“I don’t want to go back to bed. And who is this man?”
“Why, he’s your bodyguard, Ms. O’Hara. Your grandmother left word that he was allowed to be in your room and we were to do whatever he said in order to protect you.” The nurse planted a hand on her hip and pointed to the bed. “Now, are you going to get back in the bed or will I have to call an orderly to help me put you there?”
“It’s not necessary to call an orderly.” Her stranger was there by her side, scooping her wobbly legs out from under her. Shelby squealed and wrapped her arms around his neck to keep from falling as he set her down on the mattress, the strength of his arms and the solid wall of his chest oddly reassuring and comforting.
“You really should stay in bed until they bring you something less revealing. You can see everything through the gap in the back of your gown.” He grinned and stepped away, missing the hand she swung at his face.
“You’re no gentleman.”
“Never said I was.”
“You never said what you were.”
The nurse tsked. “Please hold still, Ms. O’Hara, while I reconnect the IV and monitors.”
“I don’t want the IV. I’d rather have a steak or lobster.”
“There are no restrictions on your diet. Would you like me to call the kitchen and have them prepare a sandwich?”
“No! No sandwiches. No bologna!” Shelby clapped a hand over her lips. “I’m sorry.” Tears welled in her eyes, clouding her vision. “I don’t know what’s going on, where I am and who he is. And I don’t have a grandmother, just my grandfather. Could someone please tell me what the hell’s going on?”
Chapter 3
“I’ll let your family explain all that when they get here.” Daniel dialed the number for Kate Winston’s secretary.
“Debra speaking.” Her voice was clear and cheerful, with no indication she’d been up late the night before. She’d probably been awake since five or five-thirty, preparing Mrs. Winston’s schedule for the day.
“Debra, please inform Mrs. Winston her granddaughter is conscious.”
“I will. Right away. Thank you.”
Daniel had no doubt she would. Debra Winston was the most efficient personal assistant a person could have. He wasn’t sure how Kate could operate without the other woman’s help.
Shelby jabbed at the controls on the bed, making the feet rise, then the head of the bed lower. “I don’t have a grandmother and I don’t need a bodyguard. Damn this thing. How do I get it to sit me up?”
Daniel fought to keep from smiling, took the controls from her hand and adjusted the settings, raising the head of the bed until Shelby sat up. “Thank you,” she said, her tone reluctant. “I could have figured it out myself.”
“I can’t have you falling out of bed. What kind of bodyguard would I be if I let you fall twice?”
“Someone else’s, I would hope. I don’t need a bodyguard.”
“Your grandmother and your uncles think you need one. And I agree. Now, whether or not it’s me is an entirely different concern.”
“I don’t have a grandmother, and I don’t have any uncles. It’s just my grandfather, Patrick, and me. You must have the wrong woman.”
“No, sweetie, he doesn’t.” Patrick entered the room carrying two cups of steaming coffee. He set them on the rolling table and engulfed his granddaughter in a long, heartfelt hug. “Thank God you’re all right. I was so scared. I thought I’d lost you.”
“Believe me, I was pretty scared, too.” She hugged him again and pushed him to arm’s length, tears running down her cheeks. She brushed them aside and studied her grandfather. “You look like you haven’t eaten in days. Have you been taking your vitamins?”
He chuckled. “God, I’ve missed you.”
Her brow wrinkled. “I take that as a no.” The next minute she was smiling, her bright blue eyes dancing, making Daniel’s heartbeat stutter then race. “That’s okay. I’ll have you back on track in no time,” she assured him.
“That’s my girl.” Patrick hugged her again and perched on the edge of the bed.
Shelby rolled her eyes at Daniel. “And who is this man? I have to say, after being bound and kept in the dark for two weeks, to wake up in the arms of a stranger wasn’t reassuring.”
“Oh, baby, what did those animals do to you?” Patrick hugged her again.
“Thankfully not much more than keeping me tied up in the dark and feeding me the nastiest bologna sandwiches and water.”
Daniel’s lips twitched. That would explain why she’d gone over the edge at the nurse’s mention of a sandwich.
Patrick sighed. “At least they didn’t hurt you more than that.” He cast a glance at Daniel. “This is Daniel Henderson, an agent with the Secret Service. He saved your life.”
Daniel almost laughed at the skeptical look she threw his way.
“It’s okay, you don’t have to thank me,” he said, his voice deceptively even, the undertones dripping with sarcasm.
“Thank you for pulling me out of there,” she said and turned toward her grandfather. “But why do I need a Secret Service agent watching over me? And what’s all this about a grandmother and uncles? Does the hospital staff have me in the wrong room?”
“Shelby, about that.” Patrick stared down at where he patted her hands in his. “There’s something I should have told you a long time ago.”
Shelby’s lips tightened and her face blanched, but she held her tongue.
Daniel had the sudden urge to pull her into his arms and shield her from what was coming next. She was so small and pale against the hospital sheets.
Her grandfather continued, delivering the news straight and free of any sugarcoating. “You have a grandmother and three uncles.”
She breathed in and out several times, pinching the bridge of her nose.
Daniel admired her for her calm and ability to take it all in without falling apart. After two weeks of captivity in a dark basement, and waking up in a hospital with the news she had more relatives and a bodyguard, Shelby had earned the right to come apart.
She asked quietly, “Since when, and why haven’t I heard of them before?”
“I didn’t think it was important before,” her grandfather said. “But when you went missing, I had to get help. The only person I knew who had enough clout and influence was Kate Winston.”
Those bright blue eyes blinked and she laughed out loud. “Kate Winston? Former vice president of the United States?”
Patrick nodded. “She’s your mother’s mother.”
Shelby’s face lost all color, and she pressed a hand to her temple. “How?”
Her grandfather chuckled. “The usual way. It happened one summer when we were teenagers, both young and stupid. Your grandmother was on vacation on the Outer Banks when we met. By the end of that summer, we thought we were in love.” He stared out the window. “Your mother was born nine months later.”
“What happened? I take it you didn’t make an honest woman out of her or I’d have known sooner about her.”
Her