All For Anna (10 page)

The quick release
forced me backward. I caught my balance against the wall, sparing myself from
the hard collision that awaited me. Kai pressed into Travis holding him down
easily.

“I believe the lady
made herself
very
clear. Touch her or any nurse again and you won’t be
here for alcohol poisoning next time, capishe?” Kai’s voice was hard and
unflinching. The contrast in his tone was shocking.

Travis nodded, stunned
by the turn of events. I could see his mind trying to connect the missing
pieces, but Kai didn’t wait for him to process. With a hard shove to the chest,
he released Travis.

His eyes found me then
for the first time. Whirling around with the speed of a superhero, Kai took my
elbow and ushered me from the room. Together, we ducked into a hallway.

I leaned into the wall,
trying as best I could to stand.

“Are you alright, Tori?
Did he hurt you—touch you?” Kai asked.

Kai’s face was
shockingly concerned for a man I had only known for a week.

“No, I’m...I’m okay I
think, just kind of stunned,” I said, shaking my head slightly before resting
it against the wall.

“That guy’s a real
piece of work. I transported him and several of his buddies here earlier. I
thought I heard a struggle when I walked by a second ago, I’m glad I came back
to check...I’m sorry I wasn’t there sooner.” Kai’s voice was starting to calm
to a normal level again, but his eyes still burned with outrage.

“Well…thank you. I was
trying to break free when you came in. It just happened so fast,” I said, my
face growing hot under the scrutiny of Kai’s gaze.

A puzzled look stared
back at me while he processed my words. Then, he leaned in and softly asked,
“Tori…why didn’t you scream for help? There are plenty of armed security guards
all over this floor.”

“I...I don’t know. That
didn’t even cross my mind.”

I was surprised at how
easily the truth had slipped through my lips, completely unfiltered. He stared
down at me for a few more seconds. A look I couldn’t quite place crossed over
his strong masculine features.

“You’re a rare one,
Miss Sales,” he said, a hint of amusement returning in his voice. “I’m gonna
have to report this, though. You’ll probably be asked some questions. If
anything like that ever happens again, please call for help. There is no reason
you should ever be treated like that.”

I nodded, too stunned
to speak. I was certain only caveman-like utterances would have escaped my lips
if I had tried.

Why does he have to be
so handsome?

He took a few steps to
the side then, as if to release me back into my reality. I exhaled loudly, not
realizing I had been holding my breath.

“Did you find the note
I left for you?” His smile confirmed the ending of
Intervention: Save-The-Helpless
.

“Yes, I
did...swimsuit?” I asked, giving him an I’m-not-so-sure-about-that look.

Amazingly, his smile
grew even wider. “Well yes, but it’s most likely not for the reasons you’re
thinking. It will be...a little more
adventurous
than a casual swim.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I doubt you’re the dinner-and-a-movie-type.”

That smile—the one that
reached all the way to his eyes—was infectious.

Every witty remark I
could have made was lost. Still unsure what exactly I was agreeing to, I
nodded. Slowly, I peeled my body away from the wall and took a few steps toward
the main hall. I needed to get back to work. He placed a hand on my shoulder as
I moved to pass him. I followed his dark muscular arm up the eight inches or so
to his eyes.

“I’m glad you weren’t
hurt today, Tori,” he said, shifting his gaze away momentarily. “Can I pick you
up tomorrow at eleven?”

My heart hammered
against my ribcage.

How does anyone say no
to him…ever?

“Sure.”

It wasn’t my most
eloquent response, but it was the best I could do under the circumstances—Kai touching
me.

“Great...see you then.”
He turned, and started walking toward Security.

Ironically, it was in
that exact second that Bev-the-socialite chose to “find me”.

“Oh, there you are!” She
was looking at Kai, but speaking to me.

“I’ve been looking all
over for you, Tori...I didn’t realize you two knew each other.”

Her voice was like a
canary—a tone-deaf canary.

I opened my mouth, but
Kai beat me to it as he walked back over to us. “Hey, Bev. Tori and I are
actually family friends, she’s gonna make a great addition to the staff on this
floor, don’t you think? We were just going over some safety procedures.” With
that being said, he gave me a quick pat on the back before strolling away
again.

“Hmm...Seems like
that’s not all you two were going over.”

I gawked after him,
unwilling to respond to Bev’s nosiness, or give her any more ammo to support
what she thought she had seen. Something told me that if there was a romantic
relationship going on within this hospital Bev knew about it—all about it. But
I wasn’t as bothered by her as I wanted to believe.

I finished out the rest
of my shift irritable and testy, not fully realizing why until I laid my head
down at the end of the night. It was then it surfaced, the line that echoed
somewhere in my head like a clanging cymbal.

“Tori and I are actually
family friends...”

I guess that confirmed
my suspicions. I could stop wondering
why
Kai would be interested in a
troubled girl like me. He was doing me a favor. He was simply being a friend
because Jack and Stacie were
his
friends. It all made perfect sense now.

Well, I didn’t need any
more friends. The solo life fit me just fine. At least it had, until about four
days ago when some hot islander had checked me for a concussion.

Tomorrow is going to be a long day...

“Knock, knock!”

Stacie opened my door
as she was knocking.

What a great sense of
privacy I have in this house
.

I met her inquiring
gaze, refusing to give her the information she was seeking—unsolicited anyway.

“So...when is your date
with Kai?” Stacie asked.

“First of all, it’s
not
a date. And he’ll be here around eleven.” 

“Oh, well
s-o-r-r-y
Broom-Hilda. I didn’t know you would be waking up on the wrong side of the bed
on
date
day
...maybe I should tell Kai you’ll meet him there on
your broomstick,” she said, laughing at her own lame joke.

I chucked a pillow at
her, purposefully missing her rounded belly. She threw up her hands in mock
surrender.

“Now, what ever will
you wear my dear Tori?”

Stacie loved fashion.
No, Stacie was
obsessed
with fashion. Whenever she spoke of it, her eyes
lit up all crazy-like and she changed her speech to sound like she had been
born a Brit. I sighed deeply, remembering my bathing suit dilemma.

I had one of course, but
the body it fit was quite different than the body I had acquired with all my
running over the last year. Downplaying the matter for my audience, I told
Stacie of my issue.

“Oh my, now that won’t
do! No one needs you losing any clothing on your first date,” she said,
sounding far too much like Mary Poppins.

“Oy...Stacie, please!”
I grabbed another pillow to chuck at her.

“Truce! Truce! Okay...fine.
Come into my closet and let’s see what we can find for you.”

I followed Stacie into
her gigantic walk-in closet. It was lined with the kind of shelving I had only
ever seen in magazines. She had at least seventy pairs of shoes, all of which
were perfectly organized. Her color-coordinated wardrobe boxed me in on all
sides.

On the back wall were
pull-out drawers, all evenly spaced with a hand-sized cut out for easy access.
Inside one near the top, lay roughly ten bathing suits.

“Obviously, I won’t need
any of these suits in the near future. This baby is not really helping my
figure out these days,” Stacie said, patting her tummy. 

Her fourth month of
pregnancy had only accentuated her gorgeous figure, causing her to glow with
what looked like a fairy-like sparkle. She was stunning, no doubt about it.

Oh Jack, I’m sorry
you’re missing this.

“Your figure looks better
than ever, Stacie. Stop being ridiculous,” I scolded. I put my hand on her
belly like I’d done a couple of times this past week. Hugs might have made me
uncomfortable, but touching this new little life—even just through the skin of
Stacie’s tight abdomen—was simply amazing.

I wonder what you are
little one?

Rifling through her
drawers I found a suit that fit almost perfectly. It was a coral and lime
tankini with matching board shorts. I could be comfortable in that. I put them
on while Stacie raved in approval, complimenting my skin-tone and trim legs.

I pulled on an
additional white tank and threw a change of clothes in a beach bag. Checking my
face and hair in the mirror, I decided against eye makeup. Most likely it would
have ended up everywhere but my eyes by the end of the day anyway; water and
makeup didn’t mix so well. I’d never been a fan of the
raccoon-eye
. I
pulled my hair up into a messy bun and met Kai downstairs. He had already made
himself at home, talking to Stacie. 

He is just a family friend,
keep that in mind.

“Hey Tori,” Kai said as
I hit the bottom of the stairs.

Stacie turned toward me
and winked. 

“Hey,” I said, ignoring
Stacie as best I could.

“Have you recovered
from last night?” Kai asked. The concern in his voice was unmistakable. My eyes
screamed a warning at him, while Stacie looked at me inquisitively.

“What happened last
night?” she asked me.

“Uh-”

“It was just a really
busy evening. Lots of stupid college students drinking too much. It made for a
bit of a madhouse in the ER,” Kai said.

At least he’s quick on
his feet.

“Oh, phew! Don’t scare
me like that,” Stacie said, swatting at his shoulder.

“Sorry, won’t happen
again,” Kai said, his eyes never straying from mine. 

I was grateful he had
understood me. I didn’t need mother-hen-Stacie giving me any more grief on
when, what, or how I lived. If she even knew half of all I’d been exposed to,
she’d lock me away in a closet till I was forty.

“Ready?” Kai asked,
extending his arm so I could walk out first.

I doubt it.

“If you are,” I said.

**********

The drive to Rockwall
had always been one of my favorites. It wasn’t far from central Dallas, yet it
felt like a world away. Surrounded by water and trees, the setting was simply
beautiful.

I was definitely
surprised to see two Jet Skis on a trailer behind Kai’s truck. I had never been
on one before, and I hoped I wouldn’t make a total idiot out of myself. Kai, as
usual, seemed confident, happy and relaxed.

“Sorry about that back
there. I didn’t realize you wouldn’t want Stacie to know what happened last
night with that college punk,” he said.

“That’s okay. The less
she knows about my job hazards the better—for everyone.” 

Kai looked like he
wanted to say something more on the matter, but re-directed instead.

“So, ever been on a Jet
Ski before?” he asked.

“Nope, this will be my
first time.” I tried to sound nonchalant. I doubted I’d pulled it off, though.
I wasn’t a very good actress.

“Great! It’s not hard
to learn, I promise. Once you get the hang of it, it’s really fun. My buddy Briggs,
from the station and I take these bad boys out several times a month. It’s kind
of nice to operate something so compact every once in awhile.”

I looked out at the
lake from my window as his truck slowed to a halt.

Before I knew it, Kai
was helping me out of my seat. The skin he touched below my elbow seemed to
radiate with heat as tingles crawled up toward my shoulder. I moved out of his
grasp quickly, willing the sensation to stop.

I helped him untie the
Jet Skis and get them into position, pointing them out toward the lake. I felt
a flop of uneasiness in the base of my stomach, but tried to focus on the rush
I would soon feel instead.

“So what do you think?
Should we ride then eat? Eat then ride, or ride, eat, and ride some more? It’s
ladies choice
today.”

He laughed as he
gestured widely with his hands. I couldn’t help but smile.

Lunch? He made us
lunch?

“Hmm...Well, since you
put it like that, I’m up for doing my first lesson before lunch. Lead the way,”
I said.