AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Leo had spentthe night in Amelia’s hospital room, not daring to leave her side. He hated that she had a reaction on his time. It had been almost a year since the last time she’d had a reaction. This one had been one of the worse, other than her very first one, and only then because he had no idea what was happening.
Stacy had been pissed when he had called to tell her that Amelia was in the hospital, and she was more pissed that Lucy had made the meal that sent her there, as pissed as he was at his fiancée. How could she have forgotten about the allergy? She forgot nothing.
There had been an epic fight in the hallway with Stacy about Lucy. He wanted to be on Stacy’s side and condemn Lucy for what she had done, but she was his fiancée, and she deserved a little loyalty.
Amelia had wanted her mom more than him by morning, so he had gone home. Aubrey had left hours before. His oldest daughter had been with him at the hospital, and he had only belatedly realized he should have brought Lucy with him, except he was still mad at her, he reminded himself as he opened his front door.
“How is she?” Kelly asked, coming in from the living room. Her clothes were rumpled as if she had spent the night on the couch.
“Kelly? What are you doing here?” Leo asked in surprise. He was expecting one of the girls or Lucy, not his ex-wife.
“Babysitting. Lucy left. She knew you trusted me and asked me to come over.”
“Thank you for coming. I think it all scared her.”
“More than scared her, Leo,” Kelly said and held up a ring, Lucy’s ring.
“What?” He grabbed it away from her.
“And she said she couldn’t work for you either. She didn’t mean to do it, Leo. It was an accident.” Kelly folded her arms.
“She used almond milk, Kelly,” Leo stated.
“So, you think she was trying to kill Amelia, an eight-year-old, with a milkshake? Were you really going to marry a person you thought was capable of that? Or was it an accident? Did she just use the wrong milk substitute in error? Is she human, Leo?” Kelly demanded.
Leo shook his head. “I don’t know.”
“Then I suggest you let her go, because if you don’t know her enough to know that, then you shouldn’t be with her. I saw her, Leo. She was still shaking when I got here. She thinks she killed a child, Leo. Does she even know she didn’t?” Kelly yelled at him, something she rarely did. One of the reasons their marriage ended when it did was that Kelly did not like to fight.
“I don’t have time for this, Kelly. I have to get back to the hospital,” Leo lied. He didn’t need to be back until he’d slept, but he also didn’t need to be yelled at by this ex-wife. He had gotten enough of that with the last one.
“Leo, stop acting like the man I divorced and start acting like the man Lucy thinks you are.”
Shaking his head at her words he reminded her, “We are the same person.”
“I hope you are not, for her sake,” Kelly said in a huff, slamming the door as she left the house. Just like she had when she had left him all those years ago, and just like then, he was left hating himself for how he treated those around him.
The followingMonday morning was as sunny as any other for Leo, except his fiancée was gone, his secretary was gone, and he had missed a day at work, so he was still behind. Not that it mattered since his mind wasn’t on his company. He was too focused on his fiancée and personal assistant.
She hadn’t contacted him since Wednesday night, and he hadn’t contacted her. He knew she was back home with Agatha and was still torn up by what happened—Alexis had told him that morning. Alexis had heard it from her new friend, Emma, Lucy’s sister.
Yes, Lucy had quit working for him, but she hadn’t come to get her stuff, and he hadn’t boxed it up to send to her yet. Nor had he even thought about hiring someone else. The desk had sat empty for almost two weeks now and could remain that way for a little longer.
He had spent her bed rest week trying to decipher what the calendar said, finding a small pattern in the jumbled words, then losing it before he looked again. He had missed a few meetings that week and even more after Amelia had gotten out of the hospital.
Today he had a 1:00 p.m. meeting somewhere and with someone, but he couldn’t figure it out. As with other days, he just waited to be late, and the person usually gave him a call about it. It seemed to work for now but wouldn’t work forever. He would have to hire someone if Lucy didn’t come back.
Mostly he expected her to come back, to at least work for him. But he didn’t want her to just work for him; he wanted her with him always. He had looked forward to the days they would come to work together and go home together, to be the one who took her home and talked about her day with.
He was so lost in imagining his lost life with Lucy, he didn’t notice her mother walk into the room. “Leo, I am here to pick up Lucy’s stuff.”
He hadn’t expected Lucy to send someone to actually get her stuff. He thought she’d come back for it so that maybe he could talk to her, to see what she said about that night.
“It’s in there.” He pointed at her desk, as if her mom had no idea where her things would be.
“Okay.” She turned and went back out.
