“You weren’t the only one.”
“You didn’t give her his message, either? You mean he called more than once? Oh, dear.”
“I didn’t talk to him,” Norah countered swiftly. “But Dad did.” Rowdy had never actually said so, but he’d implied that he’d phoned Valerie several times. If Steffie had answered one call and Norah none, that left only their dear, meddling father.
She was about to explain that when the phone rang. Norah reached for the receiver; two minutes later she was so furious she could barely breathe.
Slamming the phone down, she whirled on her sister. “I don’t believe this. Of all the high-handed, arrogant—it’s outrageous!”
“Norah, what’s wrong?”
Three
“Rowdy Cassidy has had me transferred out of the emergency room!” Norah shouted, clenching her fists. “The nerve of the man!”
“But why?” Steffie wanted to know.
“So I could be there to wait on him hand and foot like everyone else.” Norah stalked angrily to the other side of the kitchen. “I don’t believe it! Of all the—”
“Nerve,” Steffie supplied.
“Precisely.”
“Surely you’ve got some say in this,” Steffie said, as she resumed setting the table. Norah glared at her sister, wondering how Steffie could think about dinner at a time like this.
“Apparently I don’t have a choice in the matter,” Norah fumed. “I’ve been asked to report to Karen Johnson at seven tomorrow morning.”
“Oh, dear.”
“I’m so furious I could scream!”
“What’s this yelling all about?” her father asked, strolling into the bright, cheery kitchen.
“It’s Rowdy Cassidy again,” Steffie said before Norah had the chance.
David rubbed one hand along his jaw. “I don’t think you need to worry—he’ll be gone soon.”
His words were of little comfort to Norah. “Unfortunately, it won’t be soon enough to suit me.”
Her father chuckled softly and left the kitchen.
Norah arrived on the second floor early the following morning.
Karen Johnson was at the nurses’ station making entries on a patient’s chart. “So you heard,” she said.
Norah gave her friend a grumpy smile. “I’m not happy about this.”
“I didn’t think you would be, but what else can we do when His Imperial Highness issues a decree?”
“Is he awake?”
Karen nodded. “Apparently he’s been up for hours. He wants to see you the minute you get here,” Karen said, and made a sweeping motion with her arm.
Although Norah was furious with Rowdy, her friend’s courtly gesture produced a laugh. “How’s he doing?”
“Better physically. Unfortunately, not so well emotionally. Being stuck in a hick-town hospital, as he so graciously describes Orchard Valley General, hasn’t improved his disposition. But then, he’d find something to complain about in paradise. He wants out, and there isn’t a man or woman on this floor who wouldn’t grant him his wish if it was possible.”
Norah pushed up the sleeves of her white cardigan sweater as she walked into Rowdy’s room, prepared to do battle. He smiled boyishly when he saw her, which disarmed and confused her. She hadn’t expected him to be in a good mood.
“Morning,” he greeted her cheerfully.
“I want you to know I don’t appreciate the fact that you’ve adjusted my life to suit your own purposes.”
“What?” he demanded. “Asking the administrator to assign you to this floor? You were the one who gave me his name, weren’t you? Aren’t you being a bit selfish?”
“Me? If I’m selfish, what does that make you?”
“Lonely. You’re the only person I know in this entire town.”
“Your acquaintance is with my sister, not me,” she reminded him forcefully.
“In this case, it’s any port in the storm. I trust you, Norah, although I’m not sure why. You’ve already admitted Valerie didn’t know about my accident because you didn’t tell her until after the wedding. I can only assume you wanted me for yourself.”
If he was hoping she’d rise to his bait, he had a long wait coming. She folded her arms and expelled a deep sigh. “I’ll be bringing your breakfast in a couple of minutes,” she said, turning her back on him.
When she came back, carrying the tray, Rowdy was sitting up in bed. “I need your help,” he announced.
“You look perfectly capable of feeding yourself.”
“I’m bored out of my mind.”
“Do what everyone else does. Watch television,” she said tartly. Whether he was lonely or not, she refused to pander to his moods. He’d pulled a dirty trick on her and she wasn’t going to reward his behavior.
Rowdy glanced up at the blank television screen. “Please don’t be annoyed with me, Norah. I’m serious.”
“So am I.” But she could feel herself weakening. When Rowdy turned on the charm, Norah suspected few could deny him. Karen Johnson, for instance… Well, Norah had no intention of ending up the same way.
“When will you be back?” he asked, grimacing as he examined his meal. The toast was cold. Norah could tell by the way the butter sat hard and flat on top. The eggs were runny and the oatmeal looked like paste. Norah didn’t envy him.
“Someone else will be by to pick up your tray in a little while,” she told him, not answering his question.
“You might as well take it now.”
“Try to eat something,” she suggested sympathetically.
“What? The half-cooked eggs or the lumpy oatmeal? No, thanks, I’d rather go without.”
“Lunch will be more appetizing,” Norah promised.
His brows arched cynically. “Wanna bet?”
Norah left his room, but she came back a few minutes later with two homemade blueberry muffins. Rowdy’s eyes lit up when she set them on his breakfast tray. “I can’t believe I’m doing this,” she muttered.
“Where’d you get those?” As if he feared she’d change her mind, he snatched one off the tray.
“I baked last night and brought them in for the staff at coffee break this morning. Enjoy.”
“I intend to.” Already he was peeling away the paper. The first muffin disappeared in three bites. “These are wonderful,” he said, licking the crumbs from his fingers. “Ever thought about selling the recipe?”
Norah laughed. The recipe had been her mother’s and Norah guessed it had originally come from a magazine. “Not lately.”
“Well, if you ever do, let me know.” He was ready to dig into the second one. “By the way, Kincade’s stopping by this afternoon, so hold off on those pain shots, will you?”
“Kincade?”
“My corporate attorney. Kincade and I spoke yesterday and he’s hand-carrying some papers that have to be signed, so I’m going to need a clear head. Got that?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Rowdy frowned, but said nothing. Norah shrugged, then gathered up the tray and left.
The morning passed quickly and she didn’t talk to Rowdy again until near the end of her shift, at three. He was tired and out of sorts. His attorney friend had spent two hours with him, and an exhausted Rowdy had slept fitfully afterward.
“He’s much calmer when you’re around,” Karen commented as they prepared to leave.
Norah didn’t believe for a second that she’d made the slightest difference to Rowdy’s behavior. If Karen wanted to thank anyone, it should be Kincade, who’d kept him occupied; at least when he was busy he didn’t have time to make everyone else miserable.
On impulse she decided to check on him before she left for home. He was sitting up, listlessly flipping through channels on the television. Apparently nothing appealed to him.
“I didn’t know daytime television was in such desperate straits,” he muttered when he saw her. He pushed another button and the screen went blank. “I was hoping you’d stop by before you went
home.”
“How are you feeling?” she asked, trying to gauge his mood. He seemed somewhat revived from the nap.
“Lousy.”
Norah was surprised he’d admit it. “Do you want a pain shot?”
He shook his head. “But I wouldn’t mind a distraction. Can you sit down and talk for a few minutes?”
Norah made a show of glancing at her watch, although in reality she didn’t have a single reason to hurry home. “I can stay for a short while, I guess.” She certainly wasn’t being gracious about it, but that didn’t seem to bother Rowdy.
“Good.”
Norah was met with the full force of his smile, and for a moment she basked in its warmth. Little wonder he inspired such loyalty and confidence in his employees. He definitely had the charisma of true leadership. Valerie had worked with him for nearly four years, dedicating her time and talent to his corporation until she had practically no life of her own. She’d done it voluntarily, too, inspired by Rowdy’s own commitment to CHIPS.
“How’d the meeting with your friend go?” Norah asked conversationally.
He paused as though he’d never considered Kincade his friend. “Fine. Actually, it went very well. We’ve been able to keep the news of my accident from leaking to the press.”
“What would be so terrible about anyone finding out you’re in the hospital?” Norah shrugged. “Karen mentioned something about the stocks.”
Rowdy cast her an odd look. “You honestly don’t know?” He shook his head again. “If the stockholders discovered I was incapacitated, they’d lose confidence in CHIPS and the stock could drop by several points.”
“Would that really be so disastrous?”
“Yes,” he returned without hesitation. “If the value declines by even a single point, that’s equivalent to losing millions of dollars. Any greater loss and it becomes catastrophic, with a ripple effect that could rock the entire industry.”
Either the man had an elevated sense of his own worth, or he was pessimistic by nature. Though perhaps she was being unnecessarily harsh, Norah mused. She knew next to nothing about business and finance. Nor did she care. She was content to leave the world’s financial affairs in the capable hands of people like Rowdy Cassidy and her sister. She stood abruptly and walked toward the door.
“Do you have to go so soon?” Rowdy asked, disappointment in his dark eyes.
“I’ll be right back,” she promised.
It took her several minutes to find what she was looking for.
Rowdy brightened when she returned. “What’s that?” he asked, nodding toward the rather battered box she was carrying.
“You do play games, don’t you?”
“Often, but I seldom need a board.”
Norah laughed. “Then I promise you this is right up your alley. It’s a game of power, intrigue and skill.” She set the box on the foot of his bed and slowly, dramatically, lifted the lid. She had Rowdy’s full attention now.
“Checkers?” he asked with more than a hint of disbelief.
“Checkers.” She drew the bedside table closer, moved his laptop and some flowers and placed the board on it. Then she pulled up a chair. “You want red or black?”
“Black to match my evil temperament.” Rowdy gave an exaggerated leer, twirling an imaginary mustache.
Norah grinned. “I’m not going to argue with you.”
They set up the board together. “Generally when I play a game there’s something riding on the outcome,” he said in a relaxed, offhand manner.
“Like what?” Norah pushed a red checker one space forward.
“Usually the stakes are big. It makes the game more…interesting.”
“So what do you think we should wager on this game?” she asked. She’d forgotten how competitive men could be.
“Something small—this time,” he said, studying the board.
“Give me an example.” It’d been a while since she’d played checkers and she wasn’t all that sure of her skills. She’d never taken games, any game, too seriously.
“I don’t know…” Rowdy paused, apparently mulling it over. “How about dinner?”
“Dinner? You mean after you’re discharged from the hospital?”
“No, I mean tonight.”
Norah snickered. “What are you planning to do? Order up a second tray from the kitchen? If that’s the case, I’m afraid I’ll have to decline.”
“I won’t need to order you another dinner tray,” he said calmly, making his first jump and capturing one of her checkers. “I intend to win.”
Rowdy did exactly that, and his winning streak continued, even when they decided the wager was two games out of three. After her second loss, Rowdy leaned back against the pillows, folded his arms and threw her a self-satisfied smile. “I’d like rare roast beef, a baked potato with sour cream, green beans and three-layer chocolate cake for dessert, preferably with coconut frosting. Homemade would be nice. Do you have a recipe for good chocolate cake?”
Stepping away from his bed, Norah propped her fists on her hips. “Is this your usual diet? Good grief, you’re a prime candidate for a heart attack. I’ll bet you don’t exercise, either.”
“Not recently.” He looked pointedly at his leg. “Are you going to honor your end of the bargain or not?”
“I’m not sure yet. I’ll bring your dinner, but don’t hold your breath waiting for rare roast beef.”
“I’m a Texan,” he challenged. “I was weaned on prime rib.”
“Then it’s high time you started checking your cholesterol, cowboy. My father just went through open-heart surgery and it wasn’t any picnic. My advice to you is to make a change in your eating habits now.”
“All right, all right,” Rowdy grumbled. “I’ll settle for pizza and to show you how reasonable I can be, go ahead and order it with those little fish. That’s healthy, right?”
“Anchovies? Do you know how high in sodium anchovies are?”
“There’s no satisfying you, is there?” Rowdy chuckled. “If it isn’t my cholesterol level you’re fussing about, it’s sodium count or something. Before you leave, you’ll have me on a diet of bread and water, which is basically all I’ve been eating since I got in here, anyway.”
Norah found herself laughing again. “I’ll see to my dad’s dinner and be back later with your pizza,” she promised on her way out the door.
“Bring that checkerboard,” he told her. “There’re a few other wagers I’d like to make.”
Norah had a few of her own. If everything went according to her plans, Rowdy would be as docile as a sleepy cat before he left Orchard Valley Hospital.
“You’re later than usual,” her father commented when she walked into the house. “Problems at the hospital?”
“Not really.” She wasn’t sure how much she should tell him about her time with Rowdy. Her own confusion didn’t help. The man was in love with her sister, for heaven’s sake! And he annoyed her no end with his tactics. The fact that she was attracted to him didn’t make any sense. None whatsoever.
“I have to go back to the hospital,” she said on her way upstairs, deciding not to offer any further explanation. She wanted a long bath, a short nap and a change of clothes, in that order.
“Don’t worry about dinner,” David called up after her. “I can take care of it. Plenty of leftovers in the fridge. Besides, I had a big lunch, so I don’t have too much of an appetite.”
Norah hesitated at the top of the stairs. Her father was right; he was now fully capable of looking after himself. The last thing he needed was her fussing over him. It came as something of a shock to realize that. Then she smiled. It came as a relief, too.
The hospital was quiet when Norah returned a couple of hours later. The head floor nurse smiled when she saw her carrying a boxed pizza. “I wondered what you promised him,” LaVern joked. “He’s been as good as gold all evening.”
Opening the door with a flourish, Norah marched into Rowdy’s room, balancing the piz
za on the palm of one hand. “Ta da!”
Rowdy reached for the triangular bar dangling above his head and pulled himself upright. “I was beginning to think you were going to renege on our bet.”
“A Bloomfield? Never!” She set the pizza box on the table and wheeled it to his side. “However I must warn you this pizza is healthy for you.”
“Oh, great, you’ve ordered granola and broccoli toppings.”
“Close. Mushroom, green pepper, onion. I had them put anchovies on your half. Personally I think you should appreciate my thoughtfulness. I can’t stand those slimy little fish things—they’re disgusting.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t force you to eat any.”
“Good.”
Rowdy helped himself to a napkin and lifted the first slice from the box. He raised it slowly to his mouth, then closed his eyes as if in ecstasy as he chewed. “This is excellent, just excellent.”
“I demand a rematch,” Norah said, dragging her chair to his bedside. “When we’re finished eating. Winning is a matter of personal pride now.”
“Sore loser,” he mumbled through a mouthful of pizza.
“What!” Norah felt the annoyance rise up inside her. Rowdy must have noticed it, too, because he grinned. “I was teasing,” he assured her. “Believe me, I don’t want to bite the hand that feeds me.”
“You ready for another challenge, then?” Norah asked, eager to clear away the remains of the pizza and set up the board.
“Anytime you want, sweetheart.”
Norah didn’t think he meant the term as one of affection and decided to ignore it. At least that was her intention….
But more than once, her concentration drifted away from the game. Before she could stop herself, she wondered what it would feel like to be Rowdy Cassidy’s “sweetheart.” He was opinionated and headstrong, but he could charm the birds out of the trees, as her mother used to say. He was also a man who usually got what he wanted—Valerie Bloomfield being one of the few exceptions. Norah felt oddly deflated, suddenly, as she recalled his feelings for her sister.
Almost without being aware of it, she’d lost two games in a row. Not until she made a silly mistake that cost her the second game did she realize they hadn’t set their wager.