By ten Hallie was yawning, but Jamie looked wide awake, as though he never planned to go to sleep. She wanted to ask him about the medication he was taking, but she didn’t. Instead, she bid him goodnight and went upstairs to bed.
Maybe some part of her mind was on alert because just as she’d done the night before, she awoke at two A.M. She lay there for a while, staring up at the silk rosette on the underside of the bed canopy, and listening. But the house seemed quiet.
She was just about to go back to sleep when she heard a faraway sound, something like a groan. If it hadn’t been for what happened the night before, she wouldn’t have paid any attention to it.
Without a second thought, she leaped out of the bed and ran down the dark stairs. She stubbed her toe on a table leg, but she kept going toward Jamie.
The nightlight was on, but this time there was no pill bottle on the desk. Jamie was in the bed, rolling back and forth, making soft sounds of panic.
“I’m here,” she whispered as she put her hands on the sides of his head. He calmed somewhat, but his legs were moving, his brace hitting the side of the bed.
Keeping her hands on his face, she stretched out beside him. As before, he drew her close. He settled for a while, but when he again started thrashing, she lifted her head up to his and kissed him.
This kiss, their second one, had a bit more passion than the first one. When Hallie felt herself moving her leg between his, she pushed away from him. “Sleeping kisses are one thing,” she said softly, “but no sleeping screws.”
But the kiss did settle him and before Hallie knew what happened, she fell asleep in his arms.
Chapter Four
When Hallie awoke the next morning, daylight was beginning to come through the window. She and Jamie were spooned together on the narrow bed like they were one person.
Peeling his arms from around her body was no easy feat. When she stood up, she had a crick in her neck and one in her lower back. The bed was too small for one person, much less a former football player and her.
She tiptoed up the stairs to her own bedroom and took a shower. When she went back down, Jamie was in the kitchen, his hair damp. As usual, he was covered in clothing from neck to ankles. Hallie had on a sleeveless top, cutoff jeans,
and sandals.
“I think I’m going to go into town this morning,” she said, avoiding his eyes, as the memory of last night was too clear in her mind. She needed some distance from him. On the other hand, exploring a new town on her own wasn’t going to be a lot of fun. “Want to go with me?”
“No,” he said, his voice firm, as though he didn’t want to be questioned any more. He ran his hand across the back of his neck.
She put a plate of scrambled eggs in front of him. “Are you all right?”
“Just…dreams,” he said as he picked up his cup of coffee.
She sat down across from him. “What kind of dreams?”
He hesitated, but then looked at her. His eyes were hot, intense. “If you must know, they’re about you.”
“Oh,” Hallie said and got up to refill a cup that was already full. “Hazards of working together,” she mumbled. Or sleeping together, she thought. All in all, it probably would be better if they spent some time apart. “Tell me again when your relatives will begin to arrive.”
“I’m not sure what day. If I know the sprouts, they’ll come running as soon as the ferry docks.”
“And who are the sprouts?”
“I have a brother and sister, twins, who are seven years old.”
“How wonderful!” Hallie said. “What are their names? Tell me about them.”
The tension that had been caused by Jamie’s mention of his dreams was broken and they ate breakfast while he told of his family. The twins, Cory—a nickname for Cordelia—and Max, were going to be in the upcoming wedding and they were very excited about it.
As Hallie watched him talk of his family in such a loving way, she again wondered why he hadn’t stayed with them for his therapy. Why go to Nantucket where he knew so few people? Why isolate himself with a stranger? Hallie knew that if she had a loving family, nothing on earth would get her away from them.
When she said she needed to change to go to town, Jamie said he had another story to tell about the twins. She listened, then said she was going. But when Jamie came up with yet another story, she realized he didn’t want her to leave.
How flattering! she thought, but she still excused herself and went upstairs to change. She put on a pretty flowered dress with a matching cardigan and her pink sandals.
When she went downstairs, Jamie was waiting for her. “Wow! You look very pretty. I was thinking that we should keep looking for the key to that room. We didn’t check the attic. Or maybe we should spend the day in the garden and plan how to improve it.”