A commotion out in the ward ratcheted the noise level up a notch. Speak of the devil himself. Cord slitted his eyelids. Maybe his father would go away if he thought he was still unconscious.
"What the hell is she doing here?" Cyrus Barron bellowed as he entered the room, and would have lunged for the bed if not for Cash restraining him.
* * *
Jolie jerked awake, her heart pounding from the adrenaline rush. Glancing around in an attempt to focus her sleep-fuzzy mind, she remembered. She'd fallen asleep at Cord's bedside.
The supervising nurse followed Mr. Barron and Cash into the small room. "Keep your voice down, sir, or I'll ask you to leave."
Cyrus, red in the face and looking ready for battle, opened his mouth to launch into what promised to be a scathing retort. Cash cut him off.
"Enough, Dad. Cord's still unconscious. We don't want to disturb him."
Lowering his voice, Cyrus issued orders. "Get her out of here. That woman is not to be anywhere near my son. Especially not with her head on his damn bed!"
Jolie bristled, but the nurse replied before she could. "Ms. Davis is doing her job, Mr. Barron. If you interfere with her or any of my personnel, I will have you not only removed right this instant but banned from this hospital." She fisted her hands on her hips. "I don't care who you are. This is my department and you will follow my rules. Or else."
Jolie rolled her lips between her teeth and bit down to hide a grin. No one but no one ever talked to Cyrus Barron that way. The man was completely flummoxed and left speechless for a moment.
"What is your name?" he demanded.
"Meg Dabney, RN." The nurse arched a brow. "I'm the day-shift supervisor." Giving Cyrus her back, she stared at Jolie. "Do you have the patient's vitals, Jolie?"
Meg was giving her an out-thank goodness. Jolie stood up and quickly assessed the monitor numbers, while twisting her hand to make it look as if she'd been taking Cord's pulse manually. She read off the statistics while the older woman made notes on her electronic pad. Jolie came close to freaking out when something tickled her palm: Cord's index finger. She peered at him and noticed his eyelids flickering. Faker! He was conscious and enjoying the show. Relief warred with irritation. This was so like the blasted man.
Dropping his hand, Jolie backed away from the bed. Head down, refusing to make eye contact with Cyrus, she slipped around Meg. The brush of a hand on her bare arm startled her and she glanced up. Cash inclined his head in a slight nod and offered a sympathetic smile, which surprised the dickens out of her. Cash hated her. Didn't he?
Before she could get away, more Barrons crowded in. Chance and a woman she recognized from the society pages as his new bride, Cassidy. Chase, the Mr. Vegas playboy brother, and even Clay, who must have come all the way from DC. All five Barron brothers in the same small space were enough to put a girl into libido overload, as evidenced by the envious looks from the other nurses.
She escaped, but not for long. Chance caught up to her in three strides.
"Jolie?"
She shoved her hands into the pockets of her rumpled scrubs and wished she'd had time to brush her teeth. With her head still down, she glanced at him from the corner of her eyes. "Hi, Chance. Uh...congratulations on your marriage. You got here quickly."
"Thanks. The joys of having a fleet of private jets on standby. Are you okay?"
That brought her head up and she met his concerned gaze. "Why wouldn't I be?"
As Cord's brother studied her, she tilted her chin and pasted a blank expression on her face.
"How is he, really?"
She'd bet this was not the real question on the tip of his tongue, but Chance had a reputation as one of the best courtroom attorneys in the state. She lifted one shoulder in a negligent shrug. "Far better than he has a right to be."
Chance's eyes narrowed and a frown tugged at the corners of his mouth. Realizing how that sounded, Jolie hastened to explain.
"He almost died, Chance. And probably should have." A shiver skittered through her. "He coded in the ER last night, but he's strong. And stubborn." And far too aware of her presence this morning, damn him. "The doctors are worried about the liver tear and the spinal injury."
"What about the trauma to his head?"
She choked on an involuntary giggle. "As thick as his skull is?" She sobered and exhaled. "He'll recover fully from the concussion. The scar will be hidden once his hair grows back out."
Disconcerted by Chance's continued scrutiny, she turned away. "I have to go."
He gripped her shoulder gently, halting her in her tracks. "Thank you, Jolie. Thank you for being here for him, for not leaving him alone. And for calling me."
She twisted her head around to stare at him. While not as big a playboy as Chase, Chance had been a player and rather shallow, except where his brothers were concerned. The Barron boys were nothing if not absolutely loyal to each other. She glanced toward the blonde, who stood in the doorway of Cord's room watching them. Cassidy Morgan had changed Chance Barron for the better.
Jolie glanced back into the cubicle where Cord was still faking unconsciousness. Too bad he appeared to be the same old Cord.
Three
Jolie tiptoed past the ICU waiting room. Even after a week and at five in the morning, at least one Barron family member was camped out there. She shouldn't be here. Had no right to slip into his room to check his chart, to stare at him, to miss him so much she couldn't breathe sometimes.
Cordell Barron was the man she loved to hate. And hated to love. But love him she did, God help her. She remembered the first time she'd seen him as vividly as if it had happened yesterday. Her first day of high school. Standing at the top of the stairs, she'd glimpsed the guys all the freshmen girls were talking about. The Barron brothers. Cord. Chance. And their cousins, Cooper and Boone Tate.
Rooted to the spot, she'd gazed down at him. He'd looked up and snagged her with his gaze. That maddening smile of his had slid across his face and broadened until dimples appeared to bracket his full lips. Love at first sight. But then Boone had said something and Cord's expression had sharpened before they'd all turned and walked away. She should have seen the truth even then. That was only the first time he'd walked away from her.
As she parted the curtains of his room, the sight of him kicked her in the chest just like that first time. Unshed tears prickled the back of her nose and her throat burned. Her fingers itched to comb his thick hair off his forehead before tangling in the dark silk of it. Why did she come every morning? This was torture. Things hadn't changed. His father still hated her, still pulled all the strings. And it wasn't just herself she had to worry about now. There was CJ, too.
"You just gonna stand there or are you gonna come in and say hello?" Cord's raspy voice raised goose bumps on her arms.
"I didn't mean to wake you."
"C'mere."
"No. I mean...I have to go. My shift starts soon."
"Jolie. Please."
Oh, God, how could she ignore the pleading in those beautiful burned-honey eyes of his? Dragging her feet, she approached the bed and stood at its foot. His gaze raked over her, hot and hungry, and...yes, there was the hurt she expected to see. Well, good. Now they were even.
"Thank you."
She blinked as her jaw dropped a little. Those were not the words she'd expected to fall out of his mouth. "F-for what?"
"For being in the ER. For calling Chance. For staying with me."
"You remember?"
"Yeah. I'm sorry my old man is such an asshat." He offered a crooked grin that indented only one cheek with a dimple as he held out the hand not plugged full of needles and tubes. "C'mere, Jolie."
Her fingers curled and her hand started to reach for him of its own accord. She smoothed her palm against her scrub pants and forced her fingers to grab the cotton instead of his warm flesh. "I can't, Cord. You know that. I have to go." She turned to leave but his voice stopped her, the plaintive tone twisting her heart.
"Jolie?"
She listened to him inhale and her shoulders slumped. He sounded so...defeated. Glancing over her shoulder, she forced her feet to remain planted. Everything in her wanted to run to him, to wrap him in her arms. The pain-physical and emotional-on his face almost undid her.
"I...I can't, Cord. We can't." She fled, dashing tears from her eyes as she pushed through the ICU doors only to smack into a very solid chest. Strong arms gripped her biceps, holding her up.
"Jolie? You okay?"
Chance. Just her luck.
The timbre of his voice changed. "Jolie? Is it Cord? Is he okay? Did something happen?"
Oh, yeah. Something happened. She'd fallen in love with a man she couldn't have, she'd seduced him to get back at him, and then she'd kept a big ole honkin' secret from him. One that would make him hate her. Breathing deeply to steady her nerves, she blinked away the tears.