Shadow Chasing, page 10
Carla
P.S. I’ll be more patient with you if you’re still willing to stick it out with me. P.P.S. I’ve got a date with Cliff Thursday night, but I promise not to go out with him again. Maybe I should cancel it.
Two days later, Carla got a phone call from Western Union.
“Telegram from Mr. Philip Garrison for Miss Carla Walker.”
She had never received a telegram before, and her heart leapt to her throat as she searched frantically for a pencil. “This is Carla. Will I need a piece of paper?”
“I don’t think so. There are only two words: ‘Break date.’ ”
Chapter 7
Early Thursday evening, Carla rushed home from the hospital. “Did Philip call yet?” she asked breathlessly as she scurried inside the apartment.
Nancy looked up from her magazine, happiness lighting up her face. “Philip didn’t, but Eduardo did. He’s in Colorado on a business trip and wanted me to hop in the car and join him.”
“You’re joking.”
“No,” she countered, “I’m totally serious. Obviously he had no idea how far Seattle is from Denver. We did have a nice talk, though.”
From the look on her roommate’s face, Carla could see that the conversation with Eduardo had been satisfying. Fleetingly, she wondered where the relationship would go from here. It was obvious the two were strongly attracted to each other. For Eduardo to have swallowed his pride and contacted Nancy revealed how much he did care.
“So Philip hasn’t phoned?” Disappointment settled over Carla. Everything was going so well with Nancy that she couldn’t help feeling a small twinge of envy.
“Not yet. But it’s a little early, don’t you think?”
Carla had already kicked off her shoes and was unbuttoning the front of her uniform. “It’s not nearly early enough. I guess I can wait a few more minutes.” In some ways, she’d been waiting a lifetime for Philip.
“What makes you so sure he’s going to phone?” Nancy asked, following her down the hallway to the large bedroom they shared.
Carla laughed as she pulled the uniform over her head. “Easy. He’ll want to know if I broke the date or not.”
“And did you?”
“Of course. I’m not all that interested in Cliff, anyway.”
Nancy released a sigh of relief. “I’m glad to hear that.”
“Why?” Carla turned to her roommate as she slid pale blue cotton pants over her slender hips.
“Because he asked me out.”
Carla was shocked. “Cliff did? Are you going?”
Nancy’s eyes were evasive. “You don’t mind, do you?”
Carla couldn’t have been more shocked if Nancy suddenly had announced that she’d decided to date a monkey. Her roommate had practically jumped for joy because Eduardo had phoned her, yet she was going out with Cliff. It didn’t make sense.
“I don’t mind in the least. But…but why would you want to? I thought you’d really fallen hard for Eduardo.”
“I have,” Nancy admitted freely. “Maybe too hard. I want to know if what I feel is real or something I’ve blown out of proportion. We were only together for six days. And although I’ve been miserable without him ever since, I need to test my feelings. Eduardo’s culture is different from ours, he thinks and reacts to things completely opposite of the way I do sometimes, and that frightens me.”
Nancy revealing she was frightened about anything was a shock. Of the two roommates, Nancy was by far the more stouthearted. But she was the type who would be very sure before committing herself to Eduardo and once she did, it would be forever.
“But why date Cliff?” Carla wondered aloud.
“To be honest,” she said a little shyly, lowering her eyes, “I’ve always been attracted to him, but you were seeing him and I’d never have gone out with him while you were.”
“You like Cliff?”
Nancy nodded, indicating that she did. “But if it troubles you, I’ll cancel the date.”
“Don’t,” Carla said without the least hesitation. “As far as I’m concerned, Cliff is all yours.”
The doorbell chimed and Nancy glanced at the front door. “That must be Cliff now. You sure you don’t mind?”
“Of course not. Enjoy yourselves, I’ll talk to you later.”
Too excited to bother eating dinner, Carla brought in a chair and placed it beside the phone. As an afterthought, she added a pencil, some paper, and a tissue box, in case she ended up crying again. Satisfied, she moved into the living room to watch the evening newscast.
When the phone rang, she was caught off guard and glanced at her wristwatch before leaping off the sofa.
“Hello,” she answered in a low, seductive voice that was sure to send Philip’s heartbeat racing.
There was a lengthy pause on the other end of the line. “Carla?”
“Mom.” Embarrassed, Carla stiffened and rolled her eyes toward the kitchen ceiling. “Hi…I was expecting someone else.”
“Obviously. Is it someone I know?”
“No, his name’s Philip Garrison. I met him in Mazatlán.” She briefly related the story. “I thought he might be phoning tonight.” Take the hint, Mom, and make this short, Carla pleaded silently.
“You and…Philip must have hit it off for you to be answering the phone like a seductress.”
“I like him very much” was all Carla would admit.
“Since you’re so keen on this young man, when do your father and I get to meet him?”
Clenching a fist at her side, Carla struggled to hold on to her temper. She resented her mother for asking these questions, and she wanted to get off the phone in case Philip was trying to get through to her. “I don’t know. Philip lives in Spokane.”
“Spokane,” her mother mused aloud. “Your father and I knew some people named Garrison. Delightful folks—”
“Mom,” Carla interrupted, “would you mind if we talked later? I really do need to get off the phone.”
“No, that’ll be fine. I just wanted to know if you could come to dinner tomorrow night.”
“Sure.” At this point, she would have agreed to anything. “What time?”
“Seven.”
“I’ll be there. Talk to you later.”
“Good-bye, dear. And, Carla, it might help if you’re a little more subtle with…what’s his name again?”
“Philip.”
“Right. I’ll see you tomorrow. And, Carla, do try to be demure.”
“Yes, Mother, I’ll try.”
After hanging up, Carla took several calming breaths. She had never gotten along well with her mother. Over the years, Rachel Walker had admirably portrayed the role of a docile wife, but Carla had always thought of her as weak-willed: there were too many times when she’d witnessed the anger and hurt in her mother’s expressive eyes. She had wanted to shout at both her parents. Her father should have known what his career was doing to the rest of the family. Her mother should have had the courage to speak up. Carla had tried at sixteen and had been silenced immediately, so she’d moved away from home as soon as possible, eager to leave a situation that made her more miserable every year. And now…here she was following in her mother’s footsteps. A knot tightened in the pit of her stomach. Dear heavens, what was she getting herself into with loving Philip? Again and again she’d tried to tell herself that what they shared was different—that she and Philip were different from her parents. But their chances of avoiding the same problems her parents had dealt with were slim—likely nonexistent. With stiffening resolve, Carla vowed she would never live the type of life her mother had all these years. If that meant giving up Philip, then she’d do it. There wasn’t a choice.
The phone rang again a half-hour later. Carla stared at it as if it were a mad dog, her eyes wide with fear. Chills ran up and down her spine. This was Philip phoning—the call she’d anticipated all day.
Trembling, she picked up her purse and walked out the door. A movie alone was preferable to listening to the phone ring every half-hour. If she let Philip assume that she had gone out with Cliff, then maybe, just maybe, he’d give up on her and they could put an end to this misery. Her instincts had guided her well in the past. Now, more than at any other time in her life, she had to listen to her intuition—for both their sakes. Philip deserved a woman who would love him for his dedication to law and order and his commitment to protect and serve. He needed a wife who would learn the hazards of his profession a little at a time. Carla knew too much already.
Nancy wasn’t home when Carla returned to the dark, lonely apartment. And within five minutes the phone rang. She ignored it. Coward, she taunted silently as she moved into the bedroom. But if she was behaving like a weakling, it shouldn’t be this difficult. It wasn’t right that it hurt this much.
* * *
—
Nancy was still asleep when Carla dressed for work the following morning. She penned her roommate a note and left it propped against the sugar bowl on the kitchen table:
If Philip contacts you, please don’t tell him I didn’t go out with Cliff last night. I’ll explain later. Also, don’t bother with dinner. I’m going to my parents’. Am interested in hearing how things went with Cliff. Talk to you tonight.
* * *
—
Carla’s first surgery was an emergency appendectomy, a teenage boy who was lucky to be alive. Carla had witnessed only a handful of deaths in the last couple years. She didn’t know how the rest of the staff dealt emotionally with the loss of a patient, but each one had affected her greatly.
When she had finished assisting with the appendectomy, she found a message waiting for her. She waited to read it until she was sitting down, savoring a cup of coffee in the cafeteria. Call Nancy, it read. A glance at the wall clock confirmed that there wouldn’t be enough time to call until after lunch. When she phoned at one-thirty, however, there wasn’t any answer, so Carla assumed it couldn’t have been that urgent. She’d wait to talk to Nancy at home.
* * *
—
Three hours later Carla headed for the hospital parking lot, rubbing the ache in the small of her back to help relieve some of the tension accumulated from a long day on her feet. Dinner with her parents would only add to that tension. And eventually she would have to talk to Philip—he’d demand as much. But she didn’t want to think about that now. Not when her back hurt and her head throbbed and she was facing an uncomfortable dinner with her parents.
Carla was soaking in a tub full of scented water when Nancy knocked on the bathroom door. “Carla.”
“Hmm,” she answered, savoring the luxurious feel of the warm, soothing water.
“I think you should get over to your grandfather’s as soon as possible.”
Carla sat up, sloshing water over the edge of the bathtub. “Why? What happened?”
“I can’t explain now, I’ll be leaving any minute. Cliff’s on his way. He’s taking me to the Seattle Center for the China Exhibit.”
“Is anything wrong with Gramps?” Carla called out frantically. Already standing, she reached for a thick towel to dry herself.
“No, nothing like that. It’s a surprise.”
“What about you and Cliff? Things must be working out if you’re seeing him again.” Carla could feel Nancy’s hesitation on the other side of the bathroom door.
“They’re working out, but not as I’d expected. I’m giving it a second chance to see if it’s any better the second time.”
“Oh?” Carla hoped that Nancy wasn’t going to make her ask for an explanation.
“Cliff’s decent, I guess.”
Behind the closed door, Carla smiled smugly. That was how she felt about Cliff. He was fine, but he wasn’t Philip, and now, apparently, he wasn’t Eduardo, either.
“Does Eduardo know? I mean, did you tell him you were seeing another man?” Carla hated to think what would happen if he discovered Nancy was dating Cliff. Eduardo’s male pride was bound to cause him to overreact.
“I…I told him yesterday.”
“And?”
“Oh, he understands. In fact, he encouraged me to see Cliff again. I told him he should do the same thing, and you know what he said? He said he didn’t need to see another woman to know how he feels about me. He mentioned something about me flying to Mexico City to meet his family, but I didn’t let him know one way or the other.” As if regretting she’d revealed that much, Nancy added hastily, “Listen, Carla, I promise that you’ll like your surprise. I’d hurry if I were you.”
The doorbell sounded and was followed by a clicking sound that told Carla she wouldn’t get any more information from her friend. A surprise! Presumably, this was why Nancy had contacted her at the hospital.
Dressing casually in cotton pants and an antique-white blouse with an eyelet collar, Carla hardly bothered with her hair. A quick application of lip gloss and a dab of perfume and she was out the door.
Her heart was hammering by the time she arrived at the retirement center. Her shoes made clicking sounds as she hurried inside, pushing open the double glass doors with both hands. She took the elevator to Gramps’s room on the third floor, thinking it would be faster than running up the stairs.
Gramps’s door was closed. Carla knocked loudly twice and let herself inside. “Gramps, Nancy…” The words died on her lips as her startled eyes clashed with Philip’s. He was sitting opposite her grandfather, playing a game of checkers.
“Philip.” She stood there, stunned. “What are you doing here?”
Gramps came to his feet, using his cane to help him stand. “Nancy brought your young man over to meet me.”
“I asked her to,” Philip added. “Your grandfather was someone I didn’t want to miss meeting.”
“Mighty fine young man you’ve got yourself,” Gramps said, his blue eyes sparkling with approval.
“He could be saying that because he beat me in checkers,” Philip explained, grinning.
Gramps’s weathered face tightened to conceal a smile. “Leave an old man to his peace. Knowing my daughter, she’ll have your hide if either of you is late for dinner.”
“Dinner,” Carla repeated with a panicked look.
“Yes, your mother was kind enough to include me in the invitation.”
“My mother.”
“Something’s wrong with my hearing aid,” Gramps complained, tapping lightly against his ear. “I’m hearing an echo.”
Philip chuckled and cupped Carla’s elbow. “Nice meeting you, Gramps,” he said as he led the way out the door and into the hallway.
“Philip Garrison, what are you doing here?” Carla demanded. Her hands rested defiantly on her hips. Oh my, he looked good. His hair was combed to the side, and a thick lock fell carelessly across his wide brow. His appealing gray eyes were dark and intense as they met hers. To Carla he had never looked more compelling. Staying out of his arms was growing more difficult every minute.
“Are you trying to drive me crazy? Because you’re doing a mighty fine job of it. Why wouldn’t you answer the phone?”
“I…couldn’t.” She wouldn’t lie outright, but she had no compunction about letting him believe she’d been out with Cliff.
“And while we’re at it, you can explain this.” He took Carla’s note to Nancy from his pocket. “ ‘Please don’t tell him I didn’t go out with Cliff,’ ” he read with a sharp edge in his voice. “It seems to me you’ve got some explaining to do.”
“Y-Yes…yes, I guess I do.”
“Then let’s go back to your place. At least there we can have some privacy.” He flashed a look down the wide corridor.
They rode back to the apartment in silence.
“How’d you get here?” Carla asked shakily, as she pulled into her assigned parking space.
“I flew in at noon. Nancy picked me up at the airport.”
“When are you going back?”
His gaze cut into hers, and one thick brow arched arrogantly. “Can’t wait to be rid of me, is that it?”
“No…yes…I don’t know,” she replied, her voice trembling.
Her hands were unsteady as she unlocked the apartment and stepped inside. Philip had come all this way because she hadn’t had the courage to talk to him last night. She’d been foolish to believe he wouldn’t find out why. “Would you like a cup of coffee?” she asked, hanging her purse over the inside doorknob of the coat closet.
Gently, Philip settled a hand on each shoulder and turned her around so that he could study her. Carla’s gaze fell to the floor.
“Carla, my love.” Philip’s voice was low, sensuously seductive. “You know what I want.”
She did know. And she wanted it, too. “Oh Philip.” She groaned and slipped her arms over his shoulders, linking her fingers behind his neck. “It’s so good to see you.”
His mouth claimed hers in a series of long, intoxicating kisses that left her weak and trembling. Philip was becoming a narcotic she had to have; his touch was addictive.
His hands roamed over her back, pulling her soft form against his muscular frame. A warmth spread through her limbs, and she turned her head when his lips explored the smooth curve of her shoulder and the hollow of her throat.
Taking a deep breath to keep the room from spinning, Carla pushed against his chest, leaving only a narrow space between them.
“How can you refuse to speak to me, deceive me by letting me think you’d gone out with this other guy, and then kiss me like that?” Philip asked in a voice husky with emotion.
