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“You didn’t even want me to know you were in the hospital?” Carla closed her eyes. She didn’t want to think about the life they’d have if Philip insisted on shielding her from anything unpleasant. She wondered how he’d feel if the tables were turned. By heaven, she was going to get Jeff for this. She’d arrived expecting something far worse, and he’d let her believe it!
“I may be out of line here, but didn’t you ask me to marry you not long ago?” she reminded him.
Philip looked at her blankly. “What’s that got to do with anything?”
“Doesn’t a wife or a fiancée or even the woman in your life have a right to know certain things?”
His hand covered his weary eyes. “Do you mind very much if we discuss this at another time? Go back to Seattle, Carla. I’ll call you when I’m in a better frame of mind, and we can discuss it then.”
Placing four fingers at her temple, she executed a crisp military salute. “Aye, aye, Commandant.”
Carla couldn’t tell whether the sound Philip made was a chuckle or a snort, and she didn’t stay long enough in his room to find out.
Luckily, Jeff was due to arrive at the hospital within a half-hour. Her anger mounted by the time Philip’s partner arrived. The minute he appeared, she stood, prepared for battle.
“That was a rotten trick you pulled,” she declared with clenched teeth.
“Trick?” Jeff looked stunned. “I didn’t pull any trick.”
“You told me Philip had been shot.”
Jeff looked all the more taken aback. “I didn’t.”
“You implied as much,” she returned, barely managing to keep her voice even.
“How could you have thought he’d been shot? Especially since he was feeling so crummy during the canoe race. Saturday night someone suggested it could be his appendix, and…” Jeff swallowed, looking chagrined. “That’s right, you left early. Phil was feeling even crummier later, and I think we all should have known what was wrong. Listen, I apologize; I thought you knew. You must have been frantic. I wouldn’t have frightened you, had—”
“It’s all right.” Carla accepted his apology with a wry grin. Obviously she had read more into his comments than he had intended. The misunderstanding hadn’t been intentional.
“I’d better explain to Philip,” Jeff said with a thoughtful look. “He’s probably mad as hops.”
“It’s best to let the beast rest for now. If you want, you can explain later.”
One glance at Carla was enough to convince him that Carla knew what she was talking about. The ride through Spokane seemed to take forever, and when Jeff stopped at a traffic light, Carla couldn’t hold back a giggle.
“What’s so funny?” Jeff glanced at her curiously.
“I don’t know…Just my thoughts, I guess. I assumed that someone as wonderful as Philip would be a good patient. I thought he’d be the type of man to suffer silently…and he’s terrible. Just terrible.”
“Give him a day or two,” Jeff advised good-humoredly. “He’ll come around.”
Philip’s condominium was located in the heart of the city near the Spokane River. “Here are the keys to his car,” Jeff said, handing them to her after unlocking the front door. They stood just inside the entryway. “Bill dropped it off on his way home tonight. Listen…” Jeff paused and ran his hand along the side of his short-cropped hair. “Sylvia called and said she was feeling strange. I don’t know what that means, but I think I should head home. I have this irrational fear that the baby is going to come into this world without me coaching, and I’d hate to think that all those classes would go to waste. Call if you need anything, all right?”
“Sure. Go on, and give Sylvia my best.”
“I will. Thanks.”
Jeff was out the door, and Carla turned to interrupt Philip’s orderly life even more by invading his home. Maybe he was right; maybe she should take her things and head back to Seattle. No, she wouldn’t do that. Things between them had to be settled now.
The first thing that caught Carla’s attention was the hand-carved marlin that she’d given Philip. He’d set it on the fireplace mantel. A photo of them together in Mexico sat on his dresser. Carla was smiling into the camera as the wind whipped up her soft russet curls. Philip’s head was turned and his eyes were on her. There was so much love in his expression that Carla breathed a soft sigh as she examined the framed photo.
Her letters to him were stacked on the kitchen table. Each one had been read so many times that the edges had begun to curl. Carla took one look and recognized again that there wasn’t any man on earth who would love her as much as Philip did. And, more important, there would never be anyone she could love as much.
After a reassuring phone call to her parents, she took a long shower and slept fitfully.
—
She waited until noon the next day before venturing outside the condominium. Driving Philip’s car to the hospital proved to be eventful. Twice she got lost, but with the friendly help of a local gas station attendant, she finally located the hospital.
