Betting on Hope (30 page)

“I don’t think it’s broken,” the tall blond one said as he wrapped an elastic bandage around her wrist, smiling at her. “But you’ll need to go to the hospital and get an X-ray just to be sure.”

“I don’t think you have a concussion,” the one with the smoldering eyes said. “But they can check you out there. Will your insurance cover Las Vegas General? They’ve got a good emergency room there.”

“That’s fine,” Faith said.

The naked man who’d been lying on the pavement—Faith had been right about that—was now lying on a gurney with an IV running in his arm, where another set of paramedics worked on him.

“Is he going to be all right?” Faith asked as the EMTs packed up their gear. “What was he doing in my truck?”

“We think it was some kind of religious cult that worships vegetables as sexual symbols,” Smoldering Eyes said.

“Really? Well, I’m all for that,” Faith said.

“Our other patient doesn’t have anything life-threatening,” Blondie said, nodding at Big Julie. “He should be all right.”

“Wait right here for a minute,” Smoldering Eyes said. “The police want to ask you a few questions before we take off.”

Faith sat in the open doorway of the ambulance, feeling the heat beat down on her bare head. Where was her hat? Her arm throbbed. She should call Hope. She
would
call Hope when she got her phone back.

A uniformed cop about a size too large for his uniform came over with a notebook.

“I understand that’s your van,” he said.

“Yes,” Faith said for what seemed like the hundredth time. “I was unloading crates of vegetables. Some guys burst out of the kitchen, pushed me back, I fell off the dock, knocked myself out. They stole the van, but they didn’t get very far. Just across the parking lot. As you can see. Before they got into an accident. Can I go to the hospital now? I don’t feel very well.”

“We’re going to have to confiscate the load for evidence,” the cop said.

“Confiscate the load? You mean the vegetables?” Faith asked, not understanding. The cop nodded.

“You can’t,” Faith said, puzzled. “The Ginger Palace paid for those vegetables. They’re
fresh.
The chef—Kenji Hasegawa—he needs them. For the customers.”

“They’re evidence in a criminal proceeding,” the cop said. “They’re the weapons.”

“They’re not weapons!” Faith said. “They’re
beets!
They’re
dinner!
”

“And we’re taking your truck, too,” the cop said.

“You
can’t!
” Faith said, feeling hot, wounded, angry, and abandoned. Her wrist hurt, her head throbbed, she felt dizzy, and she wanted to go to the hospital. “I need the truck to work!”

“You’ll get it back,” the cop said. “Here’s a receipt.” He handed her a pink slip of paper.

“When? Next month, when it’s too late?” she said, kicking the ambulance, hurting her toe.

“When we’re done with it,” the cop said, closing the notebook.

“Where were you when the van got stolen, that’s what I want to know,” Faith said. “Some cop you are.”

“Miss? We’ll take you to the hospital now,” Blondie said.

“Sure,” Faith said, climbing into the ambulance, taking care that she didn’t hurt the hand that was screaming in pain. “You men are all alike. You take me for a ride and then dump me. What do you care?”

Blondie looked startled and then glanced at his partner.

“We can give you something for the pain,” Smouldering Eyes said.

“Nothing’s going to fix this,” Faith sniffed, but she let him stick the needle into her arm anyway.

When they got to the emergency room, the paramedics walked her up to the desk where a clerk was typing and left her, as Faith knew they would.

“I was in an accident,” Faith said to the clerk. “I need to see a doctor. For my wrist and head.”

“Name?” the clerk said, typing.

“Faith McNaughton.” Faith rested her hand gingerly on the edge of the desk. It felt better to keep it elevated.

The clerk typed in Faith’s name, but then frowned at the screen.

“You’re here for yourself? You mean you’re here for
Amber
, right?” she asked. “You’re her mother?”

“Yes,” Faith said, confused. “What about Amber?”

“We’ve been trying to reach you,” the clerk said. “We need some information from you about Amber’s health insurance. Your sister—Hope, is that right?—couldn’t supply it all.”

“Amber’s
here,
in the
hospital?
” Faith said, suddenly focused.

“She’s doing fine,” the clerk said. “She’s out of surgery.”

“
Surgery?
” Faith asked, her voice rising.

“Whoa,” the clerk said. “I’ve got your sister’s contact information right here. I’ll call her. She might still be in the hospital.”

“
What kind of surgery?
” Faith asked, her voice escalating. “And what do you mean, Hope might still be in the hospital? Hope’s in the hospital, too?”

“I’ll call Amber’s doctor; he can fill you in,” the clerk said, punching in some numbers. “And maybe we can get you something for the pain.” She ripped a form out of the printer. “And while we’re waiting, can I get your group number?”

Hope and Tanner had just reached the hospital parking garage when Hope’s phone rang for what seemed like the umpteenth time. The hospital’s number came up on the display—probably more insurance problems, Hope thought, annoyed. But she picked up anyway.

“Your sister is here,” the clerk said. “Faith?”

“Faith got here? Oh, good,” Hope said, relieved. “She can finish the insurance forms, then.”

“She’s doing that now,” the clerk said. “While she waits for X-ray.”

“What? Why is she waiting for X-ray? What happened to Amber?”

Tanner stopped, alert.

“Not Amber, Faith,” the clerk said.

“
Faith
needs an X-ray?”

 “Yes,” the clerk said. “And an MRI. But the nurse doesn’t think her injuries are too serious.”

“Faith has
injuries?
”

 “Possible broken wrist and concussion.”

“
What?
What happened?” Hope almost didn’t notice when Tanner put his hand on her elbow and started to steer her back to the emergency room.

“She was in some kind of accident,” the clerk said. “I need her group number.”

“I’ll be right there,” Hope said, closing the phone. She turned to Tanner. Her face was pale.

“No wonder Faith didn’t pick up. She had an accident. She’s waiting for an X-ray and MRI now.”

“Good thing we’re already here, then.” Tanner put his arm around her.

“Fifty percent of the McNaughton family today has had an accident bad enough that they had to come to the hospital. The
same
hospital. What are the odds?”

“I don’t think Jimmy the Greek is taking bets on it,” Tanner said, as the emergency room doors whooshed open and greeted them with a blast of cool air.

Faith was sitting in a hard plastic chair in the emergency room, waiting her turn, holding a lightly bandaged hand gingerly in her lap, and looking wan and disheveled. When Hope saw her sister looking so forlorn, she rushed over and put her arms around her.

“What happened, sweetie?” she asked Faith. “How are you?”

“What happened to Amber?” Faith asked, clinging to her sister. “Nobody can find the doctor, and all they would tell me was that it was a hand injury. And they won’t let me go up there to see her until I’ve been checked out.” 

“She was slicing vegetables, and she cut herself. She had surgery to repair nerve damage, but the doctors think everything went okay. She had specialists. We called you a zillion times. I guess we know why you didn’t answer. What happened to
you?
”

Faith shook her head. “An accident. It was weird. There was a naked guy. I feel awful, but I don’t think I’m hurt real bad. And the cops took my truck! They think beets are
weapons!
”

“Cops are dopes,” Tanner said, sitting down next to Hope. “Everybody knows only
frozen
beets can be weapons.”

Hope choked back a laugh as she sat down and even Faith chuckled, a watery sound. Tanner handed Faith the box of tissues that sat on the table next to him.

“We’ll get you in to see Amber,” Hope said, feeling determined. “I bet you have plenty of time before the X-ray. But you don’t have to worry about her. Troy’s staying with her. They’re having a lot of fun up there.”

“Troy?” Faith looked confused.

Tanner nodded. “My kid. She’s on a beading rampage. She and Amber are doing girl stuff, so they’re fine for a while, although you might not like Amber’s new hairstyle.”

“New hairstyle?” Faith asked, but Hope stood up.

“I’ll just go ask about your X-ray. Then you can go see Amber. She was asking for you.” Hope went over to the desk and leaned in. Tanner watched her walk away, the sway of her hips, the slope of her back and the curve of her neck as she leaned over the desk. She was utterly beautiful, and never more so than when she was kicking butt for her family.

“What happened to your truck?” he asked, still watching Hope as she argued with the clerk. Faith told him, sniffling, and by the time she was done, Tanner saw that Hope had achieved victory. She walked back to them, just in time to hear the end of the story.

“She says you can go up,” she said. “The cops have your truck?”
“And the vegetables. I didn’t make the deliveries! Not even to the Ginger Palace. So what is Kenji going to do for tonight? And if I don’t fulfill my contract, he won’t order from me again. I was so counting on this, Hope! My first commercial customer, and Kenji is so nice, and I know he’d recommend me to other restaurants, and now it’s all over because the cops took everything!”

“Faith, it’s all right,” Hope started, putting her arm around her sister.

“No, it’s not! It’s
ruined
, Hope. And I’ve let you down
again.
” Faith started to cry in earnest.

Hope pulled her sister into a hug. “You haven’t let me down, Faith! Nothing’s ruined. You were in an
accident.
We’ll call the customers and explain. They’ll understand. It’s all right.”

Tanner watched them for a moment.

“Faith,” he started.

Faith looked up and sniffed.

“I know somebody who could maybe get your truck back from the cops. But what about the deliveries? You can’t do them if your arm is broken, and Hope really has to get to the casino.”

Faith brightened. “If we could just get the truck to the Ginger Palace, Kenji and and the sous chefs could unload the crates this one time. Like Hope said, everybody else can wait a couple of days.”

“Okay, let me see if I can find my guy.” Tanner took out his phone and pressed the speed dial for Jack Sievers, his childhood friend and lawyer extraordinaire.

As the phone rang, Tanner looked at the sisters—two faces so similar, and yet so different, and only one that made his heart leap—and wanted to wipe the worry from Hope’s eyes.

She shouldn’t have to solve all the McNaughton problems by herself
.

“Jack? Listen, can you shake yourself free this afternoon, right now? I have a problem.”

“Tanner, I can always count on you when I’m getting bored. Did the feds toss you in the slammer again? I am ready to go mano-a-mano with that hopeless Frelly.”

“No, it’s not about me. I have some friends here. One of them was in an accident with her vegetable delivery truck, and the cops have confiscated everything as evidence. But her business will take a hit if she can’t make her delivery to the Desert Dunes today. I’m hoping that you can ransom the truck and get it over here.”

“Oh, great, Wingate, another prestigious job. And—not that it’s the main thing, but can they pay me? Or am I doing it for a lifetime supply of carrots?”

“If they can’t, I can,” Tanner said.

“If they can’t, I want UNLV basketball tickets,” Jack said. “Put them on.”

“I should buy stock in that stadium,” Tanner said. “Thanks, Jack. The business owner is Faith McNaughton. Here she is.” Tanner handed the phone to Faith.

Faith looked at him, a question in her eyes, as she took the phone.

“This is Jack Sievers,” Tanner said. “He’s a lawyer. He’s been relying on me for friendship since grade school. I thought I’d give him a chance to do something for me for a change.”
Tanner grinned as he heard Jack yell “I heard that!” And then he turned away to let Faith talk to Jack and was rewarded when Hope gave him a shaky smile.

Hope looked at Tanner handing the phone to Faith and almost burst into tears of relief herself.
Maybe this horrible day would turn out okay after all.
She smiled at Tanner but felt it crack a little around the edges. He put his arm around her.

“What?” he said.

She felt herself relax into him. She didn’t want to—she could stand up for herself
and
her family. She’d been doing it for a long time. But he’d brought hamburgers and waited with her for Amber and got Troy to come over and called the lawyer and now he had his arm around her and she didn’t feel quite so alone anymore.