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“Alex?”
“Yeah?” He looked back. She was still sitting hunched in the corner, her knees in her face.
“Go back to church—and not because you think I’ll be there.”
“Hey, I thought it was a pretty good reason.” Church belonged to that distant part of his life that had involved two parents and two children attending as a family.
“I mean it.”
“I know you do. I’ll think about it.”
“Good-bye, Alex.”
“Not good-bye.Hasta luego.”
“Until later?”
“Yeah.” He closed the door, then closed his eyes for a second. No sounds from the other side of the door. He’d almost gotten away with the feeling that they had cleared a hurdle. Then she had to go and mention church.
One step forward. Two steps back.
Chapter Twenty-two
Daniel struggled to open his eyes. They were glued shut. Cracks in his lips burned. His tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth. The familiar smells of coffee and donuts that usually filled Pastor Wilson’s office were gone, replaced with antiseptic odors. He tried to remember what had happened. He’d been in the office and then . . . something . . . with Nicole. “Water. Please, somebody, I need water.”
A cool hand brushed against his cheek. “I’m right here,mi amor. Can you open your eyes?”
Mi amor.He hadn’t heard those words directed at him in a very long time. Nicole’s voice had a gentle quality that took him back to the days when she’d sat in the rocking chair with Phoebe in her arms, cooing little sweet nothings to her newborn baby.
Tears formed and seeped from the corner of his eyes. They slipped into his hair. He forced his eyes open. Her face filled his vision. Tousled hair and smudged makeup did nothing to detract from her classic beauty. He closed his eyes and opened them again to make sure it wasn’t a hallucination brought on by fever. She was still there. Why? If she was leaving him for another man, why was she still there?
He opened his mouth to ask, but the worried faces of Samuel and Susana, side by side at the foot of the bed, made him stop. “Am I in the hospital? You didn’t let them admit me, did you? What about Benny? I have to find Benny.”
“Yes, you’re in the hospital, Danny. Alex and Joaquin and the rest are working the case. You’re sick. You passed out. You have a temperature of one-hundred-three. You scared me to death.” Nicole’s dropped her hand. “Do you feel any better?”
“Why are you here?” He couldn’t keep the sarcasm out of his voice. “Still.”
“To make sure you’re all right.”
“I didn’t know you still cared.” He tried to sit up. “I want out of here. Now.”
Samuel moved around so he was closer. “The doctor says you’re badly dehydrated, and the fever is out of control. You’re to stay in bed until they can get it down. Let us worry about Benny.”
“Ray and the rest of the gang will find him,” Susana chimed in. She crowded Nicole, without looking at the other woman. She’d never been a big fan of Daniel’s wife.
Nicole held her ground. “What can I do for you?”
Besides let him come home? “I need a drink of water.”
Nicole beat Susana to the pitcher on the stand by the bed. A few seconds later she handed him a glass with a straw in it. He sipped greedily, making slurping sounds. His hand shook and water spilled on his gown. Her hand covered his, steadying the glass. “Is that better?”
“Yeah.” He looked at the ceiling, breathing for a few seconds. Anger mixed with fear fueled the nausea. “Samuel, Susana, could I have a few minutes alone with my wife?”
Susana’s mouth came open, but Samuel grabbed her arm and hustled her toward the door. “We’ll be right outside if you need us,” she called back before the door slammed behind them.
Daniel laid his head back, coughed, sat back up, coughing so hard, he was afraid he’d vomit. Nicole patted his shoulder. “Should I get the nurse?”
“No. No.” He laid back again, gasping for air. “What’s wrong with me?”
