I didn't want to give her even the slightest hint that anything could happen between us. In fact, I needed to get off this topic altogether.
"Anyway," I continued. "We are here to talk about my daughter, and I have a lot of things I need to attend to this afternoon. What can you tell me about Janie's condition?"
"Ah yes, well, according to the tests I had requested before I got here, she's got a nasty virus – it's a type of stomach flu that has been doing the rounds recently. It's a particularly virulent strain and usually hits the very young and the very elderly harder than most, and anyone else who doesn't have a particularly strong immune system. But I'll give her a few shots. I'm happy to say that she has passed the worst of it and is looking much better now. In fact, she might even be ready to leave the hospital later this evening. I just need to observe her for a few more hours before I can recommend that."
Whatever else I might think about Liza, her professionalism as a doctor was apparent, and I had to say that I was pretty damn impressed.
"I'm very, very relieved to hear that," I said.
"Yeah, so am I. I've lost two patients to this virus in the past two weeks. I did all that I could, but they just weren't strong enough to fight it off. Your little girl, though, don't worry: she's a fighter. Takes after her daddy, I guess."
"She does. And I'm very relieved to hear that she'll be alright."
She nodded.
"She will be. Like I said, she's already getting much better."
I could sense that she wanted to talk to me more – a lot more – but I knew that that wouldn't be a good idea.
"Is there anything else I should know about her condition?" I asked.
She shook her head. "Everything seems to be in order for the moment. Like I said, if she continues to show signs of improvement, I'll recommend that she be discharged."
"Thanks, Liza. Well, if that's all, like I said, I have some things to do this afternoon, especially if I might get to take Janie home."
"Alright, well you better take off then."
We looked at each other again, and there was an intense look in her eyes; it seemed almost as if she was on the verge of tears.
"Goodbye, Liza," I said, breaking the silence. "Thank you."
"Goodbye, Everett. It was good seeing you again after all these years."
"Yeah, it was. Maybe I'll bump into you again in another ten, huh," I said, smiling.
"Maybe sooner," she said, returning my smile.
She stepped forward and hugged me tightly, and I hugged her back a little awkwardly and then disengaged.
"Bye, Everett," she repeated and walked away.
As I was walking away, I got my phone out, and saw that I had missed a call from Vivienne; my phone had been on silent, so there had been no ringtone. I called her back and was utterly shocked to hear that while I had been away, Simon had broken into her house.
"I'll be right there," I told her and sprinted out to my truck.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Vivienne
I did as they instructed, and then after they had determined that I was not the intruder, they sat down and asked me some questions while they wrote a report. They assured me they would have someone patrolling the area every thirty minutes and encouraged me to call if I suspected anything unusual.
As they were leaving, Everett returned my call. I told him what happened, and the tone of his voice when he promised me he was on his way was more than a little reassuring.
I sat in my kitchen waiting for him, drinking tea to try to calm my nerves and hearing every tiny sound. He arrived in 15 minutes, and I soon as I saw him, I ran to him. The moment his strong arms were around me, I felt safe.
"I'm so sorry I wasn't here to protect you," he said. "I should have been; I really should have been."
"It's not your fault, not at all," I said. "How could you have known? You had to be with your daughter."