Talking Sense (23 page)

He heard her swear softly to herself. Something had happened—he could sense it. He forced his voice to stay calm. “It’s all right, honey, take it slowly. Tell me what happened.”

“The baby’s gone,” she said huskily.

“Gone?” He blinked.

“A woman came in pretending to be Isabella—Grace’s mother. She was late, you see, and the midwife was expecting her, and she didn’t know what she looked like, so when the woman said she was Mrs. Fox, she didn’t think to question her. It’s not her fault, really, she’s awfully, awfully upset, but Ash, he’s so angry…”

“Fucking hell.” He clenched his fists. “The stalker?”

“It must be. The midwife’s done one of those sketch things with a police artist, and it’s in the news and everything, but the baby’s gone, Colm. And she’s so tiny, Grace only held her once… And Grace is usually so strong, but this…” She swallowed, and Colm actually heard the gulp.

“You want me to come over?” he said softly.

She hesitated. “The thing is…they have no idea where she’s gone. She could have gone to the airport, or taken a car and driven out of the city. She could be anywhere. Colm, I was wondering… I know it’s asking a lot, and you said you didn’t want to use it again, but…would you try it? You know, your gift? Hold the baby’s blanket or something?”

He clenched his teeth. Selfishly, disappointment and hurt swept over him. She didn’t want to see him because she needed him. She wanted him to help find the baby.

He didn’t want to use his ability. The anger he’d felt when he’d first learned the man he’d hoped was his father was dead had faded a little, but his determination to never again trust his special talent hadn’t disappeared. He’d felt foolish and embarrassed that his daydreams had led him to that lonely cemetery. His reasons for thinking that Robert Green was his father were no more substantial than the rainbow he’d seen arching briefly in the misty sun across the graveyard. He was done with the psychometry, or whatever it was called.
It contains the word psycho for a reason
, he’d told himself. Never again.

But stronger than his reluctance to use it was the urge he felt to yell at Mia for putting Grace’s needs above his own. Unreasonable, he knew. Cruel. Childish even. But none the less real for that.

“If I failed,” he said hoarsely, “I’d feel terrible. I’ve never used it for something like that, Mia. I don’t think I could cope if I couldn’t get anything, or even worse, led the police to the wrong place.”

But even as he said it, his own words when they parted—
It’s just going to make it harder when I do eventually go
—and her answering response—
Well, that’s fucking cowardly
—came back to haunt him. She’d been right then, and it was no less appropriate now. He was a coward. Afraid to use his ability in case he got it wrong. Scared to give them hope in case he let them down. As frightened of failure now as he had been all the years he’d refused to use it, just as he was afraid to commit himself to her in case it all went wrong.

“Colm…” she whispered, and he heard the despair in her voice. His head cleared. He had to try.

“I’ll—” His voice broke like it used to when he was thirteen, and he cleared his throat and tried again. “Of course I’ll come.”

She exhaled in a rush and he could almost feel her relief down the phone line.

“Which hospital are you at?” he asked. She told him, and he said, “I’ll leave now and be there in ten minutes.” He paused. “Mia?”

“Yes?”

He took a deep breath. “I love you.”

He hung up.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Mia paced the floor impatiently as she waited for Colm to arrive. Her heart had been pounding since she’d first seen the look on the midwife’s face, but now she felt as if she’d been running, it was racing so hard.

He said he loved me.
She shook her head, trying to concentrate on what was important—that he’d agreed to try to use his ability to find the baby, that there was hope for Ash and Grace, who were falling apart. She hadn’t told Grace, aware that she shouldn’t give false hope in case Colm couldn’t see anything, but Ash had overheard her phone call and asked what was going on, so she’d told him. His face had lightened, but he’d nodded when she suggested he keep it quiet for now.

He’d told her that he’d tried to ask for help from the Other Side, from his spirit guides or whoever it was he talked to when he carried out his work, but said it was as if he were watching a fuzzy TV—that nothing was coming through, probably because he was so anxious. He was angry and upset that he couldn’t help Grace, that he couldn’t find his daughter when he’d helped so many people in the past, but he was level headed enough to know he was doing his best and that he had to remain calm, for Grace’s sake, if nothing else.

Colm loves me…
She shook her head again.
Concentrate, Mia.
In the big scheme of things, her love life was at the bottom of Things That Are Important. All that mattered now was that Colm arrive and try to see if he could get any information from the blanket the baby had been wrapped in, which the midwife had put to one side after changing the baby into an all-in-one.

Still, the glow that had warmed her when he said the words refused to die down.

She paced the floor impatiently, knowing Freya and Nate were watching her. Liv had taken Isabella home with her to rest. Isabella had been distraught at the disappearance of her granddaughter, full of guilt and knowing that if she’d answered one of Mia’s phone calls, she would have been at the hospital earlier, and this might never have happened. She’d had to be sedated, and they’d decided it was more upsetting for Grace to see her mother so distraught, so Liv said she’d take her home and put her to bed for a while.

Jodi had remained, white faced and silent. Her tears had dried up, though, and she was now sitting in the private room Grace had been moved to, holding her hand while Ash came and went, talking occasionally to the police officers before returning to his wife.

It felt like forever, but in the end it was only eight minutes before Colm arrived at the doorway to the maternity ward, stopped there by two police officers, who confirmed with Ash that Colm was who he said he was before letting him through.

Stable door and bolted,
Mia thought distractedly, nevertheless glad of the uniforms surrounding them all at that moment. Who knew what the crazy woman would do? Dump the baby and come back with a knife in her hand? She tried to not to cry at the thought. Although the woman was a psycho, Mia was sure the woman wouldn’t hurt the baby. In her twisted mind she probably thought she was looking after it for Ash or something, and as she obviously idolised him, she would probably take care of his daughter, maybe even pretending it was her own.

She wasn’t going to think about it. It made her feel sick.

She watched Colm come through, stop in front of Ash and hold out his hand. They shook, saying nothing for a moment, stoic as many men are in times of emergency.

Then Ash said, “Thanks for coming.”

“I’ll do my best,” Colm said.

Ash nodded, and then Colm turned and his eyes searched the lobby. His gaze fell on Freya and Nate standing talking quietly to one side, and he flashed them a quick, sad smile, before his gaze moved on to Mia.

She hesitated, wondering if he’d be cool or detached—she knew she’d upset him by implying she only wanted him there to help with the baby. She’d been frightened of telling him she needed him in case he turned her down again.

But he walked forward to her, put his arms around her and hugged her tightly.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, although she wasn’t sure if he meant for their argument or because of the baby.

She nodded, trying not to cry. There would be time to talk about themselves later. For now, she had to concentrate on Ash and Grace.

He stepped back and squared his shoulders. “Okay. I’m ready.” He glanced at the police officers who were watching him curiously. He was obviously aware Ash had told them of his ability. “What will happen if I get anything through? Will they believe me?”

“Ash is friends with someone up high on the force,” she said. “And it’s a baby, Colm. They’re willing to try anything.”

He nodded. He looked nervous. “Okay. There’s a blanket?”

She led him across the lobby and into a large room with chairs and a TV, presumably somewhere the new mothers could hang out in between feeds and baths. It was empty now, coming up for eighty thirty, the only light from a lamp in the corner.

He turned as Ash came in, carrying the blanket.

“Here,” said the Viking look-alike, handing it to him. Ash swallowed. “Good luck. I’ll leave you to it.” He went out and let the door close behind him.

“Do you want me to go?” Mia asked. “I don’t mind.”

“No.” Colm smiled then. “Stay.”

She nodded. He sat on the sofa, and she sat opposite him in an armchair.

He glanced around the room, the blanket limp in his hands. She could see the dried blood where the baby—fresh out of the womb—had been wrapped in it. How had Ash managed to pry it out of Grace’s fingers? She’d refused to let go of it since the baby had been taken.

It was quiet, although in the lobby voices murmured, and farther away a baby cried, another newborn, born only an hour after Grace’s baby went missing. Mia closed her eyes for a moment, hoping Grace couldn’t hear it.

When she opened her eyes again, Colm was watching her. His knee rose and fell rapidly as he tapped his shoe on the floor, and his hands were together in a tight knot around the blanket. He gave her a small smile. Then he closed his eyes.

She sat quietly, afraid to move and distract him, even though her back now throbbed dully, pain radiating across her shoulders. She’d not got around to taking her painkillers.

Please let him get something
, she prayed silently, not knowing who she was praying to, but hoping there was somebody up there to listen and take pity on them all.

How long would it take? In the archive facility, he’d held the painting for maybe two minutes before receiving the image of his mother. Although when he’d taken it home for the evening, he’d tried for over an hour without getting anything.

Please don’t let it take an hour,
she begged. She thought she might explode.

Minutes went by. Colm’s posture gradually changed. He sat forward. His face creased with exertion. She could almost feel the waves of irritation and panic radiating from him.

Eventually he stood with a curse and walked over to the window, massaging his brow. “Fuck it! I can’t get anything.”

She stood and followed him, heart pounding. “It’s okay, honey. Take it slowly.”

“How can I take it slowly? The baby’s parents are out there, waiting for me to magic something up for them.” Real fear crossed his face. “What if my brain just makes it up? I’m so afraid it’s all in my head.”

He wasn’t going to be able to get anything at this rate. It was up to her to help him.

She remembered Grace’s words.
He probably knew he’d fall for you quickly, but it didn’t stop him dating you because he’s crazy about you, Mia
. Grace had insisted that Colm wanted her, but was just trying to save himself some heartache by breaking it off. Clearly, it hadn’t worked. Whether they wanted it or not, the two of them were entwined, their spirits entangled so much it was going to be difficult—if not impossible—for them to tear themselves apart.

It was time to be honest with each other. Time to own up to the truth.

She picked up his hands and took a deep breath. “I love you.”

He looked astonished. “What?”

She smiled. “I love you, Colm. It’s inconvenient and I don’t know how we’re going to sort things out, but what I do know is that even though we haven’t been together long, I’m crazy about you and I don’t want to be apart from you.”

He looked stunned. “Do you mean that?”

“Yes. I love you and I want to share my life with you. I want everything, marriage, kids, forever, if that’s what you want too. It’s not that I never wanted those things—I hadn’t met anyone I could envisage settling down with. But the thought of staying with you, of waking up next to you every morning, of having your children, of just being with you…it fills me with joy.”

She kissed his fingers. “And as for your gift—I admit I don’t understand it. It puzzles me. But I felt the same way about Nate and Ash when I first met them. Now, I trust them a hundred percent, and Colm? I trust you a hundred percent too. We know there’s more in this world than meets the eye, and I have no doubt that you have this special talent for seeing things beyond the norm. I believe in you. You just have to believe in yourself now.”

She stopped. Had she said too much? Maybe she’d scared him.

He stared at her as if she’d told him she wanted to dance in the town centre naked. He blinked.

Then he smiled.

Her heart hammered as he moved closer until their bodies were touching.

“I love you, too,” he whispered. And then he lowered his lips.

He kissed her slowly, sweetly, and she could have cried except that she’d already cried enough that evening for a lifetime and it seemed a terrible thing to cry now when she was so happy and Grace and Ash were so upset.

He lifted his head and put his arms around her. “I thought I’d lost you,” he whispered.

“Never,” she whispered back, wanting him so badly it hurt.

He hugged her for about ten seconds, and then he pulled back to look down on her. A look of determination crossed his face. “More of this later,” he said. “We have a baby to find.”

This time when he sat down, he looked different, calmer, almost relaxed, and she realised by the rise and fall of his chest he was slowing his breathing, trying to centre himself. He met her gaze and for a brief moment they exchanged an intimate look that filled her with warmth. He smiled. Then he closed his eyes.

This time barely a minute went by before he opened them again.

“Got her,” he said.

Chapter Thirty

Mia stood, heart pounding as he rushed outside, almost knocking into Ash who’d obviously been waiting right by the door.