The Shocking Truth About Ramsey (7 page)

Maximus was sitting up in bed eating his Jell-o pudding when Jackson entered the room.  He didn't take his eyes from the television when Jackson spoke to him.  Jackson sighed and settled his tall frame within the chair by his bed. 

"Granddad, don't be mad," he said. 

"Don't be mad at me either," he said.  He sounded stronger and Jackson was relieved. 

"What is that supposed to mean," he asked. 

"Your daddy called while you were missing," he paused to add emphasis to the 'missing' part.  "When the nurses couldn't find you, he went crazy.  Said he was taking the first flight out.  He should be here soon and he ain't happy, Jackson.  Where were you, son?" 

"I was with Ramsey," Jackson said.  "So, what else did he say?" 

"He said he was coming to take me home with him," Maximus said sadly. "I'd rather go to a nursing home than move to California.  Lord, I don't know what's gone happen to me now." 

It broke Jackson's heart.  His granddad had gone out of his way once to make his life easier.  He'd made sure Jackson never once got bored out on that dark country road.  It had been a true labor of love carrying a teenage boy wherever he wanted to go whenever he wanted to go, but Maximus had done it.  

He knew he'd failed him.  Now his dad was coming and if Jackson was bullheaded and stubborn, Frank Steele was worse.  Once his mind was made up, there was practically no use at all in arguing the point.  But Jackson would take a stand this time.  He had several reasons why leaving Mississippi and returning to California were not in his best interest and this was one argument with Frank Steele he would win. 

In the meantime, he had a doctor to find.  He rang for the nurse and demanded that she get Dr. Ramsey Laughterdale to his grandfather's bedside immediately.  He had no wish for Ramsey to walk up on his father before he'd had a chance to warn her how Frank felt about her and her mother.  They would all be hard pressed as it was to explain how Maximus had been placed in the enemy's hands. 

#

After calling a local handyman to come replace the glass in her living room window, Pam went into her bedroom and sat on the bed for a long time.  She let her mind open up slowly.  Long forgotten memories, faces, and voices cautiously emerged.  She let them crowd painfully back into her psyche.  Gripping the covers of her bed, she trembled her way back into her tumultuous past.  When she grew afraid and tried to banish the memories, they persisted and prevailed up on her reluctant spirit.  

Exhausted and temporarily debilitated, she fell against the covers into a fitful sleep and a nightmare.  The little girl's face appeared first as that of a baby and then that of a teenager.  She looked like Pam and Ramsey, but she looked like the monster too.  It terrified Pam and she shook within her dream. The child couldn't walk and couldn't talk.  All she did was scream.  Her screaming went on and on and the scream eventually changed from that of a woman to that of a man.    The feminine mouth became a masculine mouth and Pam watched helplessly as her father's face materialized and the screaming became hers instead of his.   

The dream became so intense that Pam forced herself awake and away from it.  She woke up drenched in sweat and ran to the bathroom.  Vomit spewed from her mouth before she could reach the toilet.  Falling to her knees, she hugged the toilet seat and was violently ill a few more times before she calmed enough to strip off her clothes and stand beneath the hot water of a shower.  

An hour later she was dressed and composed.  She waited impatiently on the couch as the man replaced the window.  She had already gotten Herby's blood off the floor.  Everything was almost back to normal, but Pam knew it was only a superficial normalcy and that nothing would ever again be back to normal and that nothing had ever really been normal in the first place.  

#

When Talmus had awakened to find his mother standing over his bed in a demon-like rage he knew he couldn't deal with her.  He'd done exactly what she demanded.  He had taken her to the hospital to be with Herby, his so-called dad, and left.  She hadn't said, "Thank you for getting me out of jail," or "Thank you for putting me to bed and taking care of me last night," or anything.  She had just gotten out of his car, slammed the door and stalked into the hospital.  She was mad at him for some reason and Talmus was clueless as to why.  He didn't know if it was because she thought his house was a den of iniquity and was incensed that she woke up to find herself in it or what.  She certainly had never stayed at his house before.  She had come to see how he was living, but that had been it.  

Talmus felt bereft and he hated himself for it.  He had all these feelings inside of him and the only people he had in the whole world, didn't even know it.  They had no appreciation for him and what he represented.  The only people that knew the complete essence of him were non-relatives.  He was lonely and in need of companionship for the evening.  He wanted to get his mind off of his dysfunctional family and their problems.  So, he decided to hit the clubs for the evening.   With that in mind, he headed back home to sleep away the day.  He had a full night of debauchery ahead of him and he wanted to be well rested and ready for it. 

#

Ramsey knew it was Jackson doing the summoning.  So, she took her time.  It was two hours later when she made it to Maximus' room.  When she walked into the room, her eyes naturally found Jackson's first and he shook his head and looked away.  It was then that she noticed Frank Steele standing by Maximus' bed.  He had not changed over the years.  He was the exact same build as Jackson and Ramsey was briefly taken aback by their resemblance.  Where Jackson was handsome and irresistible, Frank was hard and unbending. 

His eyes landed on her and narrowed.  When Jackson left the cove, Frank had stopped speaking to her mother and he had treated Ramsey as if she was an invisible child.  Jackson's mom had been less abrasive in her disapproval.  She seemed to understand that Ramsey was only a child and had saved her animosity for Pamela alone.  She'd given Ramsey a couple of upside down smiles and unenthusiastic waves, but eventually they had moved away and Ramsey wondered now how much of their decision to move could be placed at her mother's feet as well.  

She sensed the tension in the room and decided to be a doctor and nothing more to the three men in the room. 

"Hello, Mr. Steele.  Did the nurse's update you on your father's status?" 

"No.  I just got here and I can see by the name on your lab jacket why no introduction is necessary.  I do have one question though," he said coldly. 

"Yes," Ramsey said raising an eyebrow. 

"How is it that you out of all the doctors in the Tri-State area became my father's doctor," he asked incredulously.  "You must know that this is totally unacceptable to me."

There it was.  The direct cut.  It never really mattered who you were or what station you held in life, a cut was a cut and it hurt and it bled.  Ramsey was embarrassed and angry, but she was a professional.  She was ready for whatever Mr. Frank Steele put on her and there was more.

"I see now why I couldn’t get Jackson on the phone last night.  He probably couldn't stand the sight of you.  How is your lying mother by the way?  I hope her health is good." 

"Dad, I was with Ramsey.  She had nothing to do with what Mrs. Laughterdale did and you need to remember that Mrs. Laughterdale is her mother.  So, please be careful about what you say," he warned softly.

Everyone watched as Frank began sputtering and talking so loudly and incoherently that Ramsey thought she would have to call security once again.  But thankfully, Maximus spoke up. 

"Frank, quit acting like a fool.  That stuff happened years ago and these kids are grown and got their own lives now.   You know that people pick doctors and doctors don't pick people.  We asked for the best and we got Ramsey.  So, sit down and shut up until somebody gets enough time to fill you in on everything," he said. 

"I don't need to be filled in.  She is not your doctor and I am glad I got here in time.  Jackson you have disappointed me again.  After all that happened, you're ready to just believe anything that comes out of her mouth because of the way she looks.  Well, she could look like Beyonce and it wouldn't sway me one bit.  Young lady you're dismissed.  We don't need your services.  My dad is going to another hospital right now." 

He was so ridiculous in his rage, Ramsey was only minimally hurt by his words.  She chose to ignore him and turned towards Jackson, which was her first huge mistake of the day.  His nostrils flared when she turned his way and his chest rose.  His eyes swept over her body hungrily and her stomach dipped.  She felt her toes curl.

"Your granddad can go home, Jackson.  He's fine.  Just make sure he gets plenty of fluids.  He was a little dehydrated.  I will discharge him on some antibiotics too.  The nurse will come in and help you get him ready to go home.  Do you have any questions," she said a little breathlessly.  

Jackson's eyes never left hers as she spoke.  His stare was so intense she felt burned.  He moved towards her and she almost stumbled back. 

"Just what the hell is going on here," she heard Frank mutter. 

"I told you to sit down," Maximus said. 

"I need to talk to you," Jackson said.  "Privately," he added. 

Ramsey turned quickly and walked out of the room with him close on her heels. 

"What is it, Jackson," she said. 

"Not here.  Find us a private place," he said. 

"No.  Here is fine.  What is it? I have other patients to see," she repeated. 

"Why did you leave without telling me?" 

"Jackson, I'm a doctor.  I can't lie around until the sun comes up.  I have to get up before daybreak most of the time.  I was needed at the hospital.  Besides you were sleeping so soundly I hated to disturb you," she lied. 

"You need to know that I am maintaining a very thin level of control here.  Between you and my dad, I could lose it at any moment.  You don't just give a man your virginity and then leave him sleeping.  It's supposed to be the other way around," he hissed. 

"Oh, so that's what this is about," she said.  "This is about your little male ego.  Well, I got news for you Jackson.  I have spent the last thirteen years building an ego of my own.   However mistaken you may have been, the fact still remains that you left me without saying a word.  We’ve made our amends. I thank you kindly for the lovely experience, but I'm not looking for anything more."

Jackson took a step towards her and then another until she was against the wall.  He slammed an open hand flat against the white bricks beside her head and grabbed her waist with the other.  He leaned his whole body into hers and she felt his heat and his hardness.  Woodsy scented cologne drifted into her senses and her eyes weakly fluttered closed against the maelstrom of emotions his close proximity evoked.  His lips hovered closely above hers and he spoke.

"You may not be looking for more, but I am.  I'm a long ways from done with you, Ramsey.  When I say we're done, were done.  Not a minute before."  He pressed his lips fully against hers and forced his tongue into her mouth.  The kiss went wild as he licked the outside of her lips, including the innocent little mole at the edge.  She shivered as his warm breath offered a caress of its own against her face and the sensitive skin of her jaw.

Jackson abruptly moved away from her.  He cocked his head to the side and watched as she regained her composure by degrees.  She was very responsive to him and he liked that.  It didn't matter what she said.  What really mattered was what her body said and her body wanted him.     

Ramsey didn’t know what to say, but with her mild state of confusion came anger.  She reached out and slapped Jackson across the face.  His smug look vanished and she was satisfied.  She knew it hurt because she could still feel the burning tingle in her palm.  

"Don't you ever do that again," she said.  "This is my place of employment. You can get me fired or suspended.  What if someone saw us?"

"Do you want me to come to your house or will you meet me at a hotel? We can't go back to granddad's house with my father here," he said ignoring the slap and her censure. 

She couldn't help herself, she said, "I leave the hospital at ten o'clock tonight.  Meet me in the front lobby.  We'll go to my place."

Jackson grinned and left her standing against the wall as he went back into Maximus room. 

#

It was four o'clock in the afternoon when Pam made it to the Greendale assisted living community in Grenada, Mississippi.  She gave the woman at the front desk her name and the name of the patient she was there to visit.  The woman's eyes grew big and round and she hurriedly left the desk.  She returned shortly with a very tall, thin, and pale woman who looked bored to death.  

"You're here to see Cassandra Westwood?" she drawled. 

"Yes.  Is there a problem," she asked. 

"No.  It's just that she usually never has visitors.  There's a gentleman who comes once a year to make sure she's okay and to put extra money in her account, but other than that no one comes.  Just what is your relationship to her," she asked. 

Pam frowned.  What man was coming to put extra money in Cassandra's account?  Cassandra was a ward of the state and the state had always taken care of her.  At forty-three Cassandra's care was totally independent from that of family and there was no family other than herself.  

"Who is the man that comes here," she asked. 

"Ma'am what is your name and what is your relationship to Cassandra," the stick asked again. 

"I am Pamela Laughterdale, her…sister," she lied. 

The woman's eyes opened and it was clear she recognized the name.  Pam had the decency to look embarrassed at being caught in a terrible lie.  The woman's lips thinned to slits and she looked down her nose at Pam. 

"I see.  Well, the gentleman wanted to remain anonymous and since you are only Cassandra's sister and Cassandra is a full grown woman, I don't see where it is necessary to divulge her business to you.  If she chooses to tell you anything she can, but you won't get a bit of information out of me."  She turned and walked off leaving Pam with the very confused receptionist.