Lark hadn’t realized how much Vera had focused on Skye until she’d left town. It was once her critical eye had turned to Lark that she’d begun to understand why it hadn’t been a hardship for Skye to leave her family behind.
But after such a long period with no communication, why had Skye suddenly decided to come back?
“I wish I knew something about your life these last four years. Are you still a graphic artist? Do you like your job? What was it like to discover you’re pregnant and how did Jake react? I’ll bet he was excited about becoming a father.”
Lark paused as doubts crept in. If that was true, where was he?
“Do you have a house or an apartment? I suppose if it’s the latter you’re going to want to move. Grace will need a yard to run around in. Maybe even a dog. She really likes Nicki. It’s funny watching them together. Nicki nudges her with her nose and Grace wriggles like crazy.” The memory made her smile. “I can’t wait until you wake up and can see for yourself.”
Please wake up.
A familiar wave of grief swamped her, bringing a sting of tears to her eyes. In the months since Skye reappeared in Royal, Lark had been in an almost constant state of anxiety and sadness. Only in Keaton’s arms did she get any relief. He had a knack for distracting her from her problems and making her exist solely in the moment.
Feeling safe was something she’d never really known before. Nor had she realized it until she’d surrendered to Keaton being in charge. The peace this brought her was temporary and addictive. Letting someone share her burden hadn’t come easily, but now that she had done so, Lark was dreading being alone again.
“It’s time for me to start my shift,” she told Skye, clearing her throat a couple times to purge the huskiness from her voice. “I’ll be back to check on you later.”
“Lark?”
She jumped at the sound of her name. Turning, she spied Gloria Holt.
“Hello,” she greeted. “I was just visiting my sister.” Way to state the obvious. Lark’s whole face felt on fire. “What brings you here?”
“Same as you.”
“You’re visiting Skye?”
“I try to come by at least once a week when I’m in town.”
Lark shook her head. “I’ve never seen you before.”
“I’ve tried not to come when I know you’re working.” Gloria put out her hands in a calming gesture. “Oh, that didn’t come out right. What I mean is I didn’t want you to be upset that I was visiting your sister.”
“Why would I be?”
“There has been tension between our families for a long time.”
And that tension had ruined a lot of lives.
“It’s nice of you to visit Skye,” Lark said. “I’m sure she appreciates the company.”
Vera Taylor would have scoffed and said that Skye was unconscious and incapable of knowing that someone was nearby. Gloria Holt pulled out a book.
“I’ve been reading to her,” she said.
“What a great idea. I’ve been telling her about Grace. I’ve heard stories where patients wake up from comas and remember conversations going on around them.”
“I have a hypnosis tape I listen to as I’m falling asleep at night. It’s for stress. I got it not long after the tornado came through town.” Gloria grimaced. “When the ranch house was hit we lost so much that can’t be replaced.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, but at least no one was hurt.” Lark froze as she realized she’d made another of those blunt remarks that some people took the wrong way. She hadn’t meant to irritate Keaton’s mother.
Fortunately Gloria took no offense. “You’re absolutely right. We were more fortunate than some.” Her expression clouded for a moment. “Anyway, I found that I wasn’t hearing the entire recording because I was falling asleep. My hypnotherapist insisted my brain still processed the message.”
“Has it helped?”
“I think so.” Gloria gave her a wry smile. “I know it’s having an effect on David. Despite all our losses, he’s never been so calm. And he’s done a great job of letting Keaton handle things.”
“Your son is very determined to get things done.”
Keaton’s organization had impressed Lark. He worked everything on his tablet, from mind-mapping each project to formulating a process to reach his goal to tying the individual tasks to his calendar. She’d always been more comfortable doing things on paper, but after he’d shown her some of the software he used, she was beginning to see the advantages of going electronic.