After having a quick shower, I attempted to cover my bruise with make-up but I think I just made it look worse, so I gave up and worked my way to the kitchen for a much needed cup of caffeine. Riley was already there waiting for me, cup in hand. He looked a bit dark around the eyes this morning, like he hadn’t got much sleep.
“Why did you sleep on the floor?” I asked, taking the cup from him.
“The doctor said you should be monitored for twelve hours so I didn’t think I should leave you alone. You’ve been getting phone calls since about five this morning from your family. I ended up turning the ringer down so it didn’t wake you.” He looked at me, concern in his eyes. “I hope you don’t mind that I answered it, but I thought they would probably be worried.”
“No, not at all.” I looked down into my coffee. I didn’t know how to respond. I was so touched that he cared enough to do that for me.
“I hope I didn’t overstep any boundaries?” He sounded worried, bending to look into my eyes.
“No, no. I’m just touched you stayed with me all night and slept on the floor,” I said, looking back up at him. “You could have slept on the bed next to me, I wouldn’t have minded. I know the floor must have been bloody uncomfortable.” For some reason I was feeling really shy.
“Are you kidding me? The way you thrash around in your sleep, there was no way I was getting anywhere near you,” he said, giving me the megawatt smile. I think he was kidding. Just then the phone rang.
Riley picked it up off the bench and looked at the display. “It’s Danny…again. He’s already rung three times this morning. It’s a toss-up between him and your mum as to who worries about you the most,” he said, handing me the phone.
“Yeah, he’s a pretty sweet brother when he wants to be.” I took the phone and pressed answer. “Hi, Danny.”
“Oh…finally! You’re awake. Do you know how many times I’ve rung to see how your night went only to find you were still asleep? I just hope you were in bed with Adonis,” Danny yelled. I blushed. I looked up to see if Riley could hear Danny from where he was standing and judging by the smile he had plastered on his face, I was thinking, yes, he could hear quite adequately. Quickly walking into the hallway, I lowered my voice and spoke back into the phone.
“Danny! I was just telling Riley what a sweet brother you are being so worried about me, but you’re just ringing for some juicy gossip! Well, I’m sorry to disappoint. Nothing happened. Not that I can remember anyway,” I added.
“Yeah, but he stayed with you, didn’t he? That means something you know.”
“Yeah, it just means he’s a really sweet guy.”
“Are you kidding me? No guy is that sweet unless he wants something. Where did he sleep then?”
“On the floor.”
“See. Only a man with lust in his heart would sleep on your crappy hard floor to make sure you were okay.”
I sighed. There was no point arguing with Danny once he had his mind set. “Whatever. Are you interested in how I am feeling?”
“Not really. You’re obviously okay or you wouldn’t have answered your phone.” My headache was returning. “But you’d better ring Mum. She’s been worried about you all night.”
“OK, I’ll do that now. Bye Danny.”
“Bye, big sis. And remember to phone me when you do have some gossip. I want to be the first to know.” With that, he hung up.
I dialed Mum’s number and Grandma Mabel answered.
“Hello, Fuller residence. How may I help you?” Wow, Grandma was being formal this morning.
“Hi, Grandma. It’s me, Lizzie.”
“Well, well, well. How are you this morning, my girl?” she asked.
“Not too bad. What’s with you, answering the phone all posh?”
“I’ve been having etiquette lessons at the seniors club. I figure if I want Ben Willett to ask me out I’d better get up to scratch. It’s been a while since I dated you know. In fact, I think the last date I had was in 1947.”
I could hear her swishing her teeth around, obviously remembering her last date. That was enough information for me. I did not want or need to know any more.
“Can you let Mum know I’m alive and well and there’s no need to keep ringing?”
“Okey Dokey. Over and out.”
I think she needed more lessons.
* * * *
The rest of Thursday passed in a bit of a blur but on Friday, I woke up bouncy and as good as new. Well, when I say I woke up bouncy, what I really mean is after I’d had my shower and two cups of coffee, I felt bouncy. Work on the house was progressing nicely with Riley working on my bathroom, so I thought I should catch up on some work. By six o’clock that evening though, I’d had enough. I’d spent the last two hours searching for two cents in a damn bank reconciliation and when I finally found it, I realized it had been there in front of me all along. I frustrated myself so much at times.
Closing my laptop, I walked down the stairs to see how Riley had got on today. The sight that greeted me as I stopped at my bathroom door created a fear in me I cannot describe. As I bravely stood there, frozen to the spot, I looked at where my—admittedly crappy—bath-slash-shower had sat…and all I saw was floorboards and plumbing.
Riley was walking up the stairs as I turned on my heel to stare at him.
“WTF!” I yelled, hysteria bubbling just below the surface. “Where the hell is my bath?” I asked, fairly close to hyperventilating.
“It’s gone to the restorers. But don’t worry, I’ve sorted out the shower problem,” he said with a smile. “Come with me.”
He turned and walked down the stairs. I was dumbfounded. I had no idea how he was so calm. All I could think of as I watched his back disappear was that he must have some amazing shower down there waiting to be temporarily installed. Okay, calm down and take some deep breaths, Lizzie. This may not be as bad as you imagined.
Following him through the house, I stepped out the back door—yes, that’s right – the back door—and saw what looked like a very small tent with no floor and no roof.
“What is that?” I asked, warily. I think I knew the answer but I really hoped I was wrong.
“It’s a camping shower. I’ve hooked up the water and a solar hot water heater so you can have a hot shower,” Riley said, looking very pleased with himself.
Wow. My neighbors were going to love this. “Riley, I don’t get it. Why is it there?” I looked at him baffled. How could this ever be considered a good idea?
“What’s not to get? You get undressed, walk inside and turn the water on and it’s there because there is nowhere else to put it.”
“But what happens when it’s windy? It looks like the thing will blow over. I don’t want to give my neighbors a heart attack, they already don’t like me much.” I was starting to feel a quite panicky. Riley honestly thought this was a good idea.
“It’s okay, Lizzie. It’s safe. I’ve secured it really well. Your bath should be back in a week and I promise I’ll get it fitted as quickly as possible.”
“Riley, I really don’t know about this.” How was I going to get in this thing twice a day? Sometimes I had my shower really late and there was no way I would come outside to do that at night.
“How about you have your shower a bit earlier and I’ll stay here until you’re finished,” said Riley, reading my mind. “I’m usually here when you get up anyway, so the morning won’t be a problem.”
This all seemed so simple to him. I suppose men don’t stress about this kind of thing like women do.
As I was standing there contemplating Hell, I heard the front door open and Harper came running through the house looking for me, closely followed by Molly. I hoped Cat was hiding somewhere.
“What on earth is that?” asked Molly, looking at my new bathroom.
“It’s my shower,” I said quietly. Choosing to ignore her fit of giggles, I turned to Riley.
“Anyway, how come you’re still here?” I asked, my hysteria now tur
ning to irritability. Today was Friday and Riley usually had his date with his Gran.
“Gran has gone into stay with Jared for a couple of days. Jared’s wife, Shelly, is due have her baby any day now and she wanted Gran to be at the birth,” he said with a shrug.
I thought about this for a second and thought about Grandma Mabel being at the birth of one of my children. I felt the shudder run all the way down to my toes.
Turning to Riley, Molly said, “Well, you can join us for our Friday night get-together then. Danny and Andrew will be here soon. It’ll be fun.”
Riley looked at me, almost asking for permission.
“Yeah, it’ll be great.” I wasn’t actually sure if it would be great. I had this really jealous feeling when Molly was around Riley. Looking at her dressed in her low slung jeans and fitted t-shirt, with not a smudge of make up out of place, I felt totally inadequate. Maybe fixing myself up a bit would be a good idea.
“I might take this thing for a test drive,” I said, taking a deep breath and looking at the shower. I can do this, I thought as I walked upstairs to retrieve all the necessities. I’m an intelligent, modern day woman, who can do anything she puts her mind too.
By the time I had got back down stairs, I still hadn’t quite convinced myself, though. Danny and Drew greeted me as I walked into the kitchen. Bloody family. There they all were, drinks in hand, ready for the show.
“Are you kidding me?” I asked them.
“No way am I missing this,” laughed Danny, his camera phone in hand ready to do a bit of cinematography.
“You are not videoing me taking a shower!” I yelled.
“Yes I am. When you fall over and the whole thing topples down on top of you, I’m sending it in to Funniest Home Videos and will win lots of money.” He thought he was so funny. I looked at Riley and glared. At least he had the decency to look unamused. Walking out to the shower, I wondered how I was going to do this. The tent was very small and stepping inside it, I felt the walls touch my shoulders. My head stuck out the top.
“Riley! It’s not tall enough,” I yelled. Riley came out, followed by everyone else. Danny had his videophone in hand.
“This isn’t going to work,” I whined.
“Sure it is. Just make sure no one walks past and peeks in over the top,” he smiled.
Humph. “Well, don’t all stand there watching,” I huffed.
Making sure the tent flaps were closed, I started to undress and throw my clothes over the top towards the chair sitting near the door. I have to tell you, it was not easy. Every time I moved my arms, the tent would sway from side to side, causing me to nearly fall over. When I was finally naked, I turned so I was facing away from the back door—just in case someone came out—and looked up to see my neighbor, Roger, staring at me across the fence. Giving him a little two-fingered wave, I decided facing the house was probably my best option. I’m sure Danny, Molly and Drew didn’t want to see me naked…and Riley? Thinking about that had me sweating.
After having the fastest shower in history, I turned the water off and looked for my towel. Shit! I’d left it on the chair along with my clean clothes. I really hadn’t thought this through.
“Molly!” She was probably the best one to call. Unfortunately no one could hear me over the music they had playing. “Molly!” I waited for about a minute, goosebumps breaking out all over me, as I stood there wet, hoping Molly would come and save me. Shivering, I looked around. No-one was looking. Roger had gone back inside—probably to take his heart medication—so maybe I could quickly sneak over and grab my towel. This was seriously the worst idea Riley had ever come up with. Tomorrow I was showering in my swimsuit.
Opening the flap in the shower, I tiptoed over to the chair and, just as I was getting close to it, the back door opened. I screamed, grabbed at the towel and silently prayed it was Molly standing there. But no, of course it wasn’t. Who do you think it was? Yep, you guessed it. It was Riley.
Now, he was a gentleman and turned his back to me very quickly, but not before I saw the look of total shock register itself on his face.
“I’m so sorry, Lizzie. I thought I heard you calling out and wanted to make sure you were okay,” he stammered.
Even in the fading light, I could see his ears and neck were red. Wow, I should write a book on 101 Ways to Embarrass Yourself. I’m almost an expert on the subject. By the time Riley had very quickly opened the back door and sprinted inside, I was almost in tears. My original plan had been to have a shower and make myself look good so I wouldn’t feel so insignificant next to Molly. Instead, I had embarrassed not only myself, but also Riley. Sitting down on the chair, I put my head between my knees and took some deep breaths.
Ahh! Why did this always happen to me? When the shaking had passed, I stepped back into the shower and got dressed. Now all I had to do was hold my head high, walk back into the kitchen, passed Riley and hide in my bedroom for the next decade.
Okay, more deep breathing. If I walk really fast, he may not even see me. That was the plan at least.
Opening the back door, I stepped inside to see Molly and Riley sitting next to each other, deep in conversation. I didn’t stop to see what they were talking about and neither of them looked my way as I walked by. I couldn’t tell whether Riley was telling Molly how disgusted he was or if he was checking out her cleavage and realizing he was working for the wrong sister. Either way I wasn’t stopping to find out.
When I reached the safety of my bedroom, I closed the door and burst into tears. I had absolutely no idea how I would ever face him again. Maybe I should send him a text message saying Thanks for all your work. I’ll post you a cheque. Bye. At least that way I would never have to look him in the eye again.
Finding a box of tissues in amongst the unpacked boxes in my room, I pulled out a couple and gave my nose a very unladylike blow. As I was wiping my tears, I heard a knock at the door.
Thank goodness. Molly could help me send Riley home without me even having to look at him. But opening the door, I looked out to find a rather coy-looking Riley. Well, there goes my plan about never having to face him again.
“Hey,” he said. Looking at my puffy eyes, his expression softened. “I really am sorry, Lizzie. I thought you were still in the shower and something scared you. I didn’t for a second want to embarrass you.” He held out a glass of wine. “Thought you may need it,” he said smiling. I took the glass and downed it in one go, hoping the alcohol would kick in nice and quickly. Leaving the door open, I stepped back into the room. I could still feel the humiliation stinging the back of my throat.
“I’m the one who’s sorry, Riley. I can’t think how many times in the last few weeks I’ve embarrassed you. You seeing me naked just tops it off.” Sitting on the bed, I put my head in my hands, unable to look him in the eye.
“You’ve never embarrassed me,” he said, following me into the room and closing the door behind him. His voice had gotten soft and husky as he sat on the bed beside me. “And you have no need to be embarrassed. I didn’t get that good a look, but what I did see was quite impressive.”
I could hear the laughter in his voice. He was trying to make me feel better, I thought, as I turned to look at him. He was sitting close to me, so close, we were almost touching and those beautiful blue eyes looked at me so intently I felt my breath catch in my throat. I’m not sure if it was my imagination or not, but something in the air had changed. Sitting there, holding my breath, completely paralyzed by his eyes, I watched as Riley searched my face, his eyes lingering on my mouth. As I felt him move closer, never breaking eye contact, the door suddenly flung open and Molly rushed in.
“She’s gone!” she cried. “We’ve lost Grandma Mabel!”
Chapter Seventeen
It took a minute for my body to catch up with my brain, but when it did, I went into full panic. My heart was racing at a million beats per minute, I was sweating and I felt sick. I’d never lost anybody that I could remember. Other than my grandfathers, wh
o I don’t remember anyway, the only thing I had loved and lost was our old dog, Digger. We’d had to have him put to sleep when I was fourteen and I cried for about a month.
“How?” was the only word I could get out of my mouth.
“She went to seniors club this afternoon and never came home,” cried Molly.
“No, I mean how did she die?” I whispered. Molly looked at me with confusion.
“She’s not dead, Lizzie. We’ve really lost her.”
“What?”
“Mum just rang to say Grandma went to seniors club this afternoon and never came home,” explained Molly slowly, obviously thinking she was talking to an idiot. I felt my temper start to rise.
“Molly, don’t you dare talk to me like I’m the stupid one. You came running in here telling me we’d lost Grandma. What the hell was I supposed to think?” I yelled, walking around the room, arms waving, and adrenalin pumping.
“Don’t yell at me, Lizzie! I can’t think straight.” She burst into tears.
I looked over at Riley who was running his fingers through his hair, looking like he wanted to pull it out. Yeah, I understood exactly how he felt. Walking past Molly, I went back downstairs to find Drew on the phone and Danny in tears. What can I say? We’re good in a crisis. When Drew hung up, I asked him to please explain what the hell was going on.
“I was just talking to your mum. She went to pick Mabel up from seniors club at four o’clock but she wasn’t there. She’s rung around all her friends but of those she could contact, no one has seen her.”
“Did she leave with anyone?” I asked. It was now seven-fifteen, so Grandma had been missing for quite a few hours.
“Not that we can find out,” said Drew.
“Well, what should we do? We can’t just sit here doing nothing!” I was starting to panic all over again.
“Your mum has called the Police but she hasn’t been missing long enough. Because of her age, they are concerned though.”
I knew what everybody was thinking. Recently an elderly man on the news had got confused and wandered off. He was found the next day, hidden behind a dumpster, dead. Well, I for one was not letting that happen to Grandma Mabel. If she was going to die today, it was after we found her and I had my hands around her neck for scaring us so badly. Picking up my car keys, I headed for the door.
It Started With A House: Lizzie. Book 1 (The Westport Mysteries) Page 14