Authors: Lindsay McKenna
Distracted, Morgan turned to the waiting officers. He held up the purse. “Yeah…just a minute. Let me give this to the admitting nurse.”
His mind swung between concern for Laura’s condition and awareness of the watchful officers as he dropped the purse off at the desk. Pushing several strands of damp hair off his brow, he dug into the breast pocket of his business suit and produced his passport for the police.
The sergeant took it and opened it. “Morgan Ramsey, U.S. citizen. You live in France?”
Putting a tight clamp on his emotions, Morgan kept his voice low and devoid of feeling. “That’s right.”
“French Foreign Legion?” The cop appraised him for a long time, a look of awe on his meaty face.
“I came on military business. I was about to take a plane back to France when this happened.” He didn’t intend to add anything to pique the cop’s curiosity. The Legion had a mystique to it, and Morgan credited the officer’s interest to that. Glancing out the doors to the parking lot, Morgan wondered if the press had been notified. He didn’t dare allow his photo to be taken.
“Can you tell us what happened?”
“I stepped off the center island at the airport without looking,” Morgan explained. “I should have been more careful, but I was thinking about something else at the time. The woman came from the opposite direction and pushed me out of the way of an oncoming limo, and then she got hit.”
“Do you know this woman?”
“No.”
“She’s sure got guts,” the other cop muttered, a note of admiration in his voice as he continued to scribble down notes for his report.
The nurse from Admittance came over. “Sergeant Amato, we’ve searched Ms. Bennett’s belongings, and there’s nothing to indicate whom we should notify about her injury.” She held up an insurance card. “We called her insurance agent and he said she’s got no family.”
“No family?” Morgan asked, his eyebrows lifting.
“Probably an orphan. Or adopted,” Amato volunteered, rummaging through the contents of Laura’s wallet.
Morgan felt as if a hand were squeezing his heart, and he rubbed his chest distractedly. “Are you sure?” He turned to the nurse. “Where does she live?”
“In McLean, Virginia. We’ve already called her residence, but there’s only an answering machine to take messages.”
Scowling, Morgan said, “Then I’ll be her family until someone can be located.”
The sergeant smiled. “She saved your neck. That’s a nice gesture, Mr. Ramsey. What about that plane back to France you were going to catch?”
“It’ll wait until I know she’s in capable hands.” He was responsible for what happened, and he wasn’t going to leave her in the lurch.
“Once Ms. Bennett becomes conscious, she’ll be able to tell us more,” the nurse said hopefully. “I’m sorry, Mr. Ramsey, but you can’t just assume responsibility for her unless she gives us permission.”
Rules. They were made to be broken sometimes, Morgan thought darkly, and this was one of those times. But he held his counsel. “I understand. Just let me know as soon as you can what her condition is.”
The nurse nodded briskly. “Of course.”
The sergeant finished his report by taking down what little information there was regarding Laura Bennett. He glanced at Morgan. “Thanks for your help, Mr. Ramsey. We might need to talk with you again, so please leave an address and phone number where we can reach you at the nurses’ station.”
Morgan nodded. “I’m not going anywhere until I hear about Ms. Bennett. After that I’ll find a local hotel.”
“Good enough. Thanks.”
Morgan watched the officers leave. The nurse directed him to a waiting room, and, choosing a brown plastic lounge chair, he sat. Resting his elbows on his long thighs, he clasped his hands, staring down at the black-and-white tiles, his mind whirling with questions, his emotions in utter tumult. He’d memorized Laura’s face, from her haunting blue eyes to that delicious mouth of hers. Who was she? And why had he been mesmerized by her? Rubbing his face tiredly, he leaned back and rested his head against the wall, utterly drained. For a long time he’d forgotten there was a God, but now he prayed for the life of Laura Bennett.
Intermittent pain stabbed through Laura’s head. Groggily she fought to awaken from the darkness that enveloped her. She heard lowered women’s voices somewhere in the distance. As she dragged her hand upward, her fingertips came in contact with the bandages around her eyes. What was going on? Struggling to remember, she focused her attention on the dressing.
“Ms. Bennett?” a woman called.
Laura felt the woman’s hand come to rest on her shoulder, and she answered, “Y-yes.”
“I’m Nurse Karen Mylnar. You’re at Washington Memorial Hospital. Four hours ago you were struck by a car at the airport. Do you remember?”
Licking her dry lips, Laura frowned. She sensed people around her. “Hospital?”
“Yes. You’re in a private room. Dr. Taggert is here to speak with you. He’s the physician on your case.”
John Taggert leaned over her and squeezed her hand. “Laura, I’m Dr. Taggert. Do you have someone we can notify about your injury?”
She took in a deep breath. “No.”
“Are you an orphan?”
“I’m adopted, but both my parents are dead.”
“I see. Do you remember rushing out in front of a car to save a man from getting hit?”
Laura licked her dry lower lip, the man’s grief-stricken face wavering in her memory. How could she ever forget those haunted gray eyes? “Y-yes, I remember…”
“Well, he’s safe, but you got hit, instead. You were brought here for treatment. You’ve got some nasty bruises on your left shoulder and hip, but no internal injuries.”
The memory of the man with the black mustache walking out in front of the limo flashed across her mind once again. She remembered his eyes, and how she thought he’d been crying. The rest of the doctor’s words were lost as she relived the accident.
“Did you hear me, Ms. Bennett?”
“No…I-I’m sorry,” Laura whispered, her head aching fiercely.
“You’ve sustained a deep cut to your right temple, very close to your eye.” Taggert frowned. “Right now, neither of your eyes is responding to light.”
“I don’t understand.” She felt infinitely exhausted.
“It’s probably temporary. Tissue swelling could account for the lack of response. We’re going to have to wait a couple days for the edema in that area to recede to be sure.”
“Sure? Of what?” Suddenly the urge to have that mercenary at her side nearly overwhelmed her. Laura had learned to live alone. She had learned to overcome obstacles without the help of others. His sad gray eyes loomed in her memory.
“You’re blind right now, Ms. Bennett. But if I’m correct, it’s probably temporary. The blow you took to your head caused it.”
Blind? A gasp tore from her, and her hand flew to her bandaged eyes. “No!”
“Easy,” Taggert said, capturing her hand and pulling it away from the gauze dressing. “Don’t panic yet, Ms. Bennett. In forty-eight hours I’ll have a better idea whether your condition is temporary or not.”
Panic flooded. “But—I can’t be blind!” Her voice cracked.
Patting her hand absently, Taggert said, “Give her a sedative, nurse. Please calm down, Ms. Bennett.”
Hot, stinging tears flooded her eyes. Darkness surrounded her. Laura sobbed, fighting to sit up. Her entire body ached. “I don’t want a sedative!”
“Take it easy,” the doctor murmured. “Listen, the man you saved is outside, waiting to talk to you. His name is Morgan Ramsey, and he won’t leave without seeing you.”
Morgan Ramsey. Laura leaned back against the pillows, running his name again and again through her mind. “He’s here?” Suddenly she needed him. The look in his eyes, despite the harsh cast of his face, told her he was a man of honor, someone she could trust.
“Yes. Maybe talking with him will make you feel better.”
“Please, send him in,” Laura said, her voice quavering. She wrapped her arms around her gowned body, suddenly very cold and very afraid. Her career depended on her eyes. She couldn’t be blind. She just couldn’t!
Slipping into the room at Taggert’s request, Morgan stood in the ebbing silence after the medical team left. Laura’s eyes were bandaged, and he could see that her right cheek was puffy and scratched. She had her arms wrapped against herself, and he sensed her terror.
“Laura, my name is Morgan Ramsey,” he said quietly, walking over to her bedside. He allowed his hand to rest on her slumped shoulder. “I’m the guy whose neck you saved.”
“Morgan…” His touch was firm, steadying, and his voice was deep, calming her panic. Gradually Laura allowed her arms to relax, and she dropped her hands into her lap. “They said you weren’t hurt,” she said softly.
Her voice was a sandpapery whisper. Morgan took a pitcher and poured water into a glass, placing it in her hand. “I’m fine. You’re the one I’m worried about. Drink this. Maybe you’ll feel better.”
The water was cooling and bathed her dry throat. Grateful for his sensitivity, Laura handed the glass back to him. “Thank you.”
Morgan realized she was trembling as he took the glass from her and set it back on the table. Capturing her hand, he said, “Look, this is awkward as hell, but I owe you my life. I stepped off that curb in another world. If you hadn’t pushed me out of the way of that limo, I’d probably be dead by now.”
The flesh of his hand was tough, but his grasp was warm and comforting. Laura clung to his hand, needing the stability he automatically provided. “I didn’t think. I just reacted,” she offered lamely.
He sat down carefully on the edge of the bed, facing her. “Do you always do things out of instinct?” he teased, trying to get her to relax.
Managing a shaky laugh, Laura murmured, “Usually.”
“Well, there aren’t too many people in this world who would have put their life on the line for the likes of me.” He squeezed her cold, damp fingers. “Dr. Taggert told me you can’t see. He feels it’s temporary, but won’t be sure for a couple of days. What can I do for you while you’re recovering?”
His voice was incredibly soothing. Laura fought the urge to lean forward and rest against him. “You were at the airport. Surely you have a flight to catch. Not to mention a family and job to go home to. You can’t stay here with me.”
Morgan felt a slight smile soften his features. “I have no wife or children, Laura. And as for my job, it’s overseas and can wait.” He had thirty days’ leave coming to him and he would wire the commandant of the Legion, requesting it. “They said you have no family,” he added. “Maybe I can fill in for a while. Or do you have a friend who can stay with you?”
Laura hung her head, trying to think. Ann Roher, her best friend, was in Europe on assignment for a magazine. Other than that, she had many acquaintances, but no real friends. “My friend Ann is overseas for the next month. I could hire someone—”
“I won’t hear of it.” Morgan watched her beautifully shaped mouth compress with pain. “Look,” he said, reluctantly releasing her hand and standing, “you get some rest. I’ll take care of everything.”
“But—”
“I know I’m a stranger to you, but you can trust me—” his voice grew hoarse “—with your life.”
A shiver shot through Laura as she heard the distinct catch in his tone. “I believe you, Morgan, but I just can’t ask you or anyone to—”
“I learned a long time ago that when you’re wounded, you should always lean on a buddy for help. It’s an old military custom. You’re in one hell of a predicament because of me, Laura, and I won’t desert you.”
Overwhelmed by the incredible twist of events, Laura sank back into the pillows. His voice was fierce with barely veiled emotion, as if she’d struck a raw nerve in him.
Morgan took her silence to mean no. “Look, I’ll get a room at a hotel near your house. I don’t intend to make a burden of myself. You’re going to need someone to get groceries and cook for you. And I can drive you where you need to go. Taggert seems to feel you’ll have your eyesight back very soon. A little of my time is small payment for what you did for me today.”
“All right, I surrender,” Laura said with a sigh.
“There are keys in your purse. Are they to your car?”
“Yes. It’s a red Toyota MR2 sports car. I have it parked at the airport. The validation ticket is in my wallet.”
“I’ll get your car, then. How about at home? Any pets to feed?”
Some of Laura’s panic was being assuaged by Morgan Ramsey’s sensible practicality. His reference to being wounded triggered her curiosity, but there would be time later to find out more about this mysterious stranger who had crashed into her life. “Yes, I’ve got a baby robin at home. She fell out of the apple tree in my backyard a week ago and broke her leg.”
Morgan frowned. “A robin?” Anguish surged through him, and with it, old, poignant memories of another baby robin that had touched his life. Was there no end to the pain this day was creating for him? The only positive was Laura. She looked incredibly frail in the stark hospital bed.
“Oh, dear…Will you know how to feed the little bird? She needs worms and fruit—”
“I know all about robins,” Morgan told her abruptly. “Any other pets?”
“Just my dog, Sasha. She’s a Saint Bernard.”
Unexpected laughter surged through Morgan. “A big old Saint Bernard with a delicate name like Sasha?”
His laughter feathered across her, and Laura managed a painful smile. “She’s very dainty for a Saint Bernard, Mr. Ramsey.”
Morgan liked Laura’s fighting spirit. “Call me ‘Morgan.’ We might as well be on a first-name basis. Okay, lady, I’ll take care of your menagerie. You just lie back, sleep and get better.”
She heard his footsteps retreating. “Morgan?”
He halted at the door. “Yes?”
“Are you sure you want to do this?”
Looking at her soft mouth and listening to her husky voice snapped the tension he’d held in check since this morning. “Yeah, I’m very sure, Laura. You don’t leave a wounded comrade stranded. You’re stuck with me.”
She mustered a small smile. “Okay. Thanks…”
Pulling the door open, Morgan glanced back over his shoulder. “It’s one o’clock. I’ll be back tonight at visiting hours to report on your household.”
“Tonight, then.” Laura heard the door shut quietly, and the room suddenly seemed very lonely. Morgan Ramsey’s larger-than-life presence was gone, and so was the confidence she’d felt while he was there with her. He’d made the pain go away, too. Touching her bandages gingerly, she prayed with all her heart that the blindness wasn’t permanent. Exhaustion eroded her already unraveling emotions, and as she slid into a deep, healing sleep, she wondered what Morgan would think of her small home.