A Flight of Fantasy (Sarah Woods Mystery 12) (10 page)

Chapter 22

The next morning, I met with Max for coffee as promised at a Starbucks near the airport.

I had arrived a few minutes early and waited in line. I ordered Max’s favorite Caramel Latte and a black coffee for myself. I found an empty table and waited.

When Max showed up, he looked handsome as ever in a business suit and black briefcase. He spotted me and smiled as he walked over and held his arms out to me.

As we embraced, the first thing he asked about was Carter.

“He’s going to be fine,” I said. “The doctor expects he’ll be back to normal in six to eight weeks as long as he doesn’t try to run a marathon.”

Max chuckled at that, knowing full well that Carter was not one to lie around the house all day doing nothing. “How are you holding up?” he asked. “You look good.”

I didn’t believe one word of that but I appreciated the remark just the same. “You should have seen me last night,” I said. “I clean up well.”

“Look,” he said, his expression growing more serious. “I just wanted to see you in person before I went back, to tell you I’m sorry for my behavior these past few months. I’m sorry I never returned your calls or emails. I guess I just needed time to be pissed at you but I’m over that now.”

“I get it. You don’t have to apologize.”

“I know that you and Carter have this special bond and I guess I was a bit envious. I think I’ve made peace with it and you and Carter just make sense. You guys belong together.”

“Really? You’re not just saying that?”

“I also want you to know that it’s okay to talk to me about stuff. I really do mean it when I say I want to be friends. Not the kind of friends who promise to get together but never do. I really care about you, Sarah. Those are not just words.”

“It means a lot to me to hear you say that.”

He exhaled a long breath and smiled. “Now that that’s out of the way, how is life going? How’s Brian?”

“He’s great. He likes his classes and we see each other about once or twice a month. How about you? You like San Francisco?”

“It’s a nice change of pace. Work is going well. I stay busy. There’s more traveling involved than I had anticipated but, what can I say? I’m happy for the most part.”

“Have you met anyone?”

He gave me a funny look. “What do you mean?”

“You know what I mean. Have you met a woman, yet?”

He shrugged. “I’ve been on one date but it’s still too early to tell if it will go anywhere.”

“Well, good luck with that.”

He laughed, obviously feeling a bit awkward. “Look, I’m sorry, but I have to head to the airport. I’m glad we got this chance to talk.”

“Me, too,” I said and meant it. “Have a safe flight back.”

As soon as I left Starbucks, I drove straight back to the hospital. Carter was sitting up in bed this time, and he smiled ear to ear when he saw me.

“How was breakfast?” I asked, gesturing to the tray in front of him.

“Only liquids for the next twelve hours. I don’t have much of an appetite anyway.”

I wiped some dribble on his chin. “At least I get to take you home tomorrow if all goes well. Unless you’d rather stay here at this five star resort.”

He chuckled. “I’ve gotten used to people waiting on me. I kinda like it.”

I ruffled his hair. “Well, good. Because I’m going to be your personal nurse until you are fully healed. How does that sound?”

His eyes got big and round. “Will you wear one of those candy striper outfits?”

“Sure, whatever you want.”

A soft knock on the door alerted us to someone standing in the doorway. I turned to find Reece carrying a small laptop. “Hey,” she said, with a look of concern. “Mind if I stop by for a quick visit?”

“Of course,” I said, gesturing for her to come on in. “How is Amy doing?”

“Great. Seems like she has no idea how much danger she was in yesterday. I’m thankful that she was distracted by all those balloons and candy bars.” Reece slowly walked toward Carter with tears in her eyes. “You saved my life. I spent all of last night trying to figure out what I could possibly do to repay you.”

Carter smiled at her. “My reward is knowing that you and Amy are safe.”

“But you risked your own life,” Reece said. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“Tell you what,” he said. “Bake me some chocolate chip cookies, and we’ll call it even.”

Reece laughed. “I can do way better than that, which is why I stopped by to tell you the good news. Last night when I got home, after I put Amy to bed, I went online and set up a website in your name. I wrote about your heroic efforts and asked for donations. I figured I might be able to raise some money to cover your living expenses while your recovering. I sent the link to everyone I know and guess how much money we’ve raised so far?”

Carter regarded her with a blank stare. “How much?”

“Over five thousand dollars,” Reece said like a giddy school-girl. “And the number keeps going up.”

Carter started coughing. “Seriously?”

“Isn’t it wonderful? You’re a hero. I wouldn’t be surprised if you got a spot on the local news.”

“I don’t want any recognition for this,” he said, taking my hand in his. “Sarah put her own life at risk, too. It’s part of the job.”

Reece handed him a folded sheet of paper with numbers. “This is how you can access the money from the website. Once you’re healed up, why don’t you guys go on a vacation or something?”

“Hey, that’s a great idea.” Carter looked up at me. “You’ve always talked about going to Italy.”

“There’s other things you can spend the money on,” I said. “I thought you needed a new roof on your house?”

Carter shrugged. “That can wait.”

Reece leaned over and kissed Carter’s cheek. “I’ll still make you those chocolate chip cookies. I’ll bring them in tomorrow when I come back. I imagine you’ll be here for at least another day.”

“I’m not going anywhere for a bit,” he said. “By the way, any idea what’s going on with Dr. Wheeler?”

Reece’s expression turned sour at the mention of his name. “I can’t believe he actually thought he’d get away with it. Taking nude photos wasn’t enough. He went too far.”

“So, what were they doing when he picked her up at her house?” I asked.

“There was no intercourse, thankfully. The doctor who examined her yesterday was able to confirm that Allison is still a virgin. Allison claims that Dr. Wheeler convinced her to give him manual stimulation. Apparently, he never touched her, though.”

I shook my head with a sigh. “Well, I guess it could have been a lot worse.”

“True. But it never should have happened in the first place.”

“Did her parents ever find out about this?”

Reece nodded. “Yes, they finally turned up. The police have arrested them for child endangerment so Allison is being removed from their custody. She’ll be staying with me until child services can find her a permanent foster home. As far as I’m concerned, she can stay with me as long as she likes.”

“Talk about being a hero,” I said. “You’re the one who saved this girl. You should take the donation money and stop working as an escort.”

“I appreciate that, but I started the website for Carter. I refuse to take any of that money. Besides, I have some plans of my own. I’m done with the escort service. I can qualify to go back to school for little cost, and get my degree in child psychology. I want to open my own practice someday.”

“Sounds like a fine idea,” I said. “I’m glad to hear it.”

“Well,” she said, “I guess I’ll see you guys tomorrow. I think I’ll have Allison and Amy help me make those cookies I promised.”

“Thank you,” Carter said. “You certainly didn’t have to go to all the trouble of starting that website. Very thoughtful of you.”

After Reece left the room, Carter said to me. “So, how did coffee go with Max?”

“He’s good,” I said. “He basically gave us his blessing.”

Carter raised an eyebrow. “He did?”

“Yeah. He’s totally over me.”

Carter laughed as he reached for my hand and pulled me down on the bed and I gently snuggled up against him.

“So,” he began. “What do you think about going to Tuscany, all expenses paid? We can tour wine country and eat pasta and gelato for two weeks.”

“Sounds lovely, but I made a promise to give up wine and sugar.”

“Why the heck would you do that?”

“I made a promise to God. I’d give up a few vices to ensure you survived. Pretty good deal, don’t you think?”

Carter lifted my chin with his finger to look into my eyes. “You did that for me?”

“Yeah. Of course I did.”

He kissed me on the lips and we lingered there for a delicious few seconds. “I’m pretty sure God understands you made that deal under extreme duress. He won’t hold it against you if you decide to have a glass of wine or two in Tuscany.”

“Maybe you’re right,” I said. “So when are we going?”

The End

The next Sarah Woods Book is available for preorder:

A Death in Tuscany (Sarah Woods Mystery 13)