been sick, so very sick. Had someone really poisoned her? Had she run from her apartment? Had Jed chased her through downtown Florence? Had he saved her, brought her here to the hospital?
Olivia found the buttons on the remote that controlled her bed and lifted the head of the bed into a sitting position. Looking down at herself, she found she was wearing the ever-fashionable hospital gown and the IV was hooked up to a needle in her left hand. For the first time in hours—maybe days—her mind was clear and her memory intact.
The door swung open and Jed, carrying a foam cup filled with hot coffee, came into her room. The moment he saw that she was awake, he rushed over to her, set his coffee on the bedside table and eased down next to her.
“Good morning, beautiful,” he said. “How are you feeling?”
“Like I’ve been hit by a Mack truck,” she told him.
“Not a Mack truck, just a wicked bout of food poisoning.”
“Food poisoning?”
“Apparently the takeout you picked up for our dinner took you out. Or possibly something you ate for lunch.”
“You’re okay, aren’t you?”
“I’m fine because we didn’t eat the same thing. I ate beef. You ate chicken. And I didn’t eat any dessert with the cream sauce. Honey, don’t you remember waking up around two o’clock with severe vomiting and—?”
“Yes, I remember now. I started vomiting and had diarrhea. I had chills and a fever and a horrible headache.”
“I finally managed to persuade you to let me take you to the E.R. around eight o’clock yesterday morning. We were lucky. You were only slightly dehydrated.” He glanced at the IV bag and then back at Olivia. “It was killing me to see you in so much pain.”
“Jed, I—I must have had some crazy dreams or something. I didn’t run away from you, did I?”
“You couldn’t have run away if you’d wanted to, honey. You were really out of it.” He caressed her cheek. “Hell of way to end our engagement celebration.”
“How long have I been in the hospital?”
“Almost twenty-four hours. You’ve been asleep most of that time, coming to now and then, and talking crazy.”
“You’ve been here the whole time, haven’t you?”
“Where else would I be?”
She leaned into Jed, placing her head on his chest and wrapping her arms around his waist. He embraced her carefully. “Did I accuse you of poisoning me?” She tried to laugh, but couldn’t.
Jed kissed the top of her head. “You kept saying something about poison, but then you mumbled a lot of gibberish.”
“Dalton Carr is dead, isn’t he?”
Jed cupped her chin and lifted it so that she had to look up at him. “You were having a nightmare about Dalton Carr? Oh, Olivia, I’m sorry. I thought you had moved past the horror of what happened to you back then.”
“I thought so, too.” She tried to smile, but the effort failed. “I testified, didn’t I? He was convicted of second-degree murder. That was nearly two years ago. And he committed suicide in jail before he could be transferred to prison.”
Olivia closed her eyes and clung to Jed, shivering as the memories exploded inside her. In her drug-induced sleep, her mind had combined various aspects of her life—her near-death experience the night Dalton had tried to kill her, the fear she had lived with until after the trial, her relationship with Jed that had grown slowly from friendship into passion, their engagement celebration and her battle with food poisoning.
Opening her eyes, she gazed up at Jed. “I love you. And I’m sorry that in my crazy dreams I thought you had poisoned me.”
He lowered his head and kissed her. Sweetly. Gently. “You had a difficult time trusting anyone after what happened. Even me. Maybe this was your subconscious way of working out the last of your trust issues and completely letting go of the all-too-real nightmare Dalton Carr put you through.”
Maybe Jed was right. Maybe it had taken being poisoned—even if it was food
Olivia found the buttons on the remote that controlled her bed and lifted the head of the bed into a sitting position. Looking down at herself, she found she was wearing the ever-fashionable hospital gown and the IV was hooked up to a needle in her left hand. For the first time in hours—maybe days—her mind was clear and her memory intact.
The door swung open and Jed, carrying a foam cup filled with hot coffee, came into her room. The moment he saw that she was awake, he rushed over to her, set his coffee on the bedside table and eased down next to her.
“Good morning, beautiful,” he said. “How are you feeling?”
“Like I’ve been hit by a Mack truck,” she told him.
“Not a Mack truck, just a wicked bout of food poisoning.”
“Food poisoning?”
“Apparently the takeout you picked up for our dinner took you out. Or possibly something you ate for lunch.”
“You’re okay, aren’t you?”
“I’m fine because we didn’t eat the same thing. I ate beef. You ate chicken. And I didn’t eat any dessert with the cream sauce. Honey, don’t you remember waking up around two o’clock with severe vomiting and—?”
“Yes, I remember now. I started vomiting and had diarrhea. I had chills and a fever and a horrible headache.”
“I finally managed to persuade you to let me take you to the E.R. around eight o’clock yesterday morning. We were lucky. You were only slightly dehydrated.” He glanced at the IV bag and then back at Olivia. “It was killing me to see you in so much pain.”
“Jed, I—I must have had some crazy dreams or something. I didn’t run away from you, did I?”
“You couldn’t have run away if you’d wanted to, honey. You were really out of it.” He caressed her cheek. “Hell of way to end our engagement celebration.”
“How long have I been in the hospital?”
“Almost twenty-four hours. You’ve been asleep most of that time, coming to now and then, and talking crazy.”
“You’ve been here the whole time, haven’t you?”
“Where else would I be?”
She leaned into Jed, placing her head on his chest and wrapping her arms around his waist. He embraced her carefully. “Did I accuse you of poisoning me?” She tried to laugh, but couldn’t.
Jed kissed the top of her head. “You kept saying something about poison, but then you mumbled a lot of gibberish.”
“Dalton Carr is dead, isn’t he?”
Jed cupped her chin and lifted it so that she had to look up at him. “You were having a nightmare about Dalton Carr? Oh, Olivia, I’m sorry. I thought you had moved past the horror of what happened to you back then.”
“I thought so, too.” She tried to smile, but the effort failed. “I testified, didn’t I? He was convicted of second-degree murder. That was nearly two years ago. And he committed suicide in jail before he could be transferred to prison.”
Olivia closed her eyes and clung to Jed, shivering as the memories exploded inside her. In her drug-induced sleep, her mind had combined various aspects of her life—her near-death experience the night Dalton had tried to kill her, the fear she had lived with until after the trial, her relationship with Jed that had grown slowly from friendship into passion, their engagement celebration and her battle with food poisoning.
Opening her eyes, she gazed up at Jed. “I love you. And I’m sorry that in my crazy dreams I thought you had poisoned me.”
He lowered his head and kissed her. Sweetly. Gently. “You had a difficult time trusting anyone after what happened. Even me. Maybe this was your subconscious way of working out the last of your trust issues and completely letting go of the all-too-real nightmare Dalton Carr put you through.”
Maybe Jed was right. Maybe it had taken being poisoned—even if it was food
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