Hiding Out (23 page)

Racing to the door, Sam shouted, “He’s awake!” 

A bustle of activity followed as nurses rushed in to take his vital signs.  The doctor was paged.  And after a few minutes, they were finally left alone.

Adam pointed weakly to the water pitcher on the table.  Immediately Sam sprung to action and poured him a glass.  Spluttering, he managed to swallow. 

“I was hoping for some scotch,” he joked.

Sam felt a wave of relief wash over him.  “I should call Neville, have him tell Haley that you’re awake.”  He wanted an excuse to speak to her, to see her again, to tell her everything he should have earlier.

“So, she’s okay?”  Adam breathed heavily.  “I’m so glad.”

“Me, too,” Sam admitted while the tips of his ears turned their tell-tale pink.

“Wow,” he said in a hoarse voice.  “You’ve got it bad.  And I bet she doesn’t even know it.”  Sam shook his head.  “Have you been here the entire time?”

Sam shrugged.  “Mostly.”

“So, did I miss anything?”

“Just a month of your life,” Sam joked.

“I’ve wasted more time than that before.”  He chuckled.  “Of course, that was by choice and a helluva lot more fun.”  Adam stared at him for a moment.  His brother was clearly distracted.  He had never been like this before.  Of course, he had probably never been in love before.  He smirked.  “I’ll live.  Go to her.”

Sam straightened, uncertain of what he’d heard and torn between duty and desire.  “You sure?”

Adam nodded.  And just as Sam prepared to vault out the door, he stopped him.  “Did you get the guy?”

Regretfully, Sam shook his head.  “Not yet, but I will.”

Haley was working in the study, focused on the presentation she would be giving in less than a week.  Logs crackled in the fireplace nearby.  She leaned back in the chair and inhaled deeply.  She loved it here.  This place, Sam’s place, felt like home.  She felt more comfortable here than she ever had in the apartment she was subletting.  And she was certain it had nothing to do with the disparity between the price tags. 

Somehow, her mind wandered and she couldn’t help but imagine what she would do with this room if it were her library.  She smiled as she pictured a sheepskin rug in front of the hearth.  She would also put in more comfortable furniture.  The leather pieces were nice, but cold.  This was a room that was filled with shelves of books and should likewise be filled with other comfort items.  She imagined relaxing in front of the fireplace, sipping a glass of wine, curled up next to Sam.

Haley sighed then wandered over to where she imagined they might snuggle together near the hearth.  She lay down on the rug, curled up and stared at the fire.  It was so warm and hypnotic she soon fell asleep.

He had missed her the first time.  He had peeked into the library and found the seat behind the desk vacant.  In a panic, he rushed up the stairs and threw open the guest room door.  A quick scan of the room showed it to be empty.  He rushed to the door on the opposite end of the hall, hopeful that she might have relocated only to discover that his bedroom was empty as well.  Growing increasingly upset, he headed to the kitchen and found Neville sitting at the counter reading the newspaper.

“I can’t find her,” he complained.  He stared at Neville a moment, frustrated the man hadn’t jumped up instantly at his arrival and immediately joined the search.  He was also struck by how unusual it was to find anyone seated on the stools.  “Since when?”  He asked gesturing.

“Miss Haley and I have breakfast together here every morning,” he explained.  “And by the way, sir, did you check in front of the fireplace in the study?  That’s where she was when I checked in on her half an hour ago.”

Sam crossed the hall to the study and halted once he found her in the room.  His body reacted instantly.  A heated longing filled him, a desire to take her again, to once more claim her.  Would it always be like that when he saw her?  He hoped so.  She moved him like no one before. 

“Sir?”  Neville interrupted his thoughts.

“Isn’t she beautiful?”  He whispered.

“Incredibly beautiful, sir.”  He saw that Sam was focused entirely on Haley.  He moved to leave the room, but was stopped before he made it more than a foot.

“Could you do one thing for me?”  He asked without taking his eyes off of her sleeping form. 

“Certainly, sir,” Neville responded, eyes twinkling.

“Could you move her belongings into my room again?”  He glanced at Neville with a shy look.  “I’ll do my best to make sure they stay put this time.”

Neville gave a slight bow and backed from the room.  With a smile, he pulled the door closed behind him and walked purposefully up the stairs.

When he reached her, he knelt beside her tiny body and began caressing her face.  Instantly he was rewarded by her murmur. “Sam,” she sighed.  He lay alongside her and pulled her close, planting gentle kisses all over her face and neck.  Her eyelids fluttered open. 

“Hello, beautiful,” he said with a soft smile.  “I have some news and I rushed right home to share it with you.”  She moved as though to sit up, but he stopped her.  “Adam’s awake and speaking.”

Haley’s eyes watered.  “When can I visit?”

“Tomorrow after work,” he assured her.  “Unfortunately, he won’t let me stay at the hospital anymore.  He insisted I sleep in my own bed.”

Haley lowered her eyes, imagining she would be evicted soon enough.  “So, I’ll pack then?”

“That won’t be necessary,” he said with a smile.  Haley smiled shyly in response.  “I’ve already had Neville do it.”  Her face fell.  “Come look.” 

She wore a confused expression as Sam led her up the stairs and straight to his door.  He paused, scooped her into his arms and carried her into his room.  With a warm smile, he dropped her tenderly onto the bed.

“I don’t understand,” she mumbled, her heart beating wildly in her chest.

“I want you here, Haley,” Sam said quietly as he sat down near her thigh.

The warmth of his body was distracting her and her brow furrowed as she struggled to concentrate.  “I told you I was staying here.  I haven’t moved back to my apartment, if that’s what you mean.”  She frowned, thinking he didn’t trust her to keep her word.

He shook his head.  “That’s not what I mean.  I want you here, in my bed.”  He saw that she was still hesitant.  “I need you close to me, Haley.” He realized that she was drawing away and he sighed.  This was not working as he planned.  Sam believed that Haley was so reluctant to be with anyone that he knew if he gave her a choice, at least for now, she would run from it.  He needed a new approach, fast.

“The reality is that Adam will be coming home soon.” His mind was spinning to stay one step ahead of his tale.  “I can hire a nurse to be with him during the day all week, but I would appreciate it if you could stay with us at night.”  He saw her defenses slowly weakening.  Sam knew she felt responsible for Adam’s injuries because he had saved her.

He watched her expression soften.  “I think he would thrive in your presence, and with your cooking, if you don’t mind.”  He studied her for a reaction.

Haley’s head dropped to the side.  It was a simple request.  Obviously Adam was going to be taking over the guest room while he recuperated.  And rather than kicking her out and sending her back to that bleak apartment, he was giving her the opportunity to remain in the place she had grown to love.  It wasn’t a difficult decision, so why was she so hesitant. 
Because I will have to share his bed,
she thought.  The more time they spent together, the more attached she became.  It wasn’t just Sam, it was that she had begun to hope for a life she couldn’t have.  She sighed.  “Okay.  I’ll stay.”

Sam beamed.  She would stay.  But she had also sighed.  Clearly, winning Haley was going to be more of a challenge than anything he had ever experienced in business.  Tonight, however, he was simply going to focus on the fact that he had her back in his bed.  God knows he didn’t deserve her, but he wanted her just the same.  The difficulty was going to be in not over-stepping his boundaries, at least not tonight. 

“Thank you,” he said simply then walked to the bathroom to get ready for bed.

Chapter Ten

Adam was home within a week.  And as Sam had hoped, his brother was thriving under all the attention he was receiving.  Soon enough, he had been established in the guest bedroom.  He slept there at night, but spent his days on the main floor with Neville and his nurse.  He woke early, once he discovered that Haley was in the kitchen by seven.

Taking the private elevator down and scowling as he maneuvered around with the assistance of a wheeled walker, he made his way to the kitchen to find something to accompany his pain medication, all of which warned about being consumed with food.

Haley greeted him warmly as he entered the room.  “Good morning!  Did you sleep well?”  She, too, was flourishing in her surroundings.

Adam offered a wicked grin.  “Not as well as you, I’m afraid.”

Coloring a deep crimson, Haley turned her attention to the ham she was cubing.  “I hope you like omelets,” she said quietly, while valiantly attempting to ignore his insinuation.  While it was true that she and Sam shared the same bed every night, it wasn’t as though they were engaging in passionate love making on a nightly basis before falling asleep.  In fact, they hadn’t even had sex since their falling out. 

Their routine had turned out to be much different from what she anticipated.  Every morning she would rise early, careful not to wake Sam, and shower and dress for work.  She would creep downstairs; her hair still in a towel turban, to make breakfast and check the study for faxes or emails that needed a response.

After enjoying breakfast with Neville and Adam, sometimes even Sam, she would clean up while Neville protested bitterly, then let him drive her to work.  Sam would arrive later in his own vehicle.  Haley would continue in her usual duties at work including the creation of this advertising campaign she was pouring her heart into.  And finally, she would meet Neville at the curb at promptly five o’clock.  Her routine varied some, whether she worked out at the office or jogged in the evening.  And, of course, she still had her tae kwon do lessons three times a week.

If anyone had bothered to ask, she would admit to being content.  In fact, Ellen did ask one Sunday afternoon when Haley popped in for a visit. 

Setting her mug down quietly, Ellen stared at her for a moment.  “Just content?”  She asked sadly.

“Hey,” Haley joked.  “For me, that’s a vast improvement over the earlier part of the year.”  She sipped the hot cocoa her friend had so lovingly prepared.

“But…,” she began, bewildered.  “What happened?  I thought you and Mr. Davenport were happy.”

Haley made a face.  “Stop linking us together.  Really.  I work for him.  We were intimate…”  Her voice trailed off as her face took on a wistful quality.

“Past tense?  Aren’t you living with him?”  Ellen was genuinely confused.

“It’s more of a practical arrangement,” she explained.

“Huh.  Well, I could have sworn you were
practically
dating.”  She crossed her arms over her chest.

Haley looked down at her lap.  “So could I,” she murmured.

And now with so much to occupy her time, she was grateful that she was too exhausted at the end of the day to wonder about how attached she was growing to him.  She purposely went to bed long after he did.  She refused to ride to and from the office with him.  Oh, the lengths she had gone to in order to preserve her heart. 

Adam was staring at her as she looked up.  She gave him only the faintest of smiles as she concentrated on folding his omelet over and garnishing with some fruit on the side.

“There,” she said, passing him the completed dish.

“Beautiful,” he said, studying her.  He realized that she had failed to catch on.  He was ready to make a second attempt when Sam wandered in and scowled at him.  Apparently he had been lingering near the door.

Haley glanced up from her reverie and saw him.  “I’ll just finish getting ready,” she said to no one in particular.  And without a second’s hesitation, she quickly exited the room.

Sam’s dark mood deepened.  He plunked down on the empty stool at the end of the counter.  Without even meeting Adam’s gaze, he knew his brother was staring at him.  “I don’t know,” he said quietly.

“What don’t you know?”  Adam asked, glad to focus on anything besides his current condition.

“I don’t know why she’s acting like that toward me.  She avoids me like the plague.  She comes to bed long after I’m asleep.  She refuses to ride to work with me, or home for that matter.  She carries on with her own activities without including me in on anything.”  His shoulders drooped as he spoke.

“Have you told her how you feel?”  Adam asked with concern.  He hated seeing Sam like this, despondent, melancholy.

“Not exactly.”