Inappropriate by Vi Keeland
Chapter 31
Grant
I wasn’t a worrier.
Or a nervous person, in general. But I checked my watch for the tenth time in an hour and stood on the back deck of Leilani, watching the dock ramp for any sign of Ireland. Actually, the fog had settled in so thick, I couldn’t even see the entrance ramp to get on the dock anymore, or the parking lot. I’d called Ireland’s cell fifteen minutes ago and left a message. But I didn’t want to distract her by sending a text. When another half hour went by with still no sign of her, I began to pace and called again. Only to get her voicemail a second time.
“Hey. It’s me.” I looked at my watch and blew out a breath. “I left you at nine, and it’s ten thirty now. You didn’t mention making any other stops except home. You should have been here almost an hour ago. Give me a call, and let me know you’re alright.” I swiped End and hopped the back transom, deciding to go wait in the parking lot.
The walk up the dock to the ramp was unnervingly quiet. Not a single person was around, and with the fog hanging so low, the anxious feeling in my gut turned into something more ominous.
Where the fuck is she?
She could have fallen asleep. But it hadn’t sounded like she planned on spending any time at home. She’d said she was grabbing a pile of work from the table. I suppose she could’ve stopped at a store—but not too many were open at going on eleven o’clock. Eventually, I gave in and sent a text.
I waited for the Sent to change to Delivered, but it never did. Restless, I jogged back to the boat, wrote a quick note for her to call me if she got here before I was back, and swiped my keys off the counter.
Getting on the road, I navigated the path she would’ve taken from her house to mine. I wasn’t sure what I was looking for, but I really hoped I didn’t find it. The roads were pretty empty for a Saturday night—apparently all the smart people were staying indoors. The more I struggled to see the pavement, the more freaked out I got. But no news was good news. Best-case scenario, she sat down to take off her shoes at home and fell asleep.
Yeah. That’s what probably happened.
As I went farther with no sign of her car, I started to feel a little relieved.
Until I rounded a corner and saw a shitload of lights flashing up ahead.
My heart raced. I stepped on the gas, even though I couldn’t see more than twenty feet ahead of me. Something was definitely going on up there. Even through the fog, I could see there were more than a dozen lights flashing at different heights—lights like when both the cops and the fire department respond to an accident.
“It’s not her.”
“It’s definitely not her.” I started to talk to myself. Be reasonable.
“She’s probably stuck behind all of that.”
“Some dumbass was speeding in the fog and crossed over the yellow line.”
“Damn…there are a lot of rescue vehicles.”
Approaching the parade of lights, I slowed when I saw reflectors and what looked to be a safety wand waving up ahead. A cop stood in the road wearing raingear, so I pulled up to speak to him. A firetruck blocked a better view of what was going on.
He leaned over to speak as I rolled down my window. “Accident up ahead. Road’s gonna be closed for the next hour or two until we can get things cleaned up and a tow out here.”
“My girlfriend was supposed to be at my house an hour ago, and she’s not answering her cell. Do you know what kind of cars were involved? Is anyone hurt?”
The officer frowned. “Only one car. Driver was just taken by ambulance to County Hospital. It was a woman. What’s your girlfriend’s name?”
“Ireland Saint James.”
The officer stood and lifted a walkie talkie to his mouth. “This is Connors. You got a name on the woman they just put in the bus?”
My heart thumped, waiting for the answer.
Eventually a burst of static came through and then a voice. “Victim was that lady from the news—Ireland Richardson.”
I felt sick. “Is she okay?”
The cop leaned down and shined his light into my car. He was probably looking at a ghost, because I felt all my color drain. His eyes darted over my face, and he frowned again. “Not supposed to give out any information on victims. But I don’t want you getting into an accident doing a hundred miles an hour with this fog. She was banged up, but talking.” He nodded. “I wouldn’t think anything worse than stitches and maybe a broken bone or two.”
I blew out a deep breath. “Thank you. Can I turn around here?”
The officer rapped his knuckles on the hood of my car. “Sure thing. Be careful driving. Fog is dangerous.”
***
“Sir, I told you five minutes ago that I’d let you go back as soon as the doctors are done examining her.”
“A guy just walked in and went right back.”
The nurse at the registration desk shook her head. “He works here. Please take a seat, and I’ll call you as soon as you can go back.”
Whatever.
I took a seat and rested my head in my hands with my elbows on my knees. Who did they call for Ireland in an emergency? Her father’s in prison, mother was long gone, and her only aunt moved down to Florida. What if she needs surgery? Who would make that decision? I should’ve gotten Mia’s cell phone number for emergencies. Maybe she was her designated contact.
I lasted about three minutes sitting before I got up to pace again. I made sure to stay in the nurse’s line of view so she wouldn’t forget about me. When our eyes caught, she let out an exaggerated sigh and shook her head before looking away. I didn’t give a shit if I pissed her off. I only cared that she didn’t forget I was here.
About a half hour after I’d walked in, another nurse opened the door. “Family of Ireland Saint James.”
I walked to the door, and the woman looked at me. “You’re a family member?”
I didn’t even have to think about lying. “Yes.”
“And you’re her…”
I thought they might have asked her marital status when she came in, and I didn’t want to contradict her. “Brother. I’m her brother.”
The nurse nodded and opened the door wide for me to come into the back. “Right this way. She’s in bed four. The doctors just finished examining her.”
I followed her to a corner of the large, open room, and the nurse pulled the closed curtain open. “Ms. Saint James, your brother is here to see you.”
Ireland’s face was confused for a half a second, and then she smiled and nodded. She had a bandage on the side of her head and looked pale. But she was in one piece.
I went to her side, took her hand, and leaned down to kiss her forehead. “Jesus Christ. You scared the shit out of me. What happened? Does anything hurt? Are you okay?”
The nurse shut the curtain behind her.
“Yeah. I’m okay.” She pointed to the bandage on her head. “Just butterfly stitches on my head from where I hit something, I guess.” She lifted her left arm and winced. “They think I might have broken my ulna. I’m waiting for x-ray to come now.”
“What the hell have they been doing all this time if you didn’t even get any x-rays yet?”
Ireland smiled. “A nurse came back a little while ago and told me I had a very anxious visitor waiting. I can see you must’ve been a joy to keep in the waiting room. They did some lab work and examined me. But I’m fine, really.”
I dragged a hand through my hair. “Are you sure? County’s not the greatest hospital. I can take you over to Memorial.”
“I’m fine. They’ve been really great so far.”
“What happened?”
She shook her head. “I was driving, and the fog made it hard to see, so I was switching back and forth between my high and low beams, and the last time I flipped on the brights, I found a deer standing almost right in front of my car. I hit the brakes, but the ground was wet and slippery, and I lost control. Remember in Driver’s Ed class when they told you to turn in to a spinout instead of away from it?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, I didn’t do that. I just reacted and didn’t even remember that until I got here.”
I brushed the hair from her face. “You acted on instinct. It’s normal.”
Ireland sighed. “I think my car is totaled.”
“Who cares about the car?” I began to pat down her body. “Is anything else hurt?”
She laughed. “No, Dr. Lexington. I’m really fine.”
A few minutes later, the nurse came back in. She looked at me. “Can I ask you to step back into the waiting room for a few minutes.”
“Are you taking her down to x-ray?”
The nurse shook her head. “Not yet. The doctor’s going to come back in and do another examination and would like to speak to your sister.”
My eyes narrowed. “Why? What’s wrong?”
The nurse frowned and looked over at Ireland. “Nothing is wrong. It’s just our policy to have visitors wait in the waiting room during an examination.”
Ireland smiled. “I’ll be fine, Grant.” She looked at the nurse. “Can he come back in after the doctor is done?”
The nurse nodded. “Sure.”
I leaned down and kissed Ireland’s forehead. “I’ll be back soon.”
Then, begrudgingly, I went back to the waiting room.
Sitting down, I leaned back in the chair and scrubbed my hands over my face. Why didn’t I insist that she not drive from the damn restaurant? This was all my fault. I don’t know what I would’ve done if anything had happened to her. My insides twisted at that thought. Ireland didn’t know what she meant to me. Hell, I’m not sure I even knew before tonight. But now that she was okay, I was going to make damn sure to show her from now on. I knew all too well that sometimes life changes in the blink of an eye.
