Читать книгу Forget Me Not - Brenda Jackson - Страница 16

ASHLEY HEARD THE movements just seconds before she heard the voices, a masculine voice and then a feminine one.

“How is she, Nurse Corker?”

“Resting comfortably, Dr. Frazier.”

She then heard papers shifting right before the masculine voice asked, “I understand she was pulled from the water unresponsive.”

“Yes, and after several attempts she was revived.”

Then the room got quiet again as if the doctor and the nurse had left. Ashley wasn’t sure the amount of time that had passed before she knew the two people had returned. She wanted to open her eyes but couldn’t find the strength to do so just yet. Then suddenly what had been said earlier came back to her, nearly shocking her brain in the process.

She recalled Devon’s voice telling her to look out. Then she’d seen him just seconds before she’d lost her balance to tumble into the murky waters of the cove. Devon’s ghost had been a sign that her life was about to end, and that her husband had come for her to join him. Ashley had discovered she was fine with that because all she’d done for the past three years was grieve his death.

Then suddenly she’d gotten pulled out the water and the man who’d saved her had been Devon. She remembered and knew for a fact she hadn’t been hallucinating. Devon had come back from the dead and was walking among the living. Suddenly she felt a pain in her head at the thought of something so preposterous.

“Ms. Ryan, I’m Dr. Frazier. Can you hear me?”

Ashley slowly opened her eyes and was nearly blinded by the brightness of the hospital lights. She quickly closed her eyes, and when she reopened them it was to stare into the face of the man towering over her.

“Ms. Ryan, can you hear me?”

She forced her mouth to move. “Yes.”

“Do you know where you are?” Dr. Frazier asked her.

“Yes.”

But her mind was still on Devon. He was alive.

After being revived on the boardwalk, she’d opened her eyes and looked into his face, and she knew it wasn’t the trauma of hitting the water. When he’d put on his T-shirt, she’d seen his tattoo—the word sunflower written in script by his shoulder blade. Instead of the word, she had a design of a sunflower on her hip. Seeing that tattoo had been the confirmation she hadn’t been hallucinating.

So why hadn’t he recognized her when she clearly recognized him? Granted, he had a beard, looked a bit more rugged, his nose looked like it had gotten broken, and because his skin had darkened some, it was apparent he spent more time out in the sun. But she would recognize her husband anywhere. In fact, all those changes in his features made him even more handsome. Nothing could erase those gorgeous bedroom brown eyes, the sensual shape of his mouth and the deep, husky tenor of his voice.

“Ms. Ryan?”

The concerned look in the doctor’s eyes gave her pause and she knew she needed to pay attention to whatever the doctor was asking her. “Could you repeat that?” she asked him.

He nodded. “Do you remember falling into the water off the boardwalk?”

“Yes, I remember.”

“Do you remember being revived?”

“Yes.” She definitely remembered that part and had known the exact moment Devon had placed his mouth over hers to force air into her lungs.

“You were pulled from the water unresponsive. The man who rescued you is Ray Sullivan. He owns the boat touring company here, Ray’s Tours.”

Ray’s Tours? That was where she’d been headed for a two-hour tour around the cove. She didn’t care what the man called himself, she was convinced he was Devon. “Where did he come from?”

Dr. Frazier lifted a brow. “Who? Ray?”

When she nodded, he said, “Lucky for you, he was on the boardwalk and went into action the moment he saw you fall in the water.”

Ashley let out a frustrated breath. That wasn’t an answer to the question she’d asked. Before she could rephrase the question, the doctor said, “I’m admitting you overnight and if you do okay you can leave tomorrow.”

Her brows shot up. “Tomorrow?”

“Yes. Because of the amount of water that got into your lungs, we need to observe you for the next twenty-four hours.”

She swallowed. “I need to see him. Ray Sullivan.”

The doctor smiled. “You can thank him for saving your life later. Right now I need to get you over to the radiology department for a chest X-ray. Afterward, you will be assigned to a room.”

Before she could say anything else, the doctor was gone, leaving her with the nurse, who smiled over at her. “Hi. I’m Paula Corker. I need to take your vitals.”

Ashley nodded and then said, “I want to see the man called Ray Sullivan.”

The nurse, who looked to be in her midtwenties, gave her a dreamy look, grinned and said, “Hey, don’t we all? There’s a slew of women who would have loved to have gotten rescued by him. But on a serious note, he’s really concerned about you. Last time I looked he was still in the waiting room, awaiting word on your condition.”

Devon was still at the hospital? Would he try to explain why he’d faked his death? Why he was pretending not to know her? The shock of seeing him hadn’t completely worn off but she was trying to deal with it as best she could without getting hysterical.

“Your pressure is up a little,” the nurse said after taking her blood pressure.

That was no surprise there, Ashley thought, not knowing how to stay calm while dealing with the magnitude of emotions she felt. Happiness, confusion, anger and shock. She then asked the nurse the same question she’d asked the doctor earlier, hoping for a different response. “Where did he come from?”

Paula glanced over at her. “Ray?”

Ashley nodded.

“Like Dr. Frazier told you,” Paula said, checking her pulse. “He was on the boardwalk and saw you fall in, and it’s a good thing he did. For years we’ve tried to get the mayor to put a rail up. You might want to sue. That would get their attention. You being a tourist and all.”

Ashley didn’t want to sue. What she wanted was answers, and she decided to rephrase her question. “Has he always lived in the cove?”

The perky nurse scrunched up her forehead as if she was in deep thought trying to remember. “Umm, Ray moved here a little over three years ago. Not sure where he came from but he’s good friends with Kaegan Chambray, who owns the shipping company here. I think they were military buddies. Ray’s also good friends with Sheriff Grisham.”

Ashley didn’t say anything for a minute, and then she asked, “Is he married?” She hadn’t even looked at his ring finger.

“No, he’s divorced, but just a little warning. I wouldn’t get my hopes up about him if I were you, no matter how much concern he’s showing toward you.”

“Why would you say that?”

“Because Ray’s a loner and doesn’t date. Trust me, a number of women have tried seducing him, and they have all failed,” Paula said, grinning.

Ashley wondered if Paula was one of those women, and as if Paula read her mind, she said, “It’s a good thing I married Alan right out of high school. My hubby is the love of my life, so I was never caught up in all the single ladies vying for Ray’s attention. Right now, he and Kaegan are the two most eligible bachelors in town, now that the sheriff has gotten married.”

Paula lowered her voice to a whispered tone and said, “Personally, I think Ray Sullivan is still pining over his wife. Otherwise, why wouldn’t he get involved with another woman? He must have loved her a lot.”

Not if he was trying to pretend she didn’t exist. It didn’t make any sense. Ashley was about to say something when a tall, gangly guy arrived.

“I came to wheel her up for her chest X-ray,” he said.

“Good timing, Charles,” Paula said.

* * *

“HOW IS SHE, RAY?”

Ray glanced up as Vashti rushed in with Sheriff Grisham by her side. “She’s being seen by the ER doctor now. I told Ms. Ryan that I would come here with her and I didn’t want to leave until she knows that I kept my word. She indicated to the paramedics that her husband isn’t here in the cove with her. Did she fill out any papers referencing how to contact him in case of an emergency?”

“She told me her husband died a few years ago in a car accident,” Vashti said sadly.

“Oh,” Ray said, nodding his head. “I guess they assumed she was still married since she’s still wearing a wedding band.”

“It’s a good thing you were there,” Sawyer said. “From the stories I’m hearing, she nearly drowned. Word is spreading fast around town how you jumped in to save her.”

Vashti shook her head. “Ashley Ryan can swim, so I don’t understand why she didn’t.”

Sawyer glanced over at his wife. “What makes you think she can swim?”

“She told me yesterday, when we talked while having tea and muffins. She couldn’t wait to take a swim in the gulf and said she was once the captain of her swim team in college.” She then turned to Ray. “Are you sure she didn’t hit her head and pass out or something?”

“I didn’t see any sort of injury, but then, I didn’t check her all over.”

“I did and there’s no head injury.” They turned and saw Dr. Frazier approach.

“How is she, Gil?” Vashti rushed to ask. Vashti and Dr. Gil Frazier had been born in Catalina Cove and attended school together. He had moved back to town last year to be closer to his aging parents.

“Ms. Ryan appears okay, but I’m keeping her overnight for observation. She did consume a lot of water into her lungs. I heard what you guys said about her ability to swim. The reason she didn’t could be attributed to a number of reasons. The first one could be the shock of falling into the water. That section has the coldest temperatures. I’m glad you’re an excellent swimmer, Ray. Otherwise, we could have lost you both.”

Ray didn’t say anything as he remembered jumping into the water. Gil was right—the water had been freezing cold. But he’d ignored the temperature, determined to pull Ashley Ryan out.

“So she’s alert?” Sawyer asked Gil, intruding into Ray’s thoughts.

“Yes, and she asked about you, Ray,” Gil said, smiling. “I figured you would be the one person she remembers because you saved her life. I believe she wants to thank you. And don’t be surprised if she’s feeling a high degree of hero worship about now.”

“That’s not necessary,” Ray said, filled with embarrassed discomfort. “I’m just glad the woman is okay.”

“It will be necessary to her,” Gil said. “It happens, trust me. It’s a normal psychological occurrence after a lifesaving incident such as this. I’ve seen it before.”

Well, Ray hoped that wasn’t the case with her because he didn’t want anyone to think of him as a hero. He’d done what anyone else would have under the circumstances. “Is there any way I can see her before I leave?” he asked. He’d made a promise to her that he would come to the hospital with her and he wanted to let her know he’d kept that promise. He didn’t want to question why such a thing was important.

“She’s being taken up for X-rays, but I should have her in a room in thirty minutes if you can wait awhile.”

Ray felt his chest tighten. Gil had just given him the perfect excuse to leave. All he had to say was that he couldn’t wait because he had a business to run. Gil could let Ms. Ryan know he’d been there. But for some reason that wouldn’t suffice for him. He wanted to see for himself that she was all right. But more than that, he’d seen the haunted look in her eyes. The look of someone regaining consciousness to discover they’d come close to death. He’d experienced such a thing. “I can wait.”