Chapter Two
WORRY FOR LAREDO BOWED down Diana’s shoulders, and guilt pressed in with an even heavier weight as she paced the hospital hallway. The place smelled of stale coffee and fresh roses as someone passed with a crimson bouquet, a bright spot against the gray walls. Just like the pots with scarlet poinsettias, a tribute to Christmas.
Had Laredo taken a hit meant for her?
But why would anyone target her? The throbbing pain in her temples increased, but it was minor compared to the pain he must’ve experienced when the heavy stone struck him. Did he have broken bones? Or worse? She shuddered and rubbed her hands over her blouse’s cream-colored sleeves.
Think.
Granted, she couldn’t make everyone she’d met happy and hadn’t tried to—okay, maybe she had tried, in a way. But she hadn’t made people furious, either—at least, she didn’t think she had. She’d gotten along with her colleagues at the hospital, and patients usually loved her. She had no feuds with her neighbors. She didn’t have any sibling rivalry or a large inheritance worth killing for. She’d grown up in a relatively affluent family, but her parents were still alive.
The cheery Christmas tree in the corner with gold and silver ornaments and golden garlands seemed to mock her dampened mood, and even the pleasant pine-needle scent couldn’t brighten it. She felt like she walked on thin ice. Just like when—
She flinched. No, it was best not to remember. Or she might fall into that abyss again.
A familiar urge swirled inside her, and she did her best to suppress it. It only grew stronger. Her throat was dry. She just needed a little bit, and she’d feel better. It was like a long-forgotten friend, and she needed a friend right now so sorely.
Diana rubbed her throbbing temples as a faint scent of toasted bread and roasted beef drifted to her. Someone somewhere in the hospital must be eating a sandwich. Or she might be starving and imagining it. Or both.
It felt like hours passed since the impromptu coffee with Laredo where she should’ve eaten some of those pastries. That peaceful and surprisingly pleasant encounter, despite her worry for Pat, seemed so far away now in her current tumultuous state.
As she paced the floor, she longed to go back to that moment and wrap herself in it, in his welcoming smile and the teasing scent of freshly baked pastries, like in a soft, warm blanket.
Something about Laredo’s open gaze and eagerness to help—okay, his handsome looks, broad shoulders, and awesome physique clearly chiseled by outdoor labor didn’t hurt—had stirred her heart frozen after her devastating loss. He had the bluest, clearest, sincerest eyes she’d ever seen. It was... intoxicating.
She winced and nearly stopped pacing. Not the best choice of words. But she’d just met him and already caused harm to him.
Could she hope the capstone falling from the roof and his consequent injury had been a coincidence? As a nurse, she’d seen plenty of trauma injuries, and most of them hadn’t been caused by something sinister. Concern for him had her hugging her arms around her hollowed-out chest.
The hum of voices reached her, and she flinched. With their resemblance to Laredo, these guys in Wrangler shirts and cowboy boots must be his brothers. Now they were here because he’d been injured trying to save her.
A great way to meet someone’s family. Not! Like always — apart from with her patients — she kept to herself. The festive Christmas sweater one of them wore underscored the contrast against her gloomy mood and loneliness. Her parents had taken a Christmas trip this year, so she was going to celebrate Christmas with Pat. Until Pat decided to take off. Diana felt like hitting her head against the gray wall.
Why would anyone throw a capstone from the roof just for the fun of it? The police said they’d investigate the incident. She’d reported Pat’s disappearance, as well, but so far, there hadn’t been any leads. Pat’s mother hadn’t been worried. The woman, a jet-setter who loved traveling and was on her sixth husband and probably already thinking about the next one, insisted her daughter would turn up eventually. Pat always had, and it wasn’t the first time she’d disappeared and wouldn’t be the last. Pat’s father wasn’t in her life at all.
Only Diana worried about Pat, just like when they’d been teenagers and Pat’s mother was out on one of her many dates and Pat had spent the evenings and nights at Diana’s place. Diana resisted the urge to grind her teeth. So unfair for her friend! Pat had learned to cope by pretending she didn’t care, and as an adult, she hadn’t attached herself to a place or a person for long. She’d made friends easily, but she left them just as easily. Diana was the only exception.
However, had her search for Pat led to Laredo’s injury?
So many thoughts zapped about Diana’s head like angry wasps. Was her life in danger for some reason she didn’t know?
And she still had no clue what had happened to her friend. Her insides went cold. Were the two events related? She knew how to help people heal, though she’d never learned how to heal her own wound after losing Adam. But she had no clue how to search for a missing person or how to protect herself from danger.
Should she buy a gun? Should she have one already? Should she hire a private investigator? Should she find Pat’s father and remind him he had a daughter?
She thrived on her ability to help a patient, to be there for them in the difficult minutes of their lives. Maybe she even savored the sense of competence and authority, the sense of being useful. But she was out of her depth here, despite being in a familiar hospital setting. Helplessness nearly overwhelmed her.
A woman with long blonde hair swishing against her navy-blue pantsuit approached, her high-heeled black boots clicking against the tile and accentuating every step. Her concentrated expression and confident stride left Diana a tad envious.
The faint scent of cherry lip gloss drifted to Diana. “Hello. I’m Marina Lawrence. Are you Diana Medina, by any chance?”
Diana tensed under the examining gaze. Was this what bugs under a microscope felt? “I am.”
A woman in magenta—magenta!—jeans paired with a fun Christmas sweater displaying a cute red-nosed reindeer hurried over. Just like the ones Diana’s grandmother used to knit.
The newcomer’s high chestnut ponytail swung back and forth with the skip in her walk, and her smile stretched from ear to ear. Amazing. It was as if she didn’t have a care in the world. “Sis, you’re scaring her with your demeanor!”
Then the woman in magenta jeans offered Diana a hand and a generous smile. “Hi, I’m Saylor, Laredo’s sister-in-law and Marina’s sister. Are you okay? The capstone didn’t graze you or anything? I hope you’re okay, but if not, you’ll need a doctor to check you. I’m just studying to become a nurse, so I don’t have the authority to do that. Though if I can help you in any way, please let us know. We’ll be glad to do whatever we can. Honest. I mean that. I just want to make sure you’re okay. I’d have asked earlier, but we wanted to see if Laredo needed anything first. Well, I should’ve asked earlier anyway.”
Huh. Diana picked up her jaw from the gray tile. She wasn’t sure whether the tile was initially gray to match the walls—and people’s expected somber moods here—or if it had turned that color after being walked on by many, many feet.
Saylor’s personality seemed as bright as her clothes. If Diana compared herself to a shard of ice, frozen in place, Saylor could be a glowing fire. Diana’s gaze skipped to Saylor’s pink cowboy boots. Seriously, where had she found those? Diana had never seen pink cowboy boots before. The woman’s disposition reminded her of her friend, and that made her gravitate toward Saylor. Pat liked bright clothes, as well.
Whenever Pat had dragged Diana to parties, kicking and screaming—silently, but screaming nonetheless—Diana had done her best to blend in with the walls while Pat had stood out everywhere. Soon, Pat would know everyone at the party—all fifty or a hundred people—while Diana got acquainted with the house cat. Once Diana spent valuable time with a parrot, and they both learned new words.
Marina rolled her eyes. “Saylor, if you stop talking for a moment, Ms. Medina might have a chance to answer your question.”
Saylor chuckled, clearly not upset. “Right. I’m a chatterbox. Do you think I talk too much? Okay, please don’t answer that question. It was rhetorical.”
The sisters couldn’t be more different in personality and appearance.
Diana shook Saylor’s extended hand gladly, then Marina’s with a little less enthusiasm. “I’m fine, thanks to your brother-in-law. No need for a doctor’s visit. And it’s just Diana, please. I’m glad to meet you both.”
Then she remembered Laredo being treated in the hospital because he’d stepped into harm’s way for her. Guilt struck her again, though not with as much force as that capstone had struck him.
She hurried to add, “Though I wish it were under different circumstances. I’m so sorry about what happened to Laredo and if I inadvertently caused it.”
Her gaze soft, Saylor patted Diana’s shoulder. “It wasn’t your fault.”
She seemed to have the rare ability to soothe wounds with her mere presence. She’d make a great nurse. Probably much better than Diana was. After all, she couldn’t save the only man she’d ever loved, couldn’t keep him alive. A knifelike pang jabbed her again, then turned in her heart.
She swallowed hard. This past year, she managed to keep her secrets—well, a secret—and hadn’t lost her license. But how long would that last? She could bring shame not only to herself but also to her parents. Her father was a highly respected doctor, and her mother was a nurse. Naturally, she’d followed their footsteps, though she’d never made it as far as her father had. A fact he’d reminded her about constantly.
The burning thirst inside her intensified.
Her job and her best friend were the only things keeping her from falling into an abyss, and now Pat was gone. A chill sluiced over the burning things inside her.
No, not gone.
Missing . Maybe on some trip she’d taken on a whim with a new friend or a new love.
Pat would be back soon. She had to be.
Earth to Diana. She’d let her thoughts carry her away again. “Thank you both. And thank you for your concern about me.”
“No need to thank us.” Saylor smiled sheepishly. “Laredo asked us to make sure you were all right.”
Diana’s jaw slackened. The man was hurt, and he was worrying about her? “Thank you. You can tell him I’m fine.” Well, she was far from fine, but she didn’t need to unload her struggles on people she’d just met.
She dipped her head, letting her foot in a white boot scuff the tile floor.
She’d felt... felt something when she’d met the handsome cowboy with a radiant smile, velvety voice, and sky-blue eyes. One look in them made her breath whoosh free and her lungs forget to take in more. Similar to what she’d felt when she’d met Adam. But a year after his passing, she still reeled from her loss. So she’d had to stifle her attraction to Laredo at the pastry store and, in doing so, had been unnecessarily cold to him with the effort it had taken.
“You’ll be able to tell him yourself.” Marina’s gaze traveled behind Diana.
Diana whirled around. Her heart squeezed at the sight of his arm in a sling, all because of her. But then the same heart did a strange movement in her chest when his face lit as he spotted her.
No, she corrected herself. His face lit up when he spotted his family. It had to be. She was nobody to him, and it had to stay that way.