Souls' Rescue Part 8

"Yep. No problem," she said vaguely as she strolled toward the bar. She didn't look back. Kelly checked her watch, then nearly laughed out loud three minutes later when Janine had her arm around her target. Another ten minutes and they were out the door.

Kelly finished her beer and was ready to leave when her cell phone rang. She didn't recognize the number. "h.e.l.lo?"

"Kelly? It's Talia."

"Oh hey. How you doing?"

"Completely bored. Just thought I'd call and talk to a friendly person. My nurse has the personality of sand paper."

"I'm not surprised. You can't get all the good nurses without the occasional bad one mixed in."

"I guess so." She paused and Kelly wondered if they'd been disconnected. "Are you busy?"

"Nope." Kelly glanced at her watch. It wasn't quite seven p.m. "Just hanging out."

"That sounds like fun."

Kelly sensed where Talia was going. "You up for a visit? I can be there in about fifteen minutes. And I'm sure I can con Nurse Sand Paper into letting me stay past eight."

"That'd be awesome. If you're sure you're not busy."

Kelly could almost hear the smile in Talia's voice. "I'll be there soon."

THE HOSPITAL ROOM was dark when Kelly arrived, a bouquet of carnations in her hand. She paused in the doorway, wondering if Talia was asleep.

"You can come in. I'm just sitting in the dark." Talia turned on the light above her bed. The fluorescent glow made Kelly blink to adjust her eyes. When she got closer, she saw that Talia had been crying.

"I brought you some fresh flowers." She pulled the wilted ones, dropped them in the trash, and put the new bouquet in the vase. She asked, "You okay?"

"Not really."

"Want to talk about it?" Kelly offered her the box of tissues from the bedside stand.

Talia dried her face and blew her nose. "I don't know. I just needed some company."

"That's why I came here." Kelly ached to know what was bothering her, but didn't want to push Talia. It was enough that she'd called her over. Talia's hands rested in her lap and Kelly placed her hand over them.

Talia's shoulders shook as she sobbed.

Kelly settled on the bed, wrapped her arms around her, and let Talia cry herself to sleep.

WHEN TALIA AWOKE the next morning, the first thing she saw was the vase of carnations and a note on her bedside table. She remembered how shyly Kelly gave her the flowers and the way it felt for Kelly to cradle her in her arms while she cried. She picked up the note.

Talia, I stayed with you until the nurse finally kicked me out. I hope you're doing better after a good night of rest. Please give me a call later.

Hugs, Kelly"

"Oh, how sweet," Talia said aloud and held the note to her chest. She imagined the feel of Kelly's strong arms around her and realized it was the first time she'd felt safe in years. She felt like she belonged in Kelly's arms.

But that was silly. Kelly was just being kind and comforting, nothing more. Though it didn't diminish how much Talia had enjoyed the time. Too bad she'd fallen asleep. It would have been nice to enjoy it for while longer.

"Why didn't you tell me Megan came here?" Jacob said the second he stepped into Talia's room.

"Um, hi Jacob. It's nice to see you. I'm fine. You?"

"Un-funny."

"Sorry. Just thought I'd get a h.e.l.lo in before I got an a.s.s chewing."

Jacob sat on the corner of Talia's bed and sighed dramatically. "h.e.l.lo, Talia. Now tell me why you never called me."

"How'd you find out she was here?"

"No questions before you answer mine."

"Because I handled it."

"Did you? Did you know that your mother is at your apartment packing things up?"

"What?"

"I already took care of it. I told your apartment manager I'm your lawyer and no one goes in without you or I saying they can. And nothing comes out, either."

"What the h.e.l.l? She has no right-"

"Correct. But Megan told her you were merely being stubborn and that you'd be okay with the move once you got settled again in DC."

"And she believed her?" Talia asked. The look on Jacob's face reminded her how rhetorical the question was. "Of course she did. She always believed her over me. I wish she'd just adopt Megan and get it over with. She's the daughter my mother always wanted."

"I know, sweetie. Look. I can have another talk with Megan, if you want me to."

"No, but thanks. I'll talk to Mother."

"I'll get Dylan to go to your place with me and get your stuff put away."

"Dylan? Dylan, your new a.s.sistant?"

"The very same."

"Jacob Meier. I thought we had this talk already."

"We did. But that was Joseph and he wasn't my a.s.sistant. He was yours," Jacob said, obviously unrepentant.

"Uh huh. Just don't get him p.i.s.sed off. I don't want to go through that mess again."

"Pfft. Won't happen. We're the happily non-dating-good-s.e.x kind of friends. That's it."

"Nice. Too much information, but nice."

"Speaking of s.e.x, what's the latest on that little hottie, Kelly?"

"There is no latest."

"Yeah." Jacob patted her on the head. "I've seen her look at you, sweetie. You just keep that little un-fantasy in your head. She'll make her move soon enough."

"Jacob-"

"I've got places to go and a little Dylan to make happy." He ignored her continued protests, kissed Talia on the cheek and left.

Out in the hall, Talia heard Jacob's voice. "You've got timing!" he said, just loud enough for Talia to hear his every word. "Go pull the pouty little princess out of her dark, ugly hole, will you?"

"Sure thing," Kelly said as she walked into the room. She had a strange look on her face and it made Talia laugh. "He's a nice guy. Weird, but nice."

"No kidding. I didn't expect you this morning."

"I just got back from a call."

"I thought you were off last night."

"I was. But there was another big fire and they did a call out. It means that any off duty crews need to come help. So since I wasn't busy I went. Not my favorite way to spend Friday night, but there you have it." Kelly yawned and sank into a chair. "Sorry, but I've only had about an hour of sleep."

"I don't see how you do it." Talia wanted to smooth the unruly red bangs off Kelly's face, but didn't dare.

"You just get used to it, I guess. My dad never got more than a few hours of sleep, even when he wasn't working."

"Is he retired?"

"No," Kelly said, her voice suddenly quiet. "He died a few years ago."

"I'm sorry," Talia reached over and touched Kelly's arm, giving it a gentle squeeze. "I didn't mean to bring up anything bad."

"You didn't. Well, not really." Kelly scooted the chair closer and leaned her forearms on the bed. "Ma has trouble talking about him. He died in the line."

"The line? Like in the line of duty?"

"Yeah."

Talia had no idea what to say to that. Kelly was the first firefighter she'd ever known. She'd never paid much attention to the police officers, EMTs, and others like them that came in and out of the office in DC. Her company had handled insurance contracts for a lot of departments. Never once had she really thought about what those people did for a living. She realized she was a little too caught up in her own life for that.

"It's what he would have wanted, weird as that may sound." Kelly's eyes took on a distant look to them and before Talia could comment, she changed the subject.

Chapter Eleven.

KELLY GOT HOME later in the day than she'd planned. Her nap in Talia's room had lasted more than a few hours, but she was glad for the rest. At least she'd remembered to tell her mother where she was going to be.

She made it two feet into the living room before her mother popped up and pulled her onto the couch. She placed a larger envelope on Kelly's lap and said, "We need to talk about our vacation."

"What's this?"

"Our cruise information. We leave in two weeks. Remember?"

"Of course I do." Kelly glanced inside the envelope. How had she forgotten about the cruise she and her mother had been planning all year? With the stress at work, the timing was perfect. But what about Talia?

As if she could read Kelly's thoughts, Marina said, "She'll be fine for a few days without you. I know you well enough to know what you're thinking."

"And what's that?" Kelly folded her arms across her chest.

"You don't want to abandon Talia. You're getting close to her and you're afraid that if you leave she'll be upset." Marina held Kelly's hand. "Which is why you tell her where we're going, make sure she has your cell phone number, and promise to visit when we get back."

"I don't know-"

"We both need this trip, honey. You know that."

"I do." Kelly looked at the package in her lap. "I'll make sure she knows how to reach me."

Marina kissed her on the forehead. "Believe me, if she can wait for you for a week, she's a keeper."

Kelly laughed out loud. "You really think I'm that far gone?"

Marina raised her eyebrow again. "And you don't?"

"Ha ha." Kelly handed her the packet and got up. "I'll be home tonight after cla.s.s. I'm only scheduled to teach the afternoon part. I'm going to visit Talia first."

Marina slapped Kelly playfully on the thigh as she walked away. "And you have to ask me if you're that far gone. Ha!"

"TALIA?" COLETTE CALLED out as she entered Talia's hospital room. "Are you awake, dear?"

"Yes, Mother. You can come on in." Talia was staring at her cell phone.

"I brought someone I want you to meet."

Talia stared at the man her mother was ushering into the room. He was a tall, light-skinned black man with a tan suit that didn't look very good on him. "Who's that?" Talia pressed the b.u.t.ton to raise her bed so she was sitting up.

"I'm Delmar Clark, the attorney hired to represent you."

"An attorney?" Talia asked, looking to Colette. "Why do I need an attorney?"

"He's handling the lawsuit, Talia."

"What lawsuit?"