"Mick, come on, give me a break today. How's the schedule look?"
"A few routine surgeries and appointments, but nothing big."
"If you want, I can stay today and you can take off. Jerry's here isn't he?"
"He should be here shortly. Emily, I don't think it's the best idea for you to be at the clinic today. You've gone through an awful lot." Mick would never stop worrying about her. Even though she put on a brave front, he knew she was suffering.
"It's all good, Mick. Thank you for your concern, but I'll be fine." Emily headed towards the front desk to check on appointments. She wasn't in the mood for any more protests from Mick.
***
Caroline sat at the front desk and watched as Emily came through the doors to the lobby. It was the end of the day and no more appointments were left. "Em, I hate to bother you again, but Parker Davis has called you nine times. Do you think you can call him back?" She knew something was troubling Emily, but didn't want to meddle.
"I'll call him back when I get home."
"There aren't any added appointments--"
"I'll take care of it, Caroline. Thank you." Emily was exhausted. She felt weak and still hadn't eaten very much. All she wanted to do was go to bed. She walked back to the conference room and gathered her things. Mick walked in and stared at her.
"Go get some food in your stomach, Em. If you don't start taking care of yourself, I'm going to force feed you."
"I'll stop on the way home. See you in the morning, Mick." Emily walked out the door, leaving Mick still standing there.
Caroline walked to the back with yet another message from Parker Davis. "Mick, this is the tenth time he's called. Can you find out what he wants? He keeps saying it's urgent and Emily isn't calling him back." Caroline was getting tired of taking the same message over and over again.
Mick took the last message and sat at his desk. He dialed Parker's number, not even knowing what he was supposed to say to the guy.
"Parker, this is Mick. Emily just left for the day. We've been very busy at the clinic. You said it was urgent. Is anything wrong?"
"Everything's wrong!" Parker sat in the motel, not even having any thoughts about returning to that land that nearly consumed him. "I have to talk with Emily."
"Look, I don't know what's happened today, but if Emily wanted to talk to you she would have called you back. By the way, I'm glad you're feeling better since your horrible ordeal."
"Give me her address." Parker was getting pissed. He was tired of roadblocks from this guy.
"You know I can't do that. Have a nice evening, Parker. Stop hounding her." Mick hung up the phone, hoping that would be the last of it. But he knew better than to believe that Parker Davis would give up so easily.
Parker stared at his phone. He was determined to keep trying. When you love someone you do whatever it takes.
Chapter 18
Russell ran out of his room at the same motel where his brother was staying. He knocked loudly on the door until Parker flung it open with an irritated look on his face.
"The jet's here, Parker. There's been a fire and your penthouse is up in smoke. Let's go..."
"What the hell?"
"Come on, I'll explain on the way. Get your things together." Russell was already inside the room, not waiting for any wasted time. He began helping Parker gather his belongings.
"How did it start?"
"They're still putting the fire out. Four people can't be accounted for. Let's go!"
Rhonda kept Russell informed on the flight back to New York. "I think they found the four missing people. I don't believe anyone was hurt, but three floors are pretty much destroyed and everyone has been evacuated. They were able to get all the animals out. Some are pretty sick from the smoke. It's really bad, Russell."
"Hang in there, babe, we'll land in another hour."
***
Russell and Parker stood amongst the chaos in front of their sky rise. Reporters wanted answers right along with the tenants. Parker found the fire chief and hurried over to him.
"I'm Parker Davis, is anyone hurt?"
"We don't think so. Most of the people who live here were gone. We obtained a tenant list from a Rhonda Davis. You resided here as well, correct?"
"Yes, I live in the penthouse on the top floor."
"I'm afraid that's been destroyed. So far it looks like the fire started two floors below yours. We won't know the exact cause until it's safe for our guys to walk through. The fire alarms and sprinkler systems worked, or the fire would have been much worse. The building will be closed until we can secure the structure. We have an animal shelter here trying to take care of the sick pets, but we need more hands."
"Thank you, and please keep me posted. I'll call my secretary and see if we can find temporary shelters." Parker felt horrible inside. Seeing the devastated tenants and the destruction was making him feel sick. Animals covered in black soot were in cages and on leashes. If I had the shepherd here, he would have been killed.
Parker reached in his pocket for his phone, which sat ringing on the bed in Colorado.
***
Emily had stopped by the grocery store on the way and picked up a few things before heading home. Mick was right; she had to take better care of herself. The garlic roasted chicken breast with russet potatoes, green beans with almonds, and a small garden salad filled her stomach. She even forced herself to drink a glass of milk, something she'd never liked. Now it was time to face the inevitable. Emily dialed Parker Davis. It went to voicemail.
"Hi, Parker, I hope you're feeling well. I'm just returning your call." Parker didn't return the message. Emily tried two more times that evening, and her messages went unanswered. He's just doing what I did to him. But another thought hit her. What if something's wrong? What if he got sick again? What if he left the hospital too soon? Emily put on her shoes and drove to the motel. She was hoping he was still staying there. But as she pulled up, the housekeeper was leaving and closing his door.
"Excuse me. Is the man who was staying here still renting this room?"
"No he left some hours ago and forgot his phone." The housekeeper laughed.
"I can send it to him. He's a friend."
"Well, I'm not supposed to do this, but I don't feel like making out a form. Here you go. Just make sure he gets it."
"I will. Thank you." Emily was relieved that he hadn't been ignoring her. After the housekeeper went into a different room, she called Davis Enterprises.
"Rhonda, this is Emily. Parker left his phone at the motel. I'll mail it back to him. Could you let him know?"