Fire Angel (26 page)

She opened her eyes, relieved to see that the room was in semi-darkness. She tried to sit up, but her brain threatened to explode, so she put her head down again. She turned first to the left and then to the right, frightened by the various tubes connected to her arms. She pulled at the oxygen cannula in her nose and removed it. Where was she? The room did not seem to be in the least bit familiar. This wasn't her bed, nor was it the bed in Jake's guest room, and it didn't look like any hospital room that she'd ever seen. What had happened to her?

As her eyes grew accustomed to the dim light, she realized that Jake was in the chair beside her bed. She reached out her hand to touch his. Something told her that he had been by her side for a long time.

“Jake?” she croaked, afraid that he would not hear her, but the slight sound woke him.

“Hey, honey. How do you feel?” he asked reaching for her hand.

“Thirsty.”

He held a cup of water to her mouth and allowed her to sip from the straw.

“Easy does it, just a little bit. How does your head feel?”

“Like there's a herd of angry elephants tap-dancing in it,” she replied and tried to smile. “What happened? Where am I?”

“I have to get the doctor and I'll be right back; then I'll answer as many of your questions as I can.” He bent over and kissed her gently. “I'm so glad to see those kitty-cat eyes of yours open.” He stood up on his crutches and left the room.

Alexis barely had time to wonder about the kiss when he re-entered with a man and a woman — Minette and David.

“Hello, Alexis, welcome back.” Minette said, sounding like a nurse, and shoving an electronic thermometer into her ear. “This is David, Jake's brother. He's a doctor and he's going to examine you.” At the confused look on her face, Minette asked: “Do you understand?”

Alexis nodded, instantly regretting the movement, but she didn't understand any of it. Wasn't David in Afghanistan?

“Hi Alexis, Do you remember me? We saw one another briefly on Skype a little while back, and although we haven't actually met, Mila and Jake have told me all about you.”

Alexis was confused. Nothing was making sense. All this was making her head hurt even more.

“My head hurts,” she said. He flashed a light in her eyes several times, seemed satisfied with the results and nodded. “That's because my brother dropped a house on it.” He laughed.

“I'll have Minette bring you something for the headache, but we've kept you pretty sedated, so some of the pain could be the drug hangover. Are you hungry? I had some of the soup earlier and it's delicious. Min's a great cook as I'm sure you know. The sooner you get your appetite back, the faster you can get back on your feet. You'll be as weak as a kitten for a couple of days yet.”

At the mention of food, her stomach growled, making them all laugh.

“I'll get soup and an analgesic,” said Minette and left the room.

“I'll just go and get cleaned up while you examine her,” said Jake before following Minette out.

“You know, you had us all worried; I've never seen my brother quite so upset. I'm going to turn up the lights so I can take a better look at you; let me know if they make the pain worse.” David turned a dimmer switch until the room was lit adequately and came to stand beside her.

“How's that?”

“It's no worse than it was,” she answered. “Now tell me, where am I and what happened?”

“The where is easy; you're at the Clear Lake Rehab Center, your uncle's place. It was the safest place Jake could think of, given the circumstances. As to what happened, I think Jake needs to tell you that.” He removed her bandage.

“This is healing well. It'll leave a scar, but it's inside the hairline, so it shouldn't show. You were lucky. Jackson had a number of broken bones, but he's doing well. Jake wrecked his prosthesis, but he's fine too. He was banged up a bit, but I think his ego suffered the most damage. I'll have my fiancée get rid of all these wires and bags as soon as she comes back with your soup. I think we can dispense with them now. She'll help you get cleaned up before we bring in more company. That should make you feel better too. I promised Mila that she could come and see you when you woke up, but she's asleep at the moment, so I'll reserve that treat for tomorrow.”

“Minette is your fiancée?”

“Yes, I thought you knew that. Didn't Jake talk about anyone else but himself?” Her confusion must have shown on her face because he asked,” Who did you think she was?”

“I thought she was in love with Jake, waiting for him to get over his wife.”

David's face got very serious. “Jake got over his wife five years ago; what he hasn't been able to get over is his misplaced guilt, but that's something else he needs to tell you himself.”

“I thought he was still in love with her,” she said, tears forming in her eyes.

“I doubt he ever truly loved her. Besides, he was really broken up when you disappeared back then. You guys need to figure this out on your own.”

Minette walked in with the bowl of soup and the pain killers.

She placed the tray on the table and swung it across Alexis's lap.

David winked at Alexis and then gave instructions for the removal of the IVs and other paraphernalia. He turned to Alexis.

“Eat your soup, let Minette help you clean up, talk to my brother, and then get some sleep. You may have been out of it for nine days, but now your body needs regular sleep to heal.”

“Nine days! I've been unconscious nine days? Are you kidding me?” She grabbed her pounding head.

“Alexis, talk to Jake. He'll explain it all, and be kind; the guy feels really badly about this.” David left the room.

Nine days? She had lost nine days? The last thing she remembered was Jake coming through the door with coffee. She absent-mindedly spooned soup into her mouth until she'd finished the bowl.

Minette helped her to the washroom to get cleaned up, and when they returned, Alexis felt like she'd been on a ten mile hike, uphill all the way. Exhausted, she laid her head against the pillow and dozed. The sound of the door opening woke her, but instead of Jake, her uncle Nick stood in the doorway.

“May I come in, Alexis?” he asked.

Too surprised to think straight, she nodded, the movement making her wince. His voice sounded familiar, and yet she could have sworn she hadn't heard it in sixteen years.

He walked into the room and closed the door behind him. He limped and his back was stooped. Gone was the larger than life, fire and brimstone spewing man of her youth.

“I'm glad to see that you're awake. Jake is eager to get back in here, but I asked him to give me a few moments. I've spent a lot of time in that chair praying, child, and I know that you probably don't want me here, but please, hear me out.”

Alexis stared at the broken man before her. She knew that he spoke the truth. On some level, she understood that he had been in here with her. Was this the man who had terrorized her so many years ago? He looked so small, so frail. She wanted to yell and scream at him for all the pain she had suffered, but she couldn't.

“It's okay, Uncle Nick. I'm not angry any more. I'll listen to you.”

“I have no excuse for my past behavior. For many years, I lived in a hell of my own making and terrorized everyone who was dear to me. I was a monster, caught in the grips of an alcohol addiction and it cost me everything that I loved.” He hung his head briefly and she could see that his grief was real.

“I did terrible things to you, things for which I am deeply ashamed. I know that I can never make it up to you.” Tears streamed unnoticed down his thin cheeks.

“Alexis, when I saw you at the hospital in North Bay, I prayed the Lord would heal you, so that I could have the chance to atone for what I've done to you; you deserved far better than what I gave you, and I will regret how I treated you and my loved ones for the rest of my life. I believe my Lord has forgiven me, and I hope someday you can too.” His eyes pleaded with her.

“You're the only family that I have left. Can we set the past aside and start again? Can we at least be civil and keep in touch?”

“I honestly don't know what to say, Uncle Nick. It's hard to forget; if Gramps hadn't come for me, would you even have cared?”

“I did care, Alexis. By the time you were injured in that fire in Toronto, I had killed my wife and son with my drinking. I agreed not to fight your grandfather for custody when he contacted me; however, that didn't mean that I didn't care. I did what I thought you wanted. In my own sick way, I have always cared about you. You are my brother's daughter.”

She stared at the shattered man standing next to her bed. Could she continue to hate him without that hatred poisoning her soul? What had Gramps said about the past? You couldn't change it or relive it, but you could learn from it. She reached out her hand to touch his shoulder. He looked up at her.

“How did the accident happen?” she asked.

“You deserve to know, I guess. I'll never forget it. Emily wasn't feeling well and she'd asked me not to make her go to that reception, but it was Friday night, and the need for alcohol was clawing at my belly. How could I pass up free drinks? I got drunk as I usually did and James had been sneaking drinks all night as well. When Emily got sick, it forced me to leave before I was ready to go, and I was angry. She offered to drive, but in my arrogance, I insisted on getting behind the wheel.” He paused, his eyes staring into the past.

“It was foggy and I was driving much too fast for the road conditions. I kept nodding off and she yelled at me more than once to stop and let her drive. It only made me angrier. I was falling asleep again when her scream woke me and a huge bull moose stood on the road about twenty feet in front of us. I slammed on the brakes, but I wasn't fast enough. The moose hit the right side of the car. James died instantly; your aunt lingered long enough to tell me she loved me and forgave me. I'll never forgive myself.” He hung his head and the silence thundered between them.

Alexis shivered remembering how close she had come to that same fate.

“When this is over,” she said “We'll talk. After I left here, I hit some rough patches, but things worked out for the best. I have no regrets; if I hadn't left, I would never have had eleven wonderful years with Gramps, I can't hold those against you. Thank you for giving me a place to recuperate. I'm tired right now, but I need to speak to Jake. Come and see me again in the morning and we'll talk some more.”

He looked like a starving dog that had just been tossed a bone; the gratitude on his face was painful to see. He leaned over, took her hand in his and squeezed gently.

“Stay as long as you need to; this place is as much yours as it is mine. I'll see you in the morning.” He got up and left the room.

She'd managed to tidy her blankets and sit up when Jake came in. He looked wonderful and awful. His eyes were shadowed as if he had not slept and she wondered how many nights he had spent in that chair beside her bed.

His hair was still wet from a shower and he wore clean clothes — another of those plaid flannel shirts he loved and a pair of jeans. She could learn to love that style; in fact, plaid was quickly becoming her favorite color. He walked with crutches, the left pant leg empty.

“Hi,” he said as he moved the chair as close to the bed as possible. He sat and placed the crutches on the floor beside him.

“I should be able to wear my new leg tomorrow. Feeling better?”

“Hi yourself,” she said her eyes shining. “I feel clean if not better, and the headache isn't as bad; so, what happened? David tells me I've been out of it for nine days. What's the date?”

“December 13; you were in the hospital in North Bay for four days before we moved you here. I know that you spoke with your uncle and I hope you guys can work things out. I couldn't have protected you without him.”

He reached for her hand; he'd held it so much the last few days that he felt incomplete without it. He breathed a sigh of relief when she did not pull away, but instead wrapped her fingers around his.

“I suppose you want to know what happened,” he said shyly. She nodded.

“The killer booby-trapped the house; when the front door opened wide, a mechanism triggered something that made the ceiling collapse. We'll never know how he did it because there's nothing left of the house. When the ceiling caved in, it ruptured a couple of containers of gasoline which rained down on us.” He ran his free hand through his hair as he did when he was flustered.

“Alexis, I'm the one who triggered that switch; I did it when I opened the door to bring you coffee. Baby, I'm the one who dropped the ceiling on you. To make matters worse, the killer used my cell phone, the one I left in the truck, to set off a bomb that ignited the place. They got you out just in time; another minute, and I'd have lost you.” His voice caught on the last sentence, and he looked down.

Alexis turned to humor to lighten the moment. “I'm glad I'm not the Wicked Witch of the East.”

She squeezed his hand and reached over to touch his hair. Quietly but resolutely she continued, “This wasn't your fault, Jake. You didn't plan this, he did. It's another failed attempt on my life. Something must have gone wrong, like it did at Duffy's, because he couldn't count on your phone being there for him. For some reason, his must have failed. Did they salvage anything from the house?” she asked, trying to stay focused, but her heart was bouncing around in her chest, doing hand springs and somersaults.

He wasn't in love with Minette. He wasn't in love with Irena. She wanted to ask him about his wife, about the way he acted that led her to believe he was still in love with her, but she held back; she had to trust that he would tell her when the time was right.