The Complete Groupie Trilogy (78 page)

Beads of sweat ran down his reddened face as Graham Baxter took each step with great effort. He was nowhere near winning a marathon anytime too soon, but the steps he could take independently had grown exponentially since he walked toward Andy in a New York hospital room. It was mostly thanks to his tireless cheerleader, who beckoned him to take just one more step than he thought he could, who urged him now with open arms and a tireless devotion.

He grabbed the bars in a white knuckled grip to keep his balance as he finally reached where she stood. “You’re a slave driver, Maggie Fowler,” he growled with a playful scowl on his face.

“That I am,” she happily agreed. “If you don’t like it, you can fire me,” she added as she assis
ted him back to his wheelchair.

The days of his threatening to terminate her tenure as his nurse had ended the minute he realized she was the one who could get him mobile again. And even though his reason for getting well had walked into someone else’s arms, he knew he was nowhere near finished with his therapy and his recuperation. This was largely thanks to the butt-kicking Maggie gave him when he got home. She told him in no uncertain terms that he was going to walk again if it was the last thing she did, Andy or no Andy. She railed at him he was a fool to ever pin all his hopes on another person, and that if he couldn’t get off his butt and on his feet then he wasn’t half the man she thought him to be.

After her little sermon was over, Graham quietly reminded her that he wasn’t finished with his therapy, and therefore neither was she.

“Good,” she had pronounced. “Because if you think you can get rid of me that easy, you’ve got another thing coming.”

He had smiled at her red-faced furor. She had truly expected when he had returned from New York alone that she’d have to pull him, kicking and screaming, back to the land of the living. It was actually kind of amusing to see her befuddled how to handle their new relationship dynamic, where she could be the sole focus of his attention.

Even though they had spent significant time together in the past, without the ghost of Andy and his hopes for their future hanging overhead, it had shifted the balance somewhat. Now when they spent time alone together, it was as two people who had no other main goal than what they could get from each other. It was a strange relationship, but one built on deep trust. He knew that Maggie would never let him down. As such, he never wanted to fail her.

It had only been a few weeks, but their progress had been undeniable. He was working hard to meet their next goal: his return to the office to oversee Baxter Mega-Worldwide Media Corporation.

Andy had done much for his business, but ever since her return from New York with Vanni she had laid low. It was almost a honeymoon period for them, which still gnawed at Graham’s gut. He had loved Andy for a long time – still did – but she had chosen another man. Even if that man was totally wrong for her, had betrayed her and manipulated her, and even put her life in da
nger, she had made her choices.

Graham was quite over chasing after her to change her mind. Maggie kept him focused on those things he could change, those things he could control. In fact she never even mentioned Andy at all, even though he knew she must have been curious.

“She has chosen to stay with Vanni,” was all that he said on the matter, which is what launched her into her tirade that he better not give on himself as a result.

Oddly enough, despite how heartsick he was that he would never have a future with the woman he still loved, he had never considered giving up on Maggie, their therapy, or his future. So he wasn’t going to be walking down the aisle again, at least he’d be walking.

Besides which, he’d already done the marriage thing. Twice. It hadn’t worked out before, why was he so certain he would get lucky the third time around? Given that the woman he loved still loved someone else, it was a virtual certainty it would have failed eventually.

Much better he lose her now than later.

So Maggie and Graham built a new relationship. They talked about things other than his failed romance with Andy. They talked about music, watched movies and discussed books. They indulged their mutual love of cooking to experiment around the kitchen and prepare gourmet meals. They discussed politics and world events. As people, they found they were surprisingly compatible. They were closer in age and had learned certain hard truths in life, especially rebounding from the worst kind of crises. In the last few weeks they had become the best of friends who laughed a lot and treasured the little things.

It was dangerous territory for Maggie. When Graham had returned from New York without Andy, it struck fear in her heart he’d send her away; too despondent over the loss of his relationship he wouldn’t want to continue their therapy together. While his recovery remained a priority, Maggie realized that wasn’t the main reason she was scared he’d turn her away
.

Graham had wormed his way into her heart when she wasn’t looking. She had more than a reason to wake up every morning, she had a reason to smile, to laugh… to enjoy life again. She hadn’t felt this way since Mitchell died, and nothing scared her more th
an to lose that feeling again.

Before, with Andy as a buffer, she had been able to deny the feelings that had started to take root. It was easy to defer to someone else as the objective third party, who merely played a supporting role. It was only after she faced off with Andy during Graham’s bout of pneumonia that she truly
knew she was in over her head.

The day Maggie had confided to Graham about what had happened with Mitchell, he had taken her into his arms as a gesture of comfort. It was the first time she had leaned on anyone else for support in a long time. She noted how strong his arms were, how steadfast his embrace. When he took her out on the town afterwards, she truly felt like a woman for the first time in a long time. She had indulged that feeling only to put Graham’s health at risk. She had challenged his compromised immune system with prolonged exposure to the outside world on his first real outing. When he came down with pneumonia, Maggie was panic-stricken that she had been the cause, not his shock over learning Andy h
ad been with Vanni in New York.

It was just easier to blame the younger woman, who had bounced between the two men she loved like a ping pong ball. It was also easy to blame her for being too stupid to realize what kind of man she had in Graham. To Maggie there wasn’t even a choice between the two men. Vanni was immature and selfish and entitled. Graham had been devoted and selfless, to the po
int of taking a bullet for her.

Andy totally didn’t see how lucky she was, and that pissed Maggie off most of all.

It was then Maggie had the inkling that her anger at Andy was more than just defending her patient. When Andy returned, Maggie was relieved. Falling in love with a patient would have been an unnecessary complication.

Now, as she helped him into his whirlpool bath, she feared that ship had sailed. She averted her eyes from the lower half of his body, reminded of the time she walked in on his pri
vate moment pleasuring himself.

It had awakened something in her she thought long buried, and those thoughts had no
place in her job as his nurse.

She didn’t say much as she left him to soak. If Graham noticed he didn’t say anything. They hadn’t really talked about things of a sexual nature since that day, even though she knew he had resumed a fairly active love life when Andy had returned to the house after the New York debacle. Andy had slept in his bed almost exclusively until their last trip to New York, and since Maggie had an adjoining bedroom she didn’t need to be a psychic to figure out what sounds meant what.

He hadn’t said one way or the other if they had been intimate, and it wasn’t really Maggie’s business anyway. She knew he was curious about fathering children in his current condition, but as far as she knew their efforts had not been successful.

Maggie couldn’t even imagine how complicated t
hat would have made everything.

She headed for the kitchen to make herself a snack as he soaked. She decided to make him a treat as well, just to spoil him a little for all his hard work that morning. He was making tremendous strides toward his goal – both literally and figuratively – so she felt he deserved a little pampering. She smiled to herself as she prepared him a plate of fruit and cheese. It made her feel domestic and womanly to take care of the man she loved. It was such an old fashioned notion when she took time to think it through, but thanks to a ringing telephone she didn’t have to dwell on it much.

“Graham Baxter’s residence.”

“Hi, Maggie. It’s Andy.”

Just the sound of the other woman’s voice made Maggie’s smile evaporate. Her tone was stiff as she replied, “Hello, Andy.”

The tension between them was palpable, even over the phone. “May I speak to Graham?”

Maggie cleared her throat. “Graham’s busy in therapy at the moment. Can I give him a message?”

“It’s kind of an emergency,” Andy said.

Isn’t it always?
Maggie thought to herself. “Fine. Hold on.”

She went back to Graham’s private bath, and knocked on the door. “Come in,” he
responded from the other side.

The minute she entered she took note of how youthful, strong and masculine he looked reclining in the bubbling whirlpool. She felt her heart swell despite herself. She hated having to disrupt their perfect little bubble with anything related to Andy, but it was clear that as long as she was with the lead singer of his biggest act, they’d never really be done with her.

So complicated
, she reminded herself again.

“Andy’s on the phone,” she replied tersely. “Says it’s an emergency.”

He nodded immediately and held a hand out for the phone, so she handed him the cordless handset. “Yes, Andy?” he said, and it tore at Maggie’s heart to hear the hopeful tone in his voice.

He needed to be needed, and no one needed him more than Andy.

Maggie watched as concern drew his face into a scowl. “Maybe you should call the police,” he said. After a pause, “No, of course you wouldn’t want to draw that kind of attention… but if there’s something in that package that is dangerous…”

Maggie sighed as she
stood helplessly by and waited.

“Okay, listen. I think I know who we can call. Just stay inside, okay? And Andy,” he said quietly, “thanks for calling.”

He disconnected the call and reached for a towel. Maggie wanted to ask what the big emergency was, but she quietly did what she always did best: her job.

She dried him off, got him into his robe and then helped him get into his chair. He wheeled down the hallway and into his office without another word.

Maggie’s spirit had deflated by the time she returned to the kitchen and the colorful plate of food she had prepared for him. She considered only briefly putting it away, but then before she lost her nerve she grabbed the plate and headed for his office.

He had just hung up one call and dialing another when she entered. He held up his hand briefly while he spoke into the phone. “Hi, Andy. It’s Graham. I called my director of security at the office; he’s sending someone to your house right now. His name is Terrance and he’ll call you with the details.” He paused, and then smiled tenderly… lovingly. “No, it’s no trouble at all. I told you I’d always be here for you. Haven’t I always meant what I said?” He paused again. “Call me anytime.” He looked as though he wanted to add something else, but thought wiser of it. “Talk to you soon. Bye, Andy.”

He was still quiet as he disconnected the call and placed the phone onto his desk. It was as if he had forgotten Maggie was standing there, which – of course – he had. She cleared her throat, and his head snapped back. “Oh, Maggie. I’m sorry. I had to take care of something. It was…”

“An emergency,” she filled in. “Yes, I heard.”

There was a sharpness in her tone that didn’t escape his notice. His eyes searched her face. “Is something wrong?”

She shook her head and placed the plate down onto his desk. “Of course not.” She turned to leave but then curled her fists into tiny balls at her side. She whipped back around. “Actually, there kind of is. I thought Andy had made her choice.”

Graham’s brow knit in confusion. “She did, but this was something that couldn’t wait.”

“Apparently nothing in Andy’s world can wait,” Maggie retorted, with more fire than she probably intended. “I think it’s a bad idea – for your recovery – to ride to her rescue every time she calls. You’re going to waste all your time and valuable energy fixing all her problems when we have a full plate right here. With – with you,” she stammered.

He leaned back in his chair, confused by her rancor against Andy. The movement caused his robe to gape open, which flustered Maggie even further. A flush crept around her neck and up toward her cheeks. “Maggie, is there something you’re not saying?” he wanted to know.

“I
am
saying it,” she clarified. “You’re not listening. Andy’s a big girl. She can fix her own problems now. And if she can’t, her boyfriend can. Retire the white horse.”

He wheeled around the desk to face Maggie. “It’s not that simple. There are some things a little more important than wounded pride or a broken heart. Look at me,” he instructed softly, and her eyes made an unwilling trek over his body. His broken body was proof he’d risk anything for that girl, and Maggie knew it. “This situation isn’t all black and white. If I can help keep her safe – someone I love – then I’m going to do it. Accept it. Because it’s not going to change.”