Save the Last Dance (12 page)

Hurried footsteps arrived, followed by a cart rattling across the floor, and three more medical personnel burst into the small area. Casey stumbled backward, straining to see her father’s face one more time as guilt flooded through her.

Had he really heard her? Had her words stressed him out, tipping the balance in his already precarious state? A wave of grief swamped her. And why wasn’t anyone here with him? The nurses had made her leave, and with no sign of Mom or Grandma anywhere, was he going to die alone?

She blindly made her way back to the lounge, barely able to see through her hot tears. An old man sat hunched over in a chair to one side. He lifted his head briefly in alarm when she appeared at the door, then sank back with a heavy sigh and dropped his head over his folded hands.

So someone else was here, too, awaiting bad news.

She managed a weak smile in his direction, though he didn’t look up as she passed on her way to the far end of the room. The bitter irony of it all hit her as she settled at the edge of a chair, her eyes pinned on the open doorway and a sick feeling of dread pressing in on her from every side.

During the entire flight home, she’d been nearly overwhelmed with anxiety over the conversation to come. But now, the ruin of her own life seemed as inconsequential as a speck of dust.

K
ATE GLANCED AT HER WATCH
and unlocked the back door of her clinic, stepped inside and locked it behind her.

There’d been a time when she would have left it open to the crisp early-morning breeze, happy to savor the sharp scent of pine and the faint spring fragrance of lilacs. When she would’ve been comfortable with unlocked doors and open windows, knowing that her small town had always been safe. Now, her first thought was to protect herself and her clinic.

How could everything be going so terribly wrong?

She flipped on the hall lights and felt a moment of peace at the familiar sounds of the clinic. From the moment she opened the door, a cacophony of barking erupted from the kennel room to the left, answered by the yowls of a disgruntled patient in the neighboring room reserved for cats.

Across the hall, where the birds, reptiles and pocket pets were housed, a cockatiel whistled sharply.

Amy would be here in an hour to begin her kennel duties before taking over the front desk at nine. Though Kate needed to get back to the hospital as soon as possible, it felt good to be in this familiar world, alone for a few minutes, with no questions, no expressions of sympathy.

She needed to check on her surgery cases.

Draw labs on the retriever still on IVs, recovering after consuming an entire bag of chocolates, to see if he could finally go home.

Examine the feline emergency C-section.

Everything else—all the appointments for today, and the three or four elective surgeries—Amy would need to cancel if she hadn’t done so already.

Even being away from the hospital for less than an hour had Kate feeling jittery, as if a strong magnetic force was pulling her back, but thankfully there hadn’t been any calls from the ICU since she’d been gone.

Yet.

On her way into the kennel room, she reached for the comforting presence of the cell phone in her jacket pocket. Startled at its absence, she
quickly searched her other pockets, her purse, then ran back out to her car.

Had she left it at home, where she’d gone for a quick shower and a change of clothes? Back at the hospital? Her anxiety swelled. What if someone had tried to call her about Jared?

Calm down,
she told herself sternly.
They do have the house and clinic numbers in Jared’s chart. Everything is all right.

Still, she hurried to the front office to check the answering machine and felt her heart stumble at the blinking light.
Please—no bad news. Please.
Her hands trembling, she pressed the button.

A call from a pharmaceutical sales rep, promising to be in late this afternoon.

Lucille Clark asking about her dog Percy, the cruciate ligament surgery Kate had done yesterday—probably at the very time Jared was getting in his car for his fateful trip.

Getting in his car with another woman at his side,
an insidious inner voice whispered.
A woman who was dead less than an hour later.

Oh, Lord—what on earth happened?

Biting her lip, Kate fought back a surging sense of loss and betrayal and grief as she hit the button again.

A reminder about the county veterinary
meeting tomorrow night and a fervent plea for her to run for an office this year.

And then…the small, heartbroken voice of her daughter.

“Mom. Where are you? Why aren’t you here?” Her voice caught. “Daddy—he doesn’t look so good. The nurses came running in and they made me leave and…and I’m
scared.
”

Oh, God, please not now—don’t let him die with Casey there alone.

Grabbing the keys from the rack at the back door of the clinic, Kate ran to her car. She hesitated for just a heartbeat, then climbed behind the wheel. Had she locked the clinic? Surely she had…and Amy would arrive in less than an hour, at any rate. It would be okay, and she had no minutes to waste.

She reached up to adjust the rearview mirror before backing out and caught a glimpse of her tension-ravaged face, almost unrecognizable from the one she saw in the bathroom mirror every morning. She floored the accelerator on the two-mile stretch of country road leading into town.

What would life be like without Jared at her side?

Long ago, she’d been entranced by his dark, handsome face, his intelligence and wit. But over the years, those superficial feelings had deepened
into so much more despite the rocky times—the terrible times when there’d been no glimmer of hope that they’d still be together in five or ten or twenty years.

And yet recently, they’d somehow drifted apart.

Please—help him make it through this so he can come home again. Give us another chance, so we can make things right. Like back in college, when it was just us against the world…

The Past

“M
Y MOTHER HAS ASKED
us to dinner.” Jared hesitated. “In honor of our marriage.”

Kate felt a shiver crawl up her spine at the prospect of facing Sylvia Mathers over dinner. After Jared called her with the news of their elopement, Sylvia’s cold silence had hung a pall over their marriage.

Kate startled whenever her phone rang, expecting a diatribe.

Jared had been subtly withdrawn, perhaps dealing with his own demons regarding the sense of responsibility his mother had so ruthlessly drummed into him.

During the few times they’d met, Kate had found the woman to be cold and unpleasant, and
she’d figured careful distance from Sylvia was probably the safest course. But Jared…Was he having second thoughts? Did he wish he hadn’t made such a rash, crazy decision regarding his entire future?

“Well? What do you think—can we make it tonight? It’s at the Starfire Room. The food is excellent there.”

At the hope in his eyes, there was no way she could refuse, even with a pharmacology test tomorrow and a paper due on Friday. “I’ll bet you miss your sister,” Kate said, trying for a genuine smile. “Of course we should go.”

Jared’s shoulders relaxed and he wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace. “I love you,” he whispered against her ear.

Her dread over the dinner slipped into a whole different sort of anticipation—one that made her toes tingle and filled her with desire for him that only grew stronger with every passing month. She’d never imagined having this kind of love in her life. The feeling of being cared for. Cherished. Desired.

“Want to show me how much?” she teased, grabbing his hand as she stepped away. “I’ll bet we have time. Plenty of time.”

“Think so?” One eyebrow cocked, he appeared to consider the possibility for a long moment.
Then he lifted her in his arms and spun her around, and awkwardly managed the bedroom door, only to have them both collapse on the bed in a tangle of arms and legs and laughter.

That they lost track of time, lost in passion and hunger and unending delight in each other, didn’t matter until the moment Kate walked into the restaurant holding Jared’s hand and found Sylvia waiting, her face a mask of anger.

“You’re
late.
”

The imposing man standing next to her, a briefcase in hand, nodded at Jared. “Good to see you again, son.”

“Lionel Norwood, I’d like you to meet my wife, Kate.” Jared looked down at Kate and gave her hand a squeeze. “Lionel has been our family lawyer for years.”

The man was impeccably dressed, with a cool, regal air. She felt her palms grow damp and a cold sweat start to trickle down her spine.
This wasn’t going to be good.
“Nice to meet you.”

A waiter appeared and ushered them to a corner with a spectacular night view of the Twin Cities. With a complex array of crystal goblets at each place setting and shimmering centerpieces of silver and crystal, the dark restaurant was lit by candlelight and glittered like a thousand stars.

None of the nearby tables were occupied, which afforded a measure of privacy. By accident, or design?

Kate slid into the chair pulled back for her by the waiter and looked up to find Sylvia silently watching her with a smug, tight smile.

Jared acknowledged his mother with a nod before turning to Lionel. “Good to see you again. I’m a little surprised, though.”

Lionel canted his head slightly. “Family business is my business, since your father passed away. And, of course, your mother and I have been friends for many years.”

“So, is this business or pleasure?” Jared’s voice now held a hint of steel. “I understood Kate and I were simply coming to a nice little family dinner. Just the four of us. Where’s Julia?”

“She’s at a sleepover, so your mother asked me to join you.” Lionel accepted a sample of wine from a waiter bearing a tray and wine bottle, a white napkin draped over his arm.

Kate watched as he considered it, then requested something from another year.

Back home, there’d been gallon jugs that disappeared all too quickly, and the results had devastated her family. No doubt there were just as many alcoholics at this end of the economic
spectrum, but it would be achieved with a gloss of class and at considerably higher cost.

There was something all too familiar in Lionel’s complexion and manner that hinted he might be one of them.

“So,” Sylvia said after the waiter poured her wine. “We’ve come to this.” She lifted her glass in a halfhearted, mocking salute.

Kate stiffened.

“A reason to celebrate,” Jared interjected smoothly. “Kate and I are lucky we found each other, and I couldn’t be happier.”

The waiter poured for Jared, as well, then hesitated at Kate’s side, but she declined the wine.

“I’m sure
she
is celebrating,” Sylvia snapped. “What a lucky, lucky girl. I’m just glad my Julia isn’t here to witness this disaster.”

“Sylvia.” Lionel leveled a warning look at her, tempered by a faint smile, then directed his attention to Kate. “This marriage has come as a complete shock to Mrs. Mathers, as you might imagine.”

What answer could there be to that? It was the truth, yet the negative connotation was crystal clear.

“Maybe you’d better direct your comments to me,” Jared said. “Though I don’t believe we’ll be staying much longer.”

“As I remember, you especially enjoyed the
porterhouse here on your twenty-first birthday…the two-inch-thick cut with the herbed butter,” Lionel said mildly. “And I imagine Kate would love it, too. Don’t rush off. This dinner is my treat.”

From somewhere across the room wafted the incredible aroma of some sort of steak—perhaps that very same kind—and Kate’s mouth watered. The closest she’d been to a steak in the last six months had been cattle on the hoof at the vet school and all-beef hot dogs. Her stomach started to growl. Embarrassed, she folded her arms over her belly.

Another waiter appeared at Lionel’s side, and after a brief conversation regarding the chef’s recommendations, the lawyer ordered for everyone.

Over escargot and a creamy leek soup, the conversation turned to law school and the most advantageous law firms in the city for new grads.

Over the melt-in-your-mouth, buttery porterhouse steak for everyone except Sylvia, who chose a salad, the conversation veered into old family friends, politics and Senator Mathers’s former cronies…many of whom had retired.

With every passing minute, Kate felt less visible, despite Jared’s valiant efforts to include her in the conversation. Futile efforts, because she knew none of the people and none of the situa
tions, and the pointed direction of the conversation was clearly meant to illustrate exactly that.

When the settings were cleared and the dessert menu offered, Kate politely declined and excused herself for the ladies’ room, where she splashed some cold water on her wrists and tried to will away the growing headache that had started the moment she and Jared arrived.

Sylvia showed up a minute later, her expression triumphant, and Kate’s heart sank.

“I thought I’d give Lionel and Jared a few minutes to discuss private matters.” Sylvia gave a delicate shrug. “I know young men are so much more likely to accept advice from someone other than their mother, even if the information is all the same. A pity, really.”

Sylvia stood between Kate and the exit, and trying to walk out would not only be disrespectful, but mean brushing against her. “Does…he have good advice, then?”

“Lionel is telling him what I am going to tell you, my dear.” Sylvia folded her arms across her chest. “I do hope you have the backbone to hear me out.”

Kate’s heart sank.

“I told you already that there is no money. No security blanket to be had by marrying into this family. Our family ‘fortune,’ such as it is, is tied
up in property that not only is heavily in debt with a second mortgage, but is heavily taxed. The only way Jared can hope to hold on to it is by becoming a very, very successful man. Do you understand this at all?”

A sharp retort died on Kate’s lips. Despite her biting tone, the older woman’s hands trembled and there was a hint of desperation in her eyes.

“His sister is ten years old. An advantageous marriage for Jared would’ve ensured that she could receive an education at a good private college, where she’d have a better chance to marry well. It would’ve ensured that I could continue to stay in my home.” Sylvia’s eyes glittered with angry tears. “His former fiancée is a sweet, intelligent girl. Did you know that her dad owns a chain of upscale department stores? Marriage to her would have been Jared’s golden ticket…would have made his entire future.”

“But what about Jared? His happiness?”

“His happiness?” Sylvia snorted. “Any young man his age would be delighted to have unlimited access to sex, and for that privilege, they convince themselves they’re madly ‘in love.’ I’m sure he’s quite the happy camper right now. But he’s thinking with his hormones, not his head.”

“It isn’t just about…that.”

“No? Then you tell me how happy he’ll be when his old friends pass him by. When his friends and cousins are living exceedingly comfortable lives, while he’s in some two-bit law practice without the right connections. Or when his sister graduates from a state college, if she’s lucky enough to earn enough scholarships.” Sylvia’s mouth twisted. “I tried to tell you all of this already, but you wouldn’t listen. And now you’ve snared my only son with your selfish little schemes. I only hope Lionel can talk some sense into him before it’s too late.”