One More Try Read online

  Crossing her arms, she shook her head at him. “Well, now you’ve gone and ruined your stats. There’s no way I can take your vitals now without your blood pressure being through the roof.”

  The smile that stretched over his face was tight, and his skin was pale. “I’m a stubborn bloke, I know. But it usually means I get what I want.” There was no mistaking the twinkle in his eyes, and it irked Sadie. How could he still be so arrogant as to look at her like she was going to jump back into bed with him? Did he really think it was so easy, that she was so easy?

  Holding her head up and jutting her chin forward, she reached for his chart. “I don’t know about other women you’ve met on your travels, all the girls who swoon over you when you’re onstage. But I’m not going to bow down to your fame or celebrity status and jump into bed with you to get a piece of it. I made the mistake of going home with you once, and I learned my lesson. I won’t let you use me again.”

  She stalked out of the room before he could respond.

  Jake stared after her, his whole body aching with the effort it had taken to get up and go to the bathroom. He’d apparently underestimated the grudge she held and overestimated her care and concern now. Was she really just doing her job? One would think so, with the words she had just spewed at him.

  But in his heart, something felt right when she was in the room, and he intended to make her see that he deserved another chance. He hadn’t walked out on her on purpose, and he certainly hadn’t meant to lose complete contact with her. He’d wanted to come back, maybe even talk her into traveling with him for a time. In fact, while their romance had been brief, Sadie was the only person he’d ever been able to imagine a future with, the only person he’d ever thought about settling down with after he finished touring.

  But he had to convince her of all that, and he had no idea where to start. She was so hung up on insecurity and feeling used, and though he could understand the perspective, he’d done nothing to give her cause not to trust him when he explained his position. Had someone else along the way harmed her, made her skeptical of his ability to be honest and care? She seemed wounded, and it was beyond his comprehension that he’d caused all of that himself.

  Frustrated and hurting, he slammed his head back against the bed, instantly regretting the movement as his face ached where the bones were fractured. Where were the rest of the band members? And his manager? He was sure none of them were in any better condition, but he wanted to know more about them, before he went mad over this whole thing. Of all the terrible fates to suffer, he had to have been back here, in Sadie’s hospital, when he was at his worst. Couldn’t he have at least crashed where there was no such history? He could have let her go, if he’d just continued to think she was lost to him, but now that he’d seen her again, found her, he couldn’t stop obsessing.

  One thing was certain. To find out what he wanted to know about his mates, he’d have to get her attention again, which meant he should let her cool off a bit before he paged her. Sadie was an emotional woman, and he could see that their unexpected – and unwelcome – reunion had put those emotions into overdrive. For now, he’d bide his time, and he’d work on a plan to create an opportunity to show her who he really was and how he really felt.

  As she sat behind the desk transferring notes from paper charts into the computer system, punching the keys with all her pent-up frustration, Sadie couldn’t stop seeing the shock and hurt in Jake Donovan’s eyes as he heard her cut him down. Had he really been under the impression that she would just forget the past few years, would fall right back into their little fling as if he’d never disappeared on her?

  Apparently, he couldn’t believe she wouldn’t want him, but then, so many people saw him as a sex god onstage, how could he believe otherwise?

  She fumed for several minutes, but even her internal bitter diatribe was cut short as Joan, who wasn’t due in today at all, raced up to the desk, looking breathless, her cheeks pinked. “Have you looked out the window?” she panted.

  Sadie blinked at her, not understanding what she was talking about. “We’re so short staffed I haven’t had time to look down the hall. What’s going on?”

  Joan motioned toward the window with her head, her excitement almost contagious for once, and Sadie’s curiosity was piqued. She stepped away and followed the ball of energy toward the view, again blinking in disbelief as she stared down at what used to be a parking lot. Filling the entire lot, surrounding every car, the throng of people stood so thick they looked like a swarm of bees, a single entity that shifted together. “What the hell is going on down there?”

  “It appears word got out that Jake Donovan is here, and this is a vigil put together for his speedy recovery.” Joan’s eyes danced. “I fully intend to join them, but I wanted to show you so you wouldn’t freak out if a couple of them got past the guards posted at the door downstairs.”

  Pursing her lips in consternation, Sadie shook her head. This was bad. She’d had enough trouble with the man being here. She didn’t need a crowd of die-hard fans breaking in and swarming his room. She also had no desire for security guards posted on her floor so she had to check in every time she was forced to go in and care for her star patient, not to mention that at least one other band member was somewhere in this hospital and just as likely to have his privacy invaded. Sadie had no clue where the rest of them were, but she figured the least she could do was enlist Joan’s help temporarily.

  “Do me a favor and find out where anyone else from that bus is. Alert the nurses on those floors of the situation so they can be on watch as well.” Sadie walked away from the window, determined not to spend her day worrying about the ridiculous flock outside. She wouldn’t let it affect her job, just like she wasn’t going to neglect her duties because her patient happened to be someone she wanted to pretend no longer existed.

  As Joan nodded and did what she asked, Sadie stormed down the hall toward Jake’s room, hoping to find him asleep but prepared to confront him and let him know what was going on downstairs. She needed to talk to the hospital administrator, but at this point, it might be best to release a statement regarding Jake’s condition, since it would likely at least reduce the number of people standing out there. If they knew he wasn’t dying, they might be willing to go home and wait for his release rather than clogging up their parking lot where patients and families needed the space.

  Her hopes fell when Jake’s eyes instantly opened, sparking with excitement. “I didn’t expect the pleasure of your company again so soon.”

  Scowling, she shut the door and leaned against it, wanting to keep a fair distance from him, since he couldn’t seem to understand she was only here to do her job. “Your fans have arrived. Apparently, someone leaked that you were here, and they’re gathering by the hundreds and thousands outside.”

  He had the good grace to look a bit embarrassed. “It certainly wasn’t me. I hate hospitals and don’t want to be thought of as weak and injured by my fan base. Besides, I wouldn’t have said a thing to anyone without knowing the whereabouts of my bandmates, which brings me to a question I’d like to ask you.”

  Sadie winced. She’d seen the question coming and didn’t want to have to ask Joan, since she wasn’t interested herself, but she also knew he deserved an answer. “Look, I don’t know if they’re all here or what condition they’re in, but I have a friend working on that information so I can pass it along.” His expression changed, concern written all over it, and for the first time, she had a sympathetic pang of guilt roll through her. After all, she figured the group was like family after so long spent on the road together, and she could only imagine how lost he felt not knowing anything about them.

  Nodding as he seemed to accept the information, he muttered, “Thank you for that. I do appreciate what you’re doing here. I know it’s not typically within your realm of responsibility to gather such information.”

  She shrugged. “I’d want to know about my friends and family, too.” Feeling like a b
it of a heel for being so rude to someone going through so much – and who hadn’t exactly requested to get stuck with a nurse he’d slept with and cast off as ancient history – she offered a hesitant smile. “There are guards on the doors downstairs, and I’ll have orders sent down that your room number isn’t to be given out.

  But we might have to post guards on your room, as well, and depending on what the hospital administrator feels is best, you might have to sign some papers so a statement can be made about the fact that you aren’t dying and will make a full recovery so we can clear out the parking lot. It’s going to get out of hand real fast if something isn’t done. I thought you should be prepared.”

  Jake considered her closely. This definitely was not the nurse taking her job seriously. That would involve stepping back out of the picture and handling logistics as she was ordered. This was the concern of an individual with a heart, someone who cared about people, and who possibly still had a small flame inside her, smoldering but ready to be revived, if he could just fan it properly. “Thank you again. You are more than generous.”

  To Sadie’s ears, it sounded sincere, but so had he the night they’d met...and the night he’d left her high and dry. She hated that she couldn’t trust her own intuition with this man. After all, even with his face bruised and broken, he was beautiful, and if there was any truth to the conversations they’d had at that party, he was a poet, a lover and a truly beautiful soul. But all of that could have been an act, just like he could currently be feigning his thanks. She simply didn’t know. “How’s your pain level?” she asked, changing the subject.

  He shrugged, trying not to react to the abrupt shift. “Better than it was a few minutes ago. That trip to the bathroom bloody well left me aching and sore, just as you said it would. Sorry for being a stubborn cuss.”

  Sadie couldn’t help but chuckle. “Maybe you’ll learn to listen to your caretakers from now on.” Opening the door to leave, she called back over her shoulder, “I’ll be back as soon as I have the information you want.” She closed the door behind her to keep from looking back. A part of her wanted to see that devastating smile again, and it pissed her off that she was this vulnerable, even now, when she knew better than to let him get the best of her. She wasn’t a kid anymore, couldn’t have the wool pulled over her eyes so easily. And she’d never been star-struck, so knowing he was a celebrity that women coveted didn’t put him in the limelight for her, either.

  Her best bet was to continue to treat him as a patient, however special the situation, and follow protocol until she found a way out of it all. She’d maintain a professional approach to her dealings with Jake – Mr. Donovan, she corrected with a wince – and everything would work out just fine.

  But every good intention went out the window as she returned to the nurse’s station to find Joan looking like she was going to be ill, her face pale and drawn, her eyes watery. This couldn’t be good, and Sadie’s first inclination was to turn tail and run, head outside for a cigarette and pretend she didn’t care what the girl had found. But with Freda standing behind her, shaking her head and looking almost as sad, she couldn’t resist the morbid curiosity consuming her. “What did you find?” she asked, her voice a bit ragged.

  Joan’s lower lip trembled as she looked up at Sadie. “It’s not good.” She grabbed a tissue and swiped at her eyes before she continued, and Sadie took a moment to brace herself for the bad news. “Kale Breckinridge, lead guitar, is in ICU, in a coma, with swelling to the brain stem. It took them several minutes to get him breathing again, and they suspect permanent brain damage, if he ever comes out of it.”

  Sadie’s heart sank. She knew from what she’d heard from others that Kale was perhaps Jake’s closest friend, and it broke her heart to hear someone so young could be lost to the world in such a tragedy. But she bucked up and waited for the rest of the information.

  Freda sighed. “As for Bobby Whitmore, the bassist, he died yesterday morning from internal hemorrhaging. His family got the call and are on their way to claim the body.”

  Now Sadie wanted to throw up. Had anyone come out of this crash okay? Or would Jake be alone in his recovery? Joan took a deep breath and continued, “Joel Foster, the drummer, is in ICU because he ruptured his spleen, but it looks like he might make it. He has some spinal damage, but the doctors think that damage is temporary and will heal in time with good physical therapy. The manager, Lucas Fallon, was DOA with multiple head contusions.” She turned her heartbroken expression on Sadie. “He doesn’t have much of anyone left after this, Sadie. It’s the worst thing I could imagine. I wish I could do something to help him.”

  Sadie nodded. While she didn’t want to make an emotional investment in Jake, she had a hard time walking away entirely, knowing how this news was going to affect her patient. But before she could consider breaking it to him, she had to assure there wouldn’t be collateral damage. “I need you to do what I asked and alert the nurses in ICU, as well as the medical examiners downstairs. We need someone on the bodies and people watching out for our patients. We also need to make it known to everyone in this hospital that room numbers are not to be given out for any of the band members, no matter who is asking, until we get a list from someone with authority of approved visitors.” She turned to Freda as Joan burst into action, obviously glad to be of some use. “Get Meryl Jamison on the phone. We need our admin here, overseeing the situation, and I think it would probably be best if she made a statement about the care and condition of our famous patients.”

  “They’ll have to sign releases,” Freda reminded her as she moved to make the call. Sadie knew that and nodded, swallowing past the lump in her throat as she looked down the hall toward Jake’s room. “Well, those who are able can talk to Meryl, and those who aren’t, we’ll have to get representatives to sign a waiver of some kind. I don’t think we need to release the information about deaths at this time, but we’ll leave that up to Meryl.”

  With things in motion, Sadie felt a little better, but she would have to calm her own nerves before she could go in and talk to Jake. If only she could ask someone else to break the news to him! But as she went into the break room and poured herself a cup of coffee, she knew that wouldn’t be fair. Whether she liked it or not, she was charged with the man’s care, and he would appreciate hearing the bad news more from someone he perceived having a connection with, even if she wanted to slice right through that connection, than from someone he didn’t know at all. No, she couldn’t do that to Jake, even if she hated his guts.

  And to be honest, she didn’t hate him. He’d made her the person she was, stronger and more self-assured. Maybe she was a little paranoid and lacked the ability to trust blindly because of him, but wouldn’t it be worse if she were still naïve and dependent upon other people? She’d built her career, and she planned to stand tall and proud of herself, never compromising her moral standards and never leaving herself open to heartache and dishonesty again. She wouldn’t be used. She actually had Jake to thank for giving her that lesson early on.

  Now, she took her last sip of coffee and marched back upstairs to tell Jake the fate of his band mates, hoping he took it well and didn’t break down on her. She didn’t know if she could deal with him on that personal of a level, so she had to hope he’d stay strong as well.

  Chapter 5

  The shock was profound, and Jake couldn’t breathe as he imagined the horror. Cryptic wouldn’t be the same, couldn’t be the same without Kale or Bobby. In fact, he didn’t want to carry on with the endeavor without his friends. Of course, he could put every hope in Kale’s recovery, but he was nothing if not a realist when it came to such things. And from the tone of Sadie’s voice, that hope would be grossly misguided.

  Swallowing all the information, Jake’s mind reeled. He’d lost a bandmate and a manager entirely, likely would lose another very close companion, and wasn’t sure if Joel would still be able to play. And that didn’t even cover the driver of the bus, nor the two roadies who had
been riding with them at the time. “There are three other names that need to be run, three more people who were on the bus and weren’t members of the band. I don’t want to ask anything else of you, but if someone could find out how these other poor souls fared, I would be grateful.”

  He watched as she pulled a tiny notepad from her pocket, along with a pen, to take down the names. “I’ll find out. Who were they, and what were they doing on the bus?”

  “Kent Carson was our driver, and David and Michael Rowan had joined us for a stint to help with care of the equipment and whatnot. I’d like to hope nothing befell them as poorly as it did the rest of us.” He sounded weak to his own ears and despised that he had to hold back tears of disgust and anguish.

  Perhaps the man did have feelings after all, Sadie thought, trying to keep a sarcastic quality to her emotions and failing miserably as she watched his suffering. With a nod of sympathy and maybe even a little empathy, she told him, “I’ll check on them and find out what I can. In the meantime, I need you to stay here, lay low, and let us figure out how everything is going to be handled from this point forward with the media. I haven’t been here long enough to know what the best course of action is or what the administration will decide, but I do know that you sneaking out and peeking out of a window to wave at the fans is a terrible idea.”

  She managed to draw a sad smile from him. “I would expect nothing less than a good arse kicking should I be so presumptuous.”

  Turning to leave, Sadie wanted to smack herself across the face for looking back over her shoulder at him. She was getting far too comfortable with him, and she had to reevaluate her interactions. For the moment, she would concentrate on finding out about the rest of Jake’s crew and not think about the man himself or his feelings. It was better for her to ignore that sentimental part of both of them.