Concealed Attractions (Cedar Island Tales) (13 page)

“Let me check.” He listened as computer keys clattered in the background.

“If she’s here at noon, we can work her in.”

“You drive
a hard bargain,
Phoebe,
but
pencil her in
.
Okay, I’ll tell her
—noon it is
.
Thank you,
Gorgeous
.
You’re my favorite people nurse.
I’m in your debt.”

Phoebe’s laughter came through the phone, louder this time. “I’ll have to think of a way you can pay off that debt.”

“You do that.” He hung up the phone. “Done. Noon tomorrow.”

Danni
nodded and left
his office,
the slumping of her shoulders suggesting
to
Joel
that he
had just sentenced her to the gallows.

At noon
the next day
,
Joe
l
drove
Dannilynn
to Angela’s
office
, letting her in by the side door
to avoid the
other
pat
ients in the reception area. Phoebe settled her in an exam room,
handed her a gown
and a cup, and instructed her
how
to provide a urine
sam
ple and put on the gown.
The nurse
turned
to
Joe
l
.

“Do you want to wait with her?”
Phoebe asked.

“Nothing d
oing. It’s not my kid. S
he’s my vet
assistant
,
and
I care about her
.
I figured this was the only way to make sure she got in right away
.”

“
Okay
, I’ll call you when she’s done and you can come rescue her. She doesn’t lo
ok
all that happy. Do I need to use handcuffs to keep her here?”

“I don’t think so. She’s scared to death someone she knows
will see her, so mum’s the word
.”

“You know we
maintain
strict privacy
.
Want to leave a
note for Angela? She mentioned you two had dinner the other night.”

“
I’ll check with her later. Better yet, ask her to call me
.
I have some professional
—medical—
questions for her.”
He
bu
ss
ed Phoebe’s cheek with a quick peck. “Call me and we’ll set our
pay-off
lunch
date.
”

Angela
examined
Danni
, and then
looked
over the
partial
ly-completed chart.
“I guess you know you’
re pregnant.
What’s your
phone number
?
How am I supposed to get in touch with you?”

“
Could
n’t
you
just
call me at the vet c
linic
?
Or
tell
Joe
l
and he can tell me?”

“That’s not how
I
do
things. I really need to know how to reach you
,
just you
.
”
Angela
sat quietly
, her pen poised.

“You can’t
call me at home.
”
Danni
started to cry. “My mom doesn
’t know, and
I can’t tell
my dad. H
e’ll kill me.”

Angela nodded.
“
We’ll come back to this. 
When was
your last period?”

“I think it was in May, maybe April. I’m not always regular.”

“
How long have you been sexually active?”

“Since February.”

“
You have a boyfriend?”

“Yes—er, I did.
Not now.
”

“Does he know?”

“No—and I’m
never going to tell him. I never want to see
hi
m—ever again.
” S
he started to cry
harder
. “I haven’t heard from him since—since—”
Danni
blew her nose and
looked
up. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure.”

“A couple of times, Steve
pressed really hard against my throat
, you know—when we were
—
you know
. I didn’t like it, but he said
it would make it better
, that I would come
, even though I never did
.
Not being able to breathe
scared me.”

Angela’s mouth thinned as she made a note in the chart.
“It’s called as
phyxiophilia
—
erotic asphyxiation. It’s dangerous. People have died. What did you do?”

Danni
’s
hand
slid up
to her neck
, as if remembering
. “I asked him to stop, but I think I passed out
a couple of times
.”

“
When
was the last time you had sex
with him
?”

“The day before my last
final
.”

“I need the date
.”

Danni
told her, and
her hands went to her mouth
. Almost under her breath, she added, “
M
aybe another time, too. I’m not sure.
”

“
Tell
me
what
you’re not sure about
.” S
he
set
down her
pat
ient’s chart.

Danni
wept and wiped her eyes, and told the
doctor
what had happened at the lake, how
Steve
had trapped her against the diving platform,
and
what little she remembered
after she’d had those sips of beer
.

“
What else were
you drinking during this camp
out
,
Dannilynn
?”

“
Soda before dinner
. Then he gave me
a beer
. I
t was a lot fizzier than
I expected
, and
after I had some of it,
I fe
lt kind of sick and dizzy. I’m not sure
I
even
finished it. I can’t remember much
after that
.”

Angela made another note in the chart.
“What exactly do you remember?”

“Steve helped me to my sleeping bag and I lay down. I think he tried to take my shirt off.”

“Did you want
him to do that?”

Danni
shook her head. “I think I told him no, but I don’t remember. The next thing I knew it was morning and I was naked.”

“Was Steve still there?”

“No, but a little while later, he was. He said something about why did I only come when I was knocked out?
Maybe I’m remembering it wrong.
And he slapped me.
”

The doctor’s face was serious.
“He assaulted you. That’s a crime,
Dannilynn
. Did you report it?”

“
Who’d
have believed me? I mean, there weren’t any witnesses and he’d deny it.” She sucked in a big breath.

Danni
reached for another tissue. “
Maybe God’s punishing me for
having sex
.”

Angela stood up and put her arms around her newest
pat
ient. She fought to gain control over what she wanted to say, what she now had to say.

“It’s po
ssible Steve gave you a Rufi. Ro
hypnol. It’s a date-rape drug. Prevents you from remembering anything.”

“Oh, God. Is that when I got pregnant?”

“
I suspect a bit earlier than that
.
And
God is not punishing you. But you are pregnant
. Let’s
deal with that
right now
.”

Danni
blew her nose and mopped her eyes. “My
parents will
never forgive me.
”

“
Maybe
you
’re jumping to conclusions
.
Maybe they’ll want to help you.”

“No, they won’t
.”

“You’re h
ow old
,
Dannilynn
?”
Angela had
neglected to check the chart before asking.

“Twenty-one
next
month.”

She nodded.
“
That makes you
of legal age.
Y
ou
can decide for yourself
without telling your pare
nts or getting their permission
if
you want to terminate this pregnancy.
” Angela paused.
 
“Is that what you want to do?”

“
I think so
, but I haven’t—I
got—we
looked
up
the number of an abortion clinic, but I
didn’t call
them. I couldn’t do that
from
home.”

“
I believe y
ou’re
about ten
weeks
along
.
That means
you can’t wait much longer if you
want
to get
an abortion
.” Angela handed
Danni
some pamphlets. “
These
brochures
explain the procedure
. I will
arrange it for you with a local obstetrician, but
you’ll
have to
be
admit
ted
to the hospital
.
I gather you don’t want that.”

She sho
ok
her head.

Angela to
ok
Danni
’s hands and placed them on her
flat
belly. “You
’ve got a little passenger inside,
even if you don’t feel
pregnant
yet
. If yo
u don’t
think
you can raise a baby
, you need to talk to your mother and find out how she will help you through t
his. You’
re young. You don’t have to have the baby, but if you do, the world will not come to an end
.
”

She paused
before continuing
.

“
You’re
the one who has
to
decide what
you w
ant to
do. 
Go
home
or back to
Joel’s
clinic. R
ead those brochures and one we
ek from today,
tell me.
If you decide
on
an abortio
n,
I’ll
make t
he appointment for you
.”

Danni
wiped her eyes. “My friend
th
inks
I
have
to tell the father
.”

“You
don’t have to tell him anything,
not that you’
re pregnant, or that you
’re thinking of
getting an abortion
, or anything else.
If you and he were still in a relationship, I would recommend that you talk to him. Since that’s not the case, and
it’s as much his fault as yours
for not taking precautions
—
”