Chương 6
This one was worse.
She grabbed my forearm without seeming to decide to.
I held still.
Her nails dug into my skin.
“Breathe,” Evan said.
She glared at him.
“I am breathing.”
“Fair enough.”
His partner almost smiled.
Grace didn’t.
When the contraction passed, she sagged against the wall.
Evan checked his watch.
“Three minutes.”
“That’s too close, right?” I asked.
“It means we should move.”
The stretcher came inside.
Grace looked at it like it had offended her.
“I can walk.”
“You probably can.”
Evan’s tone stayed calm.
“I’d still like you sitting.”
“I don’t want straps.”
“No straps unless needed for safety.”
Grace hesitated, then sat.
My mother moved toward her.
Grace flinched.
It was small, almost invisible, but I saw it.
So did Evan.
He stepped into my mother’s path.
“Give us room.”
“She is my daughter-in-law.”
“She’s my patient.”
My mother stopped.
I had spent my entire life watching people move aside when Evelyn Hale entered a room.
Seeing a paramedic in a rain-spotted jacket tell her no felt almost unreal.
Grace looked at me.
“Come with me.”
The words were quiet.
I nodded once.
My mother said, “Daniel.”
I did not turn around.
Grace’s fingers closed around the edge of the stretcher.
“Don’t answer her.”
I didn’t.
The ambulance doors closed on my mother’s face.
Inside, everything became bright and cramped.
Evan attached monitors while his partner drove.
Grace kept watching the rear windows as if she expected my mother to appear behind us.
“Can she follow?”
“Yes,” I said.
Grace’s breathing quickened.
Evan looked up.
“Who is she?”
“My mother.”
He glanced at me.
“I got that part.”
“She arranged for Grace to be confined at our house.”
Evan’s hands paused.
“Against her will?”
“Yes.”
Grace said, “I want that documented.”
Evan nodded.
“It will be.”
“I want the hospital told she isn’t allowed near me.”
“I can pass that on.”
“And Dr. Mercer.”
“Who’s that?”
“My obstetrician.”
Evan frowned.
“You don’t want your OB contacted?”
“No.”
“He participated.”
Evan looked at me again.
I could see a calculation happening behind his eyes.
Not judgment.
Procedure.
“This could become a law enforcement issue.”
“It already is,” I said.
Grace turned toward me.
“You called?”
“Henry is calling.”
Her face hardened.
“You trusted Henry?”
“No.”
“Then why?”
“Because I didn’t want to leave you.”
Grace stared at me for a moment.
Then another contraction took her.
This time she cried out.
I moved instinctively.
She grabbed my hand.
“Don’t talk.”
“I wasn’t.”
“You were about to.”
I shut my mouth.
She squeezed until my knuckles hurt.
When it ended, she opened her eyes.
“You still do that thing.”
“What thing?”
“Try to fix everything with words.”
I almost told her I was sorry.
Instead, I said nothing.
Her mouth twitched.
Not quite a smile.
The monitor beeped steadily.
Evan watched the fetal tracing on the portable screen.
“Baby looks good right now.”
Grace’s eyes filled immediately.
She turned her face toward the wall.
I pretended not to notice.
For several minutes, the only sounds were tires against wet pavement and medical equipment clicking softly.
Then Grace said, “Where’s my ring?”
The question hit me unexpectedly.
“In my car.”
Her eyes closed.
“I thought you left it in the crib.”
“I found it there.”
“She took it off me while I was asleep.”
I felt something inside my chest pull tight.
“When?”
“The first night.”
Grace looked at the ceiling.
“She said married women don’t need rings when their husbands no longer consider themselves married.”
Evan’s expression changed, but he said nothing.
“I woke up and it was gone.”
Grace swallowed.
“I thought maybe she mailed it to you.”
“She planted it in the crib.”
Grace gave a short laugh.
“Of course she did.”
“I kept it.”
“I assumed.”
“I squeezed it so hard it cut me.”
She looked at my palm.
The mark was still there.
A shallow red crescent.
For some reason, that small cut seemed to matter to her more than anything else I had said.
She reached toward it, then stopped before touching me.
The ambulance slowed.
Evan looked forward.
“Traffic.”
His partner’s voice came from the cab.
“Crash on 41.”
Grace’s face changed immediately.
“How long?”
“Maybe ten minutes added.”
“No.”
Evan checked the monitor.
“We’re okay.”
“No, we’re not.”
“Grace.”
“I can feel pressure.”
Evan leaned closer.
“What kind?”
“Low.”
“When did that start?”
“Just now.”
Another contraction came before she finished.
Evan watched her carefully.
When it ended, he adjusted the stretcher.
“I need to check for crowning.”
Grace’s hand shot out and grabbed my sleeve.
“Stay.”
“I’m here.”
Evan worked quickly and professionally.
His expression stayed neutral.
Then he looked at his partner through the opening.
“Tell them we may not make downtown.”
Grace heard him.
“No.”
“Grace, the baby may have other plans.”
“I said Northwestern.”
“I know.”
Her voice broke.
“I chose.”
Evan softened.
“You did.”
She stared at him.
“And I’m not taking that away from you.”
He glanced at the monitor.
“But if delivery becomes imminent, we go to the nearest appropriate facility.”
Grace’s jaw tightened.
“Not St. Augustine.”
“We can avoid St. Augustine.”
She exhaled.
“Promise?”
“I can promise I’ll advocate for that.”
It was an honest answer.
She seemed to recognize the difference.
The ambulance moved again.
My phone vibrated in my pocket.
Grace looked at it.
“Who?”
I checked.
Henry.
“Answer.”
I did.
“Where are you?”
His voice was breathless.
“At the estate.”
“What happened?”
“Police are here.”
Grace watched my face.
“State or county?”
“Both.”
That surprised me.
Henry continued.
“Victor called state police before leaving the lake house.”
Victor had done more than I knew.
“What about my mother?”
“She left before they arrived.”
My stomach dropped.
Grace whispered, “She followed us.”
I looked through the rear windows.
Headlights moved behind us in traffic, indistinct in the rain.
“I don’t know.”
Henry said, “Daniel, listen carefully.”
I put the call on speaker.
“The room has been cleaned.”
May you like
“What?”
“Someone got into the west wing after you left.”
