Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 56799 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 284(@200wpm)___ 227(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56799 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 284(@200wpm)___ 227(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
“I wanted to paint an elephant but Fallon didn’t have any as examples,” Dakota said. “Hey! Did you know they used to ’xecute people by having elephants sit on them?” she asked.
Execute, he thought as the room went silent at her fact spouting. He loved how much she learned about ancient civilizations thanks to her mother, but he wished the information wasn’t always so… gruesome.
“That’s fascinating, honey. Okay, next gift,” Noah said, breaking the silence and shooting his brother Simon, who was about to laugh, a warning look.
His mother cleared her throat and went back to opening gifts. Once she’d finished, Fallon and Shannon insisted on helping with cleanup, throwing out all the wrapping paper and straightening up the kitchen.
Noah excused himself to take a call from one of the associates in his law firm who was working over the weekend and when he returned, his brothers were gathered around the leftover cake with the girls, who were eating an extra piece. That made him glad they were staying with his parents tonight. At least he wouldn’t have to get them to sleep while on a sugar high.
Shannon and his mother were talking in the corner and he’d passed his father, who’d dozed off in the recliner in the family room. Bless the man, he could sleep through the girls’ excitement and shrieking. Probably came from having three rambunctious sons and one outgoing daughter.
Looking around for Fallon, he found her looking out the sliding glass doors in the kitchen which showcased the view of his parents’ large yard. A pool, an old wooden swing set he and his siblings had used, and a beautiful sitting area under a gazebo.
He walked up behind her and put his arms around her waist, his chin on her shoulder. “Beautiful, isn’t it?”
She nodded. “You and your siblings must have had a blast playing outside when you were younger.”
“We did. The girls love it now.” He brushed her hair off her shoulder and whispered, “Did I mention they’re sleeping here tonight?”
A shiver racked her body and she leaned back against him. “I did notice their duffel bags.”
“So… your place or mine?” he asked.
“I—” Her words were cut off by the sound of a phone ringing. “That’s mine.” She slipped her hand into a pocket in her skirt, pulled out her cell, and glanced at it. “It’s Clara.” She slid her thumb across the screen and took the call. “Hello, Clara.”
Because he stood so close, he could hear the conversation.
“Hello, dear. I’m sorry to bother you but I’m at the gallery and I’m not feeling well. I can’t reach Oliver and I’m worried,” she said, lowering her voice.
Fallon’s body stiffened and she turned to Noah. “I need to go to her.”
He nodded, knowing how close she felt to her boss and mentor. “Why don’t you have her call 911, find out what hospital they’re taking her to, and we can meet her there?”
“You should stay with your family, I can take a rideshare.”
He shook his head. “Not happening.”
She shot him a grateful look, her gaze softening, then returned to the call and repeated what he’d said to Clara.
They said their goodbyes to the family, calmed the girls, assuring them Clara was a friend of Fallon’s and she’d be fine, and they were off.
Fallon was silent on the ride to the city, her worry for Clara causing her foot to tap while drumming her nails on the leather on the door.
Though he attempted to join Fallon inside the ER, he wasn’t family and they only wanted one person at a time. After claiming to be Clara’s daughter, she was allowed in.
She paused to talk to him first. “I don’t know how long I’ll be here, so you should go home. I can take an Uber home.” She rushed off to see Clara before he could reply.
He had no intention of leaving her to come out alone later. So Noah settled in to wait.
Chapter Thirteen
Fallon was directed to a cubicle with a sliding door to which Clara had been assigned. Her boss lay back in bed, her skin pale, oxygen being given to her through the small cannula in her nose.
“Clara, I’m here. I’d have come sooner but I wasn’t in the city. How are you?” Fallon pulled a chair over to the bed, lifted Clara’s hand, and held it between her palms.
“I was dizzy and out of breath. Oliver said he tried to get me an appointment with a specialist but there were no openings for six weeks. He said I should go to work and it would be mind over matter. I’d feel better being busy.”
Fallon clenched her teeth. Sylvie was supposed to work today and she was bringing a friend to train.
But what was wrong with Oliver? Was he trying to work his mother to death? “Oh, Clara. I wish you’d called me sooner.”