The River Rolls On (Bellingwood Book 10) (4 page)

"This might take a few minutes," she said. "Make yourself comfortable in the lounge. I'll be back."

Marie nodded and then followed Polly into the addition and watched as she knocked on the door to Sarah Heater's room. Evelyn opened the door and gave Polly a look of surprise and then a quick hug.

Polly waved to Marie and shut the door behind her.

"Polly Giller, are the rumors true about you?" Evelyn Morrow, Sarah's nurse whispered.

"Probably. And that's why I'm here. How's Sarah doing?"

"As well as can be expected. She drifts in and out. The drugs are keeping the pain at bay, but not all the time. She's either awake and hurting or asleep and quiet."

Polly took a deep breath. "When do you think I could speak with her?"

"Let's just see what we can do," Evelyn said and walked to the bed. They'd moved the large bed off to one side a couple of months ago and replaced it with a hospital bed so Sarah could find more positions to be comfortable. It was facing the south windows because she had fallen in love with the horses and donkeys in the pasture. Eliseo made sure to exercise them in the pen where she could see them and as it got warmer, they spent more and more time playing outside.

Polly smiled at their antics. This had been the perfect room for Sarah. The windows to the south were filled with gorgeous horses and the windows to the west looked out over Eliseo's garden to the sycamore tree-lined creek. Spring had brought a great deal of beauty to Polly's back yard and she was glad Sarah could enjoy it.

"Sarah?" Evelyn asked quietly. "Can you hear me? Polly is here. Are you able to talk to her?"

Sarah's eyes fluttered open and a tiny smile crossed her lips. Her eyes shut almost immediately, but she reached her hand out and Evelyn took it.

"When she's too tired to speak, she still communicates with us," Evelyn said. "Take her hand. She'll squeeze it when she has something to say."

Polly took Evelyn's place by Sarah's bedside and then took Sarah's hand in hers. All of a sudden she had no idea what to say to the woman. Everything that had been important up to this point suddenly seemed trivial. Even the fact that she'd been kidnapped yesterday meant nothing in the face of Sarah's last few days on earth.

There was no need to talk to her about what was happening here. Sarah trusted Polly and the people around her to care for Rebecca long into her daughter's future. That and making sure that Rebecca knew how much she was loved were the only things of any importance. This fact settled so deeply into Polly's soul that she was still and watched as the woman breathed in and out.

Evelyn smiled and gestured to the chair beside Sarah's bed. Polly sat down.

"We've said everything we need to say to each other," Polly finally said. "I can't tell you how grateful I am that you trust your daughter to me. I wish you could be here to watch everything she becomes, but I will always do my best to make sure she's happy."

Sarah smiled again and Polly felt her fingers gently squeeze. She wanted to hold this poor woman close - anything to generate enough energy so she could continue to live.

"You've taught me so much," Polly said. "Just now I learned a huge lesson about what's important."

Sarah lifted one eye as if asking a question.

"It's only love. That's all. Nothing else. None of the silly stresses we put on ourselves, no gossip or trying to be better than anyone else. Not competition or being a great business person. None of that. Just making sure we love each other. That's the only thing that matters right now. It's the only thing that should ever matter."

Sarah nodded her head and her eyes fluttered again. She opened her mouth and spoke so quietly that Polly couldn't hear.

"What?" Polly asked.

Sarah tried to speak again and Polly leaned in closely to hear her.

"I love you."

It was too much. Polly started to cry and leaned in to put her head next to Sarah's. She whispered, "Oh Sarah, I love you too. Thank you for what you've given me this last year."

"I love you," Sarah said again and squeezed Polly's hand.

Polly stayed for a few more moments until she felt Sarah's breathing even out. She stood up and then dropped back into the chair, her hand still in Sarah's. Evelyn crossed the room and put a box of tissues on the table beside them.

"Is this too much for Rebecca now?" Polly asked. "Are we asking too much of her to stay in this room with her mother?"

Evelyn stood at the head of Sarah's bed and stroked her patient's thin hair. "These two have been together for a lifetime. It isn't easy for either of them, but asking Rebecca to leave her mother at this point would be a terrible mistake. She might be young, but she understands what is happening."

"I feel like we're stripping away her childhood - making her grow up too fast. No one should have to experience death like this."

"How do you think Rebecca would respond if you asked her to walk away?" Evelyn asked.

"It would destroy her. I just wish she wasn't doing it alone."

"She's not, dear. I'm here and you're close by. Her friends, Andrew and Kayla, are sticking by her. And best of all, her mother is here. Rebecca dealt with much of her grief while her mother was still able to help."

Sarah squeezed Polly's hand and rubbed her thumb across Polly's finger. Then she pulled her hand away, patted Polly's and dropped it beside her.

"She just told me it's okay, I think." Polly said.

Evelyn smiled. "You're going to have the hardest job, you know."

"What do you mean?"

"After Sarah dies, Rebecca is going to feel lost. She spends every waking hour here, waiting on her mother. Those hours are going to be empty and she won't know what to do with them. Find things for her to do. Find ways for her to return to a normal life. Make it happen gradually, but help her make the transition."

"I can do that," Polly said. "Okay. I'll leave you two alone." She glanced at the recliner in the corner and noticed balls of yarn beside it. "Are you knitting, too?"

"I crochet," Evelyn said. "I'm teaching Rebecca. We're making granny squares for a blanket. I thought it might be fun for her to have to remember this time."

"You're an amazing woman."

"I've just been down this path a number of times. Each family makes it their own."

"Thank you for everything. I'll be back tomorrow."

Evelyn walked with her to the door of the room. "I'm just glad you were able to be with us today. You take care of yourself, okay?"

"I can't believe you heard about what's going on out there while being stuck in this room all the time."

"I have my sources," Evelyn said with a grin. "They keep me up to date on everything."

"Thank you again. For everything."

Polly left and went back into the main building. She ducked her head in the lounge and didn't see Marie, so went into the office.

"Have you seen Marie?" she asked Stephanie.

"She went back to the kitchen. Lydia and her friends came in. But you're supposed to stay here."

Polly rolled her eyes. "Surely I can walk back to the kitchen by myself."

"Please?" Stephanie begged.

"Fine." Polly sat down in a chair while Stephanie buzzed back to the kitchen.

In less than a minute, Marie, Lydia, Beryl and Andy joined them in the office.

"Are you ready for some excitement?" Beryl asked.

"Nope. Not on your life."

"Too bad. I'm here and it's time to get this party started. Let's go up to your apartment and see what we can stir up."

CHAPTER FOUR

"Henry, I just can't do this anymore," Polly said.

"What's that?"

"Don't give me that. I'm going out of my mind. I've been stuck inside for four days. They haven't found my truck, they've not seen hide nor hair of the men who kidnapped me and there haven't been any more threats. You can't keep me inside forever or I will lose it all over you." To emphasize her threat, Polly threw her arms up in the air and shook her head back and forth.

"But Polly."

"No. Your mother has been stuck here and my friends have run out of interesting things to do to keep me occupied. I've tried hard to be a good girl and not complain, but you have to release me."

"I can't let you go out there by yourself," he said. "I just can't."

"Would you let me go with someone else?"

He dropped his head into his hands. "There are two men who were so bent on kidnapping you that they drugged you, hid your truck and strapped you down. Do you think my Mom could protect you? How about Joss or Sal or any of your friends? Is it fair to ask them to be hurt because you want to go outside?"

"
That's
not fair," she said and began to cry. "I didn't ask for this to happen to me. And no, I don't want anyone to be hurt. You know that. That was a crappy thing to say to me."

"I'm terrified every day when I leave that something will happen and I'll get a call telling me you've been taken again."

"How long are you going to keep me captive?" she asked.

"I'll make you a deal. If you can wait until tomorrow, I'll take you out. We'll go to Des Moines or heck, I don't care, let's go over to Omaha."

"We don't need to go that far. I just want to be able to see my friends in their homes and I want to ride Demi again."

Henry scowled at her. "You haven't ridden him in the last three weeks and you want me to believe you're pining for a ride?"

"Well, if I had wanted to, I couldn't. You've made that impossible. Don't you think I'd be safe with Eliseo?"

He nodded. "You probably would. He's one of the few people I'd trust to take care of you in nearly any situation."

"Where are you working today?"

Henry opened his mouth to tell her and then stopped himself. "No. You can't come with me."

"Why not? You're going to be at the coffee shop, aren't you?"

He drew a breath in through his nose and shut his eyes as if to regain his equilibrium. "I can't keep an eye on you while I'm working." He opened his eyes and begged her, "And I can imagine all sorts of terrible things happening to you right under my eyes."

"Your nose," she said quietly.

"What?"

"The phrase is 'right under my nose' unless you want to say 'right in front of my eyes.'"

"Whatever. See, you have me so flustered that I can’t even speak correctly. What if the kidnapper walked in off the street and took you out and no one noticed?"

"I just want to see how things are coming. I can't do anything!"

"One more day. I promise to take you out tomorrow. We'll go anywhere you want. If you want to see the progress at the coffee shop, we'll do that. If you want to have lunch or dinner at Davey's, we'll do that. If you want to spend the evening at Secret Woods, we'll do that. Anything, I promise. Just please be patient today."

"Can we take the dogs for a walk somewhere? They haven't had a long walk in a week."

He sighed. "Sure. But can we leave Bellingwood to do that?"

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know. Can we go to Kansas City or Chicago for the weekend?"

"You know I won't go that far away from Sarah and Rebecca."

"I know," he said, dejectedly.

"What about tonight? Can we go somewhere tonight?"

"Where do you want to go?"

"I don't know. But somewhere. Maybe to Joss and Nate's house or out with Sal and Mark." She clutched at his arm. "Please. I'm begging you. If I have to get down on my knees, I will. Please."

"Why don't you invite them to come over here?"

Polly pushed him away. "It's not the same. Sal and Joss have been in and out all week long trying to keep me sane. I just want to leave these four walls!"

Han and Obiwan ran across the floor from Henry's office.

"See what you made me do?" she asked.

"What's that?"

"Doug and Billy heard me yell when they opened the door downstairs to let the dogs back in."

"So, I made you do that."

"Well, you did." Polly stuck her lower lip out.

Henry reached up and pinched it gently between his index finger and thumb. "Enough of that. You will live through this, I promise. I can't believe you are being so impatient."

"You get stuck inside for five days, not knowing when the next time you'll be able to leave. Tell me how easy it is then."

"Polly, think about our honeymoon."

She nodded. "Okay, yeah. It was a great week."

"How much of that week do you remember?"

"All of it."

"No. You remember highlights. It's all compressed in your mind. You look back on it now and it seems like we were gone such a short time. This week is no big deal in the overall scheme of our lives, but having you safe is a huge deal for everyone who loves you."

She jammed her lower lip out again and turned up her nose.

"That's pretty," he said.

"I hate it when you're right." Polly flopped down on a chair at the dining room table. "I'll be good."

"Thank you. I'm going to go knock on Sarah's door to see if Rebecca is ready for school." He turned to leave the dining room, then turned back. "We're going to have this conversation several more times before this is all over, aren't we."

"What do you think?"

"I think I need to hire two big, burly bodyguards."

"Just make sure they're hot."

"Got it."

~~~

Polly had promised to stay in the office so Marie could run errands and take care of things in her own life. She tried not to pout and be in a bad mood, but it was proving exceedingly difficult. Jeff had been in and out with different plans and ideas, but she knew he was just trying to give her something to think about. She'd finally kicked him out and shut her door.

A soft tap sounded. "Polly?" Stephanie asked.

"Yes." Polly gave herself a mental slap and told herself to quit taking her frustration out on people around her.

"The mail's here. Do you want it now or later?"

"Come on in. I promise not to bite," Polly said.

Stephanie opened the door, stepped in and put the mail on Polly's desk. "Can I get you anything? Sylvie and Rachel are practicing some sort of fancy pastry thing back in the kitchen. I thought I'd see if they needed a taste tester. Would you like a cup of the good coffee?"

Polly had picked up the stack of mail and was flipping through it, thinking to herself: bill, bill, junk, bill, bill, junk, junk. "Good coffee?" she asked.

"Do you want some?"

"Yes and I'd love one of the pastry things. Thank you, but I hate making you be my gofer."

"I don't mind," Stephanie said. "You've had a rough week."

"Not so much. I feel like the laziest thing on this earth."

"Like I said. Rough week."

Polly looked up and gave her a grin. "Thanks for understanding. I'm a little prickly today. I'll try to be better."

"You're fine. Do you need anything else?"

"No. I'm good. Thanks."

Polly pulled out a business envelope that was addressed to her personally. In fact, it said 'Personal' in the bottom left corner. As if anyone here would open her mail. She and Henry didn't get much personal mail, but sometimes cards and letters showed up. His business mail was sent to the office at his shop, but still. Marking this as personal mail felt like overkill.

She set it to the side and sorted the rest, tossing the junk into the recycling can under her desk.

"What do you think this is?" she asked out loud, picking up the envelope with her name on it.

"Excuse me?" Stephanie said, coming into the office.

Polly smiled. "Sorry. Just talking to myself."

"Here's coffee and a few funky little tarts. Sylvie said you'd like the raspberry."

"Five pounds."

"What?"

"I'm going to gain at least five pounds this week. I can't go out to walk my dogs and all Sylvie does is feed me good food."

"Oh. Okay."

Polly gave a quick shake of her head. "I'm sorry. More prickly Polly. This is wonderful. Thank you."

"It's okay. Do you need me to do anything with this?" Stephanie looked at the mail on Polly's desk.

"Thanks. This batch is for Jeff and here are the bills."

Stephanie made sure everything was entered and matched with purchase orders before handing it all back to Polly to approve. Polly wasn't sure why she got the mail in the first place. Stephanie knew everything that happened. They were probably just trying to give her something to do this week.

Once Stephanie was gone, Polly took a bite of the raspberry tart. Sylvie was having a great time experimenting with things for the bakery. So far, she hadn't had many failures.

"Now. What's up here?" Polly picked the envelope back up. She peeled back a corner and slipped her fingers underneath the flap and ripped it open to find a single piece of paper folded in thirds.

She flipped the top up and took a breath, then reached for her phone and dialed.

"Tell me you are still safe and sound in your little cocoon," Aaron said.

"Aaron, something awful has happened."

"What? Where are you?"

"I'm sorry. I'm in my office. I'm fine. Everyone here is fine."

"Oh. Okay. Don't do that to me. What happened?"

"I just got a piece of mail. I think it's from the kidnappers."

"What makes you think that? Where did it come from? And oh, by the way, quit touching it."

Polly dropped everything onto her desk. She remembered this.

"Stephanie?" she called out.

"Yes, Polly?"

"Could you do me a favor and run to the kitchen and get a pair of tongs. I'll tell you why in a minute."

"Polly?" Aaron asked.

"I'm getting tongs. I hope I haven't smudged anything with my fingers. I didn't even think about that when I opened it."

"Stop it. Don't worry. Now tell me why you think it's from the kidnappers?"

"The first line I read was
'Just because she looks a little like you doesn't mean that she was as good as you. I'll bet you don't know what we did next.'
"

"Anything else?"

"It's under the fold. Stephanie is getting tongs."

"You can probably touch the very corners of the thing."

Stephanie put the tongs down on the desk and turned to leave. Sylvie was standing right behind her in the doorway.

"What's up?" Sylvie mouthed.

Polly pointed down to the letter and Sylvie dropped into a chair across from her.

"I have tongs. Just a second," she said to Aaron. Polly held the top corner with her index finger and gently opened the second fold, then lay the tongs across it to hold it open. "There's a picture."

"Of what?" he asked.

"Of a young woman sitting in the front seat of my truck." Polly gulped. "I think she's dead. I can't tell for certain, but this doesn't look right."

"Does the letter say anything else?"

Polly took a deep breath and read.
"I didn't want to have to hurt her, but it just wasn't the same. Why did you leave? That changed everything. Until you come to me, I will have to find a replacement. I hope the next one is smarter than this one. Please don't make me wait too long. You know we belong together."

"Aaron?" she asked quietly.