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“You, too,” Carlie said, with a parting pat on the back. Then her mouth stretched in a grimace. “I’m feeling kind of queasy. Do you mind if I leave all this stuff here and go lie down for a bit?”
“Don’t worry. I’ll get it up to your room later if you’re feeling bad.” A worrisome thought hit her. “You couldn’t be pregnant, could you?”
Rylie’s eyes dropped to where Carlie’s hand was splayed across her flat tummy. It had only been four months since the divorce, so it wasn’t impossible.
“He quit sleeping with me a year ago. So apart from immaculate conception, there’s no baby in here making me nauseated.” Pain laced her words, despite her flippant comments. “It was probably something in the fancy salad I ate for lunch.”
“I’m sorry, Carlie. I had no idea it was that bad for so long.”
“I never told anyone, but he was unfaithful the last four or five years we were married. He hardly even apologized for it. He knew I wouldn’t dare leave him… not as long as our contract was still in effect. I filed for divorce the day it expired.”
Carlie’s hand came up to her mouth as her face turned a pale shade of green. Suddenly, she whirled around and dashed toward the bathroom.
“I’m coming,” Rylie yelled. “I’ll bring some water and a cool washcloth!”
Here’s hoping it’s not contagious.
Chapter 5
“I’m sorry, Jarrett.” Carlie’s voice croaked over the phone. “But I feel like death warmed over.”
“What’s wrong?” He tried to keep the panic from his voice. It was terrible timing. Still, he needed to be sympathetic.
“I think I got food poisoning yesterday. How soon would I have to come downtown?”
“I need you right away.” Jarrett rifled through the papers covering the top of his normally pristine desk, searching for the notes from his phone call with his attorney. His life was rapidly dissolving into chaos. “I got the adoption track approval, but only if I’m married. We need to get the marriage license and have the justice of the peace perform the ceremony this morning. The plane leaves at one. The final guardianship hearing is set for tomorrow morning in San Juan.”
“I can barely crawl to the toilet, much less go anywhere. Can’t we put it off a day?”
“Tomorrow’s Friday. We can’t afford to postpone another weekend. Gabe should’ve started his chemotherapy a week ago, maybe more. Honestly, his initial diagnosis should’ve happened months ago. Every day we wait makes his prognosis worse.”
“What are you going to do?” Her voice cracked. “I’ve ruined everything, getting sick. I shouldn’t have eaten those bean sprouts on my salad.”
He tamped down his frustration. Carlie hadn’t gotten food poisoning on purpose.
“I don’t know. Maybe we could get married this afternoon and fly out later, but scheduling is tricky. It’s a private airport, and their hours are restricted.”
“There’s honestly no way I’ll be able to go anywhere today.” Carlie groaned. “Maybe Rylie could stand in for me.”
His heart skipped a beat. “Rylie?”
“She can take my driver’s license and stand in for me at the courthouse and then use my passport and fly to Puerto Rico. No one would know the difference.”
“Do you think she’d do it?”
“You’ll have to ask her yourself,” Carlie said, weakly. “I don’t have the energy to go downstairs. I’m so sorry, but I can’t talk anymore.”
The call disconnected, and Jarrett stared at his cell phone. He really didn’t have a choice. Asking Rylie to substitute for her sister was his only chance at getting the adoption finalized tomorrow. And Gabe’s life hung in the balance. He wiped his sweaty palms on his pants and dialed Rylie’s number. She answered on the second ring.
“Hey, Jarrett. I’m not late, am I? Didn’t you tell me to come at noon?”
“No, you had the time right.”
“Oh, good. Because Carlie’s sick. I just got back from the pharmacy with some medicine.”
“Actually, that’s why I was calling. I kind of need a big favor. I just got word that I’ve been approved as a guardian on the adoption track.”
“That’s great!” Rylie said. “But what do you need from me?”
