Evercrossed

?I?ll be okay, Will.?

?What if I follow you as far as the hospital, but not all the way home,? he suggested.

Ivy shielded her eyes from the sun and the metallic glare of the cars. ?I can handle it.?

?Ivy, you were in a really serious accident. There?s a reason the specialist wants to check you one more time, and I would like to be there. Okay?? He placed his hands on her shoulders. Ivy pulled back, then saw the surprise in Will?s eyes.

Since the night they had come together to fight Gregory, she had never pulled away from his touch. ?I?m fine,? she insisted.

He shook his head. ?You haven?t been yourself since the accident. Beth has noticed it too.? Ivy prickled. ?What do you and Beth do, spend your time talking about me?? Excuse us for caring!?

?I need some space, Will!?? His face paled beneath his suntan. ?Space. . from me?? She hesitated. ?From everyone. We?re living in awfully close quarters.? She could almost convince herself that this was the problem.

?Fine.? He took two steps back from her and held out his arms, as if giving her spacer ?Fine.? Then he turned and strode to his car. He turned to her one last time, but Ivy didn?t call him back as he may have expected, and he drove off quickly.

?Ready, Ms. Lyons?? the rental agent asked, arriving with a key. ?Got you a new Beetle.? She picked up the shopping bag that she had filled with homemade bread, jam, and cookies— gifts for Andy — then followed the agent across the lot.

An hour later, the doctor told Ivy she would send the test results when they came back, but that everything was looking good. ?The folks from EMS are still shaking their heads in amazement,? the doctor said. ?It?s nice to give someone such good news.?

Afterward, Ivy took the elevator up to the sixth floor and waited for Andy at the nurses? station. He emerged from the room next to the one she had occupied, looking perplexed. ?Has anyone seen Guy? That boy sure keeps me on my toes.?

?Not for a half hour or so,” a dark?haired nurse answered. ?Hey, look who it is!?

Andy?s face broke into a smile. ?Back for a follow?up??

?And to give you this thank?you,? Ivy said. Andy peeked into the shopping bag, then pulled out the bread. Even in its wrapping, they could smell the tangy sweetness of the apple?cranberry loaf. Then he took out the tin of cookies and lifted the lid. ?Yum.?

?If s all homemade. Aunt Cindy does her own cooking for the Seabright.?

?You?re going to share, aren?t you?? the dark?haired nurse asked Andy.

?Maybe,? he replied with a grin. He and Ivy talked for a few minutes, then she walked to the elevator, contemplating the afternoon ahead of her. She wanted to drive for miles, perhaps to the tip of Cape Cod, and get out on the beach and run.

She pressed the elevator?s down button three times, then spotted an exit sign and headed for the stairway door. Raring down the steps. Ivy enjoyed the loud smack of her feet against the concrete surface. Holding on to the metal railing, she swung around the corners of each landing, as Philip would have. She didn?t see the person crouched on the steps, not until she slammed into him. She tumbled forward and he flung out his arms.

?Whoa!? he exclaimed, pulling her back toward him. It was the guy who had been so unfriendly in the solarium.

Ivy regained her balance, but the guy held on, his eyes as powerful as his hands.

?Let go,? she said.

They stood side by side on the step, and after a moment, she took a step higher to even out their height.

?Feeling better, I see,? he said dryly. ?And you,? she answered lightly, ?feeling as antisocial as ever.?

His eyes traveled down her, and she became acutely aware of her tight jeans and oversize shirt Determined not to appear self?conscious, she gazed back at him steadily. He was clean shaven today and wore a pair of tattered jeans, old shoes, and a terry?cloth robe that was about ft foot and a half too short for him, ?Nice seeing you — and not talking — again,? Ivy said, starting down the steps.

“Do you have a car?”

She turned around, surprised by the question. ?Yes. Why??

?I need a ride.”

“A ride now? Where??

“Not far,” he replied casually. “The next town over.” Ivy cocked her head.

?Providence,? he said. ?Providence is the next state over,” Ivy told him.

?Wherever,? he replied gruffly. ?Just get me out of here.? In the fluorescent light, his bruised skin looked grayish green. ?Sony,? Ivy said. ?I don?t know what kind of medical problems you have — other than amnesia and —?

“I?ve never been better.” He started down the steps toward her.

?Andy?s looking for you.? To hell with Andy. To hell with all of them!? he exploded. Ivy stayed calm but moved quickly down the stairs, trying to stay ahead of him without triggering a chase that she was sure to lose. ?They?ll let you out when you are well.?

?I can?t wait that long!? She reached the door marked Level 2 and pushed against it. It didn?t budge. She pushed again.

He smirked. ?Already tried that. I?ve tried them all.? He walked steadily down the steps toward her. ?The only one mat opens onto a floor is Level G.?

Ivy hurried down the steps, hesitating at the door to Level 1, men continuing past it. The guy quickly closed the gap between them, catching her from behind, turning her toward him and backing her against the wall. ?Get out your keys.?

?Why do you want to leave?? she asked.

?Hand them over,? he demanded.

?You don?t even know why/? she guessed. ?You have no idea what you?re doing or where you?re going!? Releasing her, he took a step back. This was her chance to get away, but something she?d glimpsed in his eyes held her there.

He sat down slowly on the concrete steps, then dropped his head in his hands.

?What?s going on?? Ivy asked in a gentler voice. He shook his head. ?I don?t know. I just know I have to get away. Somebody?s after me, and I?ve got to get away.?

Ivy moved several steps below him and sat down. She saw that his forearms were badly bruised, as was the side of his head, close to his left ear. A long cut scored his neck, just beneath his jaw. There was more to his story than being found unconscious on a beach or saved from drowning; he?d been beaten upbadly.

If he was in serious trouble, she?d be crazy to get involved. For all she knew, he remembered what had happened to him but didn?t want to admit it because he was to blame.

Ivy began to rise, men stopped. What if he did have to get away — what if someone was hunting him down? All he was asking was for a way to leave the hospital. Ivy?s instinct was to help. Then again, when first dealing with Gregory, she had trusted her instincts, and she?d been dead wrong.

?What have they told you about your condition?? she asked. He shrugged her off. ?It doesn?t matter.?

?Answer my question.? Sighing, he complied. ?There was water in my lungs.

Obviously I?ve been beaten up. I have a head injury. The brain scans indicate that the memory loss isn?t physical.? He glanced away. ?They had me talk with a psychiatrist — if it?s not physical, it must be mental, right? ?

?Possibly,? Ivy said, feeling for him, remembering how she blocked out Tristan?s death and how the ?accident? had come back to her bit by bit in horrifying nightmares. His eyes met hers. ?If s happened to you. That’ s what you meant the other day, when you said mat remembering was as painful as not.?

She nodded, wishing she could assure him that things would get better, but her situation was different from his. She?d had Will, Beth, her mom, and Philip?s care, and the enduring love of Tristan to get her through. What did he have?