* * *
When the phone rang, Bonnie rushed to it. It could be those pesky reporters—whom she'd get rid of fast enough—but it could also be Liza.
"May I speak to Liza, please?"
Well, this was a new approach, she decided grimly. "It's not going to do you any good to ask for her. You know she's not here."
"Wait! I'm—She gave me this number. When did she leave?"
Bonnie debated what to do. Finally, she said, "Who is this?"
Silence was her answer.
Just as she started to hang up the receiver, the woman spoke. "I'm Emma Logan."
"Her cousin?"
"Yes. Please tell me when she left."
"A few days ago. I guess it was Friday. Some reporters found out she was here and she had to hide again. Are you all right?"
"Yes. But she said she'd call when…if she left."
"She called here and said she was safe."
"Is she in New York?"
"Yes, but—" She heard a door open behind her and realized Nick had come downstairs. "Just a minute." Then she held out the phone for Nick. "It's Liza's cousin."
Nick grabbed the phone. "Emily, are you all right?"
"I'm fine, but what about Liza? She said she'd call if she had to leave."
Nick worried about the tone of Emily's words. She sounded frantic. "Are you sure you're safe? I think the police would keep your location secret if you need help."
"No! No, I'm fine, but I want Liza to be safe. It's not safe for me to call her apartment…."
"She's not there anyway," Nick revealed. "We've called. All we know is that she's in one of the hundreds of hotels in the city."
"Why did she leave?"
Nick swallowed. "She decided she couldn't stay. The reporters found her at the hospital and she didn't want to lead them back here."
"At the hospital? Is she still sick? I thought—"
"She's fine. She was volunteering at the child-care center, wearing a wig."
"That long one her mom made her buy?"
Nick wondered if he'd just found a key to Liza's disguise. "What color was it?"
"About the same color as her own hair, but it falls halfway down her back."
"No," he answered calmly, "she was using a blond wig."
"Look, if she calls, would you please tell her to call me?"
"Sure. But will you do the same? Tell her to call me?" he asked.
"I'll talk to her about it."
That was the best answer he could get. He knew Emily wouldn't tell him where Liza was if and when she found out. But he couldn't believe Liza had forgotten her cousin. Nothing had been more important to Liza than Emily's safety.
It made him worry about her even more.
* * *
Emily returned to the café, her break over. But she couldn't hide her concern. Toby Atkins, having coffee on his usual stool, immediately asked, "What's wrong?"
In her concern over Liza, Emily had forgotten Toby's presence. "Oh! What? Nothing. Nothing's wrong."
"I thought maybe you had some bad news. You know, about your problems back home."
She'd told a sob story about the death of her fiancé back home, her need to get away. "Uh, no. I was calling my…sister. She's got a cold." She worked up a casual smile.
He nodded and said, "I see." Then he surprised her by reaching out to cover her hands on the counter. "You know I'll help you with anything, don't you, Emma?"
She knew. In the beginning, she'd thought that was a good thing. But now she realized she'd gone too far. Toby had a crush on her. She didn't feel that way about him, though, and didn't want to mislead him.
Which was a shame. But for some reason, take-charge guys appealed to her. Probably because that's how her dad was. Joe Colton always led, never followed.
"I know, Toby, and I appreciate it. But I'm fine. More coffee?"
He shook his head. "I'd better make my rounds." He stood and donned his cowboy hat, part of the uniform he wore. "The sheriff wants me to serve some warrants."
"Be careful," she said with a smile.
She only prayed Liza was doing the same.
* * *
Even though Liza believed she had no future with Nick, she couldn't turn loose. She traveled around the city, using different pay phones to check her messages and to call Bonnie. It nearly killed her to ignore Nick's message, left as her physician following up on his patient, no doubt because he could risk calling no other way. She didn't have the nerve to call him back or even ask Bonnie about him or about Nick's little boy…or his former wife.
Bonnie had frankly told her she hated Daphne, but Liza knew the kind woman would put up with anyone for the sake of Nick's child.
She hadn't even realized she'd fallen into a pattern, calling about ten o'clock each day, when Nick would be at work. And not calling on the weekends.
She listened to the first ring, her heart beating a little faster to be so close to Nick. When his voice answered the phone, she almost began to cry. She loved the sound of his voice.
"Hello? Hello? Liza, is that you?"
"Nick," she said in a hushed whisper.
"Liza, come back. I can't—"
"Nick, I can't. It would be too dangerous for you. I want you and Bonnie to be safe."
At least he hadn't forgotten about her. He cared about her safety. The relief of knowing that filled her eyes with tears.
"Ramsey called. The man came back to your apartment. The police chased him and he ran into the street. He was hit by a taxi…. Liza, he's dead."
"Are they sure?" she asked, unable to believe at least some of the danger was gone.
"I'm sure. They showed me a picture. It was him. Come back, Liza."
"I can't. There are other—I have to think!" Her stomach was churning and she knew she was going to be sick.
She hung up the phone but before she could figure out where to go, she doubled over and lost what breakfast she'd had that morning. Though she was embarrassed, she took a tissue and wiped her face.
She hoped she wasn't getting sick. She had to decide what to do about her situation. She loved Nick, but she couldn't make him give up his child. And she feared his ex-wife might demand marriage as the price for his child.
The first thing she had to do was change hotels, just to be sure, to move from one which thought she'd wanted to commit suicide with their scissors. Then she'd figure out what to do next.
* * *
Liza left the hotel to call Emily at what should be her break time. After a brief conversation to tell Emily she was okay, Liza called her uncle's Prosperino home. The housekeeper answered.
"Inez, it's Liza. Is Uncle Joe there?"
"Child, everyone's worried about you! Where are you? Even your mother has called for you."
"I know. I'm in New York City. Uncle Joe?"
"Just a minute, hon. I'll see if I can find him."
Liza waited patiently for Joe to come to the phone.
"Liza? Is that you?" her uncle's deep, strong voice filled her ears and she sighed with relief.
"Yes, Uncle Joe. Are you all right?"
"Considering the circumstances, I guess so. How about you? And who's this doctor?"
"Just a doctor, Uncle. Nothing to worry about."
"Are you still touring?"
"No, I got so upset about Emily I didn't take care of myself. It will be a while before I can sing again." Then she switched the topic. "What have they found out about who tried to kill you?"
"Not much. I'm more concerned about Emily. I'm afraid…I'm afraid we may have lost her," he finished with a sob.
Liza felt terrible to let him suffer when she knew Emily was all right…for the moment. "Don't give up hope, Uncle Joe. We'll find her."
"Come home, Liza. If you're not touring, you can—"
"No, I can't. You know how Mom is." She knew Joe would understand that inference. Everyone knew how her mother pushed her career.
"Okay, but call me again, okay?"
&nbs
p; "I will. Take care of yourself."
Fifteen
Though Liza had been gone for two weeks, Nick remembered the few days he'd held her close as if it were another world. How eagerly he'd come home each evening. How close he'd been to his dream life.
Now he seldom smiled. Occasionally, Liza called the house, but she'd become unpredictable about her times. He couldn't stay home all day just to hear her voice. She never talked long, according to Bonnie. It's hard to have a long conversation when you don't reveal anything about yourself.
Not that his days had been boring since Liza's departure. He'd tracked down the reporter who had interviewed Daphne and warned him that the information she'd given the reporter was false. Then he called the editor at the paper and warned him that if he printed any more of Daphne's lies, he'd be sued.
His lawyer was certainly staying busy…and getting richer all the time.
Then Nick had submitted the DNA sample, but, as he'd suspected, Daphne had disappeared without letting her child be tested. He'd never even seen the boy.
So he'd hired a private investigator to find them.
He wanted to hire someone to search for Liza, too, but he feared it might endanger her. Besides, she knew where he was and didn't want to see him. He'd hoped when he told her that the man who'd scared her was dead that she'd come back home. Instead, she'd hung up on him.
"Doctor?"
He looked up. "Yes, Missy?"
"Everything's wrapped up here. Aren't you going home?"
"Yeah, sure. Go ahead and lock up. I'll see you tomorrow."
She nodded and turned away, but not before he saw the concern in her eyes. It was nice to know that his staff cared about his happiness. But they couldn't help.
The phone rang and he picked up the receiver.
"Nick, are you coming home?"
"Bonnie? Of course I am."
"Good, because Liza's going to be on television!"
"What? What's happened?" His heart was thumping overtime, fearing she might be in more trouble.
"I was checking out the television schedule for tonight and found a benefit program from Carnegie Hall. And she's listed as one of the entertainers." His housekeeper sounded breathless, like she'd been running.
"Is it live?" he demanded, already mentally figuring how soon he could get to New York City.
"No, it's taped, it says right here."
It was enough to make a man want to cry, he decided as he gathered himself. "Okay, I'll be home in a few minutes."
Bonnie had dinner waiting, but he wasn't interested. He put a new tape in the VCR, then he paced the floor, waiting for the program to start.
It wasn't until Liza, with her quiet beauty and grace, took center stage that he sat down and stared at the television. His heart melted all over again as he watched her. She sang one of the songs from her first album. Bonnie had gone out and bought it after Liza left.
"It's so good to see her," his housekeeper whispered.
When she finished, they went to commercial after announcing Liza would sing again.
"I wonder what she'll sing next?" Bonnie asked.
Nick didn't answer. He didn't care what she sang, as long as he could see her. The only thing better would be to hold her against him…and never let go.
* * *
Meredith watched the production in her husband's presence. He didn't often share the same room with her, and he never shared her bed. Not since she'd announced her pregnancy, not realizing he was sterile.
After Liza left the stage, she suggested, "We should call Liza and congratulate her." She still didn't believe Joe didn't know how to reach his niece.
"I don't know where she is," he answered gruffly. "She called from New York, but I don't know where exactly. Apparently she's not living in her apartment."
"Why wouldn't she be in her apartment?"
"Why the concern all of a sudden, Meredith?"
He stared at her, but she pretended everything was all right. Her acting skills were even better than Liza's. She thought her niece's death might be a necessity, but Liza wasn't top priority. Emily was the key. She'd told the idiot she'd hired to concentrate on Emily.
"You two don't get along much anymore, do you?" Joe's question broke into her thoughts.
Meredith snapped her head around. Always stick as close to the truth as possible. "No, not really. That happens when children grow up. They get involved in their own lives, you know."
And sisters, too. She'd been abandoned by her own sister. The real Meredith had married Joe and become wealthy, but she'd never bothered about her twin. She deserved what she got.
The only problem was she was out there somewhere. Could she still have amnesia after nine years? Meredith desperately wanted to know where the real Meredith was hiding. She wasn't going to lose her position…whatever it took.
She'd gone into town again today and talked with the man she'd hired to locate Meredith. He'd found nothing. Unable to bear the tension, she'd snapped and fired him with no finesse.
Then she'd made an appointment with the best-known firm in the country. She should have hired them to find Emily, too. But there would be a lot of police scrutiny when Emily was…eliminated. When her own sister disappeared, it wouldn't be noticed. No one would care about a mentally ill old woman.
She leaned back against the sofa. Yes, she was shortly going to have everything under control. And Liza was no dummy. When Emily turned up dead, she'd know not to say anything.
Even if she did, no one would believe her.
With a satisfied smile on her face, she settled back to watch the rest of the show.
* * *
Liza watched her appearance on television by herself, huddled under the covers in her new hotel room. She'd checked in yesterday, before anyone would be reminded of her appearance by the show she'd recorded months ago. Even though the man who'd been after her was now dead, she didn't want to take a chance returning to her apartment. Not just yet.
Was Nick watching? Was he missing her? Their time together had seemed so real, seemed that it would last forever. A tear slid down her cheek. She wouldn't cry, she insisted to herself.
She thought about the news that the man chasing her had died. And she thought about returning to Saratoga Springs. But she couldn't make up her mind. She needed to get well. She was so tired lately and she threw up sometimes when she first woke up. She could hear Nick's voice, warning her to take care of herself.
Galvanized by that thought, she called an outpatient clinic at a nearby hospital and made an appointment for the next morning.
It was dangerous doing so after her appearance on television, but with the wig and dark glasses, she didn't think she'd be recognized. She certainly wasn't going to return to Nick sick again. If she ever did.
* * *
Liza settled into a chair in the doctor's cubicle. They'd run several tests earlier, and she'd waited in a very uncomfortable chair for two hours to get the results.
"I need more iron, don't I?" she asked, trying to appear cheerful, when what she really wanted to do was crawl into a bed and sleep for days.
The doctor stared at her. "That will certainly be included in what I prescribe. However, it's not the main, uh, diagnosis."
Something about his expression put fear in her heart. "You mean…I have cancer?"
He looked startled. "Oh, no, not at all, Mrs.…" he paused to look down at her paperwork. "Ms. Bonney, it's not anything like that. I hope it's good news. You're pregnant."
Liza didn't hesitate for a minute. "No, Doctor, I'm sorry. You must have misdiagnosed. I can't get pregnant."
"And why do you think that?"
She told him the diagnosis made by two separate doctors.
Instead of suggesting different tests, as she expected, he shook his head. "Ms. Bonney, they never said it was impossible. In this case, miracles do happen."
Liza stared at him as his words sank in. "You mean…I'm really pregnant?" Her voice rose, hysteria creeping in.<
br />
"Calm down. It's important for you to remain calm and happy. We want this baby to arrive healthy."
"There's something wrong with my baby?" she demanded, leaning forward. She found it hard enough to believe his diagnosis, much less a happy outcome.
"You're an alarmist, aren't you?" he asked, frowning. "I don't see any difficulties if you follow instructions."
"Of course I will! Tell me what to do. I'll do whatever it takes. I'll—When is the baby due?"
"You're only three weeks along. It's good that you came in so early. I have some pamphlets for you to read, and I'll prescribe some prenatal vitamins for you. You can get them at our pharmacy. Do you need help paying?"
"No, I can pay," she said, her mind on other things.
"We also have a store connected to the hospital with donated clothes for pregnant women. You don't need them yet, but I want you to be aware of the assistance we can provide."
Liza stared at him. Pregnancy clothes! She never thought she'd need them. Joy rose in her. She and Nick—Nick was going to have a child.
Then she remembered. He already had a child—and probably a wife by now. Lately she hadn't been calling as much, because she had nothing to say, and because she didn't want to hear that Nick and Daphne had remarried.
Her child, her precious child, wouldn't have a father. Not a father who lived with him, who was there for him…who taught him to fish.
Tears filled her eyes. It didn't matter, she told herself. She'd love her child more than any mother ever could. She'd—
"Ms. Bonney, are you all right?" the doctor hurriedly asked. "I didn't mean to upset you."
"No, no, Doctor, I'm fine," she said, hurriedly blinking her eyes to dispel the moisture.
"Good. Now, here are the pamphlets and a prescription for the vitamins. And I'd like to see you back here in four weeks. Make an appointment with the nurse before you leave."
"Yes, thank you, Doctor." Liza took the papers from him and tried to maintain calm while she escaped his gaze.
Such conflicting emotions filling her made control difficult. She was ecstatic about her baby. And devastated that Nick wouldn't be involved.
Without thinking, she hailed a cab as soon as she got outside the hospital. She had to be alone as soon as possible.
The Doctor Delivers Page 15