Hot to Trot (Dancing in Texas #5)

Chapter Twelve

CHAPTER TWELVE

S CARLET GLANCED DOWN the hallway of the Longview hospital, wondering which way the emergency room was. Rayne had called her about an accident that had occurred earlier that afternoon-a car had been hit broadside by a logging truck and the people inside the vehicle had been gravely injured. The mother and her friend had been flown to Shreveport, but the two teenage daughters had been sent to Longview Regional. The two thirteen-year-old girls had non-life-threatening injuries and were stable. A state trooper had called the inn after noticing the Deep Shadows shirt one of the girls had been wearing.

Scarlet had been going over notes for teaching the acting class when Rayne had popped her head into the room.

"Scarlet, I have something you need to do," she'd said.

Scarlet glanced up. "What? I'm kinda busy working on a few scenes using The Magpie Thief.”

"There was an accident outside town. Two girls were taken to the hospital. One of them was wearing a shirt from your show, so a state trooper called to ask if you would be willing to visit. They're not sure if the girl's mother is going to make it."

Scarlet tossed aside her pen and notebook and searched for the flip-flops she'd kicked off earlier. "Wanna come with me?"

"Can't. Henry has football."

Scarlet found her keys and purse, then grabbed a cereal bar before making her way to Longview. Now that she was here, she had no idea where the emergency room was. She'd followed the signs, but she was lost.

A lady stood beside a sliding-glass window indicating Scarlet was in Radiology. "Excuse me, could you point me toward the emergency room?"

The woman, clad in mauve scrubs, turned her head and droned, "Down the hall, take the second right."

"Thanks," Scarlet said, stepping around her.

"Oh, my gosh!" the woman said. "You're an actress. I've seen you on Ghost Whisperer. No. What was it?"

Whoever the woman had been talking to in side the office poked her head out the window. "Veronica! Holy sh-"

She caught herself, obviously remembering she was in the workplace.

Scarlet smiled. "Hey.”

The woman leaned farther out. "I love your show. Never miss it, and I can't wait for next season. Oh, gosh, you've got to tell me. Is Gina really pregnant with a werewolf?"

Scarlet bit her bottom lip to keep from laughing. "I honestly can't tell you. It's, like, in my contract. But let's just say she won't need a winter coat for that baby."

The woman shrieked. "I knew it! I knew Romero had attacked her in the woods and she'd be forced to bear the shame of a werewolf's child. Oh, my gosh, I can't wait to tell Sally."

Scarlet shook her head.

"Not Romero? You're joking. Who's the father?"

Scarlet made the lock-and-key motion over her lips, throwing the imaginary key over her shoulder. "Sorry, you'll have to watch."

The woman in scrubs, who hadn't stopped staring at her for the entire conversation, finally spoke up."I can't believe you have kissed Karakas. Your lips have touched his lips. That's so sexy."

Scarlet stepped back because she was afraid the woman might ask to kiss her in some weird attempt to transfer the effect. If only the woman had seen her lancing blisters on the bottom of Stefan's feet last year after he'd run the Boston Marathon. And the man left used Q-tips around the bathroom. So not sexy. "Um, yeah. If it's any consolation, he sometimes has garlic breath."

Both women laughed.

"Well, it was nice talking to you. Better find the E.R." Scarlet waved as they called out how much they'd liked meeting her. Having fans was cool sometimes... and yet sometimes surreal.

Scarlet followed the directions and found herself in the middle of the E.R. She headed to the triage desk.

"Hi. I'm looking for the two young ladies who were brought in earlier from a car accident near Oak Stand."

The older man looked up."You a relative?"

"Um, not exactly. One of the state troopers called and said one of the girls was a fan." She glanced around, looking for someone in a uniform. Maybe the guy was still around and could vouch for her.

''A fan of what?" the man said, narrowing his eyes at her. He took in her T-shirt, shorts, and flip-flops before refocusing on his magazine.

“Of a television show I work on,” Scarlet said, pushing her bangs back and giving the older man a smile. "Deep Shadows."

"Never heard of it," he said, not bothering to look up. "What's it? A streaming show or something? Dime a dozen these days.”

Scarlet bristled. He made it sound as though her show was a fly-by-night production. Streaming was the hot ticket these days. "Yeah, thanks. Um, can you point me in the direction?”

“Can’t. You're not a relative, and there are laws and such.”

"It's okay, Charlie," a voice said from over her shoulder.

She saw a burly man in uniform coming her way. His name tag read Barlow. He held out his hand. "Thanks for coming, Ms. Rose. I appreciate you taking the time."

She shook his hand. "No problem. I'm glad to help.”

Charlie rolled his eyes. "Go on, I guess."

Scarlet gave Sergeant Barlow a secret smile. "He doesn't believe l'm on a television show."

Charlie snorted. "I've seen the crap they show these days on the television.”

Scarlet sighed. "Okay, where are the girls?"

"Charlene is in X-ray, but Destiny's down here. She's the one who wore your show's shirt. I didn't know you were in town, but one of the other officers at the crash site did. He suggested I give your sister a call."

Scarlet wondered if it was Adam. The wreck had been close to Oak Stand, so it stood to reason he would be on the scene. "I'm glad you did."

"Okay, she's back here. She's a little scratched and a lot shaken up."

Scarlet nodded and he pulled back the curtain of the emergency-room bay. Lying in the bed was a teenage girl wearing a hospital gown. She had short dark hair and a small elfin face that looked as if it had been peppered with glass on one side. She looked very much alone and scared. Scarlet didn't have many maternal instincts, but she felt as though she could scoop up the child and hold her in her arms.

"Destiny?" Sergeant Barlow said softly. "l brought a friend to say hello."

The girl shifted her gaze to Scarlet. Her eyes widened, but she didn't say anything.

"Hi, Destiny. I'm-"

"I know who you are," Destiny said. "You're Veronica Collins."

"Well, I play her. My real name is Scarlet. Mind if I sit with you for a little bit?"

The girl shrugged. “Yeah, that would be cool."

Scarlet stepped in front of Sergeant Barlow and pulled up one of the chairs sitting in the corner of the bay.

"I'll leave you two, if you don't mind. Need to make some calls," Barlow said, before ducking out.

"How are you?" Scarlet asked.

"They think I broke my collarbone. I'm waiting to go up to X-ray. My friend Charlene is there now. She was crying. I think she got hurt bad." Destiny studied the sheet covering her lower half. She bit her lip and looked at Scarlet. "I don't know where my mom is."

Scarlet knew the girl's mom was critical. "I don't know, either. Do you have some other family?"

"My dad, but he's offshore working until the end of the week. My brother lives in Galveston. He works at a bank there. I told that policeman to call my gran. She lives in Gilmer."

The poor girl looked so terrified. "Hey, they'll call her. I bet she'll be here before you know it. Does your shoulder hurt?"

"Yeah." Destiny sniffled and tears trembled on her dark lashes. "I'm so scared. What if my mama dies or something? She looked real hurt. She was bleeding bad."

Scarlet took the girl's hand, the one that lay uninjured beside her. "It's okay to be afraid, Destiny. I'd be afraid, too. But you're not alone."

The girl nodded even as the tears fell. "Thanks for staying with me. I mean, no one is going to believe that Veronica sat with me in the hospital."

"Well, we'll prove it."

Destiny wiped her nose. "How?"

For once, Scarlet had her cell phone. Since she was a novice driver and not familiar with the East Texas roads, Rayne had forced it into her hand as she stepped out the door. Fortunate because she could make an insta post. “Let's post and use my account."

Scarlet pressed the icon. "Cool?"

Destiny smiled for the first time. "Cool."

"Now, I'm not real good with this. Should we do funny filters or just something simple?”

"I don't know. Simple? You know since it’s …you know.”

She did know. Destiny was scared and her mother gravely ill. “We don’t have to if it doesn’t feel right.”

“No, I want to.”

Scarlet turned the camera and put her head next to the girl’s. “I look not so glamorous in this.”

“I look like I’ve been in a car wreck,” Destiny said, her voice shaded with good humor.

Scarlet posted with some fun hashtags and passed the girl the iPhone. She smiled at the likes and responses from followers. “Holy Cow! Patrick Bailey just tweeted. OMG! He’s such a smoke show.”

Patrick was the youngest cast member. Twenty-two years old, he looked fifteen, so he played her youngest cousin. He'd been on the cover of Teen Beat magazine three times since the show debuted last October. "He's such a fun guy. Do you follow him?”

The girl shook her head. “But I will. My mom is going to flip.” At the mention of her mom, she lowered the device. "Do you think you could find out about my mom? I'm worried about her."

Scarlet nodded and took the phone the girl held out to her. "Of course I can. Will you be okay alone?"

Destiny nodded. Then she sniffled and dragged a thin arm across her nose. Scarlet slipped between the two curtains and nearly stepped on Adam's foot. His gaze met hers and she knew he'd been listening. It should have offended her. It didn't.

"What are you doing here?" She retreated a step.

"l worked the wreck and followed the ambulance here after they loaded the two women into the copter."

"Oh." She rubbed her arms to chase away the sudden chill. Or maybe she felt guilty about the pleasure that welled at seeing him. "Do you know anything about her mother? She's asking."

He shook his head. "It didn't look good. She'd lost a lot of blood, but they have a good trauma team in Shreveport."

Scarlet felt her heart sink. "I told her I'd try to find out."

He took her elbow in a comforting gesture. "Let's go to the nurses' desk and see if we can sweet talk one of them into checking for us."

She allowed him to escort her toward the triage desk. Charlie wasn't in sight, but a brunette wearing a sequined hairclip and holding a magazine was.

Adam propped one elbow on the edge of the desk and leaned toward the nurse. He must have startled her, because she gasped as she reared in her chair.

He gave her a toe-curling smile. Damn. Even Scarlet felt like bowing before him and inquiring after his pleasure.

"Hey, Lori." Clearly he'd checked out her name tag. "Can you do me a favor?"

The woman looked at Scarlet, then back to Adam. She visibly warmed to his smile. "What would that be?"

"The girl, Destiny. She's asking about her mother. Any way we can find out how she's doing?"

"The trauma department in Shreveport is always busy. They wouldn't bother with me." Lori glanced around as though searching for someone. "But Doc Grabel put in a call to them ten minutes ago. Let me check with him."

Adam's smile deepened, his green eyes looked warm, almost a caress. Double D-yamn. He was really good at getting women to do his bidding. To prove the point, Lori picked up the phone and punched in a number.

"Thanks, Lori," Adam said softly, with the right amount of intimacy.

He walked a few steps away. Scarlet followed. "Did I see what I think I saw?"

"What's that?"

"You hypnotized that girl into doing your bidding."

"I know how to get things done, Scarlet."

His words teased. And they heated. Which was wrong. She had come to visit an injured girl. Not play flirty games with the man who had told her that very afternoon she was the wrong kind of woman. "So I see."

He stopped smiling. "How's the girl?’

"She's terrified her mother's dead. She's hurt, but doesn't seem to care about her own injuries. I should go sit with her."

He nodded.

She turned toward that section of the E.R. Adam stopped her with one touch. "Hey, Scar?"

She looked over her shoulder at him.

"It's really decent of you to do what you're doing."

"Why wouldn't'I? I may play a vampire-queen bitch on TV and I may be a drama queen in real life. But I have a heart."

Before she got too far away, Lori hung up the phone.

"Her mother is still in surgery," she said. "They'll call when she's out."

ADAM WATCHED SCARLET disappear behind the curtain, his eyes taking in every square inch of her retreating form. He hadn't expected such generosity from the beautiful actress. He'd typecast her as self-centered and shallow based on her looks and persona. He'd been wrong. And he was an ass.

His past experience with stunners like Scarlet had colored his perception. Sure, Angi and a bevy of honky-tonk heartbreakers like her had given him good reason. He'd taken one look at Scarlet with her too-high heels, glossy red lips, and obvious cleavage and lumped her into a category where she didn't belong. It was a classic case of judging a book by its cover before taking time to read the pages within. And there was little doubt he wanted to read Scarlet's pages.

He just couldn't risk it.

"She's something, huh?" Barry Barlow said, sneaking up beside him.

Adam nodded. "I didn't think she would come."

"She's easy on the eyes even without that smokin' hot catsuit and those black boots she wears on TV. If I weren't married..." Barry trailed off, leaving Adam to draw his own conclusions.

Something close to jealousy ripped through Adam. Barry was a stand-up guy — tough, fair, and brimming with integrity. Yet Adam still curled his hand into a fist. He made himself relax. He had no right to be offended by the man's offhand remarks. Scarlet was a babe - a fact no man from age five to ninety-five could deny. "But you are."

Barry grinned. "Ellen will thank you for reminding me."

Adam managed a smile. He'd been to Barry and Ellen's a few times for barbecues. Ellen was short, feisty, and liable to brain her husband for ogling another woman. "I'll collect the ten spot she owes me the next time I see her. She told me money was to be made for keeping you in line."

Barry snorted. "She would."

They stood a moment, watching an orderly roll the other girl who had been extracted from the twisted Toyota through the automatic doors of the E.R. The girl still had tears coursing down her cheeks. A young nurse walked beside her, patting her arm and murmuring comforting words.

"That was a bad one," Adam said, shaking his head. He'd seen fatalities, and though no one had died as a result of this wreck, he thought it a miracle they'd been able to pull the women and girls from the wreckage. Gasoline had poured from the logging truck's fuel tank and the smaller SUV had burst into flames seconds after the unconscious driver was cleared from the vehicle.

"I heard a few moments ago the truck driver woke up." Barry dropped his voice. "He told another trooper he hadn't slept in over thirty hours and had fallen asleep."

"Let's hope both women pull through or he'll be facing negligent homicide." A charge like that would all but end the guy's career.

"Thanks for your help on this one. I couldn't get units dispatched from the sheriff fast enough. Glad you were close, or things could have been much different."

"No problem. I'm here anytime you need me."

"The next time we need to get someone out of a burning vehicle, you'll be at the top of our list." Barry stuck out his hand and gave Adam's a brief hard shake. "Later, Hinton."

Adam watched his friend walk out the automatic doors into the Texas twilight and wondered if he should have become a trooper. Troopers didn't build the relationships Adam had built with the citizens of Oak Stand, but they didn't have to listen to looney tunes like Harvey Primm. State troopers dealt with danger and adrenaline. Not parking tickets, property disputes, and dog poop.

"Chief Hinton?"

"Yeah?" Adam turned to face the desk nurse, Lori.

"We got word from Shreveport that Destiny's mother pulled through surgery. She's still critical, but alive. Do you mind delivering the news? I've got to take a bedpan to someone in the waiting room. Stomach virus."

Adam made a mental note to wash his hands. Thoroughly. "Sure."

As he approached the bay where Destiny lay, he heard the murmur of voices and paused to listen.

"And then that cute cop?" one girl said, probably the one who had just arrived from radiology.

"Chief Hinton?" Scarlet asked.

“Yeah, the guy that looks like that quarterback? The one for the Bengals? But older, of course, well, he set me on the grass and ran back. The door was stuck and he kept pulling at it, using his foot against the side of the car and everything. I could tell things were bad, you know? 'Cause he kept looking at the ground-"

"I had blood all over my face, but I saw what he was looking at." He thought that was Destiny's voice. "I could smell it, too. It was gasoline. I was so freaked because my mom was still in there."

"Yeah, he'd already got my mom out from the other window," the other girl said.

"So then he kicked the glass out, reached in, and rescued my mom. It was crazy, because a few minutes later, our car caught on fire." Destiny’s voice wavered with emotion.

He heard Scarlet's intake of breath. ''Are you serious?"

"He, like, totally saved my mom's life," Destiny said. “Well, I hope he did."

Nothing was said for a moment, so he pulled back the curtain.

"Hey," Destiny said, turning toward him, "we were just talking about you."

Scarlet glanced at him. He wondered if he detected a newfound respect in her eyes. "The girls told me about your heroics. You saved her mom.”

"Maybe." Destiny's quietly spoken word deflated the mood.

Adam stepped inside, careful to leave the curtain slightly open. There was no family member with the girls and he didn't want to make either of them feel uncomfortable. "The desk nurse got word from Shreveport. Your mother is out of surgery and is stable."

Destiny sank against the bed with a near sob and a wince. "Oh, thank God. I-I-”

Charlene grabbed her hand. "I told you, Des. She's okay."

Destiny cried harder and Scarlet stroked the girl's bangs from her eyes. "No tears now, Destiny. This is very good news."

The girl nodded and clung hard to her friend's hand.

Scarlet met his gaze, her uncertainty obvious.

Her look spoke volumes. Do something.

He approached the other side of the bed where the two young girls held hands and awkwardly patted Destiny's uninjured shoulder. "Ms. Rose is right. This is good news."

The girl calmed at his touch. He didn't know why. He was damned uncomfortable. He'd had no experience with teenage girls. They were like holding a loaded weapon with a hair trigger. Likely to go off at any moment.

Scarlet didn't look much more capable than he. They were both fish out of water, hoping for someone to save them. At least Scarlet had the benefit of being female.

His gaze met Scarlet’s, and for a moment the absolute lunacy of the situation they found themselves in struck him. He could see the same revelation in her eyes. A sort of awareness of being ill at ease with two girls who were virtual strangers and a sort of determination to put their own discomfort aside for those two frightened children.

He didn't know how he knew her thoughts. He merely did.

"Destiny!"

The shriek came from the doorway. "Gran!"

Scarlet and Adam had been saved by Gran, the rotund woman with platinum highlights and sunglasses the size of small saucers. In short order, introductions were made, thanks given, and goodbyes said.

He and Scarlet slipped out of the bay and left the emergency room. He took her elbow as they headed down the main hall. "I'll walk you to your car."

She tugged her arm free. "I'm not sure that's a good idea."

"Why?"

"Because I’m feeling highly emotional right now, and you're looking pretty damn good in my eyes. I might not keep my promise. I might toss you into my convertible, drive to the nearest motel, and teach you not to go around playing the hero. It's a real turn-on for cheap girls like me."

The hurt in her voice gave him pause. Damn.

He'd wounded her today when he told her she wasn't the right kind of girl. Why had he said anything to her about what he'd been looking for in a woman? Why had he allowed an abstract ideal to overshadow the spectacular real person right in front of his eyes?

The florescent lighting was harsh and he knew he looked wrinkled and weary, his uniform and boots smudged with dirt. Scarlet didn't look much better. Her dark red hair hung scraggly around a face that looked paler than normal. Her T-shirt was wrinkled and her toenail polish was chipped. And he'd never seen a woman look more desirable.

"Maybe I don't want you to keep your promise."

"Yes, you do."

He stared at her. Didn't she understand? Couldn't she feel how much he wanted her? Couldn't she see how the shallow version of her he'd built in his mind, the one he'd been clinging to, had crumbled, leaving a woman who was so lovable it scared him?

She brushed her bangs from her eyes. "This afternoon you were quite clear about the type of woman you want."

He didn't respond.

She gave him a slow, sad smile. “And I'm not that woman."

She walked away.

He didn't follow. Why should he? He'd hurt her and misjudged her... and she was right. No matter how much he wished she was the right girl for him, she wasn't a realistic candidate for a serious relationship. She wasn't sticking around Oak Stand to make him pork chops, sit on a pew at Oak Stand Methodist with him, or pick out trim colors for his shutters.

There was no future with Scarlet Rose.