Sinister Winds (Storm Series Book 2), page 5
“Good. It means the fluids are working. Speaking of which, you are almost out of saline. I’ll change it out so you don’t get an alarm in a few moments when the bag goes dry. Can I get you anything else? Fresh water and a snack, perhaps?”
Abby smiled. “Yes, please.”
“Okay, I’ll be back in a jiff.”
As soon as Roberta left, Abby pulled the phone from the bag, fought her way through the packaging, and booted it up. She’d just finished loading it when Roberta returned with two small containers of orange sherbert, saltine crackers, and a mustard-yellow plastic pitcher of ice water, along with a clean cup.
“This should hold you until they bring you up a tray,” Roberta said, setting the water and snacks on the bed tray. She pulled a clear bag of liquid from her pocket and went to work switching out the IV bag.
“Any idea when I’m going to get out of here?” Abby asked as she dipped her spoon in the sherbert.
“The baby’s heartbeat is still a bit slow. It should get better as we get you rehydrated. I’d imagine you’ll be with us a couple of days yet.” She frowned. “From what Celie said, I took it that you had no place to go.”
“I don’t really.” It wasn’t that she wanted to leave, but the room felt less safe now that she knew Jacob could visit her in her dreams.
Roberta started to speak, then stopped.
Abby sighed. “Celie told you about her dream, didn’t she?”
Roberta nodded. “Don’t go getting mad at the girl. She was pretty freaked out over it.”
“You believe her?” Abby asked.
Another nod; this one came with a raised eyebrow. “Of course. We both grew up in New Orleans. Celie was more freaked out than me, but that’s because my grandmother is a conjurer. As soon as Celie told me, I called Granny and told her. She said if the priestess told her to help you, then it was best we keep you safe or face the consequences.”
“How can she do it?”
Roberta wrinkled her brow. “Do what?”
“Come to us in our dreams,” Abby said, knowing the act to be more than a simple dream. Jacob was a dream and a bad one at that, but when Pearl or Eva visited, it was different. When she woke from the dream with Jacob, she knew it to be a dream, but with them, it was as real as talking to Roberta now. Abby waved her arms. “How does she know where I am or come to people in their dreams? How did she know I would be here? I mean, she had to know, or she wouldn’t have known to have Celie look after me.”
“Abigail, when it comes to voodoo, I’ve learned it’s best not to ask too many questions.”
Abby cringed at the use of her given name. “Please, call me Abby, and why not ask questions? Don’t I deserve to know why she picked me? Besides, I have more questions. And since she seems to know everything that is going to happen, I’d like to figure out how to find her.”
“If she wants you to find her, she’ll make sure you do.”
“All the same,” Abby said, “please tell Celie if she talks to her again to tell her I’d like to speak to her.”
“I’ll be sure to pass it along,” Roberta said, then eyed the bag. “Would you like me to put your shoes in the locker?”
Abby handed her the bag and watched the woman cross the room and place the bag in the bottom of the locker before shutting the door once more.
She turned and saw Abby watching. “Celie told me what you have in your purse. Not the amount, just that it is a lot. I know having that here has to worry you. I can bring you a lock if you want, or I can make it so you don’t have to worry about it.”
“How?”
“If I tell the other nurses about Celie’s dream, they’ll know you are protected. Stuff like that gets around, and won’t no one dare bother you.”
While tempting, Abby decided it best to stay below the radar. “I think a lock will do.”
“Okay, suit yourself, but if you change your mind, let me know.” Roberta walked to the window, took hold of the chain that maneuvered the window shade and frowned. “That sun’s awfully bright. Do you want me to close the shades? They are room-darkening so that our new moms can sleep when their babies are resting. One pull of this chain, and it will be dark as night in here as soon as you turn the lights off.”
Abby shuddered against an unseen chill. “No, I’d rather you leave them open if you don’t mind.”
“Okay. Just let me know if you change your mind,” Roberta said as she released the chair and moved away from the window. “Oh, and Celie said to tell you there was a man asking about you earlier. She avoided his questions and told him you were released. Don’t you go getting all worried because no one gets into this area without being vetted by one of my nurses.”
“What did the man look like?” Abby asked as Roberta was leaving the room.
Roberta shrugged. “She didn’t say. Only that he was good-looking and wearing a dark suit.”
Abby started to tell Roberta about her dream when the woman’s pager beeped, and she hurried from the room.
Chapter Six
Abby’s hands trembled as she punched Kevin’s number into the phone and pressed to make the call. Calm down, Abby; this is all just a crazy coincidence. Jacob’s dead and cannot hurt you.
“Hello?” The voice was deep.
For a moment, Abby thought she’d dialed the wrong number. “Kevin?”
“Abby?!”
This time, the voice was shrill and excited and more in line with the voice she’d been expecting. Tears of relief pooled in her eyes. “Kevin! It’s so good to hear your voice.”
“Same! You sound like you’re crying. Are you alright? I’ve been beside myself with worry. What took you so long to call?”
Abby smiled and wiped at her tears. “I am crying, but just because it’s so good to hear your voice. How’s Gulliver?”
“Fat, sassy, and happy. The news is just awful. I was worried that…”
“I got out,” she said, cutting him off. “I wanted to call, but I forgot my phone, and I just got another.”
“And the Dick?” Kevin’s tone showed his disgust for the man.
Abby struggled with the answer.
“Are you still there?” Kevin’s voice was full of concern.
“I’m here, and until a few moments ago, I would’ve told you Jacob is dead, but now I’m not so sure. I mean, he has to be dead, but…”
“Okay, how about you start from the beginning?” Kevin offered.
“I thought Jacob drowned. I was able to get to the roof, but he was stuck in the house,” Abby said, leaving out the details in between.
“What do you mean you were on the roof?”
“The water was coming into the house, and so I went to the attic. When the water came in there, I went out the window and stayed on the roof until I was rescued,” she said, willing him to focus on that. While she wanted to tell him the rest, she didn’t want to say anything that anyone could overhear.
“You’re pregnant! What the Devil are you doing climbing out windows?” His voice softened. “You are still pregnant, aren’t you?”
Abby glanced at the monitor, which showed the baby’s heartbeat. “Yes, she is fine.”
“She? We’re having a girl?”
Abby laughed. “One of us is.”
“Nope, you’re not going to take this from me. I’m too invested now. I don’t care if I get to be an aunt or an uncle, but I’m laying claim to protecting that baby girl right here and now, and I promise she’ll never want for anything as long as Auntie Uncle Kevin is here.”
Abby was surprised at how much talking to Kevin was brightening her mood. “Okay, sorry, but that’s just weird. You’ll have to pick one and stick to it.”
“Wait, how did you find out the baby is a girl?”
“We’re okay, Kevin,” Abby said, including the baby. “I’m in the hospital. I was a little dehydrated, and that caused the baby’s heartbeat to be a little slow. The doctor said she was lethargic, so they are keeping me here for a couple of days just to be sure.”
“Hospital? Which one? Not in New Orleans. They’ve evacuated everyone. Tell me which one, and I’ll be on my way,” Kevin urged.
Abby hadn’t considered that she’d been moved to a different area. Still, while the offer was tempting, Abby wasn’t willing to bring Kevin back into the fray without knowing for certain that Jacob was dead. She worked to keep the fear from her voice. “Don’t be silly. The news says the flights are all delayed. I’ll be out of the hospital before you even get here.” Wherever here is.
“Then I’ll drive.”
“Kevin, you know I love you, but the answer is no.”
“You’re holding out on me,” he said firmly. “Quit treating me like a baby you have to protect and tell me what’s really going on.”
Kevin was right. After all he’d done for her, he deserved to know the truth. “Okay. Jacob is dead; he has to be, as he didn’t follow me onto the roof.”
“Didn’t or couldn’t?” Kevin asked.
“We’ll talk about the details later,” she said, mentally willing him to understand her reluctance to speak about such things over the phone.
“Okay, so the poor thing perished in the flood,” Kevin said, letting her know he understood her need for secrecy. “How’d you get off the roof?”
“Helicopter.”
“Did they bring you up in a stretcher or strapped to a harness?”
“Harness.” She started to tell him the man’s name was Tom but knew he wouldn’t hear another word after that.
“Girl! I know that had to be exciting.”
“To be honest, I barely remember it.”
“You’re telling me you were hanging in mid-air strapped to a burly man, and you don’t recall any of the details?” Kevin’s voice was incensed.
Actually, even though she didn’t consider Gomez burly, she did recall every single detail; she simply wasn’t ready to relive it just yet. “I was dehydrated and riddled with grief, remember.”
“Oh yeah. But I still don’t understand why you think the Dick is alive. You said he wasn’t on the roof with you, so that means he wasn’t rescued. You don’t think he managed to swim to safety, do you?”
“I didn’t think so,” Abby replied.
“What changed your mind?”
“A number of things.”
“Sunshine, talking to you is like talking to a straight man who thinks every conversation is about me trying to turn him gay.”
Abby laughed. “Isn’t it?”
“Depends on what the man looks like, but that’s beside the point,” Kevin said with an extravagant southern drawl. “Now, unless that prepaid phone of yours comes with unlimited talk time, could you just tell me what you know without making me ask?”
“A woman came into the ER and said she was with FEMA. She asked a bunch of questions and then marked Jacob as presumed dead.”
“Presumed? Surely, she doesn’t think he’s still alive.”
“I don’t know what she thinks, but she said without a body, she would have to mark him presumed dead.”
“I can see her point. But that is just government bureaucracy and nothing for you to sink your teeth into.”
“Okay, I admit that it gave me pause, but I didn’t dwell on it. Then they transferred me to my room, and I had a dream.” A chill washed over her. “Oh, Kevin, the dream was so real. I was sleeping, and when I woke up, Jacob was standing over me, holding the baby. He told me he’d paid the doctors to sedate me until after the baby was born. He had the baby and was taking her to her new home. He made it sound as if that was all I was to him—a baby-making machine, and he would take every baby away.” She realized she was crying and wiped at her tears. “What if he’s alive?”
“It was just a dream, Sunshine. Probably brought on by the doubts instilled by the woman from FEMA.”
“That’s what I thought too,” Abby replied, “until Roberta, my nurse, told me there was a man in the ER asking about me. Kevin, she said he was wearing a suit. Jacob was wearing a suit in my dream. It can’t simply be a coincidence.”
“Sure it could,” Kevin said, though his words lacked conviction. “Seriously, just tell me where you are, and I’ll come get you.”
“No,” she said, leaving no room for argument. “This is my mess to clean up. Besides, Pearl knows I’m here.”
“The voodoo priestess is there? Why didn’t you say so?”
“I didn’t say she was here. I said she knows where I am. The ER nurse freaked out when she realized it was me because she said she’d had a dream about me even before I arrived. She said the woman told her that she was Eva. I’m assuming that Pearl knows too. It’s crazy, I know, but it’s true.”
“It’s not fair. How come everyone else gets visited by her in their dreams and not me? I mean, I was living right next to you. I helped, even though I knew the Dick might kill me, and does she come visit me? Nooo…wait, do you think she has something against gays?”
Abby laughed despite herself. “Maybe she hasn’t visited you because she doesn’t need to. You didn’t help me because she scared you into doing so. You helped me out of the goodness of your heart. Do you know how much that means to me?” Abby said sincerely. “You’re right. If Jacob had known you were helping, he would have had you killed.” She stopped short of telling him that Jacob had found out about their friendship and had indeed promised to kill him.
Kevin giggled. “He’d have to find someone new to do his dirty work.”
She knew Kevin was talking about the fact that Merrick was dead. “Yes, well, we’ll leave that for a later discussion.”
“You’re forgetting you are calling from a prepaid phone,” Kevin replied.
“You’re forgetting you’re not,” Abby reminded him.
“Point taken. You said the voodoo woman visited the nurse in her dreams. What did she say?”
“She told her to protect me.”
“And she believed her.”
Abby raised a brow to the phone. “Wouldn’t you?”
“Touché.”
“Don’t ever use that word again!” Abby said a bit too heatedly. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to snap. It’s just that Jacob used to say that.”
“Are you okay?” Kevin asked.
“I will be. It just feels like I’m living with ghosts,” Abby replied. “Jacob used to say New Orleans was the city of ghosts. He loved the city. I guess it’s only natural he’d become one of them.”
“Good, he can stay there when you leave. We don’t have room for them here at this house.”
Guilt washed over her as she realized she had yet to ask him how he was doing. “Oh, Kevin, I’m sorry. I was so caught up in my own stuff that I haven’t even bothered to ask how you are doing.”
“I’m good now that I know you’re okay. You are okay, right?”
She smiled at the phone. “I think I needed to hear your voice just as much as you needed to hear mine.”
“Why, Abby Buckley, I have half a mind to ask you to marry me.”
Abby’s smile widened. “If I weren’t in mourning and you were not gay, I’d gladly accept. Heck, maybe I’ll marry you anyway just to get rid of that last name. I wonder if it is too late to get an annulment.”
“Probably wouldn’t look good for a grieving widow,” Kevin mused. “Give it a few months, and then change it back to your maiden name. If anyone asks, you are too grief-stricken to be reminded of the past. Better get it done before the baby is born, or you’re going to have a constant reminder.”
“As opposed to the baby being one?” Abby regretted the comment as soon as she said it. “I didn’t mean that.” Only a part of her did.
“Yes, you did, and it’s perfectly understandable. But there’s no need to worry. You will fall in love with her as soon as you hold her in your arms and kiss that sweet little face.”
Abby frowned. “I wish I was as sure as you sound.”
“I had a friend who was raped. She couldn’t bring herself to terminate the pregnancy, nor did she want to raise the baby. She’d made all the preparations to give the child up for adoption and changed her mind the moment she heard him cry. And if for some reason you don’t feel that way, then you’ll give the little darling to me, and I’ll raise her as my own.”
“Thank you, Kevin.”
“No, thank you,” he said softly.
“For what?”
“For not saying no to that outright. Some would.”
“I do love my baby. I am just overly hormonal and emotionally battered. I have no intention of giving my child up for adoption, but if I were not able to raise her, I would fully trust you to the task.”
“And yet you barely know me.”
“I know you have a good heart and that you put other’s needs ahead of your own. I know that you shared your house with a psycho feline for days just to help me out, and that if I asked you to, you would get in the car right now to come save me. I know I don’t have the best track record, but judging from your actions thus far, I know you will make a great father someday and that you will be a terrific auntie uncle to my daughter.”
“When are you coming home?”
The comment caught her off guard. She faked a yawn. “I think I’m going to take a nap.”
“Okay. Promise to call me if you need anything,” Kevin replied. “Anytime, day or night.”
“I promise,” Abby said, disconnecting the call. She placed the phone in her lap, staring at it as if it had just created the most heinous crime. Only it wasn’t the phone who’d committed the act. It was Kevin. She’d never been in control of any aspect of her life, and now he’d just assumed she would follow him to Virginia. Running from one tragedy to what she’d considered a man who would keep her safe was precisely how she’d gotten into her current mess in the first place. But if not to Virginia, then where? She couldn’t stay in New Orleans. Even if the house hadn’t been destroyed, she would never feel safe living in Jacob’s shadow. Plus, if Jacob was right about them coming for the baby, she needed to leave before giving birth. Kevin had suggested she go back to her maiden name, but even that life had been a lie.
Abby picked up the cup from the bedside table and drained the contents. Staring into space as the cold water slid down her throat, she pictured the newspaper clipping she’d found in Jacob’s office that showed her birth parents, Todd and Clarice Rodgers, welcoming her home. Perhaps she could use their name. Then she thought of Brian, and her bottom lip trembled. Why couldn’t he have been the father of her child?
