Free Gina Cresse - Devonie Lace 01 - A Deadly Change of Course--Plan B by Gina Cresse Page B

swear you’d seen it in Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous .  Come to think of it, I believe it was featured in an episode two years ago.  One wall, windows from floor to ceiling, overlooked the ocean.  The oak floors, finished in a light, natural tone, gave the room a warm, homey feeling.  A sea-foam green and blue rug relaxed under the fine sofa and coffee table facing the view.  You could sit for hours and admire the living landscape painted just outside the glass.  The open beam ceiling, also finished in natural tones, gave the feeling of a cathedral.  Everything in the room said, “This house belongs to a sailor,” from the paintings on the walls to the trophies on the mantle.  Arlene sat me down on the sofa.  “Now, you just sit here.  I don’t think you’re supposed to lie down or go to sleep — at least until we have the doctor look at you first.”
    “Okay, Aunt Arlene.  I’m just going to close my eyes for a minute.  I didn’t sleep very well last night, and I’m so tired.”
    The next thing I remembered was a hand shaking my shoulder and a voice calling my name.  I opened my eyes.  There were six concerned faces staring at me.  Two Uncle Doug’s, two Aunt Arlene’s, and in the middle, two handsome faces I didn’t recognize.  “ Tom ?  You have a twin?” I mumbled, only half-conscious.

 
                 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Nine
     
    M ild concussion was the diagnosis.  Rest was the treatment.  Craig Matthews, the doctor who lived next door, stitched up my hand and gave it a proper dressing.  I used Uncle Doug’s phone to call Jason, since I had left my cell phone on the boat and didn’t feel up to hiking back down to the dock to retrieve it.
    “Hello, Jason?   It’s Devonie .”
    “Dev.   Where are you?” he asked.
    “I’m at my aunt and uncle’s place in Del Mar.  Did you have any trouble getting the Jeep?”
    “No.  I rode my bike over to the marina, loaded it in the back, and brought it home.  No one gave me any trouble.”
    “That’s good.  I was going to see if you could bring it here today, but I had a little accident and I wouldn’t be able to drive you home until tomorrow or the next day.”
    “Accident?   Are you okay?” he asked.
    “I’m okay.  I got hit in the head with the boom and I have a mild concussion.  I’ll be fine by tomorrow or the next day, but for now I’m seeing double and I’m a little dizzy, so I can’t get behind the wheel,” I said.
    “Do you want me to bring it up to you Wednesday morning?  I could get John to open the shop for me.  That would give you a full day to recover.”
    “Yeah, I think that would work.  Let me get my uncle to give you directions on how to get here,” I said, then handed the phone to Doug.  Leaning back on the couch with an ice pack on my forehead, I closed my eyes.
    Doug gave detailed directions to Jason, while Arlene thanked Craig for making the house call.  “Would you like to stay for dinner, Craig?” I heard her ask him.  I knew what she was up to.
    “I wish I could, Arlene, but I have to attend a retirement dinner tonight for one of the doctors at the M ed C enter.  I’ll check in on our patient tonight when I get back, and again in the morning to make sure she’s progressing okay.”
    “Thank you, Dr. Matthews,” I called to him, not taking the ice pack from my head.
    “Any time, Devonie .   You take it easy.  I’ll check in on you tonight,” he called back to me.  “And call me Craig . ”
     
    Jason arrived Wednesday morning with the Jeep.  I introduced him to Arlene and Doug and they gave him a brief tour of the house.  I said I would show him the dock so I could have a chance to talk to him alone.
    “Thanks, again, for getting the Jeep, Jason.  I can’t tell you how much I appreciate all your help,” I told him, as we walked down the path to the dock.
    “You’re welcome, Dev.  Now, are you going to tell me what’s going