Unexpected Attraction. Stella MacLean

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СКАЧАТЬ now to have someone to rely on, to help her get to the bottom of what was going wrong in Shannon’s life. Why hadn’t Shannon talked to her? Was she in shock? Could she have a head injury? Something was desperately wrong because, to Andrea’s knowledge, Shannon had never done anything even remotely like this before. Shannon loved school, and all her school activities. Shannon had always shared everything with her, and even now she couldn’t help but believe that given time Shannon would tell her everything leading up to the fall that landed her in the hospital. But how could she be sure? She hated going behind her daughter’s back to discover what was really going on, but she would if she had to. Exhausted, she tilted her head back to keep the tears from flowing.

      There was a rustling sound as the nurse approached her. “Mrs. Taylor, Shannon’s tests were normal and she is ready to go home. I’ll run through the discharge instructions with you.”

      Andrea followed the nurse to where Shannon sat slumped in a wheelchair, her hands in her lap, her head down.

      “Shannon has several cuts on her knee, which we’ve dressed. Those dressings can come off in a couple of days, unless there’s further bleeding. Check in with your family doctor if you have any concerns.”

      “Thank you,” she said as her gaze moved to her daughter, seeking signs of how Shannon was feeling. Shannon had always been such a stoic child, but tonight might have changed that.

      “We’ll get you home and tucked into bed. We’ll talk about all this tomorrow when you’re feeling up to it,” she said, pushing the wheelchair ahead of her.

      Shannon tossed her long blond hair off her face, stared up at her mother from the wheelchair and squared her shoulders. “What happened was no big deal. I fell and Kyle was there to help me,” she said as if annoyed by her mother’s presence.

      Andrea saw the shift in her daughter’s gaze and had this awful feeling that she was lying. But she didn’t know what to say, how to approach her over this. “You could have been seriously injured, Shannon,” Andrea said, surprised at her daughter’s dismissive tone.

      Shannon grabbed the wheels of the chair, stopping it, and jumped up. “I want to walk,” she said, her voice matter-of-fact. There was a pronounced limp as she hurried away.

      “Shannon, wait for me,” Andrea called as she followed her toward the entrance.

      She caught up just as the automatic doors leading to the parking lot whirred open. “Wait here. I’ll bring the car around.”

      Shannon scanned the parking lot. “No, I see it,” she muttered, wincing as she stepped off the curb.

      Andrea’s concern mixed with irritation. Pushing aside her feelings, they headed toward the SUV, Andrea clicked the remote door opener and climbed into the vehicle. Shannon got in the passenger side and snapped on her seat belt as she groaned in pain.

      “Are you okay?”

      “It’s the seat belt. I hit my shoulder when I fell.”

      Andrea’s breath stalled in her throat at the image of her little girl being hurt. She reached across the seat and hugged her daughter. “Oh, sweetie, I’ve never been so afraid in my life as when the call came saying you were here.”

      “Mom, I’m sorry for worrying you. I didn’t mean to,” she whispered before kissing her mother’s cheek.

      They held each other for a few moments, their closeness an instant reassurance. If Shannon was hiding something, not telling her the truth, it would work itself out once they were home. If necessary, she and Shannon would stay up all night to talk this out. They’d done it before during the divorce proceedings.

      She hugged Shannon again before settling in and buckling her seat belt. “Let’s go home. I’ll make a pitcher of peach smoothies—” Shannon’s favorite “—and we’ll watch a movie together. What do you say?” Andrea turned into the flow of traffic while she watched Shannon out of the corner of her eye.

      “I’d rather just go to bed.” Shannon pulled her cell phone out of her knapsack.

      “Who are you calling?” Andrea asked as she changed lanes before stopping at a red light.

      “Kyle. I want to tell him I’m okay, that I’ll see him at school tomorrow.”

      She was still waiting for her daughter to explain what happened, and all Shannon could think about was her friend? “Kyle?”

      “Yes, Kyle.” Shannon hit Call and put the phone to her ear.

      Indignation rose like a balloon to fill the space around Andrea’s heart, zapping her already-frayed nerves. “Shannon, put that phone away. Now!”

      “Mom! I’m calling Kyle.”

      “No. You’re not. Besides, you can’t go to school tomorrow. You need to rest.”

      Shannon rolled her eyes and clicked the end button. “Mom, stop being so melodramatic. I fell. End of story.” She gave a disgusted sigh. “Why are you making such a big deal about it?”

      “A big deal?” Andrea glanced at her daughter. “I get a call to come to the emergency room because my daughter has been injured, and it’s no big deal?”

      Shannon smoothed her hair around her cheeks, hiding her face.

      “What is going on with you?” Andrea asked, unable to keep the anger out of her voice. “And if you’re so anxious to talk to Kyle, why won’t you talk to me?”

      Shannon turned her head so quickly her hair swung out around her face. “Mom! Stop it! See? This is why I called Dad. You’re so unreasonable,” Shannon said, indignation adding emphasis to her words.

      For a few moments, Andrea couldn’t speak. Hurt led the surge, followed quickly by disbelief that her daughter would confide in Scott and not her. “You called your father without talking to me first.” She forced the words past her taut lips.

      “Because I knew you wouldn’t call him, and I wanted Dad to know.”

      “Shannon, I would have called your father after I could assure him you were okay.”

      “Why can’t I call my dad?” she demanded. “I’m going to call him when I get home.”

      “Do you expect him to come? To leave behind his precious life with his new family and come to look after you?” The second the words were out, Andrea wished she could take them back. “Shannon, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say—”

      “For your information, I didn’t expect Dad to come here. Not with you hovering around me!” she yelled.

      “Shannon, I didn’t mean to upset you, but you should have called me and told me where you were and what was going on.”

      “The nurse told me she’d called you and you were on your way. As for Dad, I just needed to talk to him. Can’t you understand that?”

      Wanting to wipe the anxious expression off her daughter’s face, she softened her tone. “Of course I can. Look, let’s forget all this and go home. You’re safe and that’s what matters.”

      “Mom, there’s something СКАЧАТЬ