Twisted Arrangement 4 (15 page)

“Here’s Mom.”

Josh thought he heard Ben sigh, but he didn’t say anything else as they both stood. Ben wrapped his arms around Kara and pulled her into a tight hug. She squeezed him back.

“Benjamin.” She didn’t say anything else, but she gave him a wobbly smile of welcome. He kept his arm curved loosely around her waist.

“Emma called him.” Josh wasn’t sure why he felt the need to explain that, but, like his earlier outburst, the words just sort of sprang from his lips. Kara’s smile became a little more steady.

“Of course she did.” She patted Josh’s stomach with her palm quickly. “I’m sure she’ll be here as soon as she can, honey.”

Still unsettled, Josh shrugged. He wasn’t even sure he’d told Emma where his dad had been taken. Though, he must have, because she’d sent Ben. He rubbed the ache at the back of his neck. “How much longer do we have to wait before someone tells us something?”

Not long. Before his mother could respond, the doctor – a striking middle-aged woman with straight, inky black hair and a long, wide nose that hinted at Native American ancestry – rounded the corner. Her dark eyes were unreadable, her tan skin smooth and expressionless.

Josh saw his mother’s fingers whiten around her coffee cup. Even Ben’s shoulders tensed. The acid in Josh’s stomach churned like a washing machine in a permanent rinse cycle.

“Well,” Kara Owens snapped, her wide mouth tight with worry. “Have you figured out what’s wrong with my husband yet?”

The doctor, Josh couldn’t remember her name, gave a slow nod. “We have some news.”

***

As soon as William was situated in a private room and the doctor had assured her he was in no immediate danger, Emma called Maisie Ransler. Though Warren had been confident that the knot on William’s forehead was nothing more than a simple contusion, Emma hadn’t wanted to take any chances with the film star. Not to mention, she wanted to make sure their asses were covered if this became an insurance issue.

She’d been on the phone with people from the studio – everyone from the payroll department to Arnold Purefoy himself, it seemed – to make sure every ball that needed to get rolling had been put in play. Her ear was sweaty from being pressing against her cell for the last several hours. And despite the doctor’s assurances, she still wasn’t looking forward to making this call.

Someone was supposed to have notified Maisie already, but Emma wasn’t willing to take the chance that all the people she’d spoken to today, none of whom she knew personally, knew how to do their jobs. She was a double-checker. That was just her nature.

Maisie answered on the first ring. “Emma? Is everything alright?” Emma blew out a breath. Judging by the strained tone of Maisie’s voice and the hum of an engine in the background, it seemed like someone had called Maisie after all.

“William’s fine. Did someone from the studio call you?” Emma rubbed at her temple, hoping to subdue the steady throb that had taken up residence in her skull, but the massaging had little effect.

“Yes, a little while ago. They said you were accompanying William to the hospital. I appreciate that.” The anxious thump-thump-thump of Maisie tapping her hands on the steering wheel filtered over the line. Emma tipped her head back against the wall, wishing the cool surface could numb her brain.

“No problem. I just wanted to let you know the doctors have already taken a look at him. They agree with the medic’s prognosis. Just a bump, nothing severe, but they’ll keep him for a few hours for observation. I’m probably being overly cautious, but I don’t want to screw anything up for Josh.”

Maisie chuckled a little. “No, it’s fine. Where is Josh, anyway? No offense, dear, but as hands on as he is, I figured he’d be the one riding herd on this.”

Emma glanced toward the elevators, wanting to sprint there right now and take them down to the floor his father was on. Ben had texted her the room number earlier. “He’s here at the hospital too. His... uh... his father was brought in as well.” She didn’t know if Josh would want her to tell Maisie such personal information, but she felt compelled to explain his absence to the other woman.

“Oh no! Is Cam alright?” The was the chunk of a car door closing echoed over the line as Maisie exited her vehicle. Emma had forgotten that Maisie met the elder Mr. Owens at her and Josh’s wedding.

“I don’t know, honestly. I have no idea what’s going on. This all happened at the same time and I’ve been dealing with the crew and the studio and –” Emma cut herself off. “Not that I mind, of course. I’m glad I could be here for William. Did they tell you what room he’s in?”

“I’m on my way up. Why don’t you go find Josh, Emma? I really appreciate everything you’ve done. I’m sure William does too. But Josh needs you more right now.”

Emma loosened the knot of her bun and squeezed her scalp. Still no relief from the pounding headache. “I can wait until you get here, Maisie. It’s fine. Ben’s with Josh, and Kara too.”

“Don’t be silly. Will’s just got a bump on the noggin and I’m a few floors away. He’ll be fine. Give Josh our love and tell him we’ll be sending lots of good vibes his dad’s way.” Maisie hung up before Emma could say another word.

With a sigh, she tucked the phone into the pocket of her jacket. She glanced quickly through the small window in the hospital room door. The doctor was still speaking with William, who nodded and smiled amicably, despite the purpling bruise on his forehead.

Arnold had specifically said not to leave William alone for a second. He was nervous about paparazzi hounding the star, getting pictures of him in his hospital bed, and spinning it into some tale of a jinxed film or something. Emma hadn’t really followed his logic. The man was as fidgety as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs, as her dad used to say.

The memory made Emma smile a little, despite the thumping in her head. She didn’t have many memories of her parents, since she’d been so young when they’d each passed away. But there were a few. More than Todd had, since he was two years younger. Frank Ness had had a saying for everything, it seemed, and they often occurred to Emma out of the blue like that.

Thoughts of her father led, unsurprisingly, to thoughts of Cam Owens. The small smile faded. Pushing away from the wall, Emma squared her shoulders and poked her head into William’s room.

“Your wife is on her way up. I’m going to see how Josh is doing. Don’t hesitate to call me directly if you need anything.” Her smile was a little unsteady, she knew. But she couldn’t help it. Her brain felt as if it was being whirled in a blender.

William’s smile was front page quality. “Thanks for everything, Emma. I’m fine, I told you.”

She gave him and the doctor a brief nod and ducked back out.

Emma found Josh, Ben, and Kara in a private room two floors down. Cam was tucked beneath the thin white hospital sheets, IV tubes hooked into his arms. His sandy blond hair was tousled and his cheeks were pale beneath his neatly trimmed beard. The thin skin beneath his eyes, which were closed, was a soft, bruised violet.

Kara sat in the chair beside him, her strawberry blonde hair glinting in the overhead light as she stroked her husband’s arm. Ben and Josh stood in one corner, talking in soft murmurs.

Josh saw her first, and Emma almost thought there was a flare of relief in his blue-green gaze. Had he not expected her to come? Had he been waiting for her? The idea startled her, freezing her in the doorway. Her sudden stop drew Kara’s gaze to her.

“Emma, sweetie, come on in.” Kara’s smile was wan, but it was genuine. That was promising. She looked just as tired as the unconscious Cam. Waiting in hospitals sapped your energy. Emma knew that. She hated hospitals. No matter that she was all grown up now; she still couldn’t shake the childhood notion that hospitals were where you went when you died. Both her mother and father had died in a hospital, her mother in the Maternity ward, and her father in the ER.

Just seeing Cam in that bed, someone she’d known for years, first as a kind professor and later as her (granted, fake) father-in-law, made the blood throb in her temples and bile rise in her throat.

“Any news?” She tried to keep her tone light as she stepped further into the hushed room, but she didn’t think she succeeded. Her throat was lined with razor blades, shredding each word as it came out.

Josh just stared at her, as if she were speaking in tongues. Ben crossed the room in two strides and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, squeezing her tightly against his side. Kara’s tired smile grew both wider and more uncertain.

“They’re pretty sure the c-coma,” she stumbled over the word, her voice catching, “is a side effect of this new blood pressure medication he’s on. He has to be weaned off it, or it might cause more damage, so... it looks like he’s going to be here for a few days.”

Emma swallowed past the jagged lump in her throat and forced her lips to curve upward. “I’m sure they’ll be able to figure it out, Kara. The doctors here are great.” She didn’t sound very convincing, even to herself. All she could think of was the day her father had died... in a hospital just like this one. But she had to keep those thoughts out of her voice, and off her face.

“How’d everything go with Ransler?” Josh’s question was low and harsh. Emma tried not to stiffen at his tone. Yes, it sounded slightly accusatory, as if he was worried she’d bungled the situation, but he was under a lot of stress. She needed to make allowances.

Emma stretched her smile wider. “He’s actually upstairs in his own room with Maisie. He’s fine, just a simple head bump according to the EMT, and the doctors here confirmed it. I figured it was better to be safe than sorry so he’s staying for a few hours for observation. I had the crew wrap up for the night and pushed the call time for tomorrow. Once we get the doctor’s okay, William should be back on set. We’ll just need a bit of extra magic from Cleo.”

“Did you notify the studio?” His thick blond brows drew down. Again, Emma had to stifle the burst of hurt at his sharp tone. She must have stiffened though, because Ben gave her another squeeze.

“Knowing Emma, she notified not only the studio but she talked to Arnold himself.” Ben winked at her.

She felt the sting of heat in her cheeks and her smile grew a little more genuine. “I did speak to Arnold, actually. He wants to put a guard on William’s room to keep the paparazzi out.”

Kara nodded solemnly at her words. “Not a bad idea. Damn paps will stop at nothing to get a story.”

Kara should know, Emma mused. The woman read any and every gossip rag she could get her hands on. ‘Damn paps’ indeed. She probably paid for at least one’s salary.

Emma inclined her head at Josh, trying not to wince at the sickening thud in her brain. It felt like someone was taking wooden mallets to her grey matter. “I did everything I could think of, and a few more things on top of that, I promise. I’ve only just gotten off the phone for the first time five minutes ago.”

Josh shoved a hand roughly through his honey blond locks. His hair was rumpled, wavier than normal, falling over his forehead and curling around his ears. She had the overwhelming urge to smooth it back and trace the soft skin of his earlobes with her fingertips.

Slipping from Ben’s embrace, Emma crossed the hospital room and twined her arms around Josh’s waist. She fit herself against him, resting her chin on his chest. “William’s fine. The movie will be fine. How are you?” she asked softly.

His hands came up and rested lightly on her shoulders, not exactly holding her, but not pushing her away either. “Tense. Frustrated. Angry.”

None of that was surprising.

“At the doctor who prescribed the meds?” It was a guess, but she saw the flash of surprise in Josh’s gaze. His fingers tightened on her shoulders.

“Yeah.”

Emma smoothed her hands up his broad back, rubbing gently at the tense muscles there. “I know. But I’m sure he didn’t think Cam would have this reaction. Sometimes people’s bodies don’t do what you expect them to.”
Like a young, healthy mother succumbing to a post-delivery infection
, the tiny voice whispered, conjuring up muddy watercolor images of her long deceased mother. Emma didn’t even bother acknowledging the sharp sting of pain.