New Year Escapes. Leslie Kelly

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СКАЧАТЬ to look at her. “Me and Sam? Not a damn thing.”

      “Then what are you suggesting?”

      “Nothing. I’m not suggesting anything.”

      But clearly he was. And just as clearly he wasn’t going to talk about it. Sophy shook her head. “Fine. Be that way.”

      Then, because she wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of knowing he’d rattled her, she said, “And for what it’s worth, here’s your good-night kiss.”

      Crossing the room quickly, before she could have second thoughts, she bent down, dropped a nanosecond-long kiss on George’s lips, then stepped back, smiling and, she dared to hope, unscathed.

      “Good night, George,” she said firmly, turned and flicked out the light.

      “Not much of a kiss,” he said.

      She kept on going, refusing to be baited further as she tried not to notice that her lips were tingling ever so slightly.

      “Sweet dreams, Sophy.” His voice drifted after her as she headed down the hall to the stairs,

      Shut up, George, she thought silently, scrubbing her fingers against her mouth, assuring herself that whatever she was feeling had nothing to do with kissing him.

      It was just because … because …

      Well, she didn’t know. She couldn’t think what else might have caused it, and fortunately she didn’t have to because just then her mobile phone rang.

      It was a local number, but one she didn’t recognize. “Hello?”

      “Sophy? It’s Tallie. I couldn’t reach George on his cell phone. So I called the hospital and they said his wife had taken him home.” His sister sounded surprised to say the least.

      “It wasn’t my idea,” Sophy protested. Then she explained what the doctor had told them. “He wouldn’t let George go unless someone came with him. So George hired me.”

      “Hired you?”

      “Well, that’s what he called it,” Sophy said. “Don’t worry, I’m not letting him pay me. I owe him, so I’m returning the favor and paying him back.”

      “I’m sure George doesn’t think of it that way.”

      Sophy was hard-pressed to articulate what George thought. All he did was confuse her—and try to run her life.

      “At least you’re staying! That’s wonderful. We’ll have you over. Of course Lily will be coming. When?”

      It was a given that she would be staying long enough for her daughter to come as well, Sophy noted.

      “On Saturday,” she said. “My cousin is bringing her.”

      “Great. We’ll have you over. Elias can grill. Or if George can’t do that much yet, we’ll bring food and come by your place.”

      “His place,” Sophy corrected. “He’s still pretty battered,” she felt compelled to say. “He needs calm and quiet right now.”

      “We’ll wait until you say you’re ready then,” Tallie decided. “This is such good news,” she went on eagerly. “Wait till the folks hear.”

      “No!” Sophy said quickly and more forcefully than she should have. “I mean, they’re a long way away. You don’t want to tell them about George’s accident. They’ll worry. And I don’t want you telling them I’m here, either,” she said firmly.

      There was a pause, as if Tallie’s thoughts had finally caught up with the eager wheels turning in her brain. “Yes,” she agreed, suitably subdued. “You’re probably right. Better not say anything until it’s settled.”

      “Tallie!” Sophy protested. “This is not a reconciliation. I’m here for the short-term. I live in California. George lives here. We’re getting divorced.”

      “You could change your mind.” Tallie wasn’t going to give up.

      “Good night, Tallie,” Sophy said firmly. “I’m going to bed. It’s been a long day.”

      She took a quick shower, then put on the elongated T-shirt she’d brought to sleep in, brushed her teeth, washed her face and had just turned back the duvet on the bed when her phone rang again.

      Again it was a local number, but not the same one. Surely Tallie wouldn’t be calling her back to continue the conversation on another phone. No. Tallie was determined, but she would know when to back off.

      George?

      Sophy felt her heart quicken. But she hadn’t given him her number. She probably should have, she realized, so he could call her if he needed her.

      She punched the talk button. “This is Sophy.”

      “Hey, it’s Sam.” She could actually hear him smiling.

      And while she liked him and had felt comfortable with him, she felt herself stiffen. Was he, as George had suspected, calling her up to hit on her?

      “Hi,” she said cautiously.

      “Checking on my patient,” Sam said. “Figured I’d get a straighter answer from you than from him.”

      Sophy breathed again, feeling foolish. “He’s alive. Grumpy. Annoying. I took the dog for a walk at one point and while I was gone he went downstairs to his office to work.”

      “You’re going to have to keep an eye on him.”

      “I will,” Sophy said, feeling guilty.

      “Tonight. All night.”

      “What do you mean, all night?”

      “If he were at the hospital, he’d be on monitors. And he’d have someone awake and checking on him regularly. You don’t need to be awake, but you do need to wake up and check on him regularly. And you need to be right there.”

      “There?” Sophy said warily.

      “Wherever he is.”

      “In bed.”

      “Perfect. Wake him every couple of hours. Make him talk to you. Be sure he makes sense. Call me if there are any problems. Do what you have to do.”

      And just like that, Sam was gone.

      Sophy stood there and stared at the phone in her hand, feeling a strange compelling urge to throw it across the room. Then she felt another urge to pretend she hadn’t got the call at all, to just crawl into bed and forget it. She could set her travel alarm and go up and check on George every couple of hours like Sam said.

      Yes, and what if he needed her?

      He wouldn’t call her. Not if he needed her. He was too bloody-minded to admit he needed help. But what if he really did?

      “Oh, СКАЧАТЬ