by Lisa Jackson
With shaking, unsteady hands she dialed the phone and made reservations for the week. Then, as calmly as possible, she wrote down the phone number and address of the hotel and placed it in an envelope before sitting down near the window and waiting. It wasn’t long, maybe only ten minutes, but it felt like an eternity to Erin before she saw Kane walk out toward his car. Fortunately Krista was with him. Erin managed a smile through her tears as she saw that Krista was able to walk to the car with her father’s assistance. Although she leaned heavily on Kane, the girl stumbled only once and he was able to catch her. The playful little kitten followed along. There appeared to be a slight argument of some sort, and Erin guessed that it had to do with the cat. Kane was shaking his head, but in the end, the black ball of fur was allowed to tag along for the ride.
After Kane’s car was out of sight, Erin hurried out of her apartment and sprinted down the stairs to knock on Mrs. Cavenaugh’s door. Erin tapped lightly against the wood, and the door was opened in an instant. The little old woman was up and dressed, as if she were expecting company.
“Good morning,” the gray-haired lady said cheerily, her wise blue eyes flicking from Erin’s distressed face to the suitcase in her hands. “Good morning, Mrs. Cavenaugh,” Erin replied. “I…I’ve got to leave town for a while….”
Mrs. Cavenaugh’s gray eyebrows shot upward and her mouth pursed into an expression of distaste. Erin continued. “Urgent business…I’ll be gone for a week, maybe longer. In this envelope is the telephone number and address of the hotel where I can be reached in case of an emergency….”
“Erin,” Mrs. Cavenaugh’s calm voice broke into her chatter. “You know that I hate to pry, but what’s the matter? Did something happen between you and Kane?” Kind, concerned blue eyes probed Erin’s rigid face.
“What…what do you mean?”
“I mean ‘leaving town because of urgent business’ is a trifle overused.” A wry smile twisted the wrinkled face. “Honestly I would have expected something with a little more imagination.”
“Well, it’s the truth,” Erin maintained.
“And you’re a terrible liar.”
“Mrs. Cavenaugh, I’m not lying, honestly. Something has come up, something I can’t deal with. I need a little time and distance in order to sort things out.”
Mrs. Cavenaugh’s knowing smile broadened. “Well, at least you’re opening up a little. I understand that you might need a little space, isn’t that what they say these days? I can’t argue with that, but….”
“What?”
“Well, don’t let your pride come between you and something you really want.”
Erin sucked in her breath. “You mean Kane, don’t you?” she sighed dismally and broke eye contact with her elderly tenant.
“He’s a man who loves you dearly. And his daughter!” The old lady threw up her hands and shook her head at the incredulity of the situation.
“Krista? What about Krista?” Erin asked, her voice full of concern.
“Oh, nothing other than the fact that she worships the ground you walk on.”
“Be serious!”
“I am—I’ve never seen the likes of it! Oh, at first, I’ll grant you she was determined to hate you. But can you blame the child—losing a mother the way she did? All she had left was her father, and she didn’t want to share him. But now—” Mrs. Cavenaugh moved her head thoughtfully “—that poor girl can talk of nothing but you—except for the kitten of course.”
The lump in Erin’s throat began to swell, and some of her firm resolve began to be chipped at. Mrs. Cavenaugh was working on her; Erin knew it, but she couldn’t help but hope that there was just a sliver of truth in the sweet old woman’s words.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Cavenaugh,” Erin managed, looking hastily at her watch, “but I’ve really got to run. Now, promise me that under no circumstances will you tell Kane where I am!”
“I don’t know if I can do that,” the older woman replied honestly.
“You have to! I need time to myself.”
“Well, if you’re so dead set against it, I’ll give you my word,” Mrs. Cavenaugh unwillingly agreed.
“Thanks,” Erin sighed, kissing her friend lightly on the cheek. “I’ll see you soon.”
“Dear,” Mrs. Cavenaugh said, placing a bony hand on Erin’s sleeve. “Do be careful.”
“I will,” Erin promised, and turned to leave the apartment building. She could feel Mrs. Cavenaugh’s kind eyes boring into her back as she walked to her car, but she didn’t have the heart to turn and wave. It took all her strength to hoist her suitcase into the car, start the engine and race down the hill toward the city and the waterfront.
* * *
Once back in Deer Harbor on Orcas Island in the San Juans, Erin realized what a disastrous mistake she had made in returning to the island where she had had such a carefree and loving existence with Kane only a few weeks earlier. Although she was far removed from the rustic cabin that they had shared together, memories of the small town still burned in her brain, and it seemed that she couldn’t walk anywhere without coming face-to-face with memories of Kane. The pain in her heart didn’t disappear.
The seasons had changed in the past weeks, and each day was as gray and cold as the Pacific Ocean. Wind and rain deluged the coastal town, and although Erin tried several kinds of outdoor amusements, she found that most of her days were spent inside her tiny hotel room staring vacantly at the television or brooding about the turn of events in her life. Knowing that her attitude was as discouraging as the somber, gray rain-washed days, she attempted to pull herself out of her depression, but found it impossible. Nothing seemed to work. And thoughts of Krista and the fact that she hadn’t even bothered to say goodbye to the lonely girl only made Erin more miserable and guilt-ridden. While the island had once been a haven, now it seemed like a prison, but Erin elected to continue her confinement until she could no longer afford it. How could she possibly go home to an empty house and no job?
It had been over a week, and the depression still clung to her like a heavy shroud when she picked up the Seattle newspaper to look through the classified advertisements in search of employment. As usual, the openings for legal assistants were few, and Erin faced the fact that it would be more difficult than she had first imagined to find a decent position. Disinterestedly she perused the rest of the paper and stopped at the financial section. A photograph of the bank building with a caption concerning the embezzlement caught her eye. With more interest than she had felt for days, she began to read the article. As the meaning of each sentence in the column became clear to her, Erin began to feel her stomach churn with emotions of rage and disgust. According to the article, Mitchell Cameron had in fact worked with an accomplice—a woman with whom he had shared responsibility for years—Miss
Olivia Parsons. The article explained the scam more fully and the fact that the scheme was so elaborate that it had taken the auditing staff and the president of the bank a lengthy amount of time to prove the guilt of the parties involved.
Erin felt a growing nausea as she read the article, and when she had finished, she tossed the newspaper into the wastebasket near her bed. Never would she have suspected Olivia of doing anything illegal. Just like Mitch, Olivia seemed far too professional to stoop to thievery. The delight that Erin should have experienced as she realized that she was no longer under suspicion of the crime seemed to have soured as she thought of Mitch and Olivia, two respected members of the banking industry who had tossed away their careers and possibly their lives for greed. Erin wondered what could have caused their joint journey into crime.
Two days later Erin began preparing for her trip home to Seattle. She had been gone far too long already, and her money was running out. She realized that she couldn’t run away from Kane and her love for him, and there was really no reason to linger on the island.
Just as Erin began to pack her things, the telephone jarred the stillness of the hotel room. For several seconds Erin jus
t stared at the telephone, wondering who would be calling her. Kane? Unlikely. A wrong number? Perhaps. Her heart began to thud wildly in her chest as she reached for the receiver.
“Hello?” she inquired, and felt a welling sense of dread when she recognized Mrs. Cavenaugh’s unsteady voice.
“Erin—Erin, is that you?” the old lady demanded.
“Yes, it’s I….what happened?” Erin asked, convinced that Mrs. Cavenaugh wouldn’t call unless there was an emergency of some sort. Nervously she bit at her thumbnail.
“Oh—I know that he told me not to call, but I knew that you would want to know. It’s just awful—I really don’t know what to do. Dear Lord in heaven!” The little old lady continued to ramble in endless circles of words and phrases that meant nothing to Erin. Apprehensively Erin interrupted.
“Mrs. Cavenaugh! What’s wrong? Try and pull yourself together and just tell me what’s the matter.” The hairs on the back of Erin’s neck began to stand on end.
“It’s Krista,” Mrs. Cavenaugh moaned in a voice so low that Erin thought perhaps she had misunderstood.
“Krista?” Erin echoed. “Oh, God, what’s happened to her?” Erin’s heart leaped to her throat and her pulse began to race. Tiny droplets of perspiration moistened her skin, and she felt her knees give way as she sank against the bed.
“Oh, Erin, it’s so awful. Ever since you’ve been gone, Kane, well he hasn’t been himself—in a terribly foul mood.” Erin swallowed hard and tried to press back the feelings of guilt that assailed her. “And Krista, well, she didn’t fare any better. She…withdrew. You know. You remember what she was like when she first arrived in Seattle….” Erin gasped, and the little lady reassured her. “It wasn’t nearly that bad, you understand, but still she just wasn’t her cheery self. I’m afraid that she’s missed you terribly.”
Erin closed her eyes and leaned her head against the headboard of the bed for support. “She didn’t stop walking, did she?” Erin held her breath.
“Thank goodness—no.” Erin let the air escape from her lungs in a rush. “However, she was distracted, wouldn’t eat, was thoroughly depressed.” Erin felt as if a knife were being slowly twisted in her stomach. How could she have been so heartless as to have left Krista without explaining anything? Mrs. Cavenaugh continued. “And then, late this morning…well, Krista was chasing that little kitten of hers, and it scrambled up the stairs. She tried to follow it but fell. She hit her head on the bottom step.”
“Oh, no,” Erin gasped, the color draining from her face. “Is—is she seriously injured?”
“Well, that’s just it. No one seems to know for sure. She’s still in the hospital for observation, been there all day as far as I know. I think she regained consciousness, but I’m not really certain.” The elderly woman’s voice had begun to quake, and Erin felt herself shiver.
“Mrs. Cavenaugh, where is Krista?”
“Virginia Mason Hospital on First Hill, but you shouldn’t go there. Kane’s there and he specifically instructed me not to tell you.”
Erin stifled the sob that threatened to belie her calm words. “Don’t worry about Kane. I can handle him—I’m leaving as soon as possible. I’ll see you when I get home.”
“Good.”
“Oh, and Mrs. Cavenaugh?”
“Yes?”
“Thanks for calling.”
“I knew that you’d want to know,” came the somber reply.
Erin stripped her things out of the closet and dresser. As hastily as possible she threw them into her case, paid the hotel bill and rented a small boat back to the mainland. It wasn’t easy to find someone who was willing to take her out in the stormy weather, but fortunately she found a young sailor with a sense of adventure who loved to make a quick buck.
The rain washed down in torrents and the small craft rocked and lurched against the rough whitecapped waters of the sound. Several times the boat rocked so crazily that Erin was sure that they would capsize, but the steady hand of the dark-complexioned young man kept the tiny craft miraculously on course. The wind tore at Erin’s face, pelting it with cold rain, and whipping her long black hair away from her neck. But she continued to watch the shoreline and prayed that Mrs. Cavenaugh had exaggerated Krista’s condition.
“Hey, lady,” her companion called to her over the roar of the boat’s engine and the howl of the wind. “Would you like something to drink? I’ve got a thermos of coffee, or…something stronger, if you like rye whisky.”
Erin shook her head. The thought of something in her already-knotted stomach made her want to gag. “No…thank you. I’m fine.”
“You sure?” he asked, not convinced. The young woman was pale and scared, and deep lines of concern creased her otherwise beautiful face.
“Yes, really,” Erin asserted, and managed a wan smile. The young man lifted his shoulders and turned his attention back to the sea. The remainder of the trip was made in silence. It seemed an eternity before Erin was on solid ground once again.
Virginia Mason Hospital stood out starkly white against a threatening charcoal-gray sky. Inside, the corridors were hushed, and the white walls were only made more severe by the garish splotches of color in the modern-art prints that hung on the walls. The bustling, white-uniformed staff, the mechanical groans of the elevators, and the overall oppressive silence gave Erin a strange sense of impending doom.
Room 538 was easy enough to find, and Erin braced herself to enter the white cubicle just as a portly nurse in a neatly starched uniform approached her.
“Looking for someone?” the nurse asked in a professional voice. There was a calm smile on the broad face that spoke of authority and efficiency. “Can I help you?”
“I hope so. I’m a close friend of Krista Webster. I just found out about the accident today, and I hurried over here as quickly as I could.” The disapproving brown eyes of the nurse studied Erin, and for the first time she realized what she must look like in her rain-drenched clothing and wet hair.
“You’re not a member of the family?”
“No…not exactly.” Erin shook her head.
The nurse placed a friendly hand on Erin’s arm. “I’m sorry, but only family members are allowed to visit Miss Webster. Perhaps you would like to wait in the lobby? There’s a coffee machine and some magazines….”
Erin refused to be brushed off. “Can you at least tell me how she is? Will she be all right? I…I have to know!”
“I understand,” the nurse replied, and Erin felt that those wide, brown eyes and large, kindly face wouldn’t lie. “Krista had a very bad fall and suffered a concussion, but Dr. Sampson is caring for her and the prognosis is very hopeful.”
“But…what does that mean, exactly? Will she recover? Will she be able to walk again?”
The nurse was steering Erin toward the waiting room. “Don’t worry. Dr. Sampson is a very capable doctor, and he has the entire staff of the hospital to support him.” With that, the nurse excused herself to answer another patient’s call, and Erin found herself alone in the clinically clean waiting room with its ancient magazines and battered plastic furniture. She waited impatiently, staring out the window at the gloomy city, and ignored the stacks of outdated magazines that cluttered the table, while she sipped bitter coffee from a machine that looked as old as the hospital.
The sound of a familiar voice startled her, and she pulled her gaze from the dismal gray sky and the gathering dusk into the direction of the deep-timbred sound that made her heart leap. For several seconds she found it impossible to move or to speak as she studied Kane, his face lined with concern. He was speaking in low tones to a short, balding man with heavy glasses. The identification tag indicated that he was Dr. Sampson. The conversation was short and one-sided, with Dr. Sampson explaining Krista’s condition in medical terms. Although the doctor seemed optimistic, Kane’s entire bearing was a slouch of resignation and grim defeat. Erin felt her eyes burn with tears as she saw the pain and confusion in Kane’s normally clear gaze. He loves K
rista so much, Erin thought, and he is hurting so badly. She felt the urge to run to him, to comfort him, to love him, but she restrained herself.
Dr. Sampson excused himself, and Kane stood transfixed in the waiting area. He hadn’t noticed Erin yet; he was too preoccupied with his own black thoughts. Suddenly she felt very out of place, an intruder. How would he feel when he finally saw her? How could she explain how she felt about him and his daughter, the love that was smothering her in its encompassing grasp? He had instructed Mrs. Cavenaugh not to call Erin. Perhaps he truly didn’t want to see her. What would he do?
Her conjecture was cut short as Kane whirled to face her. It was as if he had sensed her presence and her uncertainty. His expression was cold, guarded, and Erin felt her heart stop as her eyes clashed with his brittle gray gaze.
“Erin?” His dark brows drew together. “How did you know?”
“Mrs. Cavenaugh told me.”
“That woman can’t keep a secret to save her soul!” He bit out the words and Erin wondered once again if she had made a grave mistake by intruding into his private grief. She took a step toward him and stopped. There was so much to say, so great a misunderstanding to bridge, and she wondered if it was at all possible.
“I’m sorry about Krista,” she whispered, and the pain in her eyes was undeniable.
She saw him hesitate for a moment. He closed his eyes and seemed to give into the pressure that was battering against him. When he opened his eyes, they were clear once again, and in swift strides, he was by her side.
“I’m glad you came,” he admitted, his voice rough from the strain of the day.
“Didn’t you know that I would?”
“Erin, I don’t know anything, not anymore!” His confession was a sigh of disgust.
“How—how is Krista?”
Lowering himself onto the edge of the plastic orange couch, he rubbed the tension from the back of his neck and ground his jaws together. When he spoke, it was in a monotone. “Dr. Sampson seems to think that she’ll be fine, even taking into consideration her previous problem. She’s got a concussion, but supposedly it’s not serious, or at least not too serious. She was unconscious for a while, but she came to. Now she’s resting. They gave her something—a sedative. The doctor thinks she’ll wake up soon and that I can see her. God, I hope so. This waiting and not knowing is driving me up a wall.” His long fingers raked deep gorges in his thick chestnut hair.