“Yes, with Dr. Polaris’s help. It’s still hard for me to concentrate on literature when I would rather be doing other things with him.”
Monica Shang entered Tim’s classroom and addressed the class. “I’ll be taking Dr. Polaris’s class today. He was injured in the parking lot this morning and drove himself to County General. I’m sure he will be fine, though.”
Brandi couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She stared at Miss Shang, then looked at Eric, who had that creepy smile on his face as though he were the devil himself. She just knew he had something to do with Tim’s injury and wanted to confront him, but she decided to take her shot at him later. The good thing about it was that Tim was able to drive himself to the hospital instead of having to be rushed there. After class, she’d call his home and see if she could do any thing to help him.
The minute Miss Shang ended her lecture, Brandi walked into the hall and called Tim’s house on her cell. No answer. Her second thought was to call County General. Within minutes, they told her where Tim was and she was on her way, whether or not she should have been. She would think of those consequences later.
* * *
Tim lay on the hospital bed, wondering who he could have ticked off enough to land him in emergency. He could think of no one. He didn’t even see the culprit, as he was banged across the shoulder from behind. All he had seen was someone duck around a building. It was done so fast. Normally he would have chased them down, but the pain was too bad to run. After starting the truck, he realized the pain was too great to do that, so he slowly drove around the corner to security, where they called EMS. They told him they would investigate and do everything they could to find the culprit. With that in mind, Tim sat there with the officer until the ambulance arrived.
This is the third incident: first the flat tire, then the basement window, now this. He didn’t know what was going on, but figured it was someone who knew he liked Brandi. The sheets of paper in his yard strewn around were obvious indicators.
The doctor finished placing the large bandage on the left side of Tim’s upper left shoulder blade. “Dr. Polaris, try sitting up, but slowly. Your X-rays indicate only bruising, but nothing that should keep you here.”
“When can I leave?”
“An hour, maybe two, but you need to go straight home and rest a couple of days, maybe go back to work on Monday…just to be on the safe side.”
“Monday! I’ve got lots to do between now and Monday.”
“Madison can survive long enough to get you well. Besides, that’ll give you the weekend, when Madison won’t be open.”
“I’m busy all the time, even weekends. I grade papers, I set up trips, I…”
“I’m serious. It was a bad crash across your shoulder, and those can be serious if you don’t watch it! Go home and stay there. Do you have anyone who can pick you up?”
That was when he wanted the luxury of depending on family. “One of the guards from campus security.”
“Good. For now, lie back slowly and rest.”
Tim woke up an hour later; Brandi was sitting in a chair next to his bed. He was shocked to see her; she was supposed to be in class. “What are you doing here, Brandi?”
“Never mind that. How are you feeling?”
“Better, but what are you doing here?”
“Miss Shang told us what happened, and I couldn’t wait to come and see about you.”
“You shouldn’t have, you know how people think.”
“I don’t care about them, Tim. Friends see after one another. That’s why I’m here. Now, no more questions; rest. When you finish resting, I’ll take you home.”
“The security officer can do that.”
“Then I’ll ride back with both of you.”
“What about your car?”
“I can come back for that, Tim, now stop worrying about everything.”
“You sure go through an awful lot of mess for me.”
“You’re worth it.”
“Did you see my truck in the lot?”
“I did. Don’t worry, it’s okay. We’ll get it later.”
“But, Brandi…”
“Rest. End of discussion.”
Two hours later, Brandi was able to convince security that she could take him home. She opened her car door for Tim and watched him slide in slowly. After she got in, she faced him. “Who do you think could have done this to you?”
Tim sat down slowly in the passenger side of her car. “I haven’t any idea.”
It was obvious to Brandi who it was. For now, she was concerned about getting Tim back to his truck and trailing him home.
Both Tim and Brandi saw his truck sitting there with the two rear tires flat. They slowly pulled up to the Durango and scanned it. All they could do was stare. “Brandi, why didn’t you tell me about the tires before now?”
“I didn’t know.”
“Then it must have happened after I alerted the guards. Why didn’t they patrol the area?”
“Here, take my cell and call your towing company. I’ll wait here with you.”
Instead of taking the phone, he slowly got out and walked to his truck as if in a trance. Brandi tried stopping him, but he kept walking, touching it delicately, as if it were a newborn.
She followed him, taking his hand. “Let’s go back to my car and wait.”
He reached into his pocket for his keys and opened the door.
“Tim, what are you doing?”
“I have to see if it still starts.”
“It will start, Tim.”
“How do you know? I have to see about this, Brandi. You know how I am about my truck.”
“Yes, don’t I?” She called the towing company while he inspected the truck. Something had to be done to temporarily take his mind off his truck. She knew how men were about their vehicles, but didn’t know he had it that bad, bad enough to examine every scratch on it despite his aching shoulder. Then again, she remembered how Eric drooled over the BMW his rich old coot of a father bought for him. She could never fathom why a parent would give someone with Eric’s driving record a new car like that one. Her hand covered his again. “I’m sorry about the truck. I know how you feel about it.”
“I just wish I knew who it was around here that I ticked off.”
“A past lover, maybe?” She tried not to get Tim upset by mentioning her suspicions about Eric.
“No. Even the women I dealt with had more restraint than this.”
“I know you fight, visit bars and, well, sleep…” She didn’t quite know how to say it, so he finished for her.
“You can say it, sleep around.”
“Could it be one of those ladies?”
“Could be, but I haven’t done that in a while.”
“Really? When did that stop?”
“The night I met you.”
That took her off guard, not quite expecting Timothy Polaris to stop his freewheeling ways because of one woman. That answer made her want to kiss him but knew that couldn’t happen in the school’s parking lot. Instead, she settled for: “That’s…that’s a good thing.”
“Is it?” He looked into her flushed face, wanting so desperately to feel himself inside of her, wanting to feel the softness of her body against the hardness of his. Fortunately, for him, security drove up.
Tim approached the officer. “I thought my truck was being watched after I left for the hospital. What happened to my tires?”
The officer approached him. “Sir, those tires were flat when we scanned the area the first time.”
Tim thought, Maybe I just didn’t see the flat tires in the first place. Then he discounted that. “No, I came back to the truck because I forgot my laptop. I didn’t see any flat tires. This had to happen while I was gone.”
“We saw nothing on the monitor after you left, and we continued scanning the area. However, we do have someone on security tape running from the scene.”
“Who is it?”
“We don’t know that yet, but we’re still investigating the incident.” The man’s eyes softened when he saw Tim rubbing his shoulder. “Are you okay, Dr. Polaris?”
“I’m tired. Look, I didn’t mean to get on you. I know you and the guys are doing everything you can.”
“It’s no problem, Dr. Polaris. We have to get a handle on this so it won’t happen again.”
“I appreciate it.” From the corner of his eye, he saw the tow truck arriving.
The mechanic hoisted the truck onto the flatbed as Tim and Brandi watched. They followed close behind to Mid-Town Collision, took care of the paperwork, then headed to Jamaica Estates—to a house he hadn’t wanted to take Brandi back to—unless she was in his arms.
“You don’t need to come inside, Brandi. We picked up my medicine, and I’m going right to bed.”
“Close your mouth for once and let me do my thing. You need to eat something, and I cook a pretty good meal.”
“Really? Like what?”
“Anything. Cooking and writing are my things in life, so just shut up, unlock the door, and get in your pajamas.”
“I don’t wear any.”
She let out a slow breath. Way too much information, Tim. “Whatever you do or don’t wear, go in and get into them.”