Twice in a Lifetime Read online

  “Thank God,” she said.

  “Of course, you’ll need someone to stay with you for a few days. You’ll have limited mobility in your right arm for a while.”

  “I live alone, and Quinn’s out of town until Sunday,” she said, but then she worried Quinn might be rushing back home. She looked at Taylor. “She’s not coming home early because of this, is she?”

  “I don’t think so. She called and asked me to come check on you. I just assumed as long as you were okay, she wasn’t going to cut her trip short.”

  “If you don’t have someone to stay with, I can’t let you go home.” David shook his head and checked her blood pressure.

  “She can stay with me.” Taylor said, looking about as shocked at having said the words as Callie felt upon hearing them. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and held it up. “I should go call Quinn and let her know you’re all right.”

  “You sure you aren’t together?” David asked when she was gone.

  “We aren’t even friends.”

  “Uh-huh,” he said as he wrote something in her chart. “Maybe you should rethink things, Burke. She’s quite the looker.”

  “Yeah, trust me, I know.”

  “Does she play for your team?”

  “Jesus, do you know how juvenile you sound? Yes, she’s a lesbian, so don’t even think about it.”

  “I won’t, and my wife would have my head if I did.” He smiled as he walked backward toward the door. “But I think you should give it a lot of thought, if you know what I mean.”

  He was gone before Callie could even think about forming a response. She sighed. She was certain Taylor only saw her as Quinn’s little sister. And her late wife’s best friend. Oh, yeah, and as a woman Taylor didn’t even like. She was already looking forward to Sunday so she could stay with Quinn or her mother. Callie had a feeling it was certainly going to be a long few days until then.

  On the other hand, it might give her an opportunity to convince Taylor she wasn’t so bad after all. To show her she wasn’t a reckless buffoon. Maybe this kind of challenge was exactly what she needed. Maybe it could end up being what they both needed. The thought made her smile.

  It was nice to fantasize sometimes, and she hoped she could keep the fantasy going, at least in her mind, until Sunday.

  Chapter Four

  Taylor stepped outside the front doors of the emergency room and pulled her phone from her pocket. She scrolled through to find Quinn’s number, but before placing the call, she looked up at the sky.

  “What the hell am I doing? Oh, sure, she can stay with me,” she muttered a little too loudly for it to be considered under her breath. “God, help me. I just know she’s going to drive me insane.”

  She leaned against the building then and noticed Harry sitting on a bench a few feet to her right, just putting his own phone away.

  Jesus Christ, I have got to stop talking to myself.

  “Did the doctor ever come in?” To his credit, he didn’t say a word about her talking to absolutely no one, but she knew he had to have heard her.

  “Yes, he said she can go home in the morning, as long as she doesn’t do anything to piss him off.”

  Harry smiled and shook his head, and Taylor couldn’t help but return the smile.

  “Good luck with that,” he said. “Sometimes I think that kid was put on this earth for no other reason than to piss off people in authority.”

  The term kid surprised Taylor because she knew Callie was close to forty. But she supposed it was possible for Harry to be old enough to be her father, so she admitted the term made a strange kind of sense.

  “Don’t get me wrong,” Harry said, evidently interpreting her expression the wrong way. “She’s one of the best people I know. She’s got a big heart, and she’d give a stranger the shirt off her back if they needed it. But unfortunately she has a tendency to rub people the wrong way sometimes, if you know what I mean.”

  “I do, trust me,” Taylor answered with a nod. By the look he gave her, she realized she probably agreed with his assessment a little too quickly. What did it matter now though? He was no doubt already convinced she was a nut job.

  “Well, I should get back in there.” He headed for the doors but stopped and looked at her before going through. “It was nice meeting you, Taylor Fletcher.”

  “You too.” She smiled as she placed the phone to her ear. His praise of Callie seemed to her to be a little naïve. Or maybe he just misinterpreted her connection to Callie. Either way, it left Taylor feeling a bit off-kilter. She was so lost in her thoughts it startled her when she heard Quinn’s voice in her ear.

  “Is she all right?” Quinn said without preamble.

  “She’s fine,” Taylor said, picturing her sitting there waiting anxiously, the phone gripped tightly in her hand as she waited for her to call. “The doctor said the bullet didn’t hit anything vital, and she’ll be discharged in the morning.”

  “Wow,” Quinn said with a chuckle. “I thought she’d be there for a few days at least. I guess I was worried for nothing. We can be back tomorrow evening.”

  “You don’t need to come back.” Taylor knew she should have taken the out Quinn was offering, but she didn’t see any good reason to make them come home before the weekend. “I told the doctor she could stay with me for a few days.”

  “Are you sure?” Quinn sounded skeptical, but Taylor chose to ignore it. “I mean, she isn’t your responsibility. What about the bar?”

  “I’m sure Camille can handle things for the most part, and Callie can manage to take care of herself if I need to go in for a few hours, don’t you think?”

  “Weren’t you going to your parents’ house for dinner on Thursday?”

  “It’s not a big deal, Quinn. Just enjoy the holiday and I’m certain I’ll be more than ready for you to take her off my hands when you get back on Sunday.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Good night, Quinn,” Taylor said with a grin even though she knew Quinn couldn’t see it.

  “I owe you one.”

  “You’ll owe me more than one, trust me.” They both laughed before saying their good-byes and hanging up.

  Taylor looked up at the sky and wondered again what the hell she was thinking when she offered to let Callie stay with her. And why she hadn’t simply agreed when Quinn said they’d come home tomorrow.

  “Please just let me get through the next few days without killing her,” she said under her breath.

  * * *

  “Where the hell have you been hiding that one, Burke?” Harry asked when he came back into her room. He shook his head. “I swear to God, you have all the luck with the ladies. You could leave a few for the rest of us poor schmucks.”

  “Don’t let Deb hear you say that,” Callie said with a grin.

  “I’m allowed to look,” he said defiantly. “She’d kill me if I ever did more than that though. But tell me about this Taylor Fletcher.”

  “There’s nothing to tell,” Callie assured him. She pushed the button on her little remote to raise the head of the bed.

  “Bullshit,” Harry said with a chuckle. “A woman who looks like she does comes to your room mere hours after you’ve been shot, and there’s nothing to tell? Try again.”

  Callie was quiet for a minute. Harry had met Andrea a couple of times, so maybe he would understand. She decided to take a chance.

  “You remember my friend, Andrea? The firefighter?”

  “Sure. She was killed in that house fire where three other guys died too, right? About three years ago?”

  “Closer to three and a half, but yeah, that was her.” Callie nodded. “Taylor was her wife.”

  “Oh,” Harry said quietly. He sat in the chair he’d pulled up next to the bed and looked at her. Callie wondered what it was he might be seeing. “She was your best friend, right? Did you have an affair with her wife?”

  “No!” Callie said, a bit too loud. “Jesus, Harry, I would never do that.”

&nbs
p; “I didn’t think so, but I had to ask. You like her though, right? Is she single?”

  “It doesn’t matter.”

  “The hell it doesn’t, Burke,” he said. “You didn’t see her when she first walked in here. The way she looked at you. She was seriously worried about you.”

  “More likely she was thinking about Andrea being in the hospital the day she died.” Callie hoped she was wrong and Harry was right, but she had the feeling it was exactly as she said. Taylor had looked irritated to be there. Annoyed. Callie was sure the only reason she was there at all was because Quinn had been out of town.

  “Oh well, she’s crazy anyway,” Harry said with a laugh.

  Callie shook her head at his change in direction. It was just how Harry was. He knew she was right, so now he was telling her why she was lucky to not be with Taylor. When she’d first met him, this odd character trait of his had made her head hurt, but she’d grown to accept it over the years. She just wished she hadn’t zoned out and taken off to Atlanta for almost two years.

  “Okay, I’ll bite,” Callie said. “Why is she crazy?”

  “She was standing outside talking to herself.”

  “Like you don’t do it yourself about thirty times in an eight-hour shift.”

  “Yeah, but you already know I’m crazy,” he said with a grin. “You should be happy I found this out about her before you worked up the nerve to make a move.”

  She laughed with him, but then the thought dawned on her—she didn’t really know what had happened to her. Not everything, anyway. Clearly, she’d been shot, but she didn’t remember much from the time Harry got out of the car to get their dinner until she’d woken up in this bed.

  “Did we get him?” she asked.

  “I’m sorry?”

  “Alton? Our murder suspect? Don’t tell me I took a bullet for nothing, Chambers.”

  “Yeah, we got him.” Harry chuckled. “He tripped over your big ass feet and fell flat on his face. He’s in an interrogation room downtown with Rodgers.”

  “Amanda’s questioning him herself?” Callie was surprised. Interrogating suspects was usually the detective’s job.

  “She never completely got away from her days in our shoes,” Harry said. “And if Alton knows what’s good for him, he’ll cooperate with her.”

  “Damn straight on that one,” she laughed. Lieutenant Amanda Rodgers had mastered the good cop, bad cop routine. Many suspects over the years had tried to stonewall her questioning, but she almost always got them to break eventually.

  Callie hoped someday she could be half as good at her job as Amanda was at hers.

  Chapter Five

  “Hi, Mom,” Taylor said when she answered the phone the next morning. She was just getting ready to walk out the door to pick Callie up from the hospital. She’d called them the night before to let them know she wouldn’t be able to come for dinner the next day, and they’d sounded more disappointed than she’d expected them to be.

  “Honey, your father and I talked about it, and we decided we’ll be coming to you for Thanksgiving this year,” her mother said, sounding like the matter was settled. Which, of course, it was. Eleanor Fletcher always had the last word.

  “What?” Taylor panicked as she looked around her kitchen. She had no food in the house. At least nothing to qualify for a holiday dinner. Unless of course they wanted to settle for frozen pizza, or maybe peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. She glanced into the refrigerator. Nope, no jelly, so sandwiches were out. “I am so not prepared to make dinner.”

  “Aren’t you sweet?” her mother asked, sounding amused. “We know you don’t cook, dear. I’m going to cook everything here today, and we’ll just heat it up tomorrow when we get to your house.”

  “I don’t know, Mom,” she said. She wasn’t sure she wanted Callie to meet her parents. Or, more accurately, she wasn’t sure she wanted her parents to meet Callie. She knew they would jump to the wrong conclusion. They’d been pestering her for the past year to start dating again, and although Taylor thought she was getting close to being able to do it, she wasn’t quite there yet. Not to mention the fact Callie would definitely not be her first choice. Or even her second. Or third. No, Callie wouldn’t be anywhere on her list of women to date. Of course, no such list existed, so…

  “Come on, honey, it’s Thanksgiving.”

  “Don’t disappoint your mother, Taylor,” her father said.

  “Really, Dad? Why don’t you people get cell phones like everyone else in the world?” Taylor pretended to be irritated, but the teasing was evident in her tone. Both of her parents laughed.

  “And miss out on being able to listen in from the other room?” her dad asked. “Pretty sure that won’t be happening any time soon, dear.”

  “Whatever,” Taylor said, finally giving in, just as they all knew she would eventually. “What time will you be here?”

  “Around noon,” her mother said. “That way we can eat at one.”

  “Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow.” Taylor started to disconnect the call, but she heard her father say something. “What, Dad?”

  “I said we’re looking forward to meeting your friend.”

  “She’s not a friend. I told you that last night.”

  After they hung up, she hesitated for a moment. If Callie wasn’t at least a friend, then why was Taylor letting her stay with her? Because she’s Quinn’s sister, she thought. And because she’d been one of Andrea’s best friends. The strange attraction she felt to her had absolutely nothing to do with it.

  Nothing at all.

  * * *

  Callie smiled at Taylor when she walked into the room, but she was still listening to the instructions David was giving her. Don’t get it wet, don’t overdo things, blah, blah, blah. She was listening, but she surely wasn’t hearing any of it.

  “You might want to tell her,” Callie said, indicating Taylor, who was standing behind him. “You have me on such awesome painkillers, I’m never going to remember a damn thing you’re telling me.”

  He laughed and shook his head before turning to Taylor and going through it all again. Callie watched Taylor, who was apparently listening very intently to what he was saying.

  A nurse had helped her to get dressed earlier, so Callie was all ready to go. She wanted to be out of this place. Hospitals freaked her out, although there was no reason why they should. Her arm was in a sling that was attached to her torso so she couldn’t move it. Trying to do everything with her left hand could possibly be her demise.

  David and Taylor were finally finished with their conversation, and Callie got to her feet.

  “Let’s get out of here,” Callie said.

  “Not quite yet,” David said. “A nurse will be in with your discharge papers.” He looked at Taylor. “Make sure she doesn’t do anything she shouldn’t. Her shoulder needs to heal, and I know her well enough to predict she’ll try and push her boundaries. Don’t let her.”

  “I won’t,” Taylor said, shooting a glance at Callie that told her in no uncertain terms she meant business. Once David was gone Callie sat once more, hoping she’d never have to be on the receiving end of such a look again.

  “He’s no fun.”

  “Callie, you were shot. I really don’t think this is meant to be fun.”

  “If you believe I think any of this is fun, then you don’t know me very well.” Callie fought to keep her voice down because she really didn’t feel up to arguing with Taylor.

  “No, I don’t know you. How could I? You never came to the house.”

  “Only because Andrea told me you didn’t like me.” Callie sighed as she raked her fingers through her hair. “I never came to the house because I didn’t want to cause problems for the two of you.”

  Taylor stared at her, and Callie refused to look away. Based on Taylor’s expression, Callie would have guessed she knew nothing about what Andrea told her. But that was crazy, wasn’t it? Why would Andrea have lied to her about it?

  “I never tol
d her I didn’t like you,” Taylor said, her voice quiet. She shook her head. “I swear to you I never said that.”

  “But it’s true, isn’t it?”

  “We’ve already established I don’t really know you,” Taylor said as she took a seat in a chair a few feet away from her. “I can’t honestly say one way or the other. You were a good friend to Andrea, something for which I’ll always be grateful. What I don’t like is this. You getting shot and acting as though it’s no big deal. You joke about things you shouldn’t.”

  “I joke about things that make me uncomfortable,” Callie said. But why was she telling her? She’d never admitted it to anyone. Not even Andrea. “And believe me, it makes me plenty uncomfortable to realize if he’d shot me on the left side instead of the right, I might be dead. If that makes you uncomfortable, then I’m sorry. You don’t have to do this. I’m sure I can manage to take care of myself for a few days until Quinn gets back.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. I said I’d help by taking care of you, and I will. I canceled my trip to have Thanksgiving at my parents’ house, so you’re not going to make me have done that for no damn reason. Understand?”

  Callie tried not to smile, but Taylor being bossy was kind of cute. She only nodded in response because she didn’t trust herself to not say something inappropriate. Luckily, the nurse chose that moment to enter the room with the papers she needed to sign. She was also pushing a wheelchair.

  “Oh, hell, no. I don’t need one of those,” Callie said, motioning toward the wheelchair as she handed the papers back to her. “I can walk out of here just fine on my own.”

  “Humor me,” the woman said, but she didn’t appear to be very jovial to Callie. “I know cops tend to be a tough group, but it is hospital policy.”

  “Just get in the damn chair,” Taylor said as she stood and gripped the handles.

  “Yes, ma’am.” Callie got into the chair without any further argument. This was definitely going to be an interesting few days.