Reborn(55)

“What about our other situation?”

A chair squeaked.

“Elizabeth is doing well,” Aggie said. “I would say the situation is as good as we can hope for.”

At the mention of my name, I held my breath, wanting to hear as much as I could. Unfortunately, the subject changed just as quickly as it’d started, and I wasn’t mentioned again.

“Did you send for the boy you spoke of?” Aggie asked.

“I did.”

“And?”

“He’s here. Another set of eyes is always a good thing.”

Aggie murmured something I couldn’t make out. The chair squeaked again, louder this time, like someone had left it to stand.

Panic started to form in the base of my throat. Every muscle in my body said to move. I squeezed out of the doorway and hurried into the kitchen. I banged a few dishes around in the sink so it would appear as though I’d been here all along, preoccupied with cleaning.

A moment later, Aggie and Dr. Sedwick emerged, smiling, as if they hadn’t just had a cryptic conversation in the den.

“Morning, Elizabeth,” Dr. Sedwick said. He was wearing a plain T-shirt, sunglasses hanging from the collar, and a pair of khaki shorts.

“Morning. I didn’t know you were here.” I grabbed a dish towel and pretended to dry my hands. “I hope you’re not here to pester me.”

He laughed, and Aggie ambled past him to the coffeepot. “No,” he said. “I just needed to talk with Aggie about the fund-raiser coming up.”

I tossed the towel over my shoulder. “I see. Can I get you something to drink?”

“No. No. I should be going. But I’ll see you on Thursday?”

“I’ll be there. It’s the highlight of my week.”

He laughed again. “I’m sure. Have a good day, ladies.”

When the side door clicked closed behind him, I turned to Aggie. “What was he really doing here?”

She rinsed out her coffee cup from earlier that morning. “Just what he said. The fund-raiser.” She frowned. The cup dripped water on the floor. “I promise we didn’t talk about you, sweetheart.”

I rolled my eyes, because I knew that was the proper response. “I hope not. Because that would be a waste of a trip. And a boring conversation.”

She chuckled, and her beaded earrings swung back and forth. “Oh, you. What would I do without you?”

Another rhetorical question.

Aggie filled her cup, stirred in some creamer, and left me alone in the kitchen. I didn’t feel like cleaning, but syrup was stuck on my hands from the towel I’d just used. I squirted some hand soap out, and the lemony scent filled my nose.

The floors of the building where I’d been held had been scrubbed with lemon-scented cleaner.

Lemons reminded me of that place, of the walls closing in, of secrets kept and secrets shared.

I’d never told Aggie about that particular trigger because she usually bought things that smelled like baked goods.

What were Aggie and Dr. Sedwick talking about, and what did it have to do with me?

Always so many secrets.

Immediately, I knew what my next mixed scent would be.

I would make a bottle and label it SECRETS and fill it with nothing but lemon.



I met up with Chloe at the coffee shop later in the day. Nick hadn’t returned to the carriage house, and Aggie had disappeared into her bedroom right after Dr. Sedwick left. I didn’t want to be alone. I had called Chloe, but now I worried that the moment she set her eyes on me, she’d know I was keeping something from her.

My cheeks still felt hot from the kiss, the heat of the moment setting my skin aglow. Chloe would take one look at me and see the truth written across my face.

“Hello, you,” Chloe said, and hooked her arm in mine as we entered the coffee shop. “How are you?”

The question felt like a trap. How was I? I was many things. Confused. Thrilled. Worried. Anxious.

All I said was, “Good.”

We got in line at the counter, and Chloe let go of my arm to dig around inside her purse. She pulled out her cell phone. “I have something to show you. And once I show you, I think you will be more than good.”

I frowned. “Okay.”

She tapped in a few things and handed the phone to me. It was a text conversation between her and Evan.

The first one on the screen, from Evan, said, Is Lis seeing that d-bag Nick?

I looked at Chloe and raised a brow.

“I know,” Chloe sang as she stepped up to order her drink.

I kept reading. Chloe had replied, Why?

Evan said, Bcuz he’s a creep? Bcuz she deserves better? Bcuz I want to know?

Interesting, Chloe said.

Just answer the question.

Which one?

UR so fking annoying sometimes.

That was the last one. Chloe hadn’t responded to Evan, and he hadn’t pressed for more.