Two Days Of A Dream (23 page)
Read Two Days Of A Dream Online
Authors: Kathryn Gimore
"Lincoln, Nebraska."
"Where?" The air whooshed out of Duran's tight chest. He was kidding, right?
"Remember when she said she went to sleep Friday night in her condo in Lincoln, Nebraska?"
"Yeah?"
"Well, Sergeant Davis got on the Internet after her interrogation and found a Kelly Anne Goins in Lincoln, Nebraska. No recent photo, though. I got you tucked securely into bed under my ever-watchful eye, and two hours later Davis found a news report of a Ms. Kelly Goins, prominent marketing analyst, who was shot in her condo Sunday. A coincidence? I think not."
Duran breathed deeply and flopped back on the bed. He felt weak all over with relief.
"You want to see the photo they're using on the Internet?"
"Yes!" Duran tried to sit up, but Talbit held him down and handed him a sheet of paper. Filling one page was the article about the shooting. Smack in the middle of the page, a black-and-white picture of Kelly danced before his eyes. She took his breath away. It was her. Only she wore make-up and her hair was fixed perfectly. He preferred her hair a little messy. It amazed him how the photo showed her strength and intelligence, too, or perhaps his imagination embellished.
He held the paper close to his still fuzzy eyes, scrutinizing every line and contour of her face. "How is she doing?"
"At first the doctors weren't holding much hope that she would survive the surgery, but their prognosis keeps getting better with each news report."
Duran held her picture to his chest. "Thank God!"
"Definitely," Talbit agreed, nodding his head.
"How long have I been here?"
The doctor shrugged. "A little more than a day, maybe a day and a half."
Duran’s eyes flew wide. "One and a half days!"
Talbit chuckled. "You were in serious need of sleep."
"I can't argue with that." Duran's head was now fairly clear and he felt his energy knocking at the door. "Now I need to move around so I can get my strength back."
"You could use some more rest, maybe give the drug time to get out of your system."
"I need to be up taking care of my men."
And what kind of trouble have Millam and Tanyard gotten into while I was lolling around in bed?
"Your major and Stover have taken very good care of your men." Talbit placed a restraining hand on Duran’s shoulder.
Duran glared at Talbit for trying to hold him down. Talbit, knowing his friend well enough, backed up a couple of steps.
"I'm rested and I've shirked my responsibilities long enough."
Talbit sighed. "Somehow I knew you'd be bullheaded. Okay, you've proven you're back to your stubborn self. At least now your men will stop coming around bugging my personnel to sneak them in to see you."
Surprisingly, it felt good to know his men were worried about him.
He flicked a glance from his bare legs to the stupid gown with pastel geometric designs to the chair next to him. “Where’s my pants?”
"They had to be laundered. Your whole uniform had blood on it."
"Her blood." The memory flooded back, her life fluid dripping from his fingers. "Are you sure she's okay?"
"This morning's report said she had improved overnight."
"Thanks for keeping tabs on her."
"Don't thank me. Broan ordered his staff to keep a watch on the Internet and report anything new. Oh, and Command is sending someone out to debrief you. They want answers, even though we've told them we don't have any. A Lieutenant Colonel LaMans from Intelligence is on his way."
Duran groaned and thought about crawling back into bed after all.
Talbit tucked his pen in his pocket. "I can tell you all about him. He's short, balding, and full of himself. Kind of like a Chihuahua."
"You've met LaMans?"
"No, but all Intelligence guys are the same. But don't worry. I've got your back. If he gets too obnoxious, I'll declare you need your rest and get you out of his clutches."
"Thanks, but I think I can handle myself with LaMans. I've got nothing to hide."
Talbit picked up the chart he had been writing in. "Yeah, that's what they all say. You just signal and I'll get you out of there."
Duran snorted. "Yeah, okay." He sighed. "Talbit?"
"Yeah?" The doctor looked up.
The captain motioned to his legs. "Where's my pants?"
Talbit signaled the corpsman. "Are you sure I can't talk you into resting some more?"
"NO!" Duran barked.
"All right, all right. Sheesh."
The young corpsman brought a bundle over and handed it to Duran. "Larsen brought it for you." The sergeant went back to his duties.
Duran ran his hand over the clean uniform. "Good man, Larsen."
"It's a good thing, too. He and Coleman are spending a lot of time together."
Duran jerked his eyes to Talbit and then smiled. "I guess I'd better talk to Larsen."
"Yeah, it's time he heard about the 'Birds and the Bees'."
Duran stopped with one foot in his pants. "Larsen'll treat her right, but they'll have to wait until they get stateside." Stateside, where Kelly was. His stomach rolled as he stood, and he pulled his pants up, buttoning and zipping.
"So when are you going?" Talbit peeked over Duran's chart.
"Where?"
"Stateside."
Duran shrugged as he put on his shirt. "I'm not due for rotation for three months."
"You could put in for a transfer or just take some time off. Under the circumstances I think you'll get it."
"Then what am I supposed to do, show up on her doorstep and announce I'm not a dream?"
"Don't you think she's already figured that out? Wouldn't the bullet hole kind of give it away?"
"Yeah, probably, but we are talking about Kelly. Where's my boots?"
"Under the bed. You’re going to contact her, aren't you?"
"Well, yes, I guess." Duran sat in the chair and pulled on his boots.
"When?"
"I don't know, in three months?"
"Duran, get back in that bed!" Talbit ordered with a shout uncharacteristic of him.
"What?" Duran was startled and his booted foot slipped to the floor.
"I'm declaring you insane!" Talbit turned to the corpsman. "Stuart, get me the restraints and see if we have a straitjacket in the supply closet!"
"Talbit, knock it off. I get your point."
I don’t need this right now.
"Do you, really!"
"Yes."
Talbit eyed Duran a moment, screwing up his face. "Actually, a part of me is kind of hoping you don't get the point, because if you don't go after her I will." Talbit straightened his frame and set his jaw.
"You? Only because she’s one of the few to get away. 'Sides, you're not her type." Duran dismissed the notion with a snort.
"Technically, she's the only one. And what makes you think I'm not her type?" Talbit raised his chin.
"Because you're not! And you stay away from her!" Duran balled his fists.
"Then do something about it!"
"I'm not having this discussion with you!" Duran grabbed his cap and stormed out. How dare Talbit tell him how to live his life! At least Duran's marriage had lasted six years. Talbit had never had a relationship last past the weekend, the jerk.
The next thought stopped Duran in his sandy tracks. What if, in the real world, Kelly didn't want him or the life of a Marine? Neither was easy. He shoved the thought away.
Chapter Thirty-three
Kelly woke to an incessant beeping. She had forgotten to switch her clock to radio mode and the alarm was going off, but it must be running on an old battery because it was beeping too slowly.
Did we have a power outage?
she wondered.
The sound was even more annoying than usual, and Kelly began to feel an ache spread through her whole body. She tried to turn the alarm off but someone stopped her.
"Lay still, Kelly, or you'll rip your stitches."
"Stitches?" Kelly rasped in a whisper, afraid this could be another dream without Cap.
"Yes, twenty-two of them. You're lucky your doorman knew CPR and you live close to a fire station."
Kelly's eyelids fluttered open a crack but everything was blurry. "What?" The woman didn’t make any sense.
"Everyone wants to know how you got shot, since they said on the news there didn't seem to be a forced entry. Did you know the person who shot you?"
"Huh?"
"Are you awake, Kelly?"
Kelly thought a moment. "I don't know."
The woman chuckled. "Open your eyes, honey."
"Who are you?" Kelly forced one eye half open. A fuzzy shape stood over her.
"I'm Tammy, your nurse."
"Why do I need a nurse?"
Tammy flipped on the light above the head of the bed, and Kelly’s eyes immediately dove for cover.
"You're in the hospital because you were shot. Don't you remember?" Kelly shook her head. At least it felt as though she moved her head. "You're our celebrity. The local media is chomping at the bit to talk to you and are camped in the lobby. You've been all over the news."
"The news?"
"Yeah, your picture has been in the newspapers and on TV for two days now. It’s a really good picture too. You almost expect this to happen in a bad part of town, but when it happens in an upscale condo everyone wants to know what happened." Tammy straightened the covers. "I heard that the military even called and asked about you."
The military? But it was only a dream
. "Which military?"
"I don't know, Carla from cardiology didn't say. Do you know someone in the military?"
"Uh, yeah."
Sort of ... kind of ... maybe?
No, it was a dream. Kelly pushed the hope away. She would never be that lucky.
"You need to sleep, so I'm going to give you some more morphine. I'll tell the doctor you woke. The police have lots of questions for you when you're stronger."
It took too long to register what the nurse said. Tammy had already pushed a needle into the tube before Kelly could object.
"My gown, where is it?"
"Gowwnnn?" Tammy sounded stupid as her voice slurred in Kelly's ears.
"Yeah ... white satin ... long ... to the floor." Kelly fought her eyelids, and her tongue was too heavy to lift.
Now Tammy's voice sounded like it was coming from under water. "I don't know. You arrived up here with only a surgical gown."
"Find ... it? Pleeease!" Kelly didn't sound nearly as emphatic as she felt.
The morphine won the battle and immediately Kelly fell. She hoped she would have her Cap dream. But would she have it without her gown? The nurse … uh … Tammy just had to find her gown.
Chapter Thirty-four
Duran wasn't looking forward to meeting with his men. He really didn't want to go through the whole sordid event with anyone. But word got around when Duran went to the mess tent to beg some food from Cookie. His insides were hollow, and somehow he had hoped to find comfort. But there's not much comfort in dried-out mystery meatloaf. Or creamed corn where there was far more cream than corn. At lunch they had apple cobbler for dessert, but it was all gone before Duran had arrived. He couldn’t win for losing.
His table filled quickly.
"Hey, Cap! It's good to see you up." Sergeant Michael's round face squeezed into the gathering.
They each greeted Duran, but their only question repeated with each group that came in. "When are you seeing Kelly again?" The words stung, but he bore it well.
He had no real answer so he smiled and shrugged. He wanted to see Kelly again, but wasn't sure she would want to see him. Maybe his sleep-deprived brain had concocted the whole attraction.
But worse, what if she did want to see me?
She could really be as crazy as she appeared. Would he be the best thing for her?
Stover came in with what Duran hoped was the last six. He had been too distracted to count, and guessed that they were intent on an impromptu meeting. He preferred it this way. He wouldn't have to repeat the story as many times and could be done with it sooner. A lot of them were there when the weirdness came to a head, so he didn't see why they would think he had any new information.
Stover tried to quieted the men as Duran finished his juice. Larsen stacked Duran's dishes and took the tray away.
"I said quiet down." Stover bellowed before he turned to Duran. "We all want you to know we're glad you're back on your feet, especially me." The men laughed.
"Thank you." Duran scanned the crowd and found a smile for them all.