Twin Pines Page 6

  Bella's mind spun with all the words she wished she'd told him, boy, was she going to let him have it the next time they ran into each other, and the way it had been going, she felt sure they would meet again.

  She felt tired and short-tempered. It had been a long day with the admission of three new residents. Mrs. Randall was the last person she'd scheduled to interview. Bella was sure she would have to work late. She'd stopped by Lillian Randall's room, but the woman wasn't there. At the nurse's station, they told her she was out with family. The difference in families always surprised her. Jud Fortney was seldom around, only when his grandmother called in severe distress, and here was a new resident and she was out of the facility with loved ones. She wished she could bottle kindness. She'd dump the whole thing on Judd.

  Bella wrapped her arms around herself as she walked through the bridge. The small amount of gloomy light filtering in through the windows warmed the air, but she felt cold to the bone. How could plants live here? She was more despondent and lonely than ever.

  The din of voices and clattering dishes drifted from the cafeteria. Some of her fellow staff members sat quietly, fatigued expressions covered their faces, while others chatted freely with animation. Bella's mood fell somewhere in between. It only took a moment for the room to fall into silence as she entered. She looked around in disbelief. There was no question about it--they were ostracizing her.

  "Bella. Over here!" Becky waved frantically, pointing to the empty chair beside her. Two steaming mugs of coffee sat before her.

  This must be the way cattle feel as they head through a shoot, Bella thought. Suddenly, she felt her legs go out from under her and she pitched backward, falling. Trying to right herself, her hand smacked someone sitting at the table beside her. Strong hands came up under her arms stopping her fall. "Sorry, Bella. I was only trying to get your attention when I stuck my foot out, I didn't mean to trip you." Dr. Adam Roth offered. "Have a seat." He pulled out two chairs "I want to talk to you."

  "I don't know if you should say that in this crowd. The people around here might take after you like a lynch mob," she said, her mouth tightening with indignation.

  Adam kicked a chair in her direction. Looking around the room, Bella dropped. What was happening to all these men? It began on the weekend, Judd flipped-out and tried to have her framed for stealing his grandmother's jewelry, now Adam seemed peculiar. And she was right; nearly everyone was staring at her. "You really frightened me, you know." Her voice raged but came out a whisper.

  "Sorry," he said insincerely. His mouth twitched nervously. "I wanted to tell you, I-I can't make our date tomorrow night."

  Bella stared at him, her eyes wide. She couldn't quite miss his expression. It wasn't a real date anyway; Adam had offered to escort her to the gala. "Is this the same reason you didn't stop by my office with the assessments for your new resident?"

  He made a condescending clicking sound against his teeth. "Oh, are things starting to go badly for you?"

  Adam's smug smile ticked her off. "No," she snapped, but her heart felt like a crushed shell. "But why don't you answer one question for me before I leave your table."

  "Shoot."

  "Why is everyone blacklisting me?"

  He raised his eyebrows in surprise. "You don't know?"

  Bella shook her head and a few wisps of red hair escaped the bounds of the tight knot at the nape of her neck. "I really wish you'd tell me."

  Adam's light colored gaze narrowed with distaste and he shook his head slightly as he offered, "I'm not ready for all the problems that could cause. Let's change the subject."

  Adam had been her friend from childhood. Surely, that meant something to him. "Please tell me what's going on!" She demanded, defiantly raising her chin with pride.

  He took a deep breath and studied her intently. "It all has to do with this abuse thing and the thefts. You're going to cause all of us to lose our jobs. Just drop the accusations and give it a rest, will ya? Everything will be back to normal before you know it." He covered her hand with his.

  She jerked her hand out from under his. The pain in his eyes made her feel instinctively guilty, but sometimes, she wondered if he did that on purpose. He had a way of manipulating her, and he'd done so since they were children.

  When they were in the third grade, Adam released the Science club's caged rabbits. He set them free in a vacant lot adjoining the schoolyard.

  Upon discovery of the deed, Adam had second thoughts. The teacher had reprimanded him sternly earlier in the day for hiding her book bag that contained their weekly math test. The young boy feared expulsion from school and begged Bella to rescue him. He thought the teacher would be forgiving to the kind girl. He seemed so sincere that Bella confessed to the animal break out.

  The teacher found Bella's prank delightful, but she still lost her recess privileges for a whole week.

  "Bella...are you there?"

  "Oh! I didn't mean to drift off like that."

  "That's all right. Now, about what I said…"

  She shook her head. "I'll have to think about this. There is a lot at stake here."

  "Yeah, like my job. By the way, how are the plans for the gala going?"

  "I'm getting a severe case of nerves about tomorrow night. Mr. Van Horn hasn't given me any of the information he promised. Have you seen him today?"

  "No, but I did hear he was under the weather and stayed home." Adam wiggled his eyebrows humorously. The hospital administrator had a weakness for alcohol and now that he was retiring, the business held little importance to him.

  "That's just great," she exclaimed. "We've worked for months to get this gala underway and now he's going to mess it up."

  "Wing it, babe. You're good at that."

  "I still have a speech to write and I need his information. Lucky me." Bella looked in Becky's direction. Becky scowled into her coffee. Becky was having a hard time understanding Bella's platonic non-relationship, friendship, whatever you wanted to call it, with Adam. Or, were they still friends at all. Becky didn't look very happy. That was all Bella needed. She felt like walking out the door and charging her absence to her sick day column on her time sheet. And it wasn't a lie. She felt bad. Right now, Becky could have Adam.

  All Bella wanted was to flee from this doctor, the room and her miserable life.

  She took a few steps in Becky's direction when Adam called back, "Still friends?"

  She ignored his sarcastic question and kept on moving. She heard the snickers from other staff members in the room. How could he call himself her friend when he acted this way?

  "I can't believe how awful this day has been." Bella slid into the chair kicking her shoes from her feet. She sighed as she reached for the cool coffee. "I'm sorry it took me so long to get away from Adam."

  "I feel limp after that code, but we pulled the patient through." Becky placed her hand in the crook of her neck massaging the tight muscles.

  "You were in ER for quite a while." She sipped her coffee silently. "What are you doing after work?"

  "I have parent-teacher conference. I sure hope Jody's doin' better. What'd ya have in mind?"

  "I need help finding something to wear to the gala tomorrow night. Now I don't have an escort. That's what Adam was dropping on me." Bella folded a straw paper into a tiny square. "Hey! He's available for you, Becky."

  Heaving a sigh, Becky rolled her eyes at Bella.

  "You sound like you have Bella Mann syndrome. You usually don't grumble like this."

  "It's my turn to dislike men for a while. All 'cept my kid, he's different. I've raised him for seventeen years. He's turned into a great guy." The nurse laughed.

  "Don't worry so much about all of this. Give it a rest. It'll blow over. I want to go outside for a smoke," Becky said.

  "I'm really sick of this topic. Can we change subjects?" Bella looked from the pack of cigarettes, to her friend, and back again. She'd tired of preaching the evils of tobacco. It seemed strange to her that health care faci
lities had the highest concentration of smokers, even though the medical staff worked first-hand with the unfortunate results of smoking.

  "Chill, Bella! I've cut down--a lot."

  A certified nurse assistant, dressed in her pale pink uniform, walked by with the coffeepot to return it to the warmer. Becky reached out her hand and stopped the woman, asking for a refill.

  A tingling sensation came over her, causing Bella to look up. There was no mistaking the cold stare directed at her.

  The frigid glare didn't go unnoticed by Becky, either. "I guess the rumors about you are spreading," she said after the woman walked away.

  Bella leaned toward Becky, her interest growing. "What have you heard?"

  Her voice a whisper, Becky turned her head toward Bella. "They're sayin' that you're sneakin' around to spy on them, and that you're lyin' about stolen property on the incident reports. It didn't help that they found Gladys' jewelry in your office, either. But the thing they're the maddest about is," her voice lowered even more, "they say you told Mr. Van Horn they're doin' it!"

  Bella sighed. There was a ring of truth in the rumors. She was documenting complaints from the residents, noting missing property, and she'd notified the administrator. How could this information be public knowledge? The only person she'd told was Mr. Van Horn.

  "Becky. You know about my concerns. As a matter-of-fact, we've discussed this. You agreed with me then. You even reported that CNA who yelled at Mrs. Colby."

  "Everyone reports things to ya, Bella."

  "Yes, that's true, but the only problem is, they won't stand behind me. Now, everyone thinks I'm just a troublemaker. Sometimes, I wonder about Mr. Van Horn. I think he's trying to sweep this under the rug. He'll retire and let someone else handle the problem."

  "Well, don't tell anyone I'm helpin' ya."

  "I think you're suspect anyway just because you're my friend. Hey, Beck, I've been thinking," Bella said in an attempt to change the subject. "Why don't you invite Adam to the dance? I know you're still hung-up on him. He canceled on me because of the stuff going on around here, but I'm sure he wouldn't hold that against you."

  "I've got a date already. Why do ya keep pushin' Adam at me? He doesn't want me any more," she complained querulously. She couldn't conceal her irritation that Bella and Adam were old friends. "I think he's a great doctor. All I have to do is call him and he comes runnin' to help the residents. Why, he's the one that prescribed antibiotics for my cold patients this morning."

  Bella shook her head. "Do you ever wonder about that? Why is it that the other doctor's on staff never write as many scripts as Adam?"

  "That's because they aren't as compassionate."

  There was no use in arguing methods and techniques with her. Becky closed her mind and nothing Bella could say would change her mind. Bella wanted to tell Becky that all she had to do was to quit pushing Adam for a permanent relationship. Becky couldn't end every date with him expecting an engagement ring. But Bella didn't want to argue with her today. "I still haven't seen Mr. Van Horn. I need to talk to him about the new administrator before my speech tomorrow night. How can I introduce someone I don't even know?"

  "If I see him, I'll call ya," she said sincerely. "No idea what you're wearin'?" Becky quizzed. "The last time I remember ya being so secretive was when you and Scott got married. I almost died when ya walked down the aisle dressed like Marilyn Monroe in that glittering, form-fitting dress." The humor fell from her face and she gave Bella an odd look. "Oh! You're not wearin' that tomorrow night, are you?"

  Bella laughed, remembering the shocked expression on Scott's face as she walked down the aisle. "No. Don't worry. I won't be so blatantly sexual. I really won't embarrass you. I just wish I knew what to wear. I bought black pumps to wear with my basic black dress, but it's too boring. Therefore, I had a different idea. That's why I wanted you to come over. I don't know if I'm brave enough to wear it."

  "Uh, oh...this sounds like my Bella of old. What are ya up to?"

  Before she could avoid answering, her pager began to vibrate at her side. She walked to the telephone through a sea of indignant faces.

  CHAPTER SIX

  BELLA KEPT BUSY SATURDAY MORNING, but by early afternoon, she was nearly sick with anxiety over the fund-raiser. It would be bad to stand in front of a crowd, but with everything that had escalated this past week, she shivered, wrapping her arms around herself. She didn't want to think about it and she really didn't want to go to this boring event.

  Entering the bedroom, she sat on the edge of the waterbed, and then lay back on the warm surface. It had been a week ago this morning that she'd met Garrett Brooks. She felt cheap and wanton. She'd let a stranger kiss her, and then he'd disappeared from her life. If she hadn't talked to Ned last night, probing for any information on Garrett, she would have thought he'd been a figment of her imagination. But Ned gave her little information.

  She ambled into the bathroom, taking the brush off the counter she began brushing her long hair until it shone, its auburn luster reflected the light. Well, by this time tomorrow, the dreaded gala would be pushed back into her mind as a memory. She just wished the Sheriff would find who was stealing at the care center and make this disgusting time of her life a memory, also.

  What she needed was a long, hot shower to calm her nerves. She still hadn't decided what to wear when she stepped out of the shower wrapping a thick towel snugly around her body. The towel matched the colors in the bedroom that she'd redecorated last year, saving money each month to complete the project. The urge to live beyond her means was a constant struggle. She furnished the apartment from discarded items she found at yard sales and auctions.

  When she bought something new, guilt filled her with regret. She was becoming exceedingly frugal. She had a simple black dress in the closet. Along with black stockings and the new heels, she would look fine. Her hair was a mess. It probably would take her all afternoon to make it look good. As she leaned over the bathtub with the hand held sprayer rushing water over her hair, an idea struck her. She grabbed a towel and rubbed the water from her hair. She dropped the towel; her damp hair flopped around her shoulders in long strands. She ran her fingers through the damp hair and bit her lips together to suppress a giggle that rose from her chest.

  * * * *

  From the stylist's chair, Bella stared at her reflection. She'd emerged from the bulk of hair that now lay on the floor surrounding the chair. She looked nothing at all like her old self. The red highlights had overtaken the somber brown tones in the collar length bob that turned under at her chin. A fringe of wispy bangs touched her brows. The style accentuated her high cheekbones and large almond-shaped eyes.

  "You like?" The stylist asked as he smoothed his hand over the back of her hair to smooth a few hairs. Grant was her mother's hair stylist. When she'd called him a little over an hour ago, he'd been more than happy to have her come in immediately for the transformation. Video's blared from the television as she changed her appearance.

  "It's great, but now I need some color in my face. I look so pale."

  She seldom wore makeup, but she left the salon amid blushing cheeks, shiny, pouty lips and long, thick eyelashes. Under her arm, she carried a black bag filled with new cosmetics. After tucking her purchase in the trunk of her old car, she struck off down the street to buy earrings now that they would show with the shorter hair. Bella felt so free with the breeze playing through the bouncy hair. She couldn't remember when she'd felt the tickle of hair against her face or the heavenly smell of floral shampoo as the hair blew against her cheeks.

  Grant had placed a round, natural bristle brush in her hand and explained the process of blow-drying. Hopefully, she'd be able to accomplish the same look in the morning. It was five o'clock when she drove into the garage. She'd planned to drive over to the country club at seven. She had two hours to get ready.

  Rushing into the house, she stopped on the landing. Garrett's apartment sounded empty. She shrugged, slipped out her key and
unlocked the door. Maybe it was for the best that she not see Garrett. At least she controlled her emotions when she was by herself. When she was with Garrett she felt like a tornado had swirled inside her, turning everything upside down.

  As she sat on the edge of the bed gliding her panty hose over her freshly shaved legs, she heard the stereo pound out a beat from across the wall. Her heart rhythmically caught the cadence and the air in her lungs froze in place. Garrett was back.

  Damn! She didn't want to leave for the gala. She'd rather whip up a plate of cookies and take them to Garrett. But that wasn't possible. No one would believe that she was ill or had other commitments. Trying to slow her galloping heart, she pulled the dress on over her head. The newly cut hair bounced right back in place with one swinging bounce.

  Six o'clock, the blue digital numbers shone into the dark room. Bella couldn't stand waiting any longer. She didn't know what she was going to do at the country club for two hours, but she couldn't sit around here any longer. Garrett's stereo switched off fifteen minutes before, and now, the apartment settled into silence. All she could hear was the sound of the wind whistling through the trees outside in the night. Closing the door softly behind her, she entered the landing and sighed with disappointment.

  A rubber mat covered the torn floor covering. She would have to thank Garrett the next time they met. If they met.

  Bella opened the door and a frigid blast of air hit her. Pulling the coat collar over her ears, she looked down at the icy walkway.

  "Want a ride?" Garrett yelled out the passenger side window of his vehicle. He leaned across the seat and tossed open the door for her.

  Bella walked toward his vehicle. "I'm not sure. I thought you were an apparition. I haven't seen you for a week."

  "Look. About the other night...well, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been so...Aggressive, kissing you that way. I don't know why I was so brusque."