Lightning Strikes Part 3 (36 Hours) Read online

  Chapter Twenty

  “Has anyone heard from Dr. Sloane? Have they found her daughter yet?”

  Amanda shook her head at her friend, Doris, then said, “No, and I’m worried, too, even though I haven’t tried to call her.”

  “You probably wouldn’t have gotten through,” Nurse Liz Roberts said.

  Saturday afternoon’s pace in ER remained slow, despite the fact that the rain continued, though not with the same vengeance as the night before. Still, no one was holding their breath, as at any time a new string of emergencies could erupt.

  For now, most of the ER staff, in addition to Doris, were in the lounge having some much-needed refreshments.

  “You’re right about that,” Amanda added, “though I can’t believe Victoria hasn’t been rescued by now.”

  “Well, she hasn’t.”

  All eyes turned and watched as Jerry strode into the room, a smile on his wide, clownlike face. Amanda tried not to concentrate on the skin that hung under his neck like a second chin.

  Why hadn’t she noticed that before? If he had been a woman, she mused, he would’ve had plastic surgery. Suddenly angry at her inane meandering, Amanda blurted out, “How do you know she hasn’t been rescued from the cave?” During the night, Karen had gotten a call that her daughter had slipped into a newly-formed cave, created by the mudslides.

  “I heard it on the radio just now.” Jerry headed straight for the candy machine. When he’d punched in the number, he turned back around. “Actually, it’s the talk of the town.”

  “Gosh, how awful,” Liz said. “I wish there was something we could do.” She made a face. “Karen is part of our extended family, and there’s nothing we can do for her.”

  “I know,” Amanda put in. “And like you, I feel so helpless.”

  “She does have Cassidy to lean on,” Doris said, dipping into her bag of potato chips, then crunching loudly.

  “Don’t be too sure about that,” Liz said in a frank tone. “He’s never been thrilled with this job or the hours.”

  “Let’s not get off on their private lives, okay?” Amanda didn’t want to sound like a saint, yet she wasn’t about to gossip about a cohort and her marital problems.

  “Besides,” she added, “I can’t imagine them not pulling together in a crisis of this magnitude. My God, their child’s life is in jeopardy.”

  “You’re right,” Liz replied, slightly red-faced. “I guess I’m being too judgmental. It’s just that Karen is such a nice person, and I want all the best for her.”

  “We all do,” Doris said.

  As if he were feeling left out, Jerry chimed in, changing the subject. “The missing Sloane kid’s not the only one who’s making the news.”

  Amanda stiffened. “Oh? You haven’t by chance heard anything about Randi Howell, have you?”

  “Nope.” Jerry rubbed his burred head. “But that’s right—she’s missing, too. Cut out before the ‘I do’s.’”

  Amanda shot him a sharp glance. “I guess that’s one way of putting it.”

  Jerry shrugged. “Well, it’s the truth, or at least that’s the story going around.”

  “Maybe, maybe not,” Amanda said, again uncomfortable discussing hospital personnel or their families. Where Noah was concerned, that doubled. When she thought about him and what had almost taken place between them in the linen closet, she literally panicked.

  “Surely Noah knows something by now,” Doris said. “I should make a mental note to ask him.”

  “All I can say is that I hope Randi’s all right.” Amanda walked to the window, fighting off the desire to leave the hospital and never come back. That was how disjointed and distraught she was. Noah’s unexpected come-on to her had jerked a knot in her life that she couldn’t seem to untie.

  “So do you want to know what else I heard?” Jerry asked, biting into a Milky Way candy bar. “Or don’t you?”

  Amanda wanted to tell him it wasn’t nice to talk with his mouth full, but she didn’t. It appeared that everyone and everything was wearing on her nerves. She should tread more carefully.

  “Yes, yes, tell us,” Doris said. “We’re waiting with bated breath.”

  “Yeah, right,” Jerry responded in a sullen tone.

  Doris beckoned with her free hand; the other one was still in the bag of chips. “No, really, I’m listening. Spill your guts.”

  “Actually, it’s no big deal,” Jerry said. “Anyone know Paige Summers?”

  “I do,” Liz said, “though not personally. A friend of mine works with her. Don’t tell me something bad’s happened to her.”

  “I heard she got stuck in an elevator last night.”

  Doris shuddered. “Better her than me. Man, I’d have freaked out.”

  “Me, too,” Amanda said, turning and moving away from the window. “Was she alone?”

  Jerry took another bite of the candy and chomped on it. “Nope, or at least that’s what the announcer led me to believe.”

  Amanda watched him, thinking he looked a bit like a cow chewing its cud.

  “All I know,” Liz said on a sigh, “is that terrible things are happening to good people. What gets me is there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight, unless the rain does wash us away.”

  “Heaven forbid, don’t even think like that,” Doris said.

  “I wish that’s all we had to worry about,” Jerry muttered darkly. “My family’s stumbling around in the dark. They got caught without candles.”

  “I’m sure yours is not the only one who’s in the same dire straits.”

  Following Amanda’s words, the room fell silent. She stared at the clock and noticed that time seemed to be limping along. If only she could sneak home for a while, maybe she could get a better perspective on things, on what was happening inside her. Right now, her thoughts, her body, were obsessed with Noah.

  And to think, he might be married to someone else as Dora had suggested earlier. Her heart rebelled. Surely, if that were the case, he wouldn’t have initiated that fiasco in the closet, touched her like he had.

  When it came to Noah, what did she know? At one time, she would have sworn that she knew him better than he knew himself.

  She almost laughed out loud. Boy, had she been fooled. Like Jerry had said about Randi, Noah had also “cut out.” Where he’d gone and what he’d done remained top secret.

  Well, forget him.

  She wouldn’t be used again. Unfortunately, she already had been. If he hadn’t pulled back, she would have let him make love to her in that closet—on the floor, against the wall, anywhere. It wouldn’t have mattered.

  Thank God she’d come to her senses, because it mattered now.

  “Are you okay?” Doris asked.

  Everyone was looking at her. “Who, me?”

  “Yes, you,” Doris said in a droll tone. “You were making a sound like you were in pain.”

  “Don’t pay any attention to me,” Amanda said. “I’m just pooped.”

  “Aren’t we all,” Liz said, pinching the bridge of her nose. “By the way, where’s Bethany? She’s been rather scarce lately.”

  Doris raised her hand. “I know.”

  “So, spit it out,” Jerry said. “If there’s some secret to getting out of this hellhole, Lord, do I wanna know it.”

  “What would you do that’s so important?” Doris asked.

  Jerry threw her a wicked grin. “Find me a willing woman and do some serious fornicating.”

  “You’re sick, Jerry,” Doris said.

  This time Jerry glared at her. “Thanks, sweetie. I’ll say something nice about you sometime.”

  “If you two are going to behave like children,” Amanda remarked in a weary tone, “I’ll have to treat you as such.”

  “Sorry,” Doris said.

  But she wasn’t, Amanda knew, noticing the mischievous twinkle in Doris’s eye. She loved giving Jerry a hard time. And he gave it back, tit for tat.

  “So where is Bethany?” Liz asked.

 
“With that preemie, the one the teenager had.” Doris wadded up the chip bag and tossed it in the garbage. “She’s smitten with that infant.”

  “Well, it’s time she came back to her bailiwick,” Amanda said. “When you return to the desk, Jerry, call Beth.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Speaking of calling, I can’t believe you guys haven’t been screamed for.” Doris stared up at the clock. “How long’s it been?”

  “Fifteen minutes on the dot,” Jerry said. “That’s a mother of a miracle.”

  “What’s a mother of a miracle?”

  They all swung around and stared as Noah walked through the door. Instantly, Amanda stiffened, then averted her gaze. But that quick motion hadn’t stopped her from first soaking up his image. He looked hard, so disgustingly male that every cell in her body responded, rendering her weak all over.

  “That we haven’t been called back to the salt mines,” Jerry said.

  “I’m surprised about that, too,” Noah said, walking to the coffeepot and helping himself to a large cupful.

  “How’re things in OR, Noah?” Liz asked, filling the short silence that ensued.

  It was as though everyone sensed the strain between her and Noah. If they only knew the half of it. But that wasn’t going to happen, Amanda reminded herself fiercely. The main reason being, she wasn’t going to let Noah take advantage of her again. If it was the last thing she did, she would stay out of his way.

  Her insurance was to tell Gordon she’d take him up on his offer to back her in private practice. She had begun making plans. That should keep her busy and out of trouble.

  Gordon’s proposal of marriage, however, was another matter.

  “Holding its own,” Noah said, his tone grim.

  Amanda forced herself back to the moment, though she had lost the gist of the ongoing conversation.

  “I’m sorry about the Collier girl,” Doris put in. “Kids nowadays think they’re going to live forever. That’s why they don’t think they need health insurance.”

  Ignoring Doris’s prattle, Amanda found herself unintentionally watching Noah, admitting that it was hard to keep her eyes off him. She saw immediately that the Collier girl’s death was still working on his psyche. He seemed coiled and ready to pounce, making him appear bigger, rougher and more dangerous.

  “Amanda?” Jerry whistled. “You on another planet, or what?”

  “Sorry,” she said, not having realized she’d been spoken to. “What did you say?”

  “We’re headed back.”

  “I’m coming with you.”

  “Amanda.”

  Noah’s voice stopped her. Reluctantly, she twisted around. “What?”

  “Could you hang around a minute?” His eyes gleamed with stubbornness. “I’d like to talk to you.”

  Dammit, he knew exactly what he was doing. He knew she would be less likely to turn him down in front of the others than if they had been alone. He was right. She didn’t want to give the gossip mill any more fodder.

  She nodded, but she wasn’t happy. Her blood felt icy in her veins, telling her that she couldn’t afford to be alone with him again.

  “I really should get back.”

  “It won’t take but a minute, I promise.”

  “All right.” Her tone was anything but gracious, which drew raised eyebrows from the staff.

  Then, as if realizing they were unwanted participants, they scurried out the door. Amanda knew she’d get grilled later by Doris. Too bad. She’d take the Fifth in a heartbeat. Not even her best friend must know that Noah had touched her, much less anything else.

  “Thanks for staying.”

  His voice was gruff, and his eyes were teeming with an emotion she couldn’t identify. Nonetheless, it forced her breath out in an uneven spurt. “What do you want?”

  “I knew this wasn’t going to be easy.”

  Her eyes flashed. “Let’s cut to the chase, shall we?”

  “Why the hell are you so uptight?”

  “I’m not uptight.”

  “You sure could’ve fooled me. And stop making me the bad guy here. You wanted me as much as I wanted you.”

  Amanda’s face flamed with unexpected color.

  “Dammit, Amanda, I don’t want to fight with you. That’s not what this is all about.”

  She wished he wouldn’t look at her with such intense thoroughness, especially since she still couldn’t read what lurked behind those gorgeous eyes.

  “Just what is it about, then?” she asked in a dull tone.

  “Us.”

  “I told you, there is no us.”

  “I know better, and so do you.”

  “God, I have to hand it to you. You’ve got more nerve than the federal government.”

  He went on as if she hadn’t said a word. “I know you still care about me, and I damn sure care about you.”

  “I don’t want to hear any more.”

  “It’s not that easy. You can’t just ignore what’s going on between us.”

  “Oh, really?”

  He seemed to take her sarcasm in stride, even going so far as to slightly mock her. “Really.”

  “Give it up, Noah. So, I admit you still turn me on. But that’s all it is.”

  “You wish.”

  She wanted to slug him.

  As if he realized that, his tone became less tart and more conciliatory. “Look, I’m ready to set the record straight, to confess, if you will.”

  “I suggest you go to a priest, then,” she bit out. “He’s into hearing confessions, not me.” There was a ton of bitterness in the tone that she didn’t bother to hide. “Besides, as far as I’m concerned, there’s no record to set straight.”

  “You’re—”

  “No! Just who do you think you are, anyway? How dare you play with my emotions. Despite what you think, you can’t just stroll out of my life without provocation, then waltz back in and expect to take up where we left off.”

  “You want me, Amanda,” he said in a soft but terse voice. “And—”

  “That’s enough. I’ve got a new life, Noah, and it no longer includes you. My suggestion is that—”

  A knock chopped off her words. Though neither one said a word, the door opened and a young man, whom Amanda didn’t know, stuck his head through the crack. “Uh, sorry, Dr. Howell, but there’s someone to see you.”

  “Who is it, Larry?”

  “Your mother, sir. She’s waiting in your office, and not very patiently, I might add.”

  Amanda raised her eyebrows, smiled, then walked to the door. “Have fun,” she flung over her back.

  “We’re still going to have that talk. I promise you that.”

  “You mustn’t keep Mother waiting.”

  “Dammit!”

  Amanda took delight in slamming the door in his face.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Noah barreled around the corner.

  “What the hell—”

  Somehow he barely avoided butting heads with Malcom Riley. Way to go, Howell, he told himself, feeling his blood pressure rise into the danger zone.

  “You ought to watch where the hell you’re going,” Malcom spat out, his face pale.

  “Sorry, I didn’t see you.”

  “You might not have seen me, but you’re sure not sorry.”

  “Hey, don’t you think it’s time you grew up and stopped acting like a kid whose toys were stolen?”

  A bright red replaced the paleness on Malcom’s face. “It really is a pity you came back, Howell.”

  “I won’t argue with you about that.”

  Malcom seemed completely taken aback by Noah’s admission. “Well, you can always leave.”

  “That I can.”

  “Only you won’t,” Malcom said, a sneer stretching his lips into a thin line.

  “That’s actually none of your business, Riley.”

  “The hell it’s not. With you out of the way, I’m a shoe-in for the chief of surgery position.”

/>   “Seems to me, this is the second verse of the same old boring song.”

  “Cute,” Riley said with another sneer.

  Suddenly tired of everyone taking a bite out of his hide, especially this egotistical jerk, Noah narrowed his eyes and lowered his voice. “You know, Riley, if I thought you could handle the job, I’d say it’s yours, go for it. But you can’t. Hell, most of the time, you couldn’t find your head even if you had a road map. So, may the best man win.”

  “Go ahead, Howell, keep talking like that and you’ll cut your own throat.”

  “Get out of my way, Riley.”

  “So you’ll know, I haven’t forgotten how you treated me earlier.”

  “If you don’t want a repeat performance, then you’d better do as I say.” Noah knew he was deliberately antagonizing him. Again. But the man got on his nerves. Even without Amanda yanking his chain, Riley still would’ve had the power to set him off.

  Besides, he meant what he said. Riley wasn’t qualified to be chief dogcatcher, much less chief surgeon. It wasn’t skill, but rather family money and influence that had gotten him where he was today.

  “Go to hell, Howell.”

  “No problem,” Noah quipped, following his reply with a cynical smile and a wave as he strode in the direction of his office.

  Riley. Now his mother. For sure, he’d ticked someone off who counted.

  Long after he rounded the corner, Noah could still feel Riley’s eyes shooting darts in his back. He paused and took a deep breath, figuring he just might be in for another battle royal, although he hoped not. He was anxious to see his mother, and doubly anxious for word about Randi. Hopefully, that was what Melissa’s visit was all about.

  He sucked additional air into his tired lungs before opening the door. Melissa, rather than sitting, was standing at the window, facing the gray outside.

  At the noise, she swung around, her lips pursed. Uh-oh, he thought, she was also gunning for him. Well, she’d just have to get in line.

  “Hello, Mother,” he said, crossing to her and kissing her cheek. Although she didn’t forestall his gesture, she didn’t appear overly excited about it, either.

  She didn’t appear as though she’d had to weather the storm, literally, to get to the hospital. But then, Melissa, even on her limited budget, always managed to dress as if she had a million dollars in the bank.