HER MOTHER AND OLIVIA WERE outside the ER with Lynch when Kendra was wheeled out into the hall by a nurse.
“Stupid,” her mother said shakily as she came toward her. “Completely stupid. I don’t know how I raised such a total idiot.” She bent down and slid her arms around Kendra. She held her tightly for a moment. “Lynch tells me that you’re not being punished for that idiocy. You’re going to be okay?”
“I’m okay now. The wound isn’t going to be a problem.” She gave her a quick hug. “They’d let me go home now, but I got a little dehydrated in the desert, and they want to pump me full of fluids. They’ll release me first thing in the morning.”
“I would think they’d keep you longer. Running around that desert, then—” Dianne stopped and drew a deep breath. “Don’t do this kind of thing again. It’s not permitted from now on.”
“Hush.” Olivia pushed her aside and gave Kendra a hug. “I agree completely with the spirit of her message, but not her delivery. I’ll chew you out myself, but not until you get out of the hospital, and I have you at my mercy.” She turned to Dianne. “Now let her go to her room, Dianne. And we’ll go to a bar and have a stiff drink and swear at her, then maybe give the tiniest prayer of thanksgiving. Sound good?”
“Excellent.”
“I thought so.” Olivia brushed a kiss on Kendra’s forehead. “I’ll see you at the condo tomorrow morning. Gird your loins, kid. You’re going to hear from me.”
“I’m shivering in my boots. Sorry I put you through it.”
“Me, too. But I’ll find a way to get back at you.” She turned to Dianne. “Now give her another hug and come along. That drink is calling my name.”
“Presently.” Dianne thrust an overnight case at Lynch and stood frowning at Kendra. “I meant it, you know.” She paused. “But perhaps I’m not entirely angry that you were such an idiot. I was proud of you, too. It was good what you did for Waldridge.” She turned away. “But that’s after the fact. You should have been smart enough not to have had to risk your neck for him. Next time, keep that in mind.”
“I will,” Kendra said gently. “I promise.”
“See that you do.” Dianne turned to Lynch. “Okay, get her to her room and see that they give her those fluids.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Lynch said. “Though I believe my job will just be to tag along with this nice nurse.” He smiled, his gaze on the nurse’s ID badge. “Marty? Sorry to keep you waiting, Marty. I know you have your job to do.”
“No problem. Take your time.” The nurse was smiling back at him with the slightly dazzled look that Lynch usually managed to elicit, Kendra noticed wearily. Sometimes it amused her, but now she was just grateful Lynch’s charisma almost automatically guaranteed that things would go smoother.
Lynch turned back to her mother. “Good night, Dianne. I’ll call and give you a report when I leave here.”
“Tag along?” Dianne repeated dryly, her gaze on the nurse as she joined Olivia and started down the hall. “I doubt if you know the meaning of the phrase.”
“Of course I do. I’m a real team player.” He waved the nurse to go down the hall. “Let’s go, Marty.” He fell into step with Kendra’s wheelchair. “Good night, ladies,” he called back to Dianne and Olivia. “I’ll keep you informed.” He looked down at Kendra, and said in an undertone, “And you do know they’ll both be on my ass if they don’t receive a call that meets with their approval? So you’d better have a good night.”
“You won’t know if I do or not.” She looked up at him as the nurse wheeled her into a room at the end of the hall. “Go home, Lynch. They cleaned me up in that ER, but you still look like you’ve been through a war.”
“When I see you tucked in.” He leaned against the wall and watched the nurse help her onto the bed. “I made a promise.”
“Yes, you did.” She leaned back wearily against the pillows. She was suddenly aware of the weakness she hadn’t permitted herself to acknowledge before. “Thank you for bringing them, Lynch. I was going to call both of them, but I might not have gotten around to it right away.”
“Imagine that.” He watched the nurse move around the room. “You only had to contend with bullets and dehydration and hired killers chasing you down. Hardly worth mentioning.” His gaze shifted back to her. “Anyway, they knew how much you cared about them. You called your mother, and she found a letter to Olivia when she went to your studio after she flew back here. So I knew that those were two people I had to make certain to bring up to date.” His lips twisted. “Of course, I might not have had the entire list. Did you send out any other touching good-bye’s to anyone else?”
“No, thank heavens. Those were the only two. At the time, I felt as if it was something I should do, but I obviously made a complete mess of it.”