Twice the Trouble (22 page)

“I didn’t handle that situation well, with the accident and all. That was the worst night of my life. I don’t like thinking about it.” Clarence hung his head.

“But you do. You think about it too much. You’ve let it turn your heart to stone. That and what happened with my grandmother.”

“What do I need with a heart, anyway?” Clarence scoffed.

“They weren’t your whole family, Granddad. I needed you.” Lacey nodded toward the kids. “They could have been a bigger part of your life, but you were so blinded by self-pity, you couldn’t see any of us.”

Clarence folded his arms and look straight ahead, pouting like a stubborn child.

“Tonight, when I saw Alex’s car in that creek, it was like living it all over again, Mom and Dad’s accident I mean.”

Clarence didn’t bat an eye.

“Do you know I was never invited to a friend’s house after that? The other kids felt sorry for me, but they acted like I was cursed. They were afraid something bad would happen if they hung around with me.”

“That’s ridiculous.” Clarence huffed indignantly.

“Alex was my only friend after that day. I’d have gone insane if he hadn’t been there for me.”

“Are you sure that’s not what attracts you to him now?” Clarence looked at her accusingly. “Are you sure you’re not just grabbing a hold of the past, trying to recapture your glory days?”

“It’s not like that, Granddad,” Lacey assured him. “Alex is different now. He’s not the same boy who left Indian Lakes thirteen years ago. I’ve had to get to know him all over again, and I like this Alex an awful lot so far. I may even love him.”

“Is that right? Well, when do you suppose you’ll know for sure? When you get your hands on the deed to that old farm?”

“It’s not like that!” Lacey replied. “I’d give the farm up tomorrow if he wanted me to. I’d never do that for any other man.”

“I guess you’ve made up your mind then.”

“I guess I have.” Lacey was surprised by the freedom she felt having spoken those words.

A scuffle broke out on the sofa. It seemed the silent twin talk had taken an aggressive turn. Jenna kicked her feet out, causing Jerrod’s legs to fall. He sat up and shoved her legs off as well. Using their hands they pushed at each other’s shoulders. Both wore a scowl.

“What is wrong with you two?” Lacey snapped in a loud whisper. “Have you forgotten where you are?”

“It was all his idea,” Jenna cried.

“She’s the one that made the phone call,” Jerrod growled.

“I did what you told me to do.” Jenna turned on him.

“That’s because you’re the most convincing liar I know. You should be on Broadway.”

Suddenly Lacey remembered that the twins were about to make a confession before Alex had called. “Exactly what did the two of you do?” Lacey asked, emphasizing the
two
.

“We didn’t want you and Alex to break up,” Jenna began.

“We wanted you both to see how much you care about each other,” Jerrod added.

“Cut the crap and get straight to the mechanics,” Lacey demanded.

The twins admitted all.

Tears threatened Lacey’s eyes when she realized Alex had risked life and limb for her. She’d sat in his office and cut him down to a nub, and still he rushed to her rescue. She couldn’t think about that right now. She had to make sure he was going to be okay first.

“Do the two of you see what your deception has caused? You are not going to get away with it. There will be penance to pay for your lying.”

“Aren’t we suffering enough?” Jerrod groaned.

Lacey held both of her hands out, palms up. “Hand them over.”

Jenna gasped. “No, Mom, please don’t do this!”

Lacey’s hands remained out. She was in no mood to negotiate. Each kid placed their cell phone in her opened palms with a miserable sigh.

“You can check these out from me when you leave the house, and that won’t be often. Even then, they’ll only be used for emergencies.”

“That’s not fair!” Jenna cried.

“Not fair?” Lacey rounded on her daughter. A sob tore from her throat, but she was determined to hold back the tears. “What’s not fair is that Alex is in the hospital, because of the lies you told.”

“We’re so sorry.” Jerrod was near tears himself. “I never thought anyone would get hurt.”

“Please don’t hate us,” Jenna added dramatically.

Lacey was determined to stand her ground, but before she could say another word the double doors swung to each side and a doctor walked through with a nurse following closely. “Are you Mrs. Benson?” the doctor asked.

“No,” Lacey murmured. They’d finally come with news and now her voice was failing her. “I’m Lacey Carlyle.”

“She’s his fiancée,” Jenna blurted.

Lacey pinned her daughter with a stern look, but Jenna just shrugged.

“Oh, good,” the doctor said with a show of relief. “My name is Doctor Dean Bennett. I’ve been with Alex since he came in. I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to speak to you. We had to clean him up and check out so many little injuries. Luckily, they were mostly from small shards of glass and twigs. He did have a large gash over his forehead that required quite a few stitches. The blow he suffered in that area is the reason he lost consciousness. We’ll have to keep an eye on that for at least twenty-four hours. His left arm was broken in two places and we had to take him in for surgery. He’ll have some hardware to deal with for a while. Lastly, his leg was twisted in the wreckage. Everything seems all right now, but it’s going to hurt like the dickens. He’ll wear a soft cast on it for a few weeks.”

The nurse held a small bag out to Lacey. “We’ll be moving Mr. Benson to a private room while he’s unconscious. It would be best for you to take his personal items with you. He had a cell phone, keys and a wallet in his pockets. His clothes and shoes aren’t salvageable.” The nurse was matter-of-fact in her speech, but her eyes showed compassion. “Is there anyone we can call for you, Ms. Carlyle?”

“Oh, yes.” Lacey fumbled inside the bag for Alex’s cell phone. “Could you please inform his parents? I’m sure they’ll have a lot of questions and, well, they’d much rather talk to you.”

The nurse raised a brow. She knew exactly what Lacey was not saying. “Certainly, ma’am,” she said gently, as she jotted down the number from Alex’s phone.

Before he retreated back through the double doors, the doctor stopped. “It doesn’t make a difference in his treatment, but could I ask—” He hesitated uncomfortably—“how he received such a massive amount of scars?”

“He was near an explosion aboard ship when he was in the Navy, thirteen years ago come December.” Lacey sighed. “We were both in the hospital that Christmas, half a world away from each other.”

“Good Lord,” Clarence mumbled. “I didn’t know.”

“Neither did I, Granddad. We’ve both suffered and we both have a lot to make up for.”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Alex felt cold, his mouth was dry, and his head was pounding. When he tried to reach the blanket that had slid down to his waist, his left arm wouldn’t budge. It ached and felt like it weighted fifty pounds. After forcing one eyelid open, he saw that his arm was encased in metal and plaster. Both eyes popped open wide to check that out. He reached his right hand over to touch it and noticed the IV line in that arm.

A rustling noise at the side of the strange, narrow bed caught his attention. He looked over the two-foot length of metal railing. A nurse knelt beside him.

“Is this thing capable of picking up a good country station?” Alex pointed at the contraption on his left arm.

The nurse laughed. “Good Morning, Mr. Benson. That’s not usually the first thing a person asks when they wake up.” The nametag on her scrub top read: Linda.

“Okay then, let’s try this one, Linda.” His brow lifted sending a sharp pain to the sore spot on his head. “Are you doing what I think you are down there?”

“I’m emptying your catheter bag. You had surgery on your arm. You’ve had anesthesia and been unconscious for some time now.”

“Do I have any injuries south of my belly button?”

“One leg was sprained and badly bruised.” She took the half full container to the adjoining restroom and washed her hands.

“I don’t know if I’m buying that as a good reason to tube my little buddy.”

Linda smiled and held a straw to his lips. Alex sucked in a mouthful of ice water and held it for a moment before swallowing.

“I’ll talk to the charge nurse and see if we can switch you to a portable urinal,” she said.

“I’ll have to get up soon anyway,” Alex shifted in the bed trying to get comfortable. Where were the controls for the stupid thing? “A nice hot shower is the only thing that’ll make me feel human again.”

“No showers for you, not until we can remove some of that apparatus from your arm. I’ll call an orderly who can take you down to the therapy department. A nice whirlpool bath would be good for that leg.”

“Oh hell no,” Alex grabbed the right side rail and lifted himself into a sitting position. The pain in his head exploded and the room swayed. His right leg felt like it had been caught in a vise and twisted a few turns. “You’re not taking me to the dungeon to stick me in a torture vat. Been there, done that, and next time, someone is going to die a slow painful death.”

“Settle down, Mr. Benson.” Linda raised the head of the bed, hoping he’d relax against it. He did. He had no other choice. “I’ll see if someone’s free to give you a sponge bath.”

“I don’t need some big, ugly guy coming in here to handle my junk. Just bring me the stuff and I’ll do it myself.” Alex was so upset by memories of his last hospital stay he didn’t realize that Lacey had been listening from the doorway.

“Take it easy, big guy.” Lacey sauntered toward him looking like an angel in an Aerosmith T-shirt. “I won’t let that little nurse hurt you.”

“Lacey!” Alex tried once again to sit up on his own, but immediately fell back with a grimace. “Are you okay? What happened to you? Jenna said you’d been hurt!”

“Jenna lied. Jerrod was in on it too. They were trying to get us back together. I’m sorry, Alex.”

Alex gave a soft chuckle. It was all he could manage with his pain. “I’m not sorry. Their hearts were in the right places. I’m just glad you’re okay. I was so afraid something awful had happened to you. I couldn’t stand to lose you again. I wouldn’t survive it a second time.”

“The kids are still going to be punished, Alex.” Lacey put on her bossy face. “They nearly got you killed. I don’t want to lose you either.”

Lacey’s small hand fit perfectly inside his large one.

The conversation was obviously turning personal. The nurse gathered her things and left the room.

“I’ll leave that up to you, babe. You’re the expert in that field.” Suddenly Alex had another thought. “Damn! What am I going to do about the office? Donna isn’t ready to handle the place on her own. She hasn’t even figured out the coffeemaker.”

“Calm down.” Lacey leaned over to smooth his messy hair. “I called Mary Ann. She’s sending someone down from the closest office in Georgia.”

Then something new stole Alex’s attention. He hooked a finger into the scooped neck of Lacey’s shirt and took a peek. “What are you wearing under there? Is that blue lace?”

“Alex!” Lacey tried to jump out of his reach, but he’d grabbed the hem of her shirt. The tug caused the neckline to pull lower, exposing the lace trim.

“It is,” Alex teased. “My country girl is hiding city girl frillies.” In a flash, he released her shirt and grabbed the waistband of her jeans. “What kind of panties do you have on?”

Even though he was injured, Lacey couldn’t pull his hand away with both of hers. She squealed with laughter when he used his index finger to tickle her belly button.

“If I wasn’t in such a mess, I’d let you have your wicked way with me, woman.” Alex chuckled.

“I once heard a wise man say, there’s more than one way to skin a cat,” Lacey replied.

“Hmm, despite my aversion to skinning cats, I admire the man’s thinking.”

“Perhaps.” She kissed his lips. “But I suspect that’s the drugs talking.”

“What is going on in here?” a woman shouted from the doorway.

Alex and Lacey’s heads snapped in her direction. They felt like a couple of teenagers, caught necking under the school bleachers.

Alex had the added torment of an ice pick sharp pain to his head. “Mom!”

Cheryl Benson slowly came around the bed where Lacey stood frozen. Her lips were held in a straight, severe line. Her narrowed eyes never left Lacey’s face. “I should have known you’d have something to do with this. Any time you’re near him, my son meets disaster.”

Lacey couldn’t speak. She couldn’t even move back from the angry woman.

“What do you mean by that?” Alex asked.

“How can you even ask?” His mother turned to him with the same irate expression. “Everything changed after you started seeing
her
. You gave up a good scholarship, ran off to the Navy, and then got caught in that horrible explosion. Now, you’ve moved your company headquarters to this horrid little town, just so you can sleep with
her
. And look where it’s gotten you. How can you give up everything you’ve worked for, for a small town trollop?”

“Let me start by saying, that’s all utter bull-shit, Mother,” Alex said with a cold glare. “I’ll follow that up by telling you, if you call Lacey a name like that again, I’ll have you thrown out of this room. I make my own decisions.”

“Well!” Cheryl huffed. “We all know reason is beyond you where she’s concerned. She tried to make a fool of you. If it hadn’t been for me, you’d be trapped in a marriage with a woman of little morals, just to give her child a name. God only knows who the real father might be.”

“Not just God,” he replied. “I know who left her pregnant. I did an excellent job of making a fool of myself. What I’d like you to tell me is why you didn’t say anything to me, all those years ago?”

“I knew how infatuated you were with her.” Cheryl looked at Lacey and gave a delicate snort. “I didn’t want your heart to be broken when you found out she was trying to trick you.”

“But I wasn’t,” Lacey whispered.