White Wedding for a Southern Belle (7 page)

Kiefer reached into the side pocket and came out with a handful of restaurant napkins that she'd stored there in case of a spill. He placed them over her wound, applying pressure. It stopped the stream of blood running down her arm.

She pulled back. “You do know that hurts, don't you?”

Kiefer didn't ease up. “I'm sorry but it's necessary. I need to get you inside where I can see. Can you hold your hand over it?”

Her head was becoming fuzzy but she said, “Yes.”

“Good girl. Let's go.” Kiefer supported her as they walked across the parking lot.

The sound of a siren and the flash of blue lights came toward them.

She tried to pull away. “You called the police?”

“Yes, I did. Someone was trying to kill you.”

“No, they weren't. I'm sure they were only trying to scare me.”

He brought her back against him. “Well, as far as I'm concerned, they were. Enough talking.”

The police car pulled in next to them.

Ashley, despite her best efforts, weaved on her feet. “I'm feeling light-headed.”

Kiefer grumbled something and pulled her tighter against him. He called to the officer, “I'm Dr. Bradford. Someone shot at Ms. Marsh.” He gestured to her car and where the shooter had been with his free hand.

Kiefer kept moving toward the clinic as the officer took off in the direction he'd pointed. At the door Kiefer continued to hold her close. She moaned. Her arm was throbbing.

“Hang in there, Ashley. I'll have you taken care of in no time.” He pushed the door open. As they entered Ashley stumbled. Kiefer scooped her into his arms and stalked to an exam room. There he placed her on the table. “Do not move.”

Ashley had never heard him sound so forceful. Even if she'd felt like doing so, she wouldn't after that demand. “Don't worry, I'm going nowhere.”

In almost no time Kiefer had returned with an armload of supplies. He dumped them on the table and then tore into a box, pulling out some gauze pads. Taking a bottle of saline, he opened the top and wet a square. She hissed as he dabbed around the wound.

“I hate that it hurts but it can't be helped. Can you lift your arm? I need to see if the bullet went through.”

Ashley raised her arm and Kiefer tore her sleeve farther. His fingers were gentle and careful as he pushed against the skin around the wound. “I don't feel any bullet but I can't be sure until you have an X-ray. I'm going to clean you up and then get you to the hospital.”

“I don't want to go to the hospital.”

“Even if I didn't think you needed to go, you would still have to. It's the law that all gunshot wounds be seen in an ER.” Kiefer added more saline to a clean pad. “Let's get the bleeding stopped and you wrapped up.”

Over the next few minutes Kiefer cleaned the area around the wound and put a bandage around her arm.

“Do you think you can walk to the truck?”

She nodded but when she stood she was unsteady on her feet. “With some help.”

Kiefer pulled her close and guided her out to the truck.

“What're you looking for?” Ashley asked, when he slowed to look around for the second time.

“I'm making sure that someone isn't out here, waiting to take shots at you again.”

“The police are here. They wouldn't dare.”

“I'm not taking any chances.” He steered her to the truck and lifted her inside. On the way round to his side he called to the officer who was examining her car, “I'm taking her to the hospital. It'll be quicker than waiting for an ambulance. We'll give our statements there.”

The officer nodded his assent and said they'd meet them at the hospital. Kiefer glanced at her and checked her pulse again before driving away. For once Ashley was grateful to have someone taking care of her.

* * *

Kiefer paced the waiting area of the ER. They had told him to get out of the exam room. Go have a cup of coffee. Like he wanted some. His real worry was that someone had shot Ashley. Marko had been bad enough, but this... He'd known the neighborhood wasn't the best but he'd never imagined this would happen.

He made another trip across the floor. Ashley could have been killed.

Not soon enough for him, Will, the ER doctor and an old friend from medical school, pushed through the door to the waiting room. Kiefer didn't give him time to speak before he stalked toward him and asked, “How is she?”

“She's going to be fine. Has a few stitches in her forearm. The bullet didn't hit the bone. It was just a graze.”

“You checked her over completely?”

Will eyed him closely. “I did. You act as if you and Alderman Marsh have something going on.”

Kiefer couldn't meet his eye. Maybe he was overreacting but the thought of Ashley being hurt sickened him. After Brittney he had no intention of ever having something “going on” with a woman. He liked Ashley and didn't want to see her injured—that was all. “We're just friends. She owns the building that the clinic is in.”

Will nodded and gave him a look that implied he thought there was more to it than what Kiefer was admitting to.

“Can I see her now?”

“Sure. She's going to stay overnight just for observation.”

“Thanks, Will.” Kiefer stuck out his hand.

Will shook it. “Come on back. But you have to behave.”

Kiefer didn't dignify that statement with a remark. He'd been alarmed for Ashley when they'd made it to the hospital. Her head had been on his thigh and her eyes had been closed. He'd brushed her hair back from her pale face and quietly reassured her. The realization that he knew almost nothing about her clawed at him. That had been the way he'd wanted it until now. The less he knew the less involved personally he would be. The thought of her dying changed things. He wasn't going to let her push him away again.

He slid the exam room glass door sideways just far enough for him to slip in. Ashley was as white as the sheet pulled over her. He took her fingers in his. More than once he'd seen loved ones touch family members the same way. When had this woman started mattering to him so much? Slipped past his defenses? His reaction meant nothing. He'd be this concerned about anyone he'd seen shot.

Ashley's eyes opened but were heavy as if she would go to asleep again in the next second. “Hey.”

“Hi. How're you feeling?”

“Like I got shot. Did they hurt you?”

“No.”

“Good.” Her eyelids fluttered for a second.

“Can you tell me your parents' names so I can call them?”

Her eyes went wide. “Don't. I don't want them to know.”

Kiefer squeezed her hand. “They need to know.”

“It would just worry them. Please don't. They don't need to know.”

Kiefer settled into a chair beside the bed. Minutes later a police officer entered. “I need to take a statement.”

Over the next half hour he and Ashley told their stories as the young officer made notes. Against Ashley's objections Kiefer also mentioned the vandalism incident and Marko's visit. It was so reminiscent of what had happened to his mother. All those emotions had swelled in him. The blind rage of watching Ashley shot, the helplessness of not being able to do more, the fear that he might lose her. He wanted to hit something.

“We are aware of who Marko is. He isn't someone to mess with. Ma'am, you need to be careful.”

“I will be.”

“If there's any further trouble, call right away. We'll be making a thorough investigation of the incident.”

“I wish you would keep this quiet.”

“Ma'am, a shooting is serious business. You were lucky. You could have been killed.”

Ashley settled back in the bed. “I know,” she said quietly.

* * *

The sun was shining when Ashley's voice woke Kiefer. “What're you doing here?”

Sometime during the night they had moved her from the ER to a room on the sixth floor. “Sleeping,” Kiefer grumbled.

“You look awful,” she mumbled, as she started working her way into a sitting position.

Kiefer jumped up.

She gave him a quizzical look. “My arm hurts.”

“Here, let me help you.” He raised the bed and moved the pillows around behind her.

“Thanks. Have you been here all night?”

“Yes.” He stood looking at her.

“Why?”

“You didn't need to be alone and you wouldn't let me call your parents.”

They were interrupted by a doctor entering. She checked Ashley out and said that she could go home but that she couldn't drive for a week. Her stitches would need to stay in for ten days.

An hour later Kiefer picked her up at the discharge exit of the hospital. He'd been driving fifteen minutes through traffic when Ashley asked, “Where're we going? This isn't the way to my house.”

“To my place.”

Ashley squirmed in her seat. “I need to go home.”

“No, you don't. Someone was waiting on you. You're not going back there until I know it's safe.”

“You can't tell me what to do.”

Kiefer glanced at her. “I can tell you. What I can't do is make you do it. But if you give me a hard time I'll let your parents know what happened. It's time you trusted me.”

“That's blackmail.”

He shrugged. “If that's what it takes to get you to take care of yourself, so be it.”

* * *

Ashley couldn't believe she'd been shot. Who would shoot her? Worse, she had to stay at Kiefer's house. Her emotions were swinging one way and then another. She didn't know him well enough to be his houseguest.

She glanced at him as he drove. He looked almost worse than she felt. There was some blood on his slacks. He wore a green scrub top. “What happened to your shirt?”

“It had your blood all over it, so I borrowed something to wear.”

Ashley was wearing scrubs as well. She wished she had her own clothes. Leaning her head against the car window, she closed her eyes. “I'm sorry I messed up your clothes.”

“Not a problem. I'm just relieved you weren't more seriously injured.”

She must have slept because the next thing she knew Kiefer was opening her door. “Here, let me help you.”

“What did they give me? All I want to do is sleep.”

“That's the pain meds. You need to sleep. That way you'll heal faster.”

He kept an arm around her waist as they walked to an elevator. “But I have things to do. I need to call people about the block party. And—”

“What you're going to do for the next couple of days is take it easy,” he said as they rode up three floors.

The elevator opened and they exited to face a metal door. Kiefer unlocked it and pushed it open. Ashley entered and he closed the door behind them.

“Why don't you sit down while I get your bed ready?”

“I don't need to be in bed.” She sank into an overstuffed couch.

“Even if you don't, I do. A man my size shouldn't sleep in a chair. I want you in a safe place where I know you're comfortable so I can get some sleep.”

“Who's covering at the clinic for you?”

“I have a buddy who fills in sometimes. He agreed to take a couple of days for me.”

“Aren't you afraid for him?”

“Not really. They were after you. Whoever it was didn't even try to shoot me. And I've hired a couple of off-duty policemen to watch the place.”

“I wish you hadn't done that. The people of Southriver are suspicious enough as it is. Another stranger only makes it worse.”

“The clinic should have already had security. With the drugs and supplies in it there should be security. The two guys I hired are from Southriver, so that should help ease the residents' concerns.”

“You've thought of everything.”

“I tried.”

He'd managed to make her feel childish and selfish at the same time. “Kiefer, I really appreciate you taking care of me. I'm sorry I'm such a difficult patient.”

“It's understandable under the circumstances. You stay put and I'll be right back.” He went through a doorway, leaving her alone.

It wasn't that Kiefer's place wasn't a nice place to stay. It looked like a comfortable enough apartment. It was in one of the old warehouses that had been converted to apartments. It had all the basics but outside of that it showed little of Kiefer's personality. It was as if it was a place for him to stay but not a home.

Her head dropped to the couch cushion and her eyelids closed.

CHAPTER FIVE

K
IEFER
 
RETURNED
 
TO
 
the living area to find Ashley asleep. He grinned. The pain medicine had really knocked her out. She had a real thing about showing weakness and accepting help, even when she needed it. What had happened to make her so independent? Picking Ashley up, he carried her to the spare bedroom. Kiefer had given a moment's thought to letting her have his room, but he was afraid she would pitch a fit and demand he take her home if she discovered she was sleeping in his bed.

He settled her and pulled the covers over her, taking care not to move her arm unnecessarily. When the pain medicine wore off Ashley would be unhappy. Leaving the door open, he plopped into his favorite spot on the sofa and propped his feet on the footstool.

What was going on with him?
Insisting Ashley come and stay at his home? He hadn't invited any other woman to stay since his divorce. He'd gone to their places, yes, but never had them to his. Truthfully, bringing Ashley here had more to do with his concern for her safety than intimacy.

But those kisses were personal. Each had been far too short. Far too right. He drifted off to sleep remembering them.

* * *

Someone was watching him.
Kiefer opened his eyes. Ashley stood over him. “What're you doing out of bed?”

“I'd like to go home. I need some clean clothes.”

Scooting to a sitting position, he retorted, “I thought we'd settled that. I understand your need for independence, but right now you need help even if you don't realize it. By the way, are you in any pain?”

“A little but I'm more worried about having a bath. I feel all yucky.”

“We'll work on getting you clean but you'll have to settle for a shower. I'll find you something to wear. Then I'm sure you'll need pain meds and some food.”

She continued to glare down at him. “Since you won't take me home I might as well take advantage of your hospitality.”

Kiefer wiggled his brows. “You haven't seen anything yet. I'm just getting warmed up.”

“Hey, I didn't mean like that.”

He chuckled and stood. “Nothing like having an appreciative guest. I'll get a plastic bag to cover your bandage so it won't get wet. I'll be right back.” When he returned he said, “Come this way.”

“Where're we going?” Ashley moved to follow him.

He wiggled his brows again. “My bedroom.”

She jerked to a stop. “Why?”

“Because my bathroom is through there and I have a walk-in shower you can use.” He stopped at the bathroom door and looked back. Ashley stood in the opening of his bedroom. “Problem?”

“I'm just not completely comfortable with using a man's shower.”

“You'll be fine. I won't join you unless I'm invited.”

She smirked and walked past him into the bath. “That won't happen.”

“Let's get that bandage covered.” Kiefer dug under the cabinet for a roll of surgical tape. Finding it, he placed it on the counter. “I'm going to tape the bag around your arm but you'll still need to be careful not to get it any wetter than necessary.”

“I know, Doctor.”

“Hold this...” he indicated the bag “...while I wrap it with tape.”

She held out her arm. He pulled a length of tape and secured it. He did it once more a little farther down. “I think that should be good enough. I'll get you a clean towel and leave you to it. I'll be right outside if you need me.”

He pulled a clean folded towel from a cabinet and tossed it on the sink counter.

“I'll be fine.”

Kiefer listened for Ashley as he went about finding her some clothes to wear. Thoughts of her naked in his shower were better left locked way. That was an involvement he couldn't afford despite the pull Ashley had on him. He was already far more involved than he'd ever dreamed he would be.

Because she wouldn't be able to raise her arm to pull a shirt over her head, he decided on one of his old button-up shirts along with a pair of sweatpants. Both would be too large on her but they were the best he could do on short notice.

The water stopped running. “Hey, you okay in there?”

“Yeah.”

“Open up.”

“Why?” She sounded suspicious.

“I'm trying to give you something to wear.”

The door opened a crack and a hand came out. He dropped the clothes on her arm. The door closed again. A few minutes later a groan came from inside the bath.

Concern flashed through him. “Ashley? You okay?”

Another groan.

“I'm coming in.”

“Don't.”

The word had hardly left her mouth before he was standing beside her. Ashley had one arm in the shirt and the other wrapped across her. She already had the pants in place. They were too large but at least they covered her. “What's wrong?”

“I can't get my arm in the sleeve. Hurts.”

“I was afraid of that. Let me help.” He reached out to her.

Ashley put her back to him. The shirt fell away from her shoulder, giving him an enticing view of her bare back, the creamy smooth skin inviting him to touch it. He had to remind himself to treat her as a patient, to keep his mind focused on the task when what he wanted was to take her into his arms. “I'll hold the sleeve out and you slip your arm in. If we have to, I can cut it out.”

“I don't want to ruin your shirt.”

“I'd gladly sacrifice it for the cause of not hurting you.”

Ashley inched her arm into the sleeve. “My, the next thing you know you'll be fighting off my foes. Oh, yeah. You've already done that once or twice.”

“It's nice you recognize it.”

“I might do that, but it doesn't mean I like it. Or want it to continue.”

He straightened the shirt over her shoulder. “Need help buttoning it?”

Ashley gave him a pointed look over her shoulder. “No, I think I can manage that.”

“All right. I'll go see about getting us something to eat.”

Had she looked disappointed? As if she'd expected another suggestive remark? Good. Maybe he was getting to her as much as she was to him.

Unlike Ashley's, his wasn't a well-stocked kitchen. He was home so rarely and at such odd hours that he did little but sleep here. Having her here made him see how sparsely he lived now, since the divorce. As if he just existed. Compared to Ashley's kitchen, his was cold and functional.

He phoned in an order to his favorite seafood restaurant just a block away along River Street. When Ashley was settled again he would walk there and pick up their meals.

The
pat-pat
of Ashley's bare feet on his wooden floors reached Kiefer's ears before she joined him in the kitchen. “Do you have some water or something? I'm thirsty.”

“Yeah, just a second.” He reached into a cabinet and brought out a glass. “What can I get you? I have water, week-old milk, and I can make some iced tea.”

“Wow, what a selection. I'll take water for now but iced tea sounds wonderful.”

“How does the arm feel?” He went to the refrigerator and used the ice dispenser.

“I would be lying if I said it didn't hurt. I still can't believe someone shot at me.” She took a seat at the table.

He handed the filled glass to her. “Well, believe it.”

“I really need to go home. Tomorrow is the block party. I have a list of things to do. Need to be doing.”

“Don't you have a committee that's overseeing the event?”

Ashley drank half the water. “Yes, but I need to make sure everything gets done.”

“No,
you
need to be in control. Why is that?”

She straightened her shoulders. “I don't. I just want things to go off without a hitch.”

Kiefer sighed in exasperation and leaned a hip against the counter, studying her. “Well, I would recommend you request a police presence.”

“If I did it would defeat everything I'm trying to accomplish. Too many police make it look like we have problems.”

“Too few gives the criminals a chance to cause trouble. Again, why're you pushing so hard? I know you grew up in Southriver, but what you're trying to do consumes you to the point of being unsafe. You take chances and can talk of nothing else but what you are trying to do in Southriver. Don't you ever take a minute just to rest or have fun? Are you using Southriver as a stepping-stone to a state position? What drives you?”

Her eyes widened and mouth went slack. It appeared she couldn't believe he'd asked those questions. Had no one ever pointed that out to her?

* * *

Ashley clasped her hands in her lap in an effort to contain her resentment. She was trying to better Southriver for everyone. Her jaw tightened. Kiefer's implication that the work she was doing was self-motivated irritated her. How dared he?

She met his look and reached for the necklace around her neck. “It's none of your business what motivates me, but I'm going to tell you anyway.” Although she worked to control her emotions, the moment she opened her mouth they came flooding out with her words. “When I was younger Lizzy, my best friend in elementary school, was abducted by the boy who lived next door to me. We knew him. He even babysat me and my brother when our parents and his went out for dinner. We all trusted him. Adored him.

“Lizzy knew him too because of all the time she spent at our house. We both thought he hung the moon, but one day when she was walking home from school he dragged her into the woods. He raped and beat her. By the time she was found Lizzy was in such a bad condition that she died on the way to the hospital. They said that if she'd had access to closer medical care she might have made it.”

She didn't look at him as she continued. “I felt so guilty. Because of me Lizzy was by herself that day. I was supposed to go home with her but I didn't for my own selfish reasons. She trusted Ron because of me. After that the entire community was terrified for their children. My father never let me outside to play without someone watching me. I couldn't walk home from the family store by myself. I was so overprotected I was smothered. I understood why but that didn't mean I liked it.

“When I had a chance to go to college I was so glad to leave. But I missed my home and came back hoping to make a difference. Make it a safer place. I ran on the platform of improving the neighborhood. Headway is starting to be made and I won't,
can't
, let it slip backward. It's not about me—it's about making this a better place to live for everyone. Especially the children. I can have fun later.”

“I'm sorry about your friend. That must have been a horrible time for you. At least now I understand why the clinic is so important to you.”

“You have no idea.”

A stricken look filled his eyes. He'd mentioned his mother being attacked when he'd been a child, but was there more to the story than he'd told her?

“Our meal should be ready. I'm just going down to Ship and Shore Seafood. Will you be okay here for a few minutes by yourself?”

For someone who was so insistent that she share so much about herself, he sure had dropped the conversation fast when it came to his turn. She nodded. “I'll be fine.”

His eyes narrowed. “I can trust you to be here when I return?”

“I'll be here. I'll make iced tea while you're gone—how about that?”

“Great. I'll see you in a few.” He headed out the door.

Ashley had the tea steeping when he returned twenty minutes later. She'd also taken the time while he was gone to call a couple of people about the block party. Thankfully it seemed as if everything was running smoothly.

Less than an hour later she took a deep swig of her tea and placed the glass on the coffee table. “Either that was the best meal I've ever eaten or I was super hungry.”

Kiefer grinned. “My guess is that it's a little of both.”

The sound of a tugboat horn drew Ashley's attention. She looked toward the window.

“Would you like to have our dessert out on the balcony?” Kiefer pushed his chair back.

“There's dessert?”

“Sure there is. What kind of host do you think I am?”

She gave him a questionable look. “I don't think you want me to comment on what some would consider kidnapping.”

There was a tense moment as she registered what she had said. Surely he didn't think she was putting him on the same level as the guy who had taken Lizzy?

“You do know you can leave anytime you wish?”

She nodded. “I do. Perhaps I shouldn't have said that in light of what we had been talking about.”

“I'll get our dessert.”

Opening the narrow French doors, she stepped out on the iron balcony hanging over the cobblestone road below. She eased into one of the cushioned wicker chairs with matching footstools. Crossing her arms across her breasts, Ashley put her feet up and rested one ankle atop the other. A foghorn blew again as a barge slowly moved over the water of the Savannah River in front of her.

Kiefer joined her, taking the other chair. “Here you go.”

She took the round plastic-covered disk he offered. “A praline.”

“The best in the world are made here.”

Ashley unwrapped it and took a bite of the sugary disk with a pecan in the center. “Mmm. Wonderful. Thank you.”

“You're welcome.”

Looking out at the river, she said, “You have a great view.”

“It's the one thing I really like about living here. I spend what little time I'm home sitting out here.”

“You don't like the rest of the place?”

“I got it in the divorce.” Disgust and resignation sharpened his voice.

“Why don't you sell it? This is prime real estate.”

“At one time I wouldn't do it because she wanted it. Now I need a place to live.”