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But that wasn’t what happened.
45
NATE
My shift was nearlyover when my phone rang. I groaned. Hopefully there hadn’t been an accident or anything that would mean I’d have to work overtime. I’d been looking forward to an evening with Grace and Tess. I withdrew my phone from my pocket and relaxed. It was just Tess.
“Hi, sweetheart,” I answered.
“Hi, Dad. Something is wrong with Grace.” Tess sounded distraught. “I went to her place after school like you said, since your shift hadn’t finished yet, and she’s in bed, throwing up. Alice is still here, and she’s sick too. What should I do? Grace looks really bad.”
Worry curled in my stomach. “Have you asked her if she knows what’s wrong?”
“She says it might be food poisoning,” Tess replied. “She and Alice both had lunch at the cafe today and started feeling sick not long after that.”
At least if Grace had been able to communicate that much, she probably had enough presence of mind to know whether she needed a hospital or not. The fact that she’d chosen to go to bed instead of calling for help probably meant she didn’t think it was anything major.
“Okay. You did the right thing by letting me know. I’m going to see if Max can come over and take a look at them. Did anyone else have lunch with them?”
“Um, hang on.” I heard the sound of movement and then faint voices. When Tess returned, she said, “Summer was with them, but she ate something different. Alice said she and Grace both had salad.”
“That’s good to know. I’ll be home as soon as I can, sweetheart. If either of them gets worse, call me back. Promise?”
“Yeah.” Her voice was small. “Please come soon.”
My heart squeezed at the plea in her voice. “I will. Love you.”
I said goodbye and ended the call, then placed another to Max, who said he’d just finished at the Medical Center and would drop by immediately. Next, I called Summer.
“Sick?” she asked when I put the question to her. “No, I’m fine. Why?”
I explained what had happened with Grace and Alice.
“Do you think I should visit and bring them dinner?” She sounded concerned.
“I’m sure Alice would appreciate that, but Grace is staying with me, so Tess and I will make sure she’s taken care of.”
“Oh, I bet you will.” Her tone was heavy with innuendo.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I demanded.
She laughed. “Nothing. Don’t stress. Hopefully, this is just some kind of twenty-four-hour bug, and they’ll both be fine tomorrow.”
“Hopefully,” I agreed.
We said our goodbyes, and I made one last phone call, to the cafe.
“Taste of Destiny. Eden speaking.” The girl was out of breath. Perhaps there had been a last-minute rush before closing.
“Eden, it’s Nate Braddock. I need to know if you’ve had any reported cases of food poisoning today.”
“God no.” She sounded shocked. “Why? The boss would have my head if something like that happened.”
I hesitated, unsure whether to worry her when the illness could be completely unrelated to the cafe. “It might be nothing, but Grace and Alice ate lunch there, and now they’re sick.”
She gasped.
“Like I said, it might not be related,” I hurried to add. “But if you get any other calls, please let me know.”
