Laura looked at him. “What’s wrong with her?”

“I don’t know. I’ll get a nurse.” He looked at her and tapped the bed. “Don’t move.”

“I have to pee.”

“I said I’ll get a nurse.” He turned to Laura. “Don’t let her out of bed.”

Laura nodded, and when he left the room she glared at her. “You could have hurt yourself.”

“Sorry, I had no idea I couldn’t stand.”

“You probably got up too fast.” Laura reached out and took her mother’s hand, which almost sent Kate right into the emotional abyss. She was feeling better, but the hormones had her hanging onto her control by a thread.

“You scared the crap out of me yesterday,” Laura told her.

“That makes two of us.”

Everything she’d come to expect from Laura had been turned upside down over the last twenty-four hours. Her girl had done things Kate never would have imagined, and the relationship wasn’t lost after all. After several minutes had passed and David still hadn’t returned, Kate realized Laura was thinking and trying to get her thoughts into words. Her face and body were tense, and Kate was curious about the sudden change in her behavior.

Finally, Laura blurted it out. “I don’t want to move to Dad’s full time.”

Kate took in what she had said and tried to be objective, because as the words swam around in her brain, they made no sense. The day before, she was moving herself out, now she didn’t want to leave. “Okay. Why?”

“Do you want me to move?”

“Not at all, but this is quite a change from yesterday.”

“It was his idea. I don’t want to live with them full time.”

Kate examined Laura’s face. Something was wrong, and it was deeper than Kate expected.

“What’s going on?” This time Kate reached out and took Laura’s hand when she saw her face tense. “Tell me.”

“Marie is weird. I mean all she and Dad do is have sex.”

Kate closed her eyes tight and pursed her lips. “Say again?”

“It’s scheduled. Marie has a calendar on the refrigerator. Every other day… sex… sex… sex… she’s trying to get pregnant.”

“I heard her. Not happening.” Kate wondered what the hell was going on in that house. “What about Dad?”

Laura hesitated and found herself having a hard time. “Dad’s either sucking up to the new dean or he’s following me around. He’s too attached to me. It’s like, I don’t know, he doesn’t want me to have a life. The past year, since the divorce, it’s gotten really bad.”

Kate knew all about the controlling, manipulative man she’d married. But now his devotion to Laura was taking a perverse turn. “What’s he doing?”

“He won’t let me date. He doesn’t want me to drive. He won’t let me see my friends. He went through my closet and threw out the clothes he said were inappropriate. He threatens to restrict my cell phone. He won’t let me look at colleges. That college book you gave me? He took it and threw it into the fireplace.”

“What?” Now Kate was mad as well as concerned. “This can’t happen.”

“He’s scary sometimes.” Laura bowed her head and twisted her fingers. “When I was younger it was fine, but now? I go along with everything because I don’t know what he’ll do if I don’t.”

Kate was thinking the same thing. This could go south very fast. “He’s going to be angry because he’ll see your help as siding with me.”

“I was afraid of that.”

“You aren’t going skiing.” Kate turned when she heard the door open. “You need to steer clear of him for a while.”

Laura nodded and the tension in her face lessened. Kate may not have had fight in her before, but if Richard tried to do to Laura what he’d done to her, he would learn about mothers who protected their children.

In the meantime, she had to calm down. If she became a crazy lunatic, that wouldn’t help anyone.

She patted Laura’s arm. “Don’t worry.”

Laura nodded again and seemed to relax.

David walked in with a nurse who was carrying a bed pan, which made Laura laugh and Kate cringe. He looked at her and shrugged, all the while suppressing the laugh that she could see was building.

Kate shook her head. “I am so not using that thing.”

The nurse grinned, half expecting the reaction. What she did instead was help Kate up and make sure she didn’t stumble again. It seemed like the walk to the bathroom took forever, but after a few steps, Kate felt more stable.

When she got back into bed after a successful trip, only one thing was on her mind. “Can I go home now?”

The nurse, who had just come on her shift, nodded. “Let me check your chart and call your doctor. She’ll make the final decision, but probably.”

Kate leaned back in the bed. Going home would allow her to recover on her own, and then David could get on with his life. All along, Kate said she didn’t want to trap him into being with her, but she couldn’t deny she loved having him around. It was silly how she felt, she was too old to fall for someone so fast and so hard. There were times she questioned if her feelings for him were the real thing.

When his hand dropped on her shoulder, she knew in an instant that her feelings were as real as they come. Time would tell about him.

Chapter 20

‡

It was snowing.

And not just snowing, it was almost a blizzard, and all Kate wanted to do was get home. Thankfully, Julie had been able to get to the hospital before the driving got dangerous so Kate had something to wear home. Now, with Laura riding shotgun in the Range Rover and Kate wrapped in a blanket in the back seat, they made their way to her house. She assumed David would be comfortable driving in the snow, but even he was taking it slow.

She was so tired. The entire night had been a jumble of feelings, but the overwhelming sense of loss was what was controlling Kate at that moment, with her mind focused on her baby and on David. Her breath hitched, she sniffled, and Laura turned around.

“We’re almost home, Mom.” Laura reached out touched her hand.

“I know.” She closed her eyes and reined in her feelings. The doctor told her the hormones would be all over the place, but Kate hated how out of control she felt. All she had to do was hold it together until David dropped them off, and then she could fall apart.

They finally pulled in her driveway, and before she could even unbuckle her seatbelt, David was opening her door and helping her out. He was as much of a mess as she was, and it broke Kate’s heart. He kept his hand on the small of her back and guided her into the house. Laura took the blanket she’d been wrapped in, and David stayed with her as she walked into the kitchen.

Kate turned to him and took his hand. “I’m okay.”

“Promise me you’ll take it easy.” His eyes were dark and sad.

“I promise.” Her other hand came up and touched his face. “But you have to go if you have any hope of making your game.”

“I feel like I shouldn’t leave you.”

“David, Laura’s here. Go. I’ll see when you get back.” She said it, but didn’t think it would happen. Kate figured this would be the last time he would be this close.

“Okay. I’ll call.” He turned to Laura. “Make sure she doesn’t do too much for a couple of days.”

“I’ll try.” Laura looked at her and knew immediately that Kate was barely holding on.

“You have all the numbers?” he asked again.

Laura nodded. “The doctor, the pharmacy, your cell, your sister, Julie, my aunt… everyone.”

Satisfied, David pulled Kate close, wrapping her in his arms. She slipped her arms around his waist and lost herself in the feel of him. This was goodbye. It was possibly the last time he would hold her like this, the last time she would look into his face and see him smile just for her.

“Have a safe trip, and Merry Christmas.”

He hugged her again. “Merry Christmas. I’ll call you later on.”

He glanced at her as he walked away and again before he left through the kitchen door.