Close, But No Steele
Episode 5

Remington carried the last suitcase to the door of Laura's loft, and then paused as he realized Laura wasn't behind him. Looking around, he found her standing at the piano, running her hand over the smooth surface. He set the case down and went to place his hands on her shoulders to pull her back against him. "What's wrong?" he asked, his breath against her ear.

"Just thinking about my piano. I'm going to hate leaving it-"

"Why leave it?" he asked, and smiled when Laura turned her head to look up at him. "We'll have it moved out to the beach house."

"But- there's no room for it-"

"You know that front corner in the living room?" he questioned. "The one near the bookcase?"

"Yes?"

"I've always thought the piano would fit quite nicely in there. I think we can find another place for that occasional table."

She turned fully into his arms. "Thank you."

"I couldn't very well let you leave my first gift to you behind, now, could I?"

"Paid for with Agency funds, if I'm not mistaken."

He shook his head. "If you'll check the records, you'll discover that I paid the Agency back every penny- with my own money."

"*Your* money?" Laura asked doubtfully.

"Some of those early investments I made panned out rather nicely," he confessed. "Besides, I got a very good deal on the piano." He gave her a long, leisurely kiss. "Why don't we just stay here tonight?" he suggested. "Once more for old times sake, as it were?"

"Sounds wonderful," Laura agreed, putting her arms around his neck. "But the hospital doesn't have this number. And you have a call to make, remember?"

"Hmm. Your mother. Speaking of which- you never told me what you and Daniel discussed at the hospital when he asked to see you."

"Because it was between Daniel and I," she told him. "Let's go. It's getting late, and I'd rather you didn't wake Mother up when you call. It's already nine there." Remington nodded followed her toward the sliding door, stopping as she paused. "I think Jarred will like living here, don't you?"

"I know he'll be glad to get out of that dormitory," Remington agreed. "His roommate sounds like a terror."

Laura slid the door closed and locked it before they turned toward the stairs.

***

At the beach house, Remington helped carry her clothing into the house, then picked up the phone. "I'm going to call abd check on Daniel. Do you need some help putting things away?"

"No. Since we made room in your closet earlier, I think I can handle it. Give Daniel my love."

Remington pressed the last number, his gaze on Laura's back. She'd give Daniel her love, but she hadn't yet said the words to him- even though he'd said them earlier. And she was the one who had always said that a relationship needed words. Funny, for a man who'd never put much faith in words, hearing them from Laura seemed awfully important for some reason.

He was connected to the waiting area, since the cardiac rooms didn't have telephones. When Mildred answered, Remington was surprised. "Mildred? I thought you were going home?"

"I did, Chief," she told him. "But I came back. I thought Daniel might like the company."

He heard something else in her voice as well, the need to be reassured that Daniel was going to be okay. "I'm sure he appreciates it. How is he?"

"Sleeping right now. I talked to Dr. Hadley. He said that the preliminary tests didn't find anything really serious and that if that continued, Daniel would be able to come home tomorrow."

"Excellent news, Mildred. I'll let Laura know. Tell him I called if he wakes up, okay?"

"I will. I plan on staying til they kick me out, anyway."

"Give 'em hell, Mildred," Remington said with a laugh as they said goodbye and hung up.

Laura came out of the bedroom. "I'll finish up later," she told him. "How about a salad?"

"Sounds good to me," he told her as she headed toward the kitchen. "I'll help-"

"No, you won't," Laura said, grabbing the telephone and putting it into his hand. "You're going to make that call. I think I can handle making a salad without too much trouble."

He nodded. "Okay. What was her number again?" he asked, hesitating over the number pad. When Laura told him Abigail's number, he started dialing as he headed toward the doors leading out to the deck.

"Where are you going?" Laura asked.

"This is between Abigail and I," he said smoothly, and closed the door, grinning at her expression.

Laura heard him speaking. "Abigail? It's Remington. Hope I didn't wake you?" Then he moved toward the other end of the deck, out of earshot. She concentrated on cutting up tomatoes and carrots and the other ingredients- and was pleasantly surprised to find some ham and turkey she could slice up for the salad.

"It's your lucky day, Rem," she muttered, glancing at the deck again, where she could see him in the darkness, still talking. She thought she heard him laugh, and then dismissed it. She couldn't believe her mother would take the news that she and Rem were just going to live together at all well. Her gaze fell onto the kitchen extension and she seriously considered picking it up to listen in on the conversation, but she also knew that there was a matter of trust in play. Remington trusted her to handle Daniel. Did Laura trust him enough to let him handle Abigail? Her fingers hovered over the receiver, then fell as she made her decision and returned to tearing lettuce.

When the door opened, she didn't glance up as he put the telephone on the counter and grabbed for a strip of turkey. "Stop that," she admonished. "What did she say?"

"Nothing much," Remington told her, stealing a bit of carrot, grinning like a naughty little boy as Laura gave him a look of warning. "I'll make the dressing."

"She had to have said *something*," Laura insisted.

"She can tell you herself what she said when you see her," he said, getting out the oil and seasonings for his special oil and vinegar dressing.

Laura put the fork and spoon she'd been using to mix the salad down slowly. "When I see her?"

"She'll be here tomorrow. Said she would catch the first flight out tomorrow morning."

"Mother's coming here?" Laura questioned, her voice getting that squeaky, nervous sound that it always did whenever she contemplated being in the same city- much less the same room as Abigail Holt.

He nodded, reaching around her to lift a strip of ham this time. But she didn't stop him. "She's going to stay at the loft. She doesn't want to impose on Frances and Donald."

"She never does," Laura said. "I guess I need to call Frances and warn her- Let her know."

"Would you like me to do it?" Remington offered with a willing smile.

Laura grabbed the bowl of salad and carried it to the table. "No, thank you. This one, I'll handle by myself. Frances has always said I was crazy not to -"

"Oh, really?" Remington asked, grabbed her arm as she passed him en route to get some plates. He pulled her into his arms. "I'll have to reassess my opinion of your sister's cognitive skills, then."

"She's probably got a list of caterers all ready," Laura fretted. "And a silver pattern, and-"

Remington stopped her in the best way he knew how. He kissed her. "Why not wait until she gets here and then worry?" he suggested. "I recommend a nice, quiet, light dinner, followed by a leisurely walk on the beach, and then --" he let his words trail off tantalizingly.

Laura sighed. "You're right. Why borrow trouble, hmm?" She slid her hands up to his shoulders. "We're together, and that's all that matters at this particular moment."

"Precisely," he agreed, reaching behind her for the cruet of salad dressing. "Bring the plates and silver, please."

Laura grabbed the plates and followed him into the dining room. "You mentioned something earlier about investments having paid off?"

***

By the time Remington and Laura arrived at the hospital the next morning, they found Maeve waiting with Mildred. Remington accepted a brief embrace from his aunt before asking, "Where's Nathan?"

"He's with Daniel," Maeve explained.

"And Dr. Hadley," Mildred added.

"I think I'll see if I can't join them," he told Laura, and then left the waiting area.

Maeve stood in the doorway, watching him go with a deep sigh. "He hasn't forgiven me," she told Laura as the younger woman put an arm around her shoulders. "I'd hoped that- after all this time-"

"Of course he has. He's just worried about Daniel," Laura said. "I doubt he meant to be so abrupt. Have you talked to Jarred?" she asked, wanting to take the Irishwoman's mind off of her nephew.

"Yes. He's on his way down. He was up until the wee hours of the morning working on some kind of project for one of his courses. By the time he got in, it was too late to call anyone. He said he was about to call Remington when I called him."

"Did you talk to your mother?" Mildred asked Laura.

"Remington did. We sent Fred to the airport to wait for her. Her plane was due to land in half an hour."

"She's coming here?" Mildred questioned, her eyes on Laura's face. "But- you're so calm."

"Remington assured me that she took the news well," Laura told her. "I just hope he's right."

"What news?" Maeve asked.

***

Remington tapped once on the glass windowed door leading into Daniel's room. When Dr. Hadley turned and saw him, he motioned for Remington to come inside. "Come in, Mr. Steele," he said, and Remington tugged at an ear as he realized he'd been recognized.

"Hello, Nathan," Remington said, giving his uncle a quick hug as he looked at Daniel. "Daniel."

"Harry. I should be very angry with you, my boy," he said. "Dragging Nate and Maeve halfway across the globe-"

"I was worried, Daniel," Remington shrugged. "No offense intended, Dr. Hadley, but-"

Hadley nodded. "I understand. You'd never seen me before yesterday. Dr. Martindale is your uncle."

Remington smiled in gratitude for his tolerance. "So. How is he this morning? Still able to go home?"

"I think we'll release him, yes," Hadley confirmed. "I've scheduled a stress test for Monday morning- and I'll write him a prescription of some nitroglycerin tablets in case it happens again."

"What caused it?"

"Age, lifestyle-" at this point he gave Daniel a pointed look. "While dancing with someone as attractive as Miss Krebs might be good exercise, it doesn't quite provide enough of that commodity. The nurse will be sure you get the papers about changing diet and such when he's released," Hadley told Remington. "Unless he has a more serious episode, or a series of them, I don't think it's anything to be overly concerned about. But angina can be a warning of more serious problems lurking around the corner. We'll just have to keep an ear to the ground, so to speak."

Remington nodded. "Thank you."

Hadley shook his hand. "I'll have the paperwork for his release taken care of and he should be able to go home within the hour." He shook Nathan's hand again, and then looked at his patient. "And I'll see you Monday morning. Remember what I told you, Mr. Chalmers. How this plays out is going to depend on you more than anyone else."

"I will, Doctor," Daniel assured him. "Thank you."

Nathan shook his head once the door closed behind Hadley. "Your luck's still holding, Daniel."

"For awhile there yesterday, I really believed that it had run out."

"Never," Remington said. "Could you excuse us for a moment, Nathan? I need to speak to Daniel."

"Of course. I'll go out and tell the others what Dr. Hadley said. And maybe my son's arrived by now."

Once they were alone, Remington seemed hesitant to speak, so Daniel tried to get the ball rolling. "Did you talk to Abigail?"

"She's on her way to LA-" he glanced at his watch. "In fact, she should be landing soon."

"How did she take the news?"

"Look, Daniel, I don't want to talk about Abigail right now."

"Then what do you want to talk about, Harry?"

"I want your assurance that you're not going to try and keep things from me in some asinine attempt to protect me. I'm a big boy, Daniel. I can handle it."

"I'm sorry, Harry. I wasn't thinking clearly. From now on, you'll be privy to everything. Did you get Laura settled at the beach house?" he asked, hoping t change the subject and put a smile back on his son's face.

"We did. There are still a few items at the loft she wants to bring over- including her piano, but we've got time before Jarred takes the place over at the end of the semester."

"Jarred?"

"He's decided that it's time he got out of that dormitory and into his own place. With what he'll make as an intern this summer at the agency, I think he'll manage."

"Harry, I really was only trying to help when I went to see Laura the other evening. I couldn't stand to see you so unhappy-"

"It worked out for the best, Daniel," Remington assured his father. "At least she's in the house now- full time. That's only one small step away from the rest."

"She'll come around, my boy. I'm sure of it."

***

In the end, they decided that Laura would go to the airport and wait for Abigail. Remington called and told Fred to bring the limo to the hospital to transport Daniel home, with Mildred, Nathan and Maeve following them in Mildred's car. Jarred brought up the rear on his motorbike.

Abigail was already waiting at the curb, looking a bit impatient, when Laura pulled the Rabbit to the curb. "Hello, Mother," she said, her expression wary as she approached the woman. "I'm sorry I was late, but-" *Good Lord,* Laura thought. *I haven't been with her for five seconds and I'm already apologizing!*

"I wasn't waiting long, dear," Abigail assured her with a smile as she held Laura at arms length. "Let me look at you. You've lost weight."

"Maybe a little. It's been pretty busy-"

"Did you cut your hair?"

"I had it trimmed last week," Laura confirmed a bit defensively as she touched her hair. "Mother-"

"I can't tell you how delighted I was when Remington called me last night with the news."

"You were?" Laura asked, blinking in surprise. She certainly *sounded* sincere. "I thought you would be furious that we were- I mean that we weren't-"

"As long as you're happy, Laura, that's what matters," Abigail said as she picked up her suitcase and turned toward the back of the car. "I told you years ago that I wouldn't mind your living with someone again- Did I ever once complain about your living with Wilson?"

"No," Laura was forced to admit as she unlocked the trunk and lifted the suitcase into it before closing it again. "But you were starting to hint rather strongly-"

"You'd been together for a year. I thought that was more than enough time to decide whether or not it was going to work. And you *seemed* happy whenever I saw you. I'm grateful now that it ended before you made a huge mistake. Remington's so much more- " she paused, as if looking for the right words to describe him.

"Yes," Laura agreed quickly. "He certainly is. Let's go. Everyone should be at the house by now. They were bringing Daniel home this morning."

As she got into the passenger seat, Abigail asked, "How is Daniel?"

***

"I really wish you'd both stop fussing over me," Daniel told Mildred and Maeve as they hovered over his chair. "Harry- help?"

Remington smiled. "If you think it's bad now, just wait until Abigail and Laura get here."

Daniel sank back into his chair with a groan as he accepted the cup of tea that Mildred handed him as she laughed softly. "Enjoy it Daniel. Where else could you have four women at your beck and call? Waiting on you hand and foot?"

A smile appeared on Daniel's face. "I hadn't thought of it that way, my dear. Perhaps I should do just that." He took a sip of the tea. "Could you get me some more sugar?"

 

To Be Continued . . .

  Back  Home  CaseBook  E-Mail  Next  
Original Content © Nancy Eddy, 2001