Soul Fire Read Online Free PDF Page B

as yourself ? Tell him you came by to see how he’s doing.”
    “Oh yeah, right. I’m the last person he wants to see. I caused his accident, remember? Truth is, he probably wants to exterminate me.” Ashla sniffed, swiped at her eyes, then pocketed the tissue. “All I want to do is see how he’s doing without him throwing me out. And—” She hesitated.
    “What?”
    “I can’t leave things the way they are. I have to do something for him.”
    I could understand that feeling, but doing anything for Justin Ledger was going to be a challenge. “Like what? Bring him magazines?”
    She gave me a disgruntled look. “Whatever. I’ll think of something, but I have to see him for myself so I can figure it out. This whole thing has been driving me crazy. I can’t sleep, can’t eat, can’t even think straight.”
    I pointed at the wig, “But going into his room like this is such a charade. What’s the worst that can happen if you walk in looking like yourself? What’s he going to do? He has to be bed ridden. It’s not like he’s going to jump up and toss you out. Besides, how do you know he isn’t wondering about you? After all, you almost did him in. That doesn’t happen to a guy every day.”
    “Thanks for that.”
    “Well, I’m just saying.”
    Ashla scratched the uninjured side of her forehead. The wig had bangs, something she wasn’t used to, but at least they covered the big, purple egg on her forehead with the longer hair hiding the stitches on the side of her scalp.
    “Besides,” Ashla added, “any thoughts Justin Ledger has about me as he lays in his hospital bed day in and day out are sure to be lethal. Trust me. This is the only way. I want to make sure he’s going to recover from this.”
    “The guilt thing.”
    She gave me an icy look. “You of all people should understand that.”
    Touché, I thought.
    The elevator door opened and I pushed the car into the busy corridor near the nurse’s station. “Which way?” I whispered, turning left and looking for room numbers.
    “Other way,” Ashla said, yanking the cart around. We turned and headed down the corridor determining that his room was near the end of the hall. We ghosted by his open door, rubber necking as we went. Wow. Nothing prepared me for seeing Seattle’s best hope for the NHL laying in a hospital bed, both legs in half casts half bandages, supported by pillows. I stopped and stared. Ashla yanked me from the doorway and dragged me to the end of the hall. “You’re right,” she breathed. “This is a bad idea, Celeste. Let’s forget it.”
    “Did you see him Ashla?” I gasped. “He’s wrapped like a mummy!”
    She paced a circle around me, arms crossed with her fingers tapping away furiously. Suddenly, she gripped my arm. “Okay, let’s go.” She shoved me back down the corridor. This time we were racing by his open door when suddenly Ashla stopped dead, her eyes bugged, and she stood frozen in place and stared at him. Fortunately, he was on the phone and looking out the window, so he didn’t see her.
    A nurse brushed by, “Need some help?”
    I sputtered, “Uh, no. We’re good.” She nodded and continued on. I grabbed Ashla’s arm and dragged her and the darned cart back down to the end of the hall. “We’ve come this far, Ashla. Just do it.”
    Her watery eyes were wide with fear. “Can’t,” she mumbled.
    “Do it the way we’d planned. Walk in. Offer him some magazines. Ask how he’s doing. Then get out. Assessment finished.”
    “Right.”
    But she didn’t move.
    I waited. She was starting to hyperventilate. “Ashla!” I whispered harshly. “Pull yourself together. It’s not that hard. You’re Miss Incognito…totally unrecognizable, remember?”
    Her eyes refocused. “That’s right. I’m not myself.”
    No kidding, I thought. She gripped my arm with icy fingers and we started back toward his room again. This time she bolted inside. Whew. I’d never seen Ashla like this. She was always so