bedside phone and asked the operator for an outside line. She wasn’t surprised
when the number she called rang to voicemail. “Rach, it’s me.
I know this is ridiculous, but I’m actually in…oh, I don’t know why I’m even
bothering you with this.” She contemplated hanging up and then ? nished in a
rush. “I’m in the hospital. It’s nothing serious. Some little glitch in my hormones
or something. I’ll be released in the morning.
I know you’re wrapping up that big trial, so I’ll call you when I get home. Don’t
worry.”
As the sounds outside her room gradually quieted, Leslie lay awake staring at
the ceiling while reviewing her upcoming cases, prioritizing her work, and
rehearsing how she would explain away this event to her partners. Several times
she was aware of the ? uttering in her chest, which she now recognized as the
irregular heartbeat. She determined to ignore it, until just after midnight when the
frantic racing started and wouldn’t stop.
v
“My God, Leslie,” Rachel Hawthorne said, looking more aggravated than
concerned when she strode into Leslie’s room just after noon the next day.
“Why did you wait so damn long to tell me there was a problem with your going
home?”
“You didn’t need to rush over here,” Leslie said. “I just wanted you to know
that I hadn’t been released yet.”
Rachel had obviously come directly from court. Her immaculately cut slate gray
jacket and skirt hinted at her statuesque ? gure without being suggestive. Her
lustrous copper hair ? amed around her shoulders, and her green eyes that could
look so warm and seductive during sex snapped with impatience now. Despite
Rachel’s annoyance, Leslie was glad to see her. Something as normal as
Rachel’s quicksilver temper made the situation feel normal, and the fear that had
been niggling at her all morning dissipated.
“Why are you still here?” Rachel glanced at her watch and leaned down to kiss
Leslie all in the same motion. “I’ve got twenty minutes, and then I need to be
back in court.”
“I seem to have this sensitive heart rate all of a sudden,” Leslie said lightly. “And
apparently my blood pressure problem is a little out of order.”
“Let’s cut to the chase, darling,” Rachel said, folding her arms and
• 25 •
RADCLY fFE
canting one hip in a strikingly feminine yet unmistakably aggressive pose.
“Details.”
Leslie sighed. “I had an episode of atrial ? utter in the middle of the night that
they weren’t able to control with medication. Finally at seven a.m. they
cardioverted me.”
For the ? rst time, Rachel looked worried. “God. Why the hell didn’t you call
me?”
“Because I knew that you were in court this morning, and there was nothing you
could have done here. They sedated me, and it was over in a second. I didn’t
feel anything at all.” She smiled. “And I feel much better now. I’m just waiting
for another cardiogram to con? rm that the rhythm has been corrected, and then
I’m getting out of here.”
“I’m not going to be able to wait.” Rachel closed her eyes and rubbed the
bridge of her nose, sorting through alternatives. “Is it safe for you to take a
cab?”
“I’ll call a limo service.” Leslie took a deep breath. “That’s not what I needed to
talk to you about, Rach. I know this is a bad time, but there just didn’t seem to
be a good time.”
“What?” Rachel said sharply. “What else?”
“I’m going to take a few weeks off.” Leslie looked away, then into Rachel’s
eyes. “The doctors pretty much told me I have to. This stupid rhythm problem
can be controlled by medication, but I don’t seem to be one of the ones where
it’s easy. The episodes might recur for a while.
It’s sort of unpredictable.”
“So it could happen again,” Rachel said with understanding.
Leslie winced. “Yes.”
“Christ, Leslie. What a mess.”
“Believe me, I know.”
“Well, at least you’ve got plenty of vacation time stored up. I can’t remember
the last time either of us went anywhere.”
Neither could Leslie. In the nearly two years they’d been dating, or whatever it
was they’d been doing, they’d never gone anywhere together for more than a
long weekend. Even then, they both brought work and frequently spent hours in
phone consultation.
“What are you going to do?” Rachel asked curiously. The concept of days with
nothing to do was not only foreign to her, it was vaguely discomforting.
“It’s not exactly going to be a vacation. I talked to Rex Myers this morning,”
Leslie said, referring to the managing partner at the ? rm.
• 26 •
WHEN DREAMS TREMBLE
At Rachel’s look of astonishment, Leslie held up a hand. “I had to tell him
something. I explained that I needed to cut back on my hours for a short time
because I just started a new medication that wasn’t agreeing with me. Which is
de? nitely true.” Leslie laughed shakily. “We’ve got a regional of? ce in Albany,
which isn’t that far from my parents’ house in Bolton Landing. I’m going to stay
at the lake while this gets sorted out and work out of that of? ce as much as I
can.”
“You’re going home home?” Rachel shook her head. “I thought you didn’t get
along with your parents. You haven’t been up there for one holiday since I’ve
known you.”
“It’s not that we don’t get along. We just don’t…always see eye to eye on
things.”
“I don’t get it. Why don’t you just stay here and work part time out of the main
of? ce?”
It made sense. It made perfect sense. Leslie didn’t have words to explain how
frightened she’d been in the middle of the night when she couldn’t breathe, when
she’d felt as if her heart would pound its way out of her chest or simply stop
beating altogether. She wasn’t superstitious.
She didn’t believe in omens. But that morning, as they’d been injecting the drug
into her arm to put her to sleep while they administered an electric current strong
enough to completely inactivate her heart, her last thought had been that she
wanted to go home. She just wanted a few days to breathe free again. She
looked at Rachel and knew there was no way her totally focused, driven lover
