Over You (7 page)

Jessica realized this was the longest conversations she’d had with him since the day before he had left her. The realization brought the sting of loss back to her and she suddenly needed to get off the phone. “Sure, come over anytime. She’ll be here.”

“Okay. I’ll be over in a little while.”

“Thanks.” Jessica hung up without waiting for his reply and wrapped her arms around her stomach, trying to get a grip on her emotions. Though proud she’d been able to have a relatively long conversation with him without falling apart, the after affect was that she felt a bit shaken.
 

“Jessica?” her aunt called out.

Forcing herself to control her emotions, she walked to the sunroom. “What can I get you, Ellen?”

“What have you found out?”

Jessica smiled despite herself and sat next to her aunt. “You were right, of course. No one was available for weeks.”

“And you called Kyle?”

“Yes.”

Ellen reached over and patted Jessica’s hand. “Good for you.” She watched Jessica for a moment. “And how did it go?”

“Fine, I guess. He’s going to come over and talk to you about what you want.”

Ellen nodded, looking pleased with herself.

“I wonder why he’s available when no one else is,” Jessica mused. “Is he even any good?”

“I’ve talked to other people who have hired him and they’ve been happy with his work. He’s just starting out in this area, so I think he just hasn’t developed a lot of business yet.”

“Well, I hope you don’t expect me to sit with the two of you when he comes over.”
 

“I suppose if you’ve taken all you can in regards to Kyle Judd for one day, then you may be excused from further torture.”

Jessica laughed. “I need to get some work done, so I really don’t have time.”

“I see,” Ellen said, obviously not buying her excuse.
 

An hour later, as Jessica sat in front of her laptop in the library working on her programming project, she heard a vehicle pull up to the house. Her heart began to pound as the stress of seeing Kyle face to face filled her mind. She pushed back her chair and walked over to the window.
 

Kyle was still in his truck, getting something from the passenger seat. Then he opened his door and stepped out. Jessica, hidden behind the curtains, watched as he confidently strode toward the house, up the stairs onto the porch, and to the front door. She noticed that he’d kept himself in remarkably good shape. Unbidden, the memory of his strong arms around her flashed in her mind.

The doorbell rang and she pushed away the remembered feeling as she walked to the door. Hesitating for only a moment, she turned the knob and pulled open the door. Kyle didn’t say anything, but instead just gazed into Jessica’s eyes.

Refusing to be drawn in, Jessica glanced away first. “Thanks for coming so fast.” She looked over her shoulder. “Ellen’s in the sunroom.” Opening the door wider, Jessica motioned toward the back of the house. “I believe you know the way.”

“It’s good to see you again,” Kyle said.

Surprised by his comment, Jessica turned to face him. “I have to get back to work.” Then she left him standing in the entry, and walked into the library. Ignoring him, she heard him walking through the living room and toward her aunt.

Sighing with relief that that was over with, she sat at the desk and tried to work, but her mind kept wandering as she heard his voice so close by. Finally, the voices in the sunroom ceased and she heard him walking toward the front door. If she looked up, she would be able to see him as he approached the front door, but she kept her focus on her laptop, studiously ignoring the sound of his footsteps as they got closer to the entry.

She could tell he had stopped in the entry, and could feel his eyes on her.

“I’ll be back first thing in the morning.”

She barely lifted her gaze from her computer screen. “’Kay.” Then she stared at her screen once again.

He stood where he was for another moment, then opened the door and let himself out. Jessica raised her head and stared at the spot where Kyle had been standing seconds before.

Why is his presence making me so crazy? I thought I’d put him in my past.
She shook her head and frowned, angry with herself for allowing him to have any affect on her. And dreading his arrival the next morning.

Chapter Nine

That night, though Jessica slept in her bed at the insistence of her aunt, she hardly slept at all. Combined with the worry of her aunt needing her during the night, she kept replaying scenes from the past. Scenes where she and Kyle had spent hours together, having a fantastic time—playing board games, going out to dinner, going bowling, and just sitting together quietly talking about their future.

The memories of them talking about their future hurt the most. They’d had so many plans. After their wedding they were going to travel. They’d spent hours imagining the places they’d visit and the things they would do on those trips. But all that had been destroyed in a moment when Kyle had unceremoniously dumped her.

Jessica realized her pillow was wet with her tears. What he had done still hurt deeply, she admitted to herself. She hadn’t gotten over it at all.

“Jessica?” her aunt called out.

Glancing at the clock, she saw it was nearly time to get up. She hurried down the stairs and to her aunt’s side. “What is it? What can I get you?”

“I think there’s something wrong with my ankle. It really hurts today.”

“Let me take a look.” Jessica lifted the blankets to look at her aunt’s ankle, which was elevated on a stack of pillows. She gently touched her aunt’s ankle, which was red and swollen and hot to the touch. “Oh, Ellen. I think it might be infected.”

“Well that figures. First I’m one of the few whose ankle injury requires surgery. Then of that group I’m one of the rare ones whose wound becomes infected. Maybe I should play the lottery. It seems I’m winning all the odds.”

Jessica smiled. “I’ll call the doctor. I’m sure he’ll want you to come right in.” She called the doctor’s office and left a message with his answering service. A short time later a nurse called back and when Jessica described her aunt’s ankle, the nurse suggested they go to the emergency room to have it looked at immediately as the surgeon was in surgery and wouldn’t be available to look at Ellen’s ankle until later that day.

Within an hour they were waiting to be called back to see the physician on duty. A short time later, when Ellen was taken to an exam room, Jessica went with her. It didn't’ take long for the physician to pronounce that the ankle was infected. “I’d like to check you in to the hospital and start an intravenous treatment,” the doctor said. “I think your recent bout with the flu must have weakened your immune system.”

Jessica stayed with her aunt as she was checked in and taken to her room. Once Ellen was settled, they inserted the IV and began the treatment.

“I’m rather tired, Jessica,” Ellen said. “Why don’t you go on home. I know you have work you need to do, and I’d like to sleep.”

“Are you sure? I could bring my laptop here and work.”

“I’ll sleep better if I’m not worrying about keeping you here.”

Jessica knew she really did need to focus on getting some work done, or her employer would find someone else to do the project. “Okay. I’ll go back to the house, but promise you’ll call me if you need me.”

Ellen smiled. “I promise.”

“Okay. I’ll be back later today.”

As Jessica drove home, she thought about how her aunt hadn’t been feeling well before she hurt her ankle, and was worried that her body might have trouble fighting off this new threat.
 

I’m sure the hospital will take good care of her, she thought as she turned up the drive to her aunt’s house. As she passed through the trees, the house came into view and Jessica felt her heart give a jolt when she saw Kyle’s truck parked out front and him sitting in the front seat. In all the excitement of getting her aunt to the hospital and then getting her settled, she’d completely forgotten that Kyle was coming to the house to begin work.

She parked her Honda and took a moment to gather herself before climbing out of her car. Kyle had gotten out of his truck and was standing next to it. Jessica walked toward him but stopped about ten feet away.

“Is everything okay?” he asked. “I got here a little while ago and no one was home.”

Keeping a safe distance, she said, “I had to take Ellen to the hospital. Her ankle is infected.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” He glanced toward Jessica’s car. “Are they keeping her there?”

“For now, yes.”

“Does she still want me to go ahead with the work or does she want me to wait until she’s home?”

If only, she thought. “She didn’t say anything about waiting.”

Kyle smiled and his eyes seemed to sparkle. “Then let me get my gear and I’ll get started.”

Irritated that his smile still had the ability to distract her, she frowned. “I’ll be working so I’d appreciate it if you didn’t interrupt me unless it’s an emergency.”

“Sure thing, Jess,” he said, still smiling.

“I’d rather you didn’t call me that.”

When he didn’t respond, she walked past him and up the porch steps, then let herself into the house. After booting up her laptop, she tried to immerse herself in her programming project, but when Kyle walked in the house carrying his tools, she found herself looking toward the entry where he stood. Their eyes met and he smiled again.

“Don’t let me interrupt,” he said, then he went up the stairs.

Jessica turned back to her work, but every time she heard a tool being used, her attention was drawn to Kyle’s presence. She pictured him working, his brow furrowed in concentration, his spectacular eyes focused on his task, and found herself longing for the time when they were together and his focus was always on her. He’d always made her feel special, like no one and nothing else was as important as her.
 

Lost in her memories, at first she didn’t notice that the sounds had stopped. Suddenly she realized all was quiet and glanced around, expecting to see Kyle standing there. But she was alone. Pushing back from the desk, she walked to the window and looked out and saw Kyle getting something from his truck. He turned and walked back toward the house. Jessica scurried away from the window and into the kitchen where Kyle wouldn’t be able to see her.

“This is ridiculous,” she muttered. Even so, she waited until it sounded like Kyle had gone upstairs before going back into the library. She picked up her laptop and brought it into the sunroom, then put in her earbuds and turned up the volume on her iPod before resuming her work. This time she was able to work steadily until late afternoon, when she decided Ellen would be ready for her to visit.

Removing her earbuds, Jessica shut down her laptop and stretched, then fixed herself something to eat. She wondered if she should say anything to Kyle before leaving and decided she probably should. Heading for the stairs, Jessica listened, but didn’t hear anything. She climbed the stairs and entered the master bedroom and didn’t see Kyle, then went into the bathroom. Though she could see he’d made some progress, he wasn’t there. She went to the window and looked down at the front yard and saw that Kyle’s truck was gone.

For some reason, it bothered her that he’d left without saying anything.

Typical, she thought. Just like when he ended our relationship. Why should I expect anything different now?
 

She left the bedroom and walked down the stairs, then went out to her car and headed toward the hospital.

~*~*~

 
“You’re sure it’s in the attic?” Jessica asked.

“Well, no. But if it’s not there, I don’t know where it is.”

“And you need it right away?”

“Well, I guess not, but I’d like to have it, if it’s not too much trouble.”

Jessica smiled. “Of course I’ll look for it, if it’s important to you.”

“Thank you, dear.” Ellen settled back on her pillows.
 

“Is there anything else I can get you or do for you?”

“How is the work in my bathroom coming along?” Ellen asked, a mischievous smile on her face.

Frowning, Jessica sighed. “Okay, I guess.”

“So, Kyle does good work?”

Jessica tried not to glare at her aunt. “It’s too early to tell. He’s only been working for one day.”

Ellen chuckled. “All right. I’ll stop pestering you about him.” Lifting her water from the bedside table, she sipped from the straw, then set the glass down. “I’m just looking forward to having a nice bathroom when I come home.”

“It’s going to take a little time for him to finish the job.” Jessica drew her eyebrows together. “How long do you think you’ll be in here, anyway?”

“The doctor says I might need to go to a nursing home while I recover.”

“A nursing home? Why can’t you come home and let me take care of you?”

“I asked him that very question and he said this infection is serious enough that he wants it monitored closely, and staying in the hospital for more than a few days is
too expensive, so he said the next best option would be a nursing home. But it would only be temporary.”

“Oh, Ellen. I’m so sorry.”

“I don’t think it will be so bad. I had a friend who had to do the same thing once, and she survived.”

Jessica saw through her aunt’s bravado. “Do you think it would help if I spoke to the doctor?”

“It certainly wouldn’t hurt, but I don’t know if it will make any difference. When he talked to me he seemed convinced that the nursing home was the best option.”

Jessica visited with her aunt for a while longer, then just before she was going to find the doctor, the man entered the room.

“Dr. Davis, this is my niece, Jessica Stevens.”

“Hello,” he said. “Your aunt told me you’re staying at her house.”

“Yes, I plan on being there for as long as she needs me.”

He nodded.
 

“Dr. Davis,” Jessica began. “Ellen tells me that you plan on sending her to a nursing home to recover. What do you think of the idea of having her come home where I can care for her instead?”