Magnificent Folly - Iris Johansen [56]
Joy illuminated Lily’s face. “But you’re alive. He didn’t take you.”
“I failed.” Andrew’s eyes closed wearily. “So much pain and rage. He needed me, and I failed him.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Lily said fiercely. “For heaven’s sake, he wanted to kill you. He doesn’t matter.”
“He matters. Everyone matters. That’s what life is all about.…” His voice trailed off as his breathing deepened in the rhythm of sleep.
Lily’s alarmed glance flew to Gunner’s face.
“It’s all right. It’s only exhaustion.” He was smiling reassuringly. “He’ll probably sleep around the clock.”
“He’s safe?” she asked. She couldn’t believe it.
Gunner nodded. “He’s going to be fine.”
“Then I want him home, where I can take care of him. Will you arrange for an ambulance?” She glanced at Kalom’s still body lying on the bed across the room, and a shudder ran through her. How could Andrew feel anything but hatred for the man who had tried to kill him? “I don’t like it here.”
Gunner helped her from the bed. “That’s not a bad idea. Andrew’s not accustomed to failing, and it isn’t going to be easy for him to face the fact that he couldn’t help Kalom.”
“No one else would have tried. I don’t know why he did.”
“Yes, you do,” Gunner said quietly. “He told you. Everyone matters to Andrew.”
She nodded, and swallowed to ease the tightness in her throat as she glanced back at Andrew’s face. Yes, she knew why Andrew had been compelled to try to help Kalom even if it meant endangering his own life. “I’ll go tell Quenby and Mariana he’s all right.” She turned to leave, and then abruptly swung back to face him. “I did help him, didn’t I?”
A warm smile lit Gunner’s face. “You bet. Andrew’s vital signs began to steady from the moment you lay down beside him. It surprised the hell out of me.”
“You shouldn’t have been surprised. I just used a universal panacea that’s been around a good deal longer than anything the Clanad’s come up with.” She grinned as she opened the door. “Andrew and I made a deal.”
Gunner was right. Andrew slept around the clock, woke for a few minutes, and then immediately fell asleep again.
“He’s sad again, isn’t he?” Cassie whispered, edging close to the bed to gaze down at him.
“Yes, something happened to make him very sad, love.” Lily took Cassie’s hand and held it tightly as waves of emotion spiraled through her. He looked more like a weary little boy than the virile man she knew so well, yet the boy was every bit as lovable as the man. “But Andrew’s going to be fine. We’re going to make sure he is, aren’t we?”
Cassie nodded.
“And I know how,” Lily said as the idea suddenly occurred to her. “Will you help me?”
“If I can.”
“Oh, you can.” Lily propelled her from the bedroom and then down the stairs. “What I have in mind is definitely in your area of expertise. Call Mrs. Muggins and tell her we’ll need a car to take a drive into the desert.”
“The desert?”
“And we’ll need some tools.” Lily frowned in concentration. “Hurry, love. We may not have much time before he wakes up again.”
Cassie ran down the hall in search of Mrs. Muggins while Lily crossed to the telephone and picked up the receiver to call Mariana, Quenby, and Gunner.
Andrew was standing on the balcony, framed against the scarlet-and-purple skies of the sunset, when Lily walked into the room. He immediately turned around when he heard the door open, and smiled at her. “I’m afraid I haven’t been too sociable lately,” he said lightly as he held out his hand to her. “Gunner was just here, and said I’ve been out of it for nearly two days.”
“You needed the rest.” She came onto the balcony and took the hand he held out, her gaze anxiously searching his face. His color was good, the lines of exhaustion gone, she noted with relief, but he appeared thinner. “Have you lost weight?”
He shrugged. “I usually lose a few pounds after one of these sessions. I’ll gain it back in a few days.”
“See that you do. No wonder Mariana gave you Muggins. You don’t take care of yourself.”