Crashing Into Tess (19 page)

“And how is Harrish?”
Harrish?
She glanced at her half
empty glass.
Am I beginning to slur? Better not even try to
pronounce Zweigstick, swigstitch......whatever.

“Doin’ quite well, ma’am, thanks for your concern. The
missus planted some of that grass you suggested, and he’s
taken to that quite fine. Might be that’ll take care o’ th’
hairballs.”

“Yes, wheat grass usually does the trick, if they like it,”
Doc nodded, with a smile for Tess. Mr. Swigstick. . .
Zweigstich!
moved off, and Tess faced a wall of strangers.
Or were they? Had she met them before?

She was face to face with Vicki’s girl posse. Big hair
teased in front, all in lame and sequins with too much
makeup and high heels like ice-picks, they tried to stare her
down.
Like a gang of alley cats.
Somewhat startled, she
plastered a silly smile on her face and turned back to join
Doc. He was chatting with Stuart and Brett, and she heard
the smallest girl hiss loudly, “Does she think she’ll
monopolize the testosterone in the room all night long?”

“Just let her try,” Vicki laughed.
Hissssss. Their claws
look lethal.
Looking straight at Tess, she mouthed
“Stewhair.” “Stewhair!” another said, “Stewhair, stewhair!”
All the girls broke into laughter and a chill went down
Tess’s spine.
What are they talking about? Stew Hair?
Stewart, Stuart, like Stuart Tarleton?

Doc was offering his standard introduction to more
people she didn’t know.“Here’s Doctor Bamberger, you
might be meeting her soon at your place. She’s quite a
veterinarian.” Tess shook hands and smiled, greeting
ranchers and townspeople.

Jimmy and his mom and dad came by, and Tess asked
them about Sylve-essshhter.
Sylve-essshhter? Did someone
fill my wine glass again?

Aaron waved from across the room. “How’s your truck
running, Tess?”
“Great, thank you,” she smiled politely, lifting her glass
to him. “It’s working out fine.”

A roast of venison was brought to the carving board,
and the crowd began to assemble. Stuart and Brett guided
her to a place in line, and Tess feigned attention as they
launched into yet another tale of their hunting and fishing
exploits, sucking from her wine glass, letting her eyes roam
the room.
This could be a very long night.

Seated with Olivia and Cassie, Jake was steadfastly
ignoring her, his jaw set.
I’m just batting a thousand, here.
It’s not like I can leave the line, and just go sit with Jake.
Even though I want to. Even though I really, really want to.
Brett and Stuart were moving down the line. Tess
remembered how it felt to be next to Jake in bed, and
almost lost her balance.

Jake glanced her way, then furrowed his brow, tending
to Cassie.
Great, he’s being very clear about how he feels
about me. And his ex wife and her gal pals are pretty clear
about it, too. They’re making mincemeat, I mean
“stewhair”, of me.
.

The room was starting to spin. Loud conversation and
the rich aroma of food washed over Tess in tangled waves.
A shadow hovered at her elbow. “Mind if I join you?”
Aaron buzzed, above the din.

“Not at all,” Tess answered, stepping back, hoping at
least for variety in the conversation. But the talk of caliber
and range and sighting and tracking only turned to head
gaskets and shocks and struts and transmissions and
carburetors.

“That one I got with my twenty-two...” crowed Stuart.
“After the head gasket blew...” thundered Aaron.
“Turkey season, we use pellet shot...” squawked Brett.
Stuart Tarleton asked her about his hunting dog’s habit

of marking trees to establish territory. She answered
politely, then drained her wine glass.
So this is the prize for
Testosterone Monopoly? The Pointer Pee Zone Award?
Her
wine was gone, just a tiny purple ring left at the bottom of
her glass.
And where is the wine fairy when I need her?

Ahead, Vicki was serving on the buffet, the only woman
not wearing an apron.
Because an apron would defeat the
effect of all that lame stretched over her armored Wonder
bra, and cover her cleavage.
Vicki’s girl posse filed
through the buffet ahead of Tess, yakking and giggling and
calling attention to themselves. The tiny girl who liked
Stuart leaned over the buffet pan to purr a secret to Vicki.
Vicki threw her head back with a peal of laughter, and both
of them turned to look at Tess with narrowed eyes.

I’d trade places in the Testosterone Monopoly game, to
make some new girlll friendssshhh. But they’re not very
nice-sssh
Feeling doomed and miserable, Tess glanced
towards Jake just as he turned away, pretending not to
notice her.

Aaron and the Tarleton boys filled their plates, then
headed for the carving boards. Bea and Alice smiled
encouragement while Tess took small portions of pan
roasted potatoes, pumpkin soup and smoked trout.

“How is it out there?” Alice asked, perky as ever.
“Social hour with Doc was fine. But I’ve been acco
ssh
-
ted by Brett and Stuart and Aaron, and it’s been non-stop
talk of caliber and range and engine lube ever since. I’m
dodging bullet
sh
out there, Ali
ssh
,” Tess complained,
rolling her eyes in bewilderment. “Vicki’s friends keep
shooting me look
sh
to kill.”
“Poor thing. The Tarleton boys are considered real
catches around here. They’re almost inseparable, and they
can talk. Oh well, bet you made Sherri happy, and you
certainly got Jake’s attention.”
“Right, just the attention I want, he’s barely said a thing
to me all night long. Oh, Alice, pleas
sh
let me come in
back and help you clean up, afterwards,” Tess begged.
“Sure, take cover with us married ladies as soon as you
finish dinner, Tess. There’s plenty to do in the back. And I
doubt Vicki will stick around for the real work. She’s just
serving to flirt with the men and make Bea happy,” Alice
whispered.
She tottered past the pan of rice in front of Vicki, but
that didn’t keep Vicki from whispering “Stewhair” as she
passed. Dipping into the crock of requisite antelope stew,
Tess filled a dish, taking just a single slice of venison roast
at the carving board. Doc was with a group of men standing
near the kitchen door, a pitcher of beer between them,
waiting for all the others to go through the line, and Stuart
and Brett had disappeared. When Tess finally saw them,
they were taking seats across from Aaron, at Vicki’s girl
posse table.
Well, that’s not an option.
Despairing, her eyes scanned the room. Gertrude gave
her a big smile. Next to Gertrude was Jake, who glanced
her way. When he realized she was alone, he stood up.
Smiling, devastatingly handsome, he motioned for her
to join them. Tess’s breath caught, and she started down the
crowded aisle, trying not to wobble.
He’s waiting for me!
She passed Stuart and Brett, ducking and chewing and
gesturing enthusiastically, all elbows and angles. A bowl of
stew skittered off the table, landing on the floor in front of
her. As it spattered her boots, Tess realized it had come
from the little girl who’d made the testosterone comment,
now seated beside Stuart.
Oh.
Keeping her plate level, Tess started around the
giant puddle, wondering if she should offer to help clean it
up. An ice-pick heel shot out, tripping her. She slipped,
losing her balance, sliding on the gravy. Suddenly, there
was too much room inside her new boots. A piece of
cornbread skidded off her plate and bounced on the floor,
and she was going down, she just knew it. She caught a
glimpse of Jake’s concerned face as she floundered, then
fell, sliding face first through the puddle of stew.
The room had gone dead quiet by the time her plate
clattered to the floor next to her. She heard titters from
Vicki’s girl posse as she lifted her head, hair dripping into
the puddle of stew.
“Stewhair,”
someone whispered, but no
one laughed.
Above her, Aaron asked, “Tess, you okay?”
Too mortified to be certain if the pain in her left arm
was real or imagined, Tess stayed silent, very still, waiting
for the floor to open up and swallow her.
Then Alice was there, wiping her off with a towel,
wrapping a big white kitchen apron around her dress. A
very real pain seared up her arm, and shot into her armpit.
“My arm,” she whispered to Alice.
“What?” Alice asked, green eyes wide as she helped her
up. They both looked at Tess’s left hand, dangling at a
weird angle. Sick with pain, Tess pressed against Alice.
Don’t dare cry, Stewhair! Just don’t cry!
“Oh, my god,
Tess, is it broken?” Leaning on Alice, she hobbled towards
the kitchen. “It’s broken, isn’t it?”
Bea and Doc and even Olivia came up, surrounding her
with a protective cloud of concerned murmurs. Once in
back, Alice helped her to a chair, filled a wine glass and set
it in front of her, while Doc tore into a cardboard box,
quickly managing a makeshift splint with packing tape.
Stewhair!
Shaking her head, Tess gulped wine, trying to
forget the teased hair, vicious red lipped taunts, and finally,
the ice pick heel that shot out just as the stew was being
spilled.
They planned this.
Numbly, she thought of the look on Jake’s face as she
walked towards him, then later, as she fell. Feeling her
insides collapse, she reached up with her good hand,
squeezing gravy from her hair, focusing on the ladies still
bustling around like little hens, ferrying hot pans to the
sink, cleaning out chafing dishes and wrapping food, to
keep from crying.
Eyeing her sympathetically, they made up care
packages for Bea and Jake and Alice and Doc and Olivia
and Gertrude and Cassie, who hadn’t eaten.
Jake entered the kitchen through a side door, and
conferred with Bea and Olivia, whileTess pretended to
watch a woman carrying an urn of coffee out to the buffet,
calling over her shoulder, “Let’s get those cheesecakes
sliced.”
He walked towards her, dark eyes sober. Queasy with
mortification, she was in too much pain to do anything
about the stew that dripped from her hair onto her dress, the
crumbs of cornbread still smashed against her chest.
“Pretty rough out there tonight, huh?” he asked quietly,
shocked concern on his face.
Tess only nodded.
If I open my mouth, I’ll start
wailing
.

Under the din, Jake’s voice was steady and comforting.
“I’m taking you to the hospital, okay? I’m just going to pull
the truck around. You want Alice to ride along, too?”

Alice bustled up, spread Tess’s magenta coat around her
shoulders, helping her through the side door into the lobby,
while Doc held her splint, careful not to jiggle it.

The high school girls are all gone.
“They had a pitcher
full of tips, all for marching band,” someone was saying,
before they saw her and quieted.

Chris Carson held the door for her, looking concerned
and solicitous. Then Jake opened the door from outside,
and a rush of cold air blew in.

Pushing down controlled fury at what he’d seen, Jake
put his arm around Tess’s ribs. “Just lean on me,” he said
quietly.

Alice hurried off, but Doc stayed with them, holding
Tess’s arm steady. Doc met Jake’s eye chagrined, shaking
his head, saying nothing.
He saw this happen, too.

As they helped Tess into the truck, Doc held her splint,
and Alice came running out with a mound of clean rags.
“Oh, Tess, I’m so, so sorry about this, about all of it,”
he heard Alice say, as she propped the bundle under the
splint, to hold it steady. “Is this okay? Does it still hurt so
much?”
Tess’s eyes were dilated by pain. “Uh-huh, thanks,
Alice. I’ll need x-rays. Can you check on Rhiannon,
tonight? I’ll call you later.”
“Of course, Tess,” she answered. “I can take care of the
dog, and then come along right behind you, if you want. I’ll
be along in a flash.”
“I’m alright with just Jake. He and I have done this
hospital thing once already.” Tess managed a wan smile.
Kissing her cheek, Alice shut the door.
As he pulled away from the curb, Alice and Doc and
Bea stood coatless, waving, gusts of cold night air mussing
their hair. The parking lot was still jammed with cars.
Heading for the highway, he asked, “You warm enough?”
“I’m okay,” she whimpered. But her right hand went to
her face and she started crying for real, sobbing and
shaking.
“Oh, Tess,” Jake said miserably. “I can’t even begin to
tell you how badly I feel about what happened in there.
Vicki and her friends were gunning for you all night,
weren’t they?”
“Yes,” Tess gasped, choking and hiccuping.“It was
terrible. She filed for custody, too, didn’t she?”
Jake dug on the dash for the tissue pack he kept for
Cassie. “Yeah, but I knew that was coming. We don’t have
to talk about this now; I know how upset you are. Your arm
really hurts, doesn’t it?”
“It does. I’m pretty sure the radius is fractured, and
there’s likely a hairline split the ulna too. I’m just hoping
it’s not a spiral fracture, then I’ll need pins.”
“You’d know,” he smiled, sticking a wad of tissues in
her right hand.
She blew her nose and swallowed hard. “Look, Jake, I
think I need to tell you something. It’s not because of what
happened tonight, I swear it. I wanted to talk to you before
I left for Philadelphia, but you were so upset about the
insurance, I couldn’t find the right time.”
“What’s up?” Jake asked, unable to miss a pothole.
Tess winced and caught her breath. “I’m worried about
Cassie.”
His eyes met Tess’s, dark with concern. “You’re
worried about Cassie? What’s going on?”
“Remember that day that you were at the clinic, when it
got crazy?” He nodded. “After you left, Bea took Vicki into
the back, so she didn’t make a scene. I heard Vicki tell
Cassie to get ready to go, but she went and hung around in
the dispensary.” Tess looked at him. “I think it was so that
Cassie would stay out front, out of her way.”
Jake nodded, brow furrowed, trying to figure out what
Tess was getting at. She continued, gasping a little with
pain. “I needed some tools from the dispensary. When I
went back. . .When I went back, Jake, to put the tools away,
Vicki stormed out past me. A door to one of the drug cases
was open, the one to the tranquilizers.”
“What are you saying, Tess?”
Facing him, she continued, “ My worst fear is that Vicki
might have been stealing some. . .”
“Some drugs?”
Stunned, he stared out the truck’s windshield,
squeezing the steering wheel as his mind worked.
Vicki’s
sure been erratic, and she’s capable of it. She’s capable of
anything, after what I saw tonight. What’s been going on in
my poor kid’s life?
Dimly, he heard Tess’s pinched voice saying, “I hate to
jump to conclusions, but it’s been on my mind for a long
time now, especially because Cassie seems so anxious
when she’s with her mother. I know it could have been
some gum or lipstick or something, but I had to say
something to somebody, and I thought it should be you.”
He looked into Tess’s pained, worried eyes, and
swallowed hard. “You did the right thing, by telling me,”
he said. After a few silent minutes, he asked, “Is there
anything else? I don’t want to pressure you, but if anything
is else worrying you, I’d really like to know about it.”
“Ron showed up this afternoon outside the thrift store,
asking about the accident, insinuating that I was too
concussed to tell if you were drinking. I stuck up for you,
though.”
He touched her left knee. “Thanks, Tess. I’m really,
really sorry about all of this.”
After they’d wheeled her into x-ray, he called Alice.
“I’ll have Doc inventory the meds first thing tomorrow,
Jake. Whatever the outcome, it surely won’t be held against
Tess. You can’t be too careful in this business, we all know
that.”
“Thanks, Alice. Cassie’s with Olivia tonight. The doc’s
ordered a room for Tess. It’ll be late by the time the bone is
set and she’s casted. I’ll stay and bring her home in the
morning. She’s going to need company tomorrow, though,
Alice. Cassie will need me, and Tess will need rest and
quiet. I can’t be in two places.”
“No problem. Just text me when you leave the hospital.
I’ll grab some groceries, and meet you at her place.”
“Thanks, Al, I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“You bet, Jake. I love you guys, you know that.”
He stayed with Tess while the radiologist reviewed the
x-rays. When they took her in to be casted, he called his
attorney at home, and then dialed Aunt Olivia.
“I’m as concerned as you are, nephew,” Olivia agreed.
“But Cassie’s fine here, sleeping soundly. Stella’s coming
in the morning, first thing, so don’t worry about us. I want
you to stay with Tess as long as she needs you, Jake, I mean
that. You and Alice are all she has right now, and this must
have come as a terrible shock for her. I still can’t quite
grasp what Vicki and friends put Tess through. Judge Reilly
may be willing to resolve things right away on Monday, if
there’s reason to believe Vicki is abusing medication. He’s
no stranger to your ex-wife’s character, I’m afraid.”
“I’ve seen Vicki do some cruel and destructive things,
but what happened with Tess tonight takes the cake.”
“It certainly does. And it may have been criminal, as
well. Tess’s parents’ are attorneys. She may press charges.”
After Jake said goodnight to his aunt, he glanced at the
clock on the wall.
Ten-thirty here, seven-thirty in
Philadelphia. What’s a good time to meet the parents?
Exactly twenty minutes after they’d wheeled Tess to be
casted, he introduced himself to her father.
“Glad that you called, son. Tess explained to us what
happened with that police report. I’m, er, very sorry for the
confusion. Perhaps we owe you an apology,” Richard said
gruffly, after they’d discussed Tess’s injury.
“I know how I would have felt, sir, in your shoes. I’ve
got a little girl, too, you know. You don’t need to say
anymore.”
“I don’t have much background in criminal law or
police misconduct, but I can, er, find some contacts in
Denver, if you need them,” Richard growled.
“I appreciate the thought. I’ll let you know if I need any
resources, sir.” Jake didn’t dare mention Tess’s case against
Vicki and her friends.
It was serious, but she’ll have my
head if I involve her parents.
“You’ll stay with her then, tonight?” Richard asked,
trying to hide his concern.
“I will. Tess won’t leave my sight until I’m certain she
is okay. Alice has offered to stay at the apartment as long as
Tess needs her.”
“Very good. Perhaps Tess will call us, when the
doctor’s finish with her.”
Jake didn’t miss the worry in her father’s voice. “She’ll
be in recovery in just a few minutes, sir,” he assured
Richard.“I’ll pass on your request. If she’s not up to it
herself, I’ll call to let you know how she’s doing.”
“I can’t ask for more than that, Jake. She’s lucky to
have friends like you and Alice. She was very angry with
us, for getting in the middle of things, you know.”
“You have a very special daughter, Richard, and I’m not
only speaking for myself. Everyone here loves her,
including my daughter Cassie. We were sorry to hear of
your health condition.”
“Oh, I’m on the mend, thankfully, just worried about
Tess. Well, there’s not much more to say now, is there?
Thank you again for calling.”
“Good night, sir.”