Chapter 18
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Ellie
I only talked to my mom once yesterday before she fell asleep for the night. Even though she sounded okay, she was very tired. After hanging up, I spent the rest of the day moving her current bed into another room and installing the extra fixtures in the bathroom. Then I rode the wheelchair around the house to make sure it would fit within the existing furniture layout. The only things that needed rearranging were the couch and a couple of side tables.
I went to bed early only to wake up in the middle of the night with my thoughts swirling in a constant loop of my mom, Yolanda, and Zach. What if my mom falls again? What if she has to move into a home? What if Yolanda is right and Zach is a player? I don’t bother to pretend that wouldn’t hurt because the truth is that I like the guy. A lot.
I finally fell back to sleep, but when I woke up this morning, I felt hungover from the emotional drama of all the what-ifs in my life. After making a pot of coffee, I dig through my purse for the business card Yolanda handed me yesterday. Then I dial the number .
It barely rings before she answers. “Hello?”
“Hi, Yolanda, It’s Ellie Butler.” She pauses for a minute like she’s trying to place me, so I remind her, “From the rink.”
“Oh, yes, Ellie!” She sounds more excited than anyone ever is to hear from me. “What can I do for you?”
Inhaling deeply, I tell her, “I think the question is, what can I do for you ?”
“Ah, you’ve been thinking about my offer.” In my mind’s eye she’s wearing the same expression as a cat who’s caught a canary in its mouth.
“I have,” I tell her. “And I’ve realized that I don’t have any reason to be loyal to Zach.”
I’m shocked when she gives me a reason. “He’s your boss’s brother …”
“He is,” I tell her. “And while I respect the heck out of Troy, I’ve never particularly thought highly of Zach.”
“Have you met him before?” she wants to know.
Lifting my feet up onto the sofa, I take a sip of my coffee before answering, “No. But I’ve always been a big fan of yours and after seeing how he treated you, I don’t see anything redeemable in him.”
Once again, Yolanda surprises me. “Forgive me for having doubts, but yesterday it seemed you were on Zach’s side.”
Shoot, I thought she’d be so happy to hear from me that she wouldn’t question that. “Yolanda,” I say. “I would be lying if I didn’t tell you that you come across differently in person than you do on television. I felt like I was on the receiving end of an attack.”
“And you no longer feel that way?”
I’m going to have to be careful how I answer this. After a long pause, I say, “I spent all day and night thinking about things, and I realized that if I was in your shoes, I’d probably act the same way.” I take a deep breath for courage before adding, “Men like Zachary Hart think they can do whatever they want and get away with it. ”
“And you could use twenty grand,” she correctly surmises.
There’s no point in lying to her about that. “Yes. But ultimately that’s not the reason I’m helping you.”
“Have you ever dated someone like Zach?” Yolanda wants to know.
“There aren’t many Zachs in a town like Maple Falls. But I have dated guys I’ve really liked who had no interest in a long-term relationship, and it was humiliating. I can imagine how I’d feel if I were you and that happened in the public eye.”
“It’s devastating,” Yolanda says. “Especially when the whole world is talking about it.”
I highly doubt it’s the whole world. In fact, nobody would be talking about it if she wasn’t the one smearing Zach’s reputation every chance she got.
I know Yolanda is a well-known figure, but I’m pretty sure she’s overestimated people’s interest in her private life. Of course, there’s no way I’m going to tell her that. “Would you like to meet sometime today and discuss what you’d like me to do?”
My inquiry is met with silence, and I worry I might have somehow blown it. But then she says, “I’ve got to be at the rink later for the first press conference, so I’ll be tied up with that. Then there’s a bigger gathering at the Regent Hotel.” I’m guessing the clicking noise I hear is her tapping a long fingernail against the phone. “How about if we meet tomorrow morning for breakfast up at the lodge?”
I’m a little surprised she’s going to put it off that long, but I’m not about to push her. “Sounds good. How about nine o’clock?”
“I’ll see you then.” She hangs up before I can bring up the subject of money. Unfortunately, I’m no longer certain that working for Yolanda is the slam dunk I thought it would be. But then I remind myself that she’s a reporter. As such, her instincts are likely going off like crazy. Which means I’m going to have to do my darndest so that I don’t give her any reason to doubt me.
After drinking another cup of coffee, I eat breakfast and shower before getting dressed for the day. Then I call my mom .
The phone rings several times before a man answers. “Hello.”
I’m caught off guard that it’s not my mom, which causes me to stumble over my words. “Oh, hey … um, hi … is Elaine there? This is her daughter.”
“This is Jake, Elaine’s nurse. Your mom is having more tests done right now. She had a rough night, and the doctor wants to make sure she doesn’t have a brain bleed.”
Terror pours through my nervous system in an icy current. “A brain bleed?”
“As a result of her fall,” he says. “The initial CT scan was done so soon after the accident, it wouldn’t have shown a bleed unless it was extensive. But last night your mom was confused and agitated, so the doctor wants to rule out something worse than a concussion.”
“I’m leaving the house right now,” I tell him. “I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
“There’s no point in hurrying,” he says. “Your mom will be out of her room for a while yet. How about if I give you a call when she comes back?”
I realize that I need to be here when the hospital bed comes, so I tell him, “Okay, but please call as soon as she’s back.”
After hanging up, I start pacing around the room like I’m trying to wear a hole in the carpet. I should have asked Jake what it would mean if my mom had a brain bleed. How will they treat it? What are the repercussions of such a thing?
I’m about to start Googling it, when the front doorbell rings. I run to answer it, hoping it’s Zach. I could really use a dose of his calming influence. But it’s not him; it’s the deliveryman with the bed.
“Come in,” I tell him. “I’ll show you where it’s going.”
Before he can comment, I lead him down the hall to my mom’s room and point to the empty space in the center. “Right there.”
As he nods his head, I notice the laugh lines around his eyes. If I had to put money on it, I’d say this guy is living a happy life. He hands me the clipboard he’s holding. “I just need you to sign at the X on the bottom of the page.” I quickly sign before handing the papers back.
“My partner and I will have this up and running in no time,” he tells me before walking out of the room.
While I’m relieved to have a hospital bed for my mom, I worry that if she’s really hurt herself, it might be too little, too late.
I force myself to go into the kitchen and wash dishes while the men get everything assembled. I tell myself things like, “Don’t worry, Ellie, Mom is fine. She has to be fine.” The problem is that I don’t believe me. I’ve already lost my dad, so I know that bad things don’t always happen to other people. The thought of living a life without both of my parents is more than I can bear right now.
I really want to run down to Zach’s cottage and ask him to comfort me. Somehow, I know that if he told me everything was going to be all right, I’d be more inclined to believe it. Looking at the clock, I see that it’s already after one, so I know that’s not an option. By now, he’s long gone to the arena for the first press conference of the day.
That’s the thought that finally diverts me from my current worries. Zach and Yolanda are both at the rink and I can’t help but wonder how that’s going.