Roping the Wind (28 page)

‘I have an old colleague called Barry Levarr who would be a great guy for you to talk with. I’ll tell him to call you.’

Jay straightened so abruptly he banged his head on the wood behind him. ‘Hold on, bro, I’m only speculating here. I don’t have the money or the experience to do this yet.’

His brother’s sigh sounded loud even down the phone. ‘Don’t worry about the money, OK? Just work on the idea and let me know.’

Jay closed his eyes. ‘I don’t want your money, Gray. I want to do this myself.’

‘You’re my brother. If I can’t help you out, who can I help? Where else are you going to get the money? Do you think Beau will pony up?’

Jay tried to relax his grip on the phone. ‘If I do what he says, he might.’

‘Jesus, Jay – whatever you’re thinking, don’t do it. Trust me, nothing is worth working for that bastard for, nothing.’

‘I’ll talk to you later, bro.’

Jay hung up even though Grayson was still shouting. He stared at his new cowboy boots, touched the smooth, rounded toe. Pointed toes were definitely for Hollywood cowboys only. If he went to work for his father for a few years, he’d be able to save enough money to start up his company and give Helen the kind of lifestyle she deserved. Was he willing to suck up to Beau if it meant achieving his dreams?

Hell, yeah.

He dialed an all too familiar number and held his breath.

Helen listened as the unfamiliar international dialing tone continued to ring. She checked the clock. It wasn’t too late, was it? She almost dropped the phone when someone picked up.

‘Hello?’

‘Hi, is this Dr Robert Grant?’

According to the internet, Robert was now head of a very successful research facility based at the Cambridge Science Park near the university campus. She was glad he’d done so well for himself.

‘Speaking.’

His distinctive English accent took her straight back to the drunken summer vacation they’d shared while students in southern California.

‘This is Helen Kinsale. We haven’t spoken for several years but I hope you remember me.’

Robert’s chuckle made her smile. She relaxed her grip on the phone a little.

‘Of course I do. Who could forget someone with your brains and beauty? I seem to remember, conceited oaf that I was, trying to convince you to marry me so that we could have the smartest kids in the universe.’

‘I’m not sure you’d want to marry me now.’ Helen took a deep breath. ‘I have a confession to make.’

Jay hung up. After ten minutes of abuse, Beau had agreed to meet up with him next week to discuss his future within the company. Hegroaned and lowered his face into his hands. He had a raging headache and a bad feeling in his gut. He reminded himself why it was necessary to go ahead with his plan. It didn’t help. Shit, he wanted a beer.

He tried to think of Helen, of how pleased she would be to see him taking charge of his life. Tried to picture her agreeing to stay with him as he slowly bled to death working for his father.
Dammit, Jay, stop thinking like that. It doesn’t have to be that way, does it?

If he remembered correctly, she was at the clinic until seven tomorrow evening. He’d take the belt he’d made for her and try to convince her they should stay together for as long as they both wanted, which he hoped meant forever.

He managed a grin as he got off the floor and headed for the refrigerator. You could never tell with Helen. She might just tell him to get lost and then where would he be? Right back on her doorstep asking her again. Even if he had to strip her naked and tie her to his bed until she gave in. His smile widened. Hell, she’d probably like that.

Helen sat back and contemplated her hands. Her fingers still shook from the stress of making the call. After all those years of deceiving herself and those around her, she was finally able to come clean. Robert Grant was a true gentleman and if what he said was true, she didn’t have a thing to worry about. She smiled. Now all she had to do was think of a way to break the news to Professor Hart.

Chapter Twenty-two

It was another busy Monday at the hospital clinic. Helen groaned as she studied the long list of patients she was expected to see that day. She might as well forget about lunch. She often wondered why people waited until the start of the working week to bring their injured bodies into the ER. Did they only notice something was wrong when they tried to get to work or was it because they assumed the weekend would be too busy?

Helen wasn’t sure anymore but there were always extra patients who needed to be squeezed in on the already full lists. It was also strange how many of them she seemed to acquire when Nancy was doing the rescheduling. She gulped down a cup of coffee, put on her white coat and pinned on her name badge.

As soon as she’d arrived at work she scheduled an after-hours meeting with Professor Hart to discuss the Nifenberg research. He’d agreed to meet her in her office at seven-thirty. Despite the workload, Helen found herself smiling at everyone she encountered in the halls. It would be interesting to see how the search committee evaluated all the candidates and whether she’d impressed them. She still hoped to be offered the job. Whether she took it or not was still up in the air.

‘Helen, how good to see you.’

Her smile disappeared as she encountered David emerging from the residents’ lounge. ‘What are you doing here?’

David’s eyebrows rose. ‘Wow, you really should work on your hostility issues. I can recommend a good therapist if you need one.’

‘I’m fine, David. I just wondered why you were here at this time in the morning. It’s a perfectly reasonable question. I work here and you don’t.’

He stuck his hands in the pockets of his white coat and flashed her that amazingly insincere smile. ‘Just getting to know the place so that when they announce me as the new boss, I’ll be familiar with everyone.’

Helen pretended to look around. ‘Have they made a decision already? That’s weird, I haven’t heard anything and I’m scheduled to give my last lecture to the faculty tomorrow.’

‘You’re so amusing. I’m just about to meet with some of your colleagues. They asked me to come in for an informal chat before the patients started to arrive.’

Helen crossed her arms over her chest. ‘Let me guess. They’re concerned that a bimbo like me might get control of their lovely department and ruin it.’

‘Well, they didn’t actually say “bimbo”.’ David made exaggerated quote marks with his fingers. ‘But that’s the general impression I get.’

Helen took a step toward him and he blanched.

‘Have a lovely gossip, dear, and give my love to Carrie-Ann.’

She turned away from him and headed back to her office, a distinctly sour taste in her mouth. If she did get the job, she’d have to spend the first months of her tenure weeding out all the people who would make life difficult. Not something she looked forward to at all, despite her reputation.

‘They sure are interested in hearing about you and your cowboy.’

Helen stopped walking and turned around. She ignored the several interested faces behind the reception desk and concentrated on David. ‘I’m not the first doctor to date an ex-patient and I’m sure I won’t be the last.’

David’s smile was smug. ‘Ex? I hear from the nursing staff that he’s still listed as a current patient of yours.’ He shook his head. ‘Now that is definitely not ethical.’

Helen spared a scathing glance for Nancy who glared triumphantly back at her.

‘Believe what you like. My conscience is clear.’

His laughter made the knot of anger in her stomach grow until it felt as if it would force its way out of her throat.

‘Surely your colleagues should know that you don’t always obey the rules? Leaving school at sixteen and running off to marry a cowboy doesn’t make you seem like a very reliable person or the kind of leader a great department like this needs.’

A collective gasp ran through the staff gathered in the hall. Helen was only grateful that they hadn’t opened the doors to the patients yet. She raised her chin.

‘This from a man who’s fucked more medical personnel than an afternoon soap star?’

David shrugged. ‘That’s right, Helen, attack me because you can’t defend yourself.’

She held his gaze. ‘I don’t need to defend myself. I’m not ashamed of what I’ve done. Are you?’ Without waiting for his answer, she turned on her heel and walked away. She shut her office door quietly behind herself and locked it. There was still ten minutes before the patients flooded in and she’d need every one of them to calm the shaking rage David had roused in her. It was a special talent of his to stir up her life and expose her to public ridicule.

She tried not to think about what her colleagues must be saying about her now. Would they believe David and despise her for being such a fool? Hospitals were small places. It wouldn’t be long before the rumors of her ‘interesting life’ came to the ears of one of the search committee.

Helen drew a long steadying breath. She was done with hiding. If the committee preferred to base their choice on gossip and innuendo, then perhaps she wouldn’t want the job anyway. It was a revolutionary thought. She’d fought so hard to get to her present position; perhaps it was time to realize that she’d slowly been losing herself in the process.

Maybe David had done her a favor after all. She bit her lip. Soon she’d have no more secrets left to hide. A knock on the door made her jump. She turned to unlock the door. Tara Davies stood there, her face concerned.

‘Are you OK, Helen?’

Helen managed a smile. ‘Wow, rumors really do fly fast.’

Tara jerked her head back down the hall. ‘Actually I was at the reception desk and I heard everything that jerk said. Who is that asshole, anyway?’

‘My ex-husband.’

Tara’s horrified expression made Helen want to laugh.

‘Oh man, you’re kidding.’

‘It’s OK. I divorced him and I don’t regret it one bit.’

‘I’m not surprised. What was he trying to do?’

‘Get Professor Hart’s job.’

‘Interesting way to go about it.’ Tara nudged Helen in the ribs. ‘Um, is it true? The bit he said about you running off with a cowboy when you were sixteen?’

‘It’s true.’

Helen found herself engulfed in a huge hug. When she emerged, Tara was still grinning.

‘Wow, that’s amazing. How on earth did you get to be so smart and successful after such a bad start?’

‘I just learnt to make better choices.’

‘You make it sound so simple and I bet it was anything but.’ Tara patted her shoulder. ‘Don’t you worry. I reckon your ex has done himself more harm than good. Everyone will be talking about you, not him.’

Helen groaned. ‘That’s not what I wanted, either.’ She returned to her desk to gather up her files and beeper. ‘Walk me down the hall, will you? I feel a sudden desire to hide.’

‘What a day,’ Helen muttered to herself as she collapsed into the chair behind her desk. She rested her head in her hands and stared fixedly down at the hospital issue mouse pad. Tara’s attempts to protect her hadn’t helped much. She’d spent the whole day being asked whether it was true she’d gotten married at sixteen and whether she really did have a thing for cowboys.

In the ten minutes she salvaged for lunch, she typed a note confirming the gossip and stuck it on both of the staff notice boards. The questions kept coming but she was surprised that not all of them were hostile. Some people were impressed she’d managed to get as far as she had. Others avoided her, obviously thinking the worst.

She let out a long slow breath, realizing she didn’t feel as bad as she had thought she might. She was beginning to believe that Jay was right and that all this telling the truth was good for you.

There was a knock on the door. She glanced at the clock. It was only twenty minutes past seven; surely Peter Hart wouldn’t arrive early?

The brim of Jay’s cowboy hat appeared, followed by his face. Helen sat up straight.

‘Is this a good time?’

She gestured for him to come in. ‘Professor Hart will be here soon but come in anyway.’

He took off his hat and held it in front of him like an awkward teenage girl clutching a purse. Helen drank in the long elegant lines of him, his rumpled blond hair and tanned skin.

‘What can I do for you, Jay?’

‘I brought you this.’

He placed a brown paper bag on her desk. She tipped the contents out onto her desk and gasped. He’d made her a belt of intertwined colored leather which was as soft and supple as her skin.

‘It’s beautiful. Thank you. I’ll wear it with pride.’

He grimaced and then cleared his throat.

Helen frowned. ‘Is something wrong?’ she asked.

‘Nope, I’m just thinking how best to say this.’

A knot of dread blossomed in her stomach and she put the belt back in the bag. ‘Just spit it out. I find that’s usually best.’

‘Not with you,’ he muttered.

Her irritation rose. ‘Are you sick? Are you going away?’

‘I’m not sick. I might have to leave San Francisco for a while, but it’s not what you think.’

Even as her heart plummeted, Helen gave him her coolest smile. ‘I don’t have the right to “think” anything, Jay. You’re a free man.’

He sighed, ran a hand through his thick blond hair, making it stand up on end. ‘I knew you’d do this.’

‘Do what?’

‘Make it difficult.’

She bared her teeth at him. ‘I’m not doing anything. I’m just sitting here very patiently waiting for you to leave.’

He took a step toward her, his gray eyes blazing fire. ‘You see? There you go again, making assumptions, telling me to fuck off because you’re scared you might want me to stay around too much.’

‘Who asked you to psychoanalyze me? And why the hell would you think I’d mean that?’

‘Because that’s exactly what I’d do!’ He slammed his hands down flat on her desk and loomed over her. ‘Look, I need to make some money so that I can give you the kind of life you deserve. When I’ve done that I’ll come back and –’