Susan Mallery - Tempting

It was late. A call at this hour was never good.

She jumped up naked, grabbed what looked like Alex's shirt and ran back into the great room where she'd put her purse.

"Hello," she said as she opened her flip phone. "What's wrong?”

"Dani, it's Kristie."

Dani's body got cold. Kristie was Gloria's night nurse. The only one still on duty.

"What happened?"

"Your grandmother collapsed. I've called 9-1-1 and the paramedics are here. They're taking her to the hospital. She's breathing and her vitals are okay. I don't think it's another heart attack, but I'm not sure."

Dani felt the room sway. Then Alex was at her side, urging her to sit on the sofa.

"Okay," Dani said, not able to think through the panic. What if Kristie were wrong? What if Gloria had had another heart attack? Dani couldn't stand to lose her. Not now. Not when they'd just found each other after all these years.

“I’ll be right there," Dani said. “Thanks for calling."

"No problem. I'll phone your brothers from the ambulance."

Dani hung up. "My grandmother," she said. "She collapsed. She's going to the hospital. I have to get there now."

"I'll go with you," he said.

She wanted nothing more than having him around to lean on. But before she agreed, she remembered who he was, who his family was and how interested the world was in her.

"You can't," she told him. "What if the press found out?"

His mouth twisted, as if he was about to tell her he didn't give a damn about the press. But they both had to.

"Call me," he said. "Let me know what's going on."

"I will."

Five minutes later she was dressed. Alex walked her to her car, then cupped her face and kissed her.

"If you need me, I’ll be there."

She believed him. "My brothers will be at the hospital. I won't be alone. I’ll let you know as soon as we hear anything."

He stepped back. She got in her car and started the engine.

As she drove down the long driveway, she felt both worried about Gloria and happy about her evening with Alex. The emotions fought for dominance-and in the end, concern for her grandmother won.

She was thinking more about what could have gone wrong than anything else, so she didn't pay attention to the odd, moving shadows at the end of Alex's driveway. It wasn't until it was too late to turn back that she saw cars and people. People holding cameras.

They parted for her, but she still had to drive slowly. Slowly enough for them to take her picture and yell out questions about her spending the night with the senator's son.

When Dani arrived at the hospital, her brothers, Penny, Elissa and Lori were already there. Lori sat with a sobbing Kristie, who stood up when Dani entered the waiting room.

"I'm so sorry" she said, her voice thick with tears. "Oh, Dani, she just collapsed. She was doing so well. Just a couple of days ago we were talking about when my contract would end. With you staying there, Gloria was feeling comfortable being on her own at night. She's planning her own meals, scheduling her physical therapy, handling her meds. She's fine. Or she was."

Dani knew the other woman was just trying to help and maybe make herself feel better, but for Dani, the conversation was a one-way ticket to Guilt Land.

She had moved into Gloria's house. The expectation was that she would be home at night. But last night she hadn't gone home… she'd gone to Alex's. To be honest, after she arrived, she never once thought about her grandmother.

Okay, sure, she'd told Gloria about her plans and the older woman had teased her about having too good a time but neither of them had expected her to stay out all night.

Dani glanced at her watch. It was barely after two in the morning, but it was close enough to all night for guilt purposes.

"It's not you," Dani told Kristie. "It's me."

Lori shook her head. "Let's not argue about it. Neither of you could have prevented the collapse. Not unless you're secretly psychic and could have predicted what happened. In which case, it would be nice if you could tell us what's wrong with her, so we know how much we should worry."

Kristie wiped her face. "You're using logic."

"It seems like the right time," Lori said.

"You don't have to be so smug about it," Kristie muttered.

The two women hugged.

Dani was glad they'd worked things out, but she was still feeling like crap. She walked over to Cal and let him pull her close.

"I should have been there," she murmured.

"Want to tell me where you were?" he asked.

"Not really. I was off having fun, which is all that matters."

Penny came over and punched her lightly in the arm. "Stop it. You didn't make this happen and feeling bad won't help. Let's wait and see what the doctor says."

Dani scowled. "You sound like Lori."

"Really?" Penny looked pleased. "Because I like her a lot. She's so together."

"Meaning I'm not?" Elissa grumbled as she joined them. "I'm tough."

"You're practically titanium," Walker said as he put his arm around his fiancée.

"At least we can be neurotic together," Dani said, doing her best to hang on emotionally. The need to start crying was strong, but she was determined to beat it. She wanted to stay in control so she could be ready in case there was something she could do.

"Look at the bright side," Reid said. "Last time Gloria collapsed, no one gave a damn. Now we all care about what happens to her. That has to be good."

Dani nodded slowly. She understood his point, but in some ways it was easier when she hadn't cared. Last time, there hadn't been so much to lose.

***

Alex was at his parents' house by six that morning. Dani had phoned to say there wasn't any news on Gloria and right after her call, his phone had rung again. He sure as hell hadn't expected it to be his father.

"It made the morning papers," Mark had said by way of greeting. "How soon can you get here?"

Alex sat across the breakfast table from his parents. He hated feeling as if he was sixteen and had gotten caught doing something stupid. The need to squirm and explain kept rushing through him but he ignored both. More difficult to push aside was the sense he'd been a disappointment.

He reminded himself he was a successful lawyer in his thirties. He didn't have to answer to anyone. Too bad he couldn't believe it.

He wanted to defend himself, but against what? So he accepted the cup of coffee his mother gave him and waited for her or his father to make the first move.

Neither of them seemed in a hurry to speak. There was something in Katherine's eyes-a lurking accusation, as if asking why he had to pick Dani from all the women available to him.

This had to be hurting her. Dani represented so much failure to her. Now if Alex got involved with her, would that make the wound deeper?

If he got involved? Wasn't he already there and beyond?

"Is it true?" Mark asked. "There's a picture of Dani leaving your place around one-thirty this morning. Is it really her?"

"Yes."

Mark glanced at Katherine, then back at Alex. "We'll take care of the situation. I'll call a meeting first thing. Please be available." Mark stood and left.

Alex didn't like the sense of being handled, but what was he supposed to say? Sure, his personal life was his business, but as his father was running for president and Dani was Mark's long-lost biological daughter, there were questions and realities to be dealt with.

"Good to be a member of the staff" he said when Mark was gone.

His mother picked up her coffee, then put it down. "He's in crisis mode. He's not angry."

"I got that." Mark hadn't been anything. But his father had never been emotionally involved with his family. Not the way Katherine was.

"So you're seeing her," she said, her voice carefully polite, as if she didn't want to give anything away.

"Yes."

"Is it serious?" Her mouth tightened slightly, her hands trembled.

"Mom, I'm sorry all this is happening and that it's upsetting you."

"But you're not sorry about your relationship with Dani."

It wasn't a question. "No."

He was reminded of his conversation with Dani earlier that evening. How they'd discussed that both their previous spouses had been sorry about being caught, but not about the act itself.

This was different, he told himself. Yet someone was still hurt.

"You didn't say if this was serious or not," Katherine pressed.

He shrugged. "I don't know yet."

"You're sleeping with her."

His mother was the most amazing woman he'd ever met. She had determination and class and more love than any three people he knew. He would take a bullet for her, but he wouldn't let her run his life.

I’m not discussing Dani," he said quietly. "Not in that context."

"I see."

Two words. Easy, simple words said in a tone that hinted he'd broken her heart. That by shutting her out, he was saying she didn't matter.

"I know Dani is a complication," he said, trying to give a little.

"For all of us. You're aware of the difficulties this relationship presents."

He nodded.

She drew in a breath. "Alex, I don't want to run your life or judge you. You've been an adult for a long time. You've made good decisions and bad ones. I thought you knew the difference."

"I do."

"I don't think so. Why her? Why now? There are so many other women out there. Women like Fiona."

His concern and compassion turned to anger. "My marriage with Fiona is over. I've let it go, I wish you would. I've made my position clear."

"Yes, you have," she snapped. "Although you haven't said why. Fiona is far more appropriate than Dani Buchanan. Of course that's not a very high bar to get over. Is it asking too much for you to have a relationship that doesn't tear this family apart?"

More guilt, which wasn't Katherine's style, he thought as his anger faded. "Are we torn apart? You matter to me, Mom. You always will. I don't want to hurt you."

"Then don't," she said, almost pleading. "Don't hurt me."

Which was another way of saying "Don't do this." But it wasn't her decision to make.

Long ago he'd vowed to protect his family, no matter what. It had been a vow born of pain and fear as he'd watched his biological mother die on the street. He'd never been in this position before with Katherine. Never felt he was doing the wrong thing.

But being with Dani wasn't wrong and he refused to let circumstances control his personal life.

"I need to get to the office," he said. He stood and kissed Katherine on the cheek. "I'll call you later."

She nodded, but didn't speak. There was still tension between them. Unresolved issues. It had never been like that with her and he didn't like it now.

***

Dani woke up with a stiff back and cramped arm. Somehow she'd managed to curl up in a corner of a sofa at the hospital waiting room. She straightened and saw Cal talking with a doctor. She stood and hurried over.

"What?" she asked. "Is she all right?"

The doctor, a pleasant-looking woman in her late thirties, smiled. "She's fine. There was a mix-up in her medication. Everything worked its way through her system, so she'll be perfectly all right. We're going to be releasing her in a few hours. There aren't any special instructions. Just make sure she knows what she's taking."

The relief was as quick as it was powerful. Dani turned to Cal and hugged him.

"She's okay. It's fine."

"I know." He pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. "Let's tell everyone else."

They turned back to the full waiting room. Dani looked at her other brothers, their fiancées, and wondered when her family had gotten so big. For years it had seemed like her and her brothers against the world. But not anymore. With Penny's, there was even a second generation beginning.

It was more than she could take in on an hour of steep. "You tell them," she said. "I want to go to her room."

Dani hurried down the hall and walked into her grandmother's room.

Gloria lay on the narrow bed, her face pale, her eyes closed. Dani stopped next to her and lightly touched the back of her hand.

Gloria opened her eyes. "I'm not dead," she said. "That's something. Of course if you've been looking for an excuse to lock me away due to mental incompetence, you've found it. I can't believe I did that. Even an idiot should be able to handle three or four medications. I must be getting old, which I hate to admit."