don't you go to the gate and make sure they don't leave without me?" he shot back, before turning around. When he did, he caught the first glimpse of what she really looked like, out of the crazy get-up she'd been wearing, her hair brushed smooth and silky, hanging iron-straight and skimming her collarbone. She wore clothes straight out of the seventies: bell bottoms, sandals and a gauzy white blouse, but on her it looked right. It looked good. He stared, to his chagrin.

She scowled as she stuffed her cell phone into her pocket. "This line is forever long. You'll never make it."

The line moved, and he took a single step forward. She was right. At this rate, he'd be there tomorrow morning! "I can't do anything about it."

"Maybe I can." She snatched the ticket out of his hand. Then, picking up the small bag that had been sitting at her feet, she ran to the front and whispered to the person standing there. A man dressed in a business suit and carrying a briefcase glanced back at Rainer then nodded to Hailey.

She grinned and waved Rainer forward.

The man stepped aside to let Rainer take his place in line.

"Thanks," was all Rainer could say, as the guy walked back to take Rainer's former place at the rear.

Rainer turned to Hailey. "What did you tell him?"

"I didn't tell him anything," she answered with a smile. "Franklin did."

"Franklin?"

She rolled her eyes again and crammed her hand in her pocket. When she withdrew it, she waved a dollar bill in front of his nose. "Franklin."

The woman at the counter motioned for him to step up, and as he checked in, he mused about the quirky but clever woman waiting behind him. But when he turned and caught the odd look on her face, the bitter taste of foreboding settled in his mouth.

The trip to Detroit, five hours of tedious physical proximity, was going to be miserable.

"Are you going to stand there all day? We have a plane to catch," she said, impatiently tapping a toe.

Shaking his head, he fell into step beside her. Fortunately for both of them, her long legs carried her in ground-gulping strides nearly as lengthy as his, and they were able to reach the gate as the last passengers boarded the plane.

Finally, he dropped into his seat, and she took the one beside him. He released a huge sigh of relief, but that peace, that glimmer of assuagement, didn't last. She leaned over his shoulder to gaze out the window, and a shiver carried over every inch of his skin, sending goosebumps along its surface. He tried to lean sideways to gain a fraction of an inch between them.

"Are you cold?" she asked, moving closer.

Was she doing this on purpose? "Do you mind sitting in your own seat?" When she didn’t move away, he added, "Really, there isn't much to look at. We're still sitting at the gate." When she still refused to budge, he released an exasperated sigh and asked, "Do you want to change seats before we take off? If you're that fascinated already, then I'm sure you'll want to see what's coming."

"Sure, I'd love to switch seats. I guess I should have mentioned I prefer a window seat when I asked you to make the reservations." She clapped her palm on her forehead. "Oh, I forgot. I didn't ask you to make the reservations. You did that on your own."

He stood, stooping to keep from bumping his head on the overhead storage compartment, and waited in fuming silence for her to step into the aisle so they could swap seats. He didn't have patience for women like her. Women who played silly games, acted nice one minute then brusque and rude the next.

After sitting, he feigned interest in the stewardess's safety presentation. The plane taxied to the runway, and as soon as they were airborne, he tipped his seat back and closed his eyes.

Of course, she wasn't about to let him sleep, he thought when she coughed softly, then with increasing force. When her hacking became so loud he feared the stewardess would come running in alarm, he tipped his head to look at her.

"Sorry." She didn't look so apologetic.

"Did you need something?"

"As a matter of fact, I do. Would you please hand me my carry-on bag? I put it in the overhead."

He stood and fished through the compartment, yanking the bag out from under several others. After he took his seat again, he shoved it at her, wishing the flight had already passed. Or better yet, he wished he were bidding her a final farewell--that the transplant was finished, and he wouldn't be seeing her again.

Ever.

He closed his eyes again.

"So, tell me. What sort of hobbies do you have? You don't look like the fishing and hunting kind of guy. By the way, did I tell you I run an animal rescue shelter? We take in birds...and dogs...and cats...and hamsters, and..." Her words droned on, and on, and on.

So much for wishing, and so much for sleep. He sighed. Could five hours really go on forever?

Hailey gave herself a mental kick as their plane rocketed into the air. Sure, Rainer had been a jerk back at the restaurant, but that was no excuse for her less than perfect behavior.

The effort it took to refrain from snapping at her was all over his face. His mouth was drawn into a narrow slit, the skin around his bloodshot eyes tight.

After all, he was thinking of Heidi. That was noble. She couldn't fault him for it, and should be a little more understanding if his methods were less than perfect. He was human and clearly stressed.

"Rainer?" she whispered, gripping the armrest as their plane bumped and dipped through turbulence.

"What?"

"I'm sorry."

He nodded, his eyes closed.

"I can tell you really care for Heidi, and I'm glad she has someone like you on her side. She deserves it."

He glanced at her, his expression puzzling, almost like he was looking at her for the first time.

"I'm sure she's been through a lot," she added, feeling weird under that probing stare.

"She has. And she'll be through a lot more before this is through. She needs all the support she can get."

Their gazes met, and she turned to look out the window. Anything looked better than the condemning glare of that man, even the shroud of gray clouds outside.

Could a five-hour flight really last an eternity?

"I'm interested in your shelter. You say you have birds?"

Was he making peace? Offering an olive branch?

She glanced his way and caught a soft smile of encouragement. "Were you looking for a pet?"

"Perhaps. But I'm more interested in hearing why you chose animal rescue. I think it would be very frustrating, discouraging work."

She nodded. "Some days it is. When we find an animal that can't be saved it's very disheartening. People can be so cruel. The damage they do, without thinking, is enough to make a saint snap sometimes. When we confront them, they all say the same thing: 'It's only an animal'. I want to scream when I hear that. Like animals can't feel pain? Like they can't be so starving they eat each other? Like they don't feel a five pound tumor hanging from their stomach?"

"Then why continue?"

"Because there are so many animals and so few people like me, willing to speak for them."

He nodded.

"What about you? What burns you up?"

That question was like opening a floodgate. Rainer started off with HMO's that diagnose patients and prescribe treatment, and then moved onto politics, religion, all the things people are not supposed to talk about when they first meet. But he was intelligent and well spoken, and even when she disagreed with his views she respected him for the depth of his convictions.

Hours later, she stood, their plane having finally rolled to a stop at Detroit Metro Airport.

After their first exchange, she'd expected the flight to be absolutely miserable. Instead she'd found him fascinating, intelligent, and remarkably tolerant of her less-than-perfect behavior.

She studied his back as he stood hunched over like tall men did in cramped airplanes, and recalled when that subtle change had occurred. When he had gone from being infuriating to interesting, and when churlish monosyllables had matured into intelligent conversation.