Monday's Child (21 page)

“Good practice for the both of ye,” Carole said. “But if yer talking babies all evening, I’m outta here.”

Sara grinned. “All right, no baby talk. How long is that guy Phil staying here?”

Antonia sighed, her fingers tightening on her plate. “Just until taemorrow, I hope. Between the three of us, he gives me the creeps.”

Carole inclined her head in agreement. “Yer no’ the only one. He tried tae hit on Sara. In her condition.”

“I see we’re back to the baby talk again. So are you saying pregnant women aren’t attractive?” Sara widened her eyes in mock shock. She added a few more bits to her plate, being careful not to choose something she’d end up regretting later.

“I dinna mean it like that,” Carole protested.

Dave came up behind them. “Ye digging yerself a hole, love?”

“No.”

“Aye,” Sara and Antonia chorused. They all laughed.

“Where’s Luke then, Sara? Ye lost him?”

Sara sighed. “He went to the loo ages ago. He’s not come back yet. So, yeah, I’ve lost him. I don’t suppose you could put out an APB?”

Carole laughed. “Someone’s been watching tae many cop shows. She knows all the lingo.”

Dave grinned. “I’ll go one better than an APB. I’ll do a personal search and rescue mission and find him for ye. Are yer ladies staying here?”

“Aye, right by the food.” Carole smiled.

“Silly question.” Dave kissed her and went off in search of Luke, and Carole continued to load her plate with food.

Antonia sipped her juice. “Yer not having the prawn vol-au-vents, Carole? I got them especially for ye.”

Carole shook her head. “The thought of seafood makes me sick these days. What I really fancy is cheese and pineapple. And those chocolate ginger creams. Stuck together and dipped in Thousand Island dressing.”

Antonia pulled a face. “Pineapple’s nasty.”

Carole grinned, dipped it in the dressing, and ate it.

“Yuck,” Sara said. “That’s revolting even by my standards. You should see the faces Luke pulls over my jam, peanut butter, and Marmite sandwiches.”

Carole paused with a piece of pineapple half way to her mouth. “Now
that
sounds good.”

Sara took a bite of the pickle. “Oh, it is, trust me.”

Carole took a few of those as well, and Sara shook her head.

“Not pregnant, are you?”

Carole glanced down at the concoction of food on her plate. “Come tae think of it, it has been a good two or three months—” her voice tailed off. “I don’t want tae get my hopes up. Too many disappointments and my periods never been regular.”

“Maybe you should make an appointment to go see Dr. Scott,” Sara said seriously.

“Someone mention my name?” Scott appeared beside them. He grabbed Antonia and hugged her. “Hey, sis. Great party, as always.”

“Steve, ye came.” Antonia hugged Scott and kissed him. “I thought ye were on call.”

“Aye, I am. The phone is in my pocket.”

“Is Sue-Lyn here?”

“My wife is chatting up yer husband.”

Antonia smiled. “Good.” She turned to the others. “This is my older brother, but ye probably know him in a professional capacity.”

Dave stuck his head around the kitchen door. “Sara? I found Luke, and I think ye should take him home.”

Sara sighed and put her plate down. “Coming. Sorry, Antonia. Thanks for having us. Carole, do you want to come for coffee tomorrow, say about ten?”

Carole smiled. “Sure. Night.”

“Night.” Sara went out into the hall.

Luke sat on the stairs, glass in hand, as white as a sheet and totally out of it.

“Hey, Sara.” Even his voice was slurred.

Dave gave Sara her coat. “I’ll give ye a hand getting him home.”

“Thanks, Dave.” She glared at Luke. “Are you drunk?”

Luke’s tone became indignant. “No, I’m not. This is juice. I don’t drink…you know that.”

Dave took the glass off him and gave him his coat. “C’mon. Let’s get ye home.” He pulled Luke to his feet and lowered his voice. “Ye should know better than tae drink on duty.”

Luke staggered. He squinted at Dave. “I. Am. Not. Drunk.”

Daniel came over. “Do you want a hand, Dave?”

“Please. He canna walk, and I canna expect Sara tae carry him. Not in her condition.”

“What is it with my condition? That’s about the third time it’s come up tonight. I’m pregnant, not sick,” Sara complained halfheartedly.

“We’ll take him back home if ye can open the doors.”

“I think I can manage that.”

Dave and Daniel got Luke out into the cold night air. Sara followed them. What was wrong with Luke? He wasn’t walking, as much as putting one foot in front of the other. It didn’t appear as if he had any idea where he was or where he was going. They reached the house, and Sara unlocked the door and let the men inside.

Dave turned his face to her. “Where do ye want him?”

She shrugged out of her coat. “Spare room. It’s made up from the other night.”

The two men got Luke up the narrow winding staircase and onto the bed.

“Do ye want us tae change him?” Dave asked.

“No. I’ll do it.”

Dave sounded concerned. “Are ye sure? He’s a big bloke, and you should nae be lifting.”

Sara flicked her gaze at Daniel. “He’s my husband. I’ll do it.”

“Want me to get Dr. Scott tae come over and check him?”

“No, don’t bother him. I’ll ring in the morning if Luke’s no better.”

Sara saw them out and went back up to Luke. He’d struggled out of his sweater and was trying to undo his shirt. She pushed his hands away and undid the buttons for him. She kept her voice quiet despite her annoyance with him. “You should’ve told me you were this sick. I’d have been disappointed, yes, but I wouldn’t have forced you to go. There’ll be other parties one day.” She sighed. “Well, at least I got in my thirty minutes and then some. Thank you for that.”

****

Luke tried to focus on her face, trying to figure out which of the three images he saw was the real Sara. Her voice boomed and echoed around him, reverberating through him like some demonic machine gun. His head was splitting. Red-hot hammers were pounding away, driving sharp metal spikes deep into his brain. “Don’t shout.”

“I’m not shouting, I was thanking you.”

“Sara, please don’t shout.” He couldn’t fight her hands any longer, and he let her undress him. Somewhere in his pain filled mind, the thought occurred that here she was, undressing him in his bedroom, and he really couldn’t care less. All he wanted was to lie down and for the pain to go away.

She took his shirt and handed him his pajama top. “I’m not shouting. Your headache must be making you sensitive to noise,” She whispered. “Thank you.”

“I have a headache the size of Kansas.”

“I know you do, but you took something for it. Didn’t the medicine work?”

“No,” he said weakly. “It’s my job to keep you alive. I don’t want you going anywhere, certainly not alone.”

“I know that. And I appreciate you taking me tonight.”

Luke moaned, grasping his head, a fresh wave of pain rushing over him. “Sara, can we please talk in the morning? I really don’t feel well.”

“I can get you some more painkillers. I have really strong ones in my bag.”

“No…don’t want to be drugged to the eyeballs. Need to look after…” Nausea rose within him, and he pushed himself upright.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going to be sick.”

He stood and lost his balance. One hand clamped over his mouth, he grabbed the night table with his free hand. There was no way he was going to make it in time. He felt an arm go around him.

Sara helped him to the bathroom. “I’ll wait here.”

Luke could hear her, but he was too busy throwing up to answer. After a few minutes, he pulled the door open. He grabbed the door frame, trying to keep upright.

“Are you all right?” Sara’s tone was soft and gentle, and maybe he was seeing things, blurry things at that, but there was concern in her eyes. She put a hand out to help him.

Luke leaned against her as she walked with him back to the bedroom. He flopped on the bed, closing his eyes and putting his hand over them to block out any residual light.

“Can I get you anything? Water or something?”

Luke shook his head, groaning as he did so. “Just need sleep.”

****

Sara stood there for a moment then left the room. Leaving the door ajar, she crept downstairs to the dining room. She turned on the computer and went online to check her email. Almost instantly, a message popped up. “Hiya, doll.”

Sara hesitated before answering. She needed to talk to someone, but she no longer wanted to complain about Luke to Oscar. She felt like she was betraying Luke. “Hi.”

“How are you this fine evening?”

“Bad day.” She got up and went into the kitchen. Pulling open the fridge, she picked up the juice. She grabbed the glass from the side and went back into the dining room. Sitting down, she read the message on the screen.

“U need 2 get out more.”

“Chance would be a fine thing.” Sara minimized the Internet page and opened Sudoku, determined to do something, so the evening wouldn’t be a total loss.

“Hey, guess what? I’m in Tannoch for a few days on business. Fancy meeting me for coffee?”

She scrunched up her face.
How does he know where I am? I know I haven’t told him.

“Where’s Tannoch?”

“You know very well where it is—it’s where you live. You mentioned it in a group email.”

Sara caught her breath. No, she hadn’t. She was sure she hadn’t. Yes, she hated this whole ‘protection thing’ but she wasn’t stupid and she wasn’t about to undo all Luke’s hard work at keeping her safe. “Hubby won’t like it.”

“I thought you were married to the guy, not chained to him. Or are you?”

“Not chained, and not cheating on him, either.” She pulled up her email folder and started going through her sent mail.

“It’s one coffee.”

Sara didn’t hesitate. It may be ‘one coffee’ as he put it, but Luke had told her not to go out. Besides, meeting people in real life from the net was dangerous enough, without the added danger of being in witness protection. “I can’t.”

“I’ll be there at the war memorial at eleven-thirty tomorrow. I’ll wear a long black coat, and I’ll have a newspaper under my arm. You?”

Totally unnerved by this now, Sara shook her head even though he couldn’t see her. “I said I can’t. Look, I got to go. Bye.”

Sara shut down the computer and left the room, her hands shaking and a sickening feeling building in her stomach. She hadn’t mentioned it. There was nothing in any of her sent emails. So how did he know? The phone rang and she jumped. She picked it up. “H—hello?”

“Hi, Sara. How are you?”

Relief flooded her. “Hello, Aunt Mary, I’m good. How are you?”

“Packing for tomorrow. I managed to get a flight. Is there anything I can bring you?”

“Just you and your Christmas cookies. What time will you get here?”

“My flight leaves at twelve, and I’ll get the train from the airport. I should be with you around five.”

“Do you want someone to come pick you up?”

“No, dear, it’s all booked. I can get a taxi from the station.”

“All right, if you’re sure.”

“Quite sure. I was surprised you answered the phone. Where’s Luke?”

“He’s sick and gone to bed with a headache. I’m hoping it’s nothing, and he’ll sleep it off.”

“Is the house all locked up?”

“Yes, it is.”

“Good. Are you all right, dear? You sound distracted.”

“Just had a weird conversation with someone. If you had a friend who was only in town for a couple of days, would you go see them?”

“That depends on whether this was you or me we’re talking about. If it was me, yes, I would, but if it were you, that’s a different kettle of fish. Who is she?”

“His name’s Oscar, and I met him online, must be just over three years ago. We’ve been emailing, and we chatted once or twice. He’s only in town for a couple of days, and he suggested coffee tomorrow.”

“You told him where you were? Oh, Sara, that was so silly of you. What did you say?”

“I didn’t tell him or anyone else where I was. I know I take risks using the net this way, but I’m not stupid. He insisted it was in an email I sent, but I checked them all and there’s nothing there. He told me where he’d be and what time.”

“I see. What does your heart tell you?”

“Other than the fact someone knows where I am? That I shouldn’t go. It would be stupid and irresponsible.”

“What would Luke say?”

“He’d say no.” She put on an American accent. “No, no, no, no, no. You are not leaving this house under any circumstances. That’s what he’d say.”

“Then there’s your answer. Have you told him about this man?”

“No…he’s asleep. I’ll tell him in the morning. The house is all locked up and there’s someone outside.”

“What about ringing Luke’s partner?”

“He’s still at this party we went to and anyway, it’s late. I’ll tell Luke first thing tomorrow. He can send someone to pick this guy up and interrogate him or whatever they do when they have people helping them with their inquiries.”

“Have you told Luke how you feel about him yet?”

“Not in so many words, but I will.” Sara paused. “Thank you. See you tomorrow. Love you.”

“Love you, too, dear. Night.”

Sara turned off the lights. Going upstairs, she paused outside Luke’s room. Was he all right? She pushed the door open and glanced across the room.

Sara crossed over to Luke. He was asleep, but whimpering in pain. She peered at the red glow of the alarm clock. It read ten thirty. Should she call Doctor Scott or wait until morning? She laid a hand on Luke’s forehead and decided to wait until morning and see if he could sleep whatever it was off. She pulled the door to, and she went back to her own room.

Sara picked up the card she’d bought on Saturday. “To the one I love.”

She opened the card and read the verse inside. She sat on the bed and thought hard before writing inside it. She’d leave it on the table for him in the morning.

She moved over to the window and sat on the window seat. She pressed her face to the glass, gazing out at the view. The lighthouse beams shone across the bay. She smiled. “Wreckers. That would make a good painting, too.”