Stone Cold Charade (A Stone Family Novel) (39 page)

He followed Ridge down the hallway, gazing down
at her as they entered the bathroom. He could see her eyes weren’t focused on
him but had turned inward as she withdrew further.

Reaching the tub he placed her, clothes and
all, into the frigid water. When her eyes started to flare with surprise,
letting him know she was coming around, he shoved her fully under the water and
held her there with his hand on her head.

Alex lay there, unmoving for a moment, staring
up at Steven before releasing a torrent of bubbles as the loss of oxygen and
the freezing cold finally hit her. Her eyes flared wide and she jack knifed in
the tub, shocked and outraged when she finally realized what he was doing. She
struggled against his hold, thrashing her legs and coming up swinging to get
Steven to release her.

They both jumped back, neither sure of what was
going to happen next. She sprang to her feet, dripping wet, her body quaking in
her soaked clothes. The color was back in her cheeks and her eyes were shooting
deadly messages, reminding them of that old adage, “If looks could kill”. They
started to laugh in relief; they saw the old Alex staring back at them, with
steam coming out of her ears.

“Are you insane? What the hell are you doing!
Trying to kill me?” she croaked her voice raspy from not using it for the last
couple of weeks.

“I think it’s working. At least she doesn’t look
like a zombie anymore,” Ridge said, smacking Steven on the back. Ridge started
to smile, grateful for the relief he felt. He was glad the boss wouldn’t be
seeing her like she had been; he knew it would have devastated him.

“It’s a gift really, nothing to it,” he said,
modestly taking credit.

Alex stared at the two of them, ready to
explode, when she started to remember why they were here. And Ty.

Steven saw the “look” enter her eyes again and
made a grab for her. “Oh no, you don’t,” Steven said, picking her up again and
setting her back in the tub to dunk her again. This time she actually got her
fist to connect with his stomach, much to his dismay. As Steven sucked in a
breath and clutched his stomach, Ridge moved back against the wall, and she
climbed out of the tub, dripping and sputtering.

“Red, calm down!” he said, still doubled over
in pain, he looked up at her. “We’re just trying to help, remember? We’re the
good guys! Red! Snap out of it! You have work to do, or are you going to spend
your whole life living in that shell you’re trying to build around yourself?
Wake up! You’re not dead, it may feel like it, but you’re not,” he said
watching her closely as she started to processes it all.

He straightened, still holding his stomach. His
gaze locked on her eyes, if she started to get that look again, he would dunk
her again and again. Even if it took all night, he would keep trying to snap
her out of it.

Alex listened to Steven, and realized he was
right. She was shutting down, trying not to feel. Last time it had been Steven
who had shown her where to put the feelings coursing through her, on paper, in
her songs, to let them speak for her when she couldn’t.

She flung her dripping hair out of her face and
marched out of the bathroom, heading for her bedroom. Slamming the door in
their faces, she stormed into her room, snatched up her bag and pulled out dry
clothes. She knew they were on the other side of her door, looming, wondering
if she was going to come out or if they were going to have to break it down to
get to her.

Once towel dried and back in warm clothes, she
ripped the door open. They swung their heads in her direction, looking a little
guilty. Gathering from the seething look on her face that she was coming out of
it, they allowed her to pass. She went straight to the piano and pulled out her
sheet music. They watched as she set to work feverishly. Once they were both
satisfied that she was all right, they glanced at each other before heading
into the kitchen where they could hear the haunting music she played as it
echoed through the villa.

Sometime later in the kitchen, not being able
to hold it in any longer, Ridge commented, “Man is it just me or is the stuff
she’s playing so sad and remorseful it almost makes you want to cry?” After
listening to her play for the last couple of hours, he was still apprehensive,
but when he glanced at Steven he wore the biggest, goofiest smile he had ever
seen.

“Can you say Grammy!” Steven started to laugh.
“Don’t ask me why but when that boss of yours gets her emotions going, we hit
magic. Everything she feels ends up on paper. Watch, you’ll see. Trust me,” he
said confidently, trying to reassure him.

By the end of the week Ridge had to concur.
Alex spent the next couple of days in a frenzy, working on songs like a woman
possessed. By the time the band arrived and they started to play her new songs
together, Ridge knew they were gold. Parry would have been on the floor,
knocked out by their beauty. As the days went by and they worked on each new
song she had written, rehearsing over and over, they became all the more
alluring. They ripped your heart out or made you think of hot summer nights in
a lover’s bed. Ridge was not a diehard fan, but after hearing her latest work,
he was hooked. Steven was right, you could hear her emotions in every note and
every word she composed.

At the end of the week Ridge and Steven were
having a heated discussion about how much Alex was working. She was going to
bed in the early morning hours and was coming down by mid morning, not having
slept nearly enough. She was working like mad to get the songs down for their
new album, but was obviously sick and not eating well. Steven wanted to call a
doctor, but Ridge refused to let him.

Ty walked into the room as they were facing
off.

“Call your boss, or I will. I’m telling you she
never gets sick. There’s something wrong. She has been sick for over a week now
and she’s not getting any better!” Steven shouted in Ridge’s face as they stood
toe to toe.

“Where is she?” Ty questioned impatiently.

They turned when they heard him speak and
stared at him as though he had two heads, as if they couldn’t believe he was
standing there. He looked dangerous in his black jeans and t-shirt despite
appearing as if he had aged ten years over the last month and half. Steven was
the first to recover.

“About time you showed up! What kept you?
Forget it, I don’t want to know, just tell this… this gorilla to call a
doctor,” Steven said angrily.

“I’ll take care of it. Just tell me where she
is,” he said, looking to Ridge in frustration.

“Upstairs, the door at the end of the hall…”
Ridge smiled as he watched his boss drop his bag on the floor and head for the
stairs, not even waiting for him to finish the sentence.

He took them two at a time, calling over his
shoulder when he was halfway up, “Clear out. Both of you. Ridge, keep everyone
away from the villa for the day.”

“He can’t do that!” Steven stated in disbelief.

“You got it chief. You heard the man. Let’s
go.” Ridge started herding Steven out of the villa as Ty disappeared from sight
down the hall.

He felt his hands begin to sweat as he reached
for the door handle. His whole life was riding on what he had to say to her. He
needed to get it right or they would spend the rest of their lives playing cat
and mouse games with each other.

He stepped inside, softly closing the door
behind him. His footsteps were muffled by the thick carpet as he glided toward
the bed. The drapes were drawn across the floor length windows leading to the
balcony. Alex, sound asleep, lay on the bed. She looked so young and
vulnerable, the covers pulled haphazardly over her, and it made his heart ache.
Wearing an oversized men’s shirt and a pair of sweats, he could clearly see the
strain she had been placing on herself. Her face was washed out, pale and weary
looking. Ridge claimed she hadn’t been sleeping much. Studying her, he decided
not to wake her, moving instead to a sofa and chair that were in the corner of
the room, forming a seating area.

As he reclined in the overstuffed chair, he leaned
back and placed his elbows on the arms. Forming a steeple with his hands, he
placed them under his chin, needing to just be in the same room with her. He
needed this time. Just knowing she was safe and real made it so he could
breathe easier. Time had been his enemy. Having known where Alex was and not
being able to go to her for the last couple of weeks had nearly killed him. He
wanted her in his arms but knew he couldn’t until they talked, only then could
they find a future together. Deep in thought, he swung his gaze back to Alex as
he heard her moan in pain.

“My God, I’m dying. Someone just shoot me! Put
me out of my misery… now,” Alex wailed, her eyes clenched tight as she rolled
on the bed. She felt her stomach turning, heaving in protest. It had been going
on for over a week now and hadn’t lessened any; in fact it kept getting worse.
She felt another wave of nausea rise up, so she kicked the cover off her feet
and bolted for the bathroom at a dead run, slamming the door as she raced for
the toilet.

Ty had risen when she had leapt off the bed,
sprinting toward the bathroom. Then he thought about what she had said, and
froze. The last time Alex had believed she was dying she hadn’t understood what
was happening with her young body, was this time the same? Ty remembered what
Steven said earlier about her being sick every morning. Ty’s gut told him what
he didn’t need a doctor to. She was pregnant.

Opening the door, he saw Alex on her knees
leaning over the toilet in absolute misery. It was heart wrenching knowing she
was going through this and that she probably wouldn’t want his help. Spying a
hand towel lying on the counter next to the sink, he moved over to the faucet
and ran it under cool water. Wringing out the plush cloth and folding it, he
pressed it to her forehead. He crouched behind her and held her while she
wretched. Whether she liked it or not, they would have to get through this
together. If all he could do was hold her, then he would take what he could
get.

Alex knew it was Ty who held her as she emptied
her stomach; her body told her what her eyes couldn’t. After the nausea passed,
she didn’t even have the energy to raise her head and look at him. She felt him
pick her up and move her over to the counter. She was set gently on its surface
while he went through a cabinet looking for something. Keeping her head down,
not wanting to move much in case the nausea came back, she watched a toothbrush
with paste on it enter her line of vision. She reached for it silently, careful
not to touch Ty’s fingers. Raising it to her mouth she brushed her teeth. When
she was done she leaned over to spit in the sink and slowly brought her head
up, breathing deeply through her nose.

Looking into her eyes, he could tell that the
nausea had abated, but was still lingering. Taking in her stillness and the
deathly white of her face, he reached for her. She found herself in his arms as
he carried her back to the bed. Placing her in a reclining position, he
arranged the pillows at her back so she would be more comfortable.

“Stay put, I’ll be right back,” he warned.

He left the room and headed for the kitchen
where he rummaged through cabinets. Spying what he needed, he scooped them up,
filled a glass with crushed ice, and headed back to her room. When he came in
Alex was right where he had left her, with her eyes closed. He sat on the edge
of the bed.

She opened her eyes when she felt the mattress
dip and he placed a package down beside her and opened a bottle of clear soda.
Pouring the bubbly liquid into the glass, he stole a glance at her. When it
stopped fizzing, he set it on the nightstand. He then reached for the
cellophane package and tore it open.

“Here, try to eat this, it should help.” He
held out a stack of crackers to her. His sister Jenny had sworn by them during
her pregnancy. Alex just looked at him as if he was unbalanced. “Will you trust
me for once?” he huffed, frustration lacing his voice.

Reaching for the crackers, she placed one in
her mouth and waited until it dissolved before she swallowed. As it settled on
her stomach, she expected the nausea to return. When it didn’t she ate the rest
of them. He reached over and handed her the glass from the nightstand, she
drank half and let out a long sigh, sitting back and closing her eyes.

“Who ever thought crackers could taste so
good?” she asked in amazement.

“Do you want more?” he said, chuckling at the
look of contentment on her face.

“No, just put them on the table. If I need more
I’ll know they’re there,” she said tiredly.

“Do you want me to let you rest? I’ll stretch
out on the sofa until you feel better?” he asked softly, not wanting to disturb
her.

“No, just let me catch my breath,” she said,
opening her eyes to really look at him; he looked as bad as she felt, the two
of them made quite the pair.

Seeing the smile starting at the corner of her
lips, he held his breath, wanting to know what she was thinking, but he knew
they had miles to go before she would feel comfortable telling him her
thoughts.

“What are you doing here Ty?” she asked
wearily.