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“You seem surprised.”
“No offense, but you don’t seem like the family man type. I can definitely see you as a captain of
industry, leading your company into the future, but I can’t see you bouncing a baby.”
“What do you know of babies?”
“Plenty. I used to babysit when I was younger. I wasn’t going to let my dad pay for everything.”
“That’s admirable.”
Scarlett watched a glint of light play on Carter’s eyes. He was interested, she could tell she intrigued him. Why else would he stay?
5
Scarlett
Dr. Weiss arrived in Scarlett’s hospital room early the next morning. She blinked open sleep-heavy eyes, barely managing to focus on the clock hanging beside the television bolted on the wall. It read seven-forty, and she yawned, more of a reflex to the early hour than an actual tiredness. Her head was still heavy, and her thoughts fuzzy, but she wasn’t sleepy.
“How are you feeling, Ms. Terini?” Dr. Weiss shone a bright light into her eyes.
Wincing away from the light, Scarlett said grumpily, “I’ve felt better.”
“How’s the head?” He mercifully removed the light from her eyes and gently turned her head to examine the bump.
“Better,” Scarlett answered in a rush, not wanting to stay another minute. Even returning to Braxton’s home was better than staying in the hospital. “It feels kind of...” She searched for the word. “Um, full? Like there’s water sloshing around in my brain or something.”
“That’s to be expected—just a result of the concussion. I don’t see any cause for alarm, Ms. Terini. I’ll get started on those discharge papers while you have a light breakfast, then give Mr. Braxton a call.”
Scarlett’s stomach lurched with panic as she realized she didn’t know Carter’s number, and she had no other way to reach him. Was she going to be stuck in the hospital until he arrived? What if he decided to leave her there? Why hadn’t he stayed?
Taking a deep breath, Scarlett plastered on a fake smile and said, “I seem to have forgotten his number, Dr. Weiss. Would you be able to get it for me?”
The doctor agreed and left Scarlett to attend to his paperwork. Twenty minutes later, a nurse brought her a tray of bland hospital food and a slip of paper. “Here’s that number,” she said while drawing the bedside table forward for Scarlett.
“Thank you.” Scarlett grimaced at the poached egg glaring balefully up at her, then turned her attention to the runny oatmeal and barely toasted toast. The nurse left, and Scarlett ate as much of the food as she could tolerate. Then, feeling nervous, she took the phone off the side of the railing and dialed Carter’s number from the slip of paper.
Kent answered, and Scarlett told him she was being released. “I’ll send the car for you, madam,” was his rather uninterested reply. After hanging up, Scarlett rose from the bed on slightly shaky legs and hobbled her way to the closet where her t-shirt and shorts were neatly folded.
It took some time to get dressed, as she had to sit on the bed for most of the process. Her ankle hurt too much to bear any weight, so she had barely finished dressing when Dr. Weiss returned with her discharge papers and a strange-looking contraption. “This is a brace,” he explained. “You’ll need to keep it on for at least a week, except for showering.”
Scarlett wrinkled her nose when she saw the mass of purple and black bruising on her horribly swollen ankle after the doctor removed the bandages he’d placed on last night. He slid her foot into a shoe-type brace before bringing up the sides around her leg and fastening the Velcro straps to keep them in place. “When can I walk on it?”
“Oh, I imagine you’ll feel up to walking in three or four days. If it hurts when you try, you aren’t ready. I want you to rest it completely for the next three days.”
Scarlett nodded, accepting the papers from Dr. Weiss. He wanted to see her again in his office in a week, and Scarlett assumed Carter or Darren would know where to take her. She was ready to go when Darren arrived thirty minutes later. A nurse wheeled her out to the town car, and Darren lifted her inside. Scarlett told herself that sudden drop in her stomach was not disappointment when she realized Carter was not in the car with her. It was relief, she assured herself. Why would she want to see Carter?
When they returned to the mansion, Darren carried her inside and left her in a small entertainment room. Scarlett flipped on the television, but quickly found it boring and soon switched it off again. She was twiddling her thumbs when Carter came in the room a short time later. “Hi.” She felt shy with him after last night’s talk.
“How are you this morning?”
“Much better, but I’m bored out of my mind. There’s nothing on television, and all my books are upstairs.”
“I’ll get them for you before I go to my meeting.” She was surprised he offered to retrieve them himself. “Once I’m gone, if you need anything, please feel free to ask Darren or one of the other staff members.” His eye kept wandering to her legs, and Scarlett watched him with interest.
What was it about him?
Scarlett spent a boring day just lying around the entertainment room. Later in the afternoon, she had Darren carry her upstairs to her room, and a tray of food was brought up. After eating and taking a pill for the pain, she found the yawns increasing in frequency and turned in for an early night.
