12

 

Riley knew he had no choice. He couldn’t get out of it. He had to dance with Marylou. He trudged over to her table. If he imagined Calley in his arms, he could make it through.

“Marylou…” He was interrupted by a scene over by the restrooms.

“Calley!” someone yelled.

He turned. BJ had Calley by the arm, holding her up. He hurried to her side. Calley’s face was pale.

“What happened?” He scooped her into his arms and took her to a chair.

“I don’t know.” BJ’s voice quivered. “She got into an altercation with her mother. As they walked out, she stumbled.”

Riley glanced over at Nanette. She remained seated, not even looking in their direction. He caught Allison’s eye. She stood and rushed over.

“Is she all right?” Allison said. “Maybe we should take her to the emergency room.”

“I’m fine. I just got dizzy.” Calley wiped a trembling hand over her forehead. “I’m not sure why.”

“Too much stress. The doctor said you needed to take it easy.” BJ put an arm around her. “Could even be the food you ate.”

“BJ might be right,” Riley said. “But I agree with Allison. We need to get you to a doctor.”

“I don’t want to go to the emergency room. I’ll call my OB-GYN and see if she can see me. She’s open on Saturdays.” Calley glanced around. “Where’s my purse?”

“I see it.” Allison rushed to the multi-colored bag and shoveled items from the floor inside. “Here.”

Calley searched for her cell phone. Her fingers didn’t just tremble, her entire hand shook.

Riley knew this was more than a bad bite of chicken. “Let me do it.” He took the phone from her to dial. “Dr. Mason, correct?”

“Yeah.” Her voice was weak.

Riley contacted the office, and Dr. Mason agreed to see Calley within the hour. Riley walked her to his car, insisting on driving her. She was certainly in no condition to drive herself. As they pulled out of the parking lot of the church, he took hold of Calley’s trembling hand.

As much as he hated to dance with Marylou, he’d rather be doing that right now than rushing Calley to the doctor’s. He would do just about anything if it meant Calley and the baby were safe and healthy.

 

****

 

A chill ran over Calley as she sat in the waiting room. Why had she gotten dizzy? She’d had arguments with her mother before. She glanced at two other women who waited. They each had wedding rings on their fingers. Calley covered her left hand with her right.

“What’s wrong?” Riley took her hand in his.

“Just cold.”

He pulled his suit jacket off and placed it around her shoulders. “Don’t worry. I’m sure everything will be fine.”

“I hope so.” She fought tears wanting to form. “I’m sorry you’re missing the reception. You can go back if you’d like. I can take a cab or call when I get done.”

“No. In fact, I owe you one.”

“Why?”

“If you hadn’t pulled this stunt, I’d be dancing with Marylou. She’d probably be coming up with more okra recipes to tempt me into her web.”

Calley laughed. “You keep making jokes like that, and people will think I’m a bad influence on you.”

He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her into a hug. “That you are Calley Regan. That you are.”

Calley leaned into Riley’s arm. Her body filled with warmth from being so near him. Better yet, she felt safe and assured, like everything would be all right. She rested her head against his shoulder and looked around the room. There were small signs about the defects smoking can cause on a baby if you smoke while pregnant. Another about alcohol. And one for adoption services. She shuddered as she recalled James Newman, III approaching her at the reception.

She turned her head toward Riley’s chest, inhaling his woodsy cologne. He kissed her forehead, and a secure feeling rushed through her.

“Calley.” A nurse walked through a closed door to the back room. “The doctor will see you now.”

Calley’s legs wobbled. She glanced down at Riley. “Would you come, too?”

Riley rose and held his hand on her back to guide her. It gave her some comfort just in case something happened to the baby.

The nurse directed her to an empty room and had her lay upon the table. Then, she placed a black blood pressure band around Calley’s arm before taking Calley’s pulse and temperature. Every bad thought Calley could imagine rushed through her mind. After waiting less than ten minutes, Dr. Mason walked in. She was a tall thin woman with deep red hair. She glanced over at Riley, nodded her head, then proceeded to Calley.

“I understand you had a dizzy spell.” She placed a stethoscope over Calley’s heart then moved to her belly.

“Yeah. I’m worried because I had a mild heart attack not too long ago.”

The doctor paused and opened the file. She nodded as she read. “There was a lot of stress that day. What about today? Anything stressful?”

“Nothing much,” Calley said. “I got into a fight with my mom, but that’s a pretty common occurrence.”

“Were you doing anything strenuous before?” The doctor wrote as she talked.

“She was dancing.” Riley took a step forward from the corner of the room.

“Dancing?” The doctor snickered. “Well, the baby sounds fine. Strong heartbeat.”

“Good.” Calley let out a heavy breath.

“I don’t think it was your heart this time, but I am worried about your blood pressure. It’s extremely high. We’re going to keep you here for a little bit to see if we can get it down. That’s probably what caused the dizzy spell. Being pregnant gives added stress to your system. Keep the dancing to a minimum. Maybe one or two at a time, then rest in between. No jumping around.”

“I guess I caused some of this.” Riley walked over to Calley once the doctor left the room.

“It wasn’t like I complained about it. I was having fun. I’m sorry about all this. I should have known I was overdoing it.” She adjusted the pillow behind her head. “She said I’d be here a while so if you want to go back, I’ll be here waiting.”

“Not a chance.” He brushed her hair from her forehead. “I’m here for the long haul.”

“I guess I didn’t realize how much stress this has all been. I need to relax more.” She grinned. “Not that I’m overworked the way BJ spoils me.”

“You’ve had a rough couple of months.”

“I guess so.”

“But I know the perfect way to get you to relax. You can just sit back and think of nothing.”

“Really. What’s that?”

“Bright and early tomorrow morning.” He flicked an index finger over her nose. “I’m taking you fishing.”

 

****

 

The light from the living room sneaked under Calley’s bedroom door. She glanced at the digital clock on her bedside table. 1:26. All was quiet. Maybe someone forgot to turn off the light. She crept from bed and out to the living room. Riley stood against the fireplace. His T-shirt was untucked over a dark pair of sweat pants. He ran a hand over his eyes as he stared at a picture.

“Riley?”

He sniffled and wiped at his face. “Calley. I’m sorry. Did I wake you?” His voice was fragile.

“No.” She took a step into the living room. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine.” He laid the picture on the mantle, walked into the kitchen, pulled out a glass, and filled it with tap water.

Calley went over to the fireplace mantle and picked up the worn photograph. The aroma of old ash from the fireplace pit drifted over her. She swallowed hard when she saw the blonde woman in the picture holding hands with a younger smiling Riley.

“She’s very pretty,” Calley said.

“Yeah. She was.”

She placed the picture back down. “Were you close?”

“Yeah.”

“Her name’s Beth, isn’t it?”

He turned and looked at her. The light from the living room cast a shadow over his tall masculine features. “How did you know about Beth?”

“I heard you a couple of nights ago call out her name while you were sleeping.” Calley walked into the dining room, but kept her eyes on Riley. “Can I ask you what happened?”

“She died in a bank robbery.”

Her heart leapt into her throat. “I’m so sorry. That must have been very hard for you.”

He didn’t say anything, just continued to stare at her.

“If you want to talk about it,” she said, “I’m willing to listen.”

“Thanks. There isn’t much else to say. It was a while ago.”

“It’s obvious you still care about her very much.”

He nodded. “But there comes a time when you need to move on.” He let out a heavy breath. “I think we both need to get to bed if we’re going fishing tomorrow.”

“I thought you were kidding.”

“No. The doctor said you needed to take it easy, and there’s nothing more relaxing than fishing.”

“I’m thinking getting up at five isn’t going to be too relaxing.”

“You can handle it.” He gave her a weak smile.

She sighed. “Why do I get the feeling you’re going to enjoy this more than I will?”

She turned and walked back to her room. The pain in Riley’s face was evident. Her heart broke for him. He must have loved Beth very much. An ache filled Calley’s soul. How could she be jealous of a dead woman?

 

****

 

Riley reclined in the boat, his hat covering his eyes. Calley sat beside him, a fishing pole in her hand as she stared at the water. She rested her chin on her free hand. The air was warm, and the fish weren’t biting.

“This is all there is to fishing?” Calley heaved a heavy breath.

“Yep.”

“You just sit here and wait?”

“Yep.” A smile tugged at his lips. He hadn’t realized how much he missed fishing until they got out here. The horizon slowly released its hold on the sun. No breeze blew, and the surface of the lake lay flat and steady. After a hard week at work, he finally relaxed. For someone as energetic as Calley, it was probably trying on her nerves. With her boredom, he was surprised she didn’t ask any more about Beth. For some reason it had been easy for him to speak to Calley about it.

“There’s got to be some way to spice it up and make it more fun,” Calley said.

“Nothing you can do until you get a fish to take the bait.”

“It’s been almost an hour and a half. I don’t think that’s going to happen.”

He rose to a seated position. “You really have no patience, do you?”

“I’m bored.” She glanced around. “Well, I guess we’re just going to have to talk.” She looked over at Riley and gave him a big grin. “Something men just love to do.”

“Why didn’t you bring a book or something to keep you busy?”

“I thought there would be more to it than this. I’ve never been fishing before.” She sighed. “It must be a man thing.”

“What? Sitting back, relaxing and enjoying the view?” He swept his hand toward the open lake. When she didn’t say anything he figured the talking part might not be such a bad thing. There was a lot he still didn’t know about her. “Okay, what do you want to talk about?”

“I don’t know. Do my version of twenty questions.”

“And how do you play your game of twenty questions?” He removed his hat and wiped his forehead. Not exactly what he had in mind, but why not?

“We ask each other twenty questions. It can be about anything, and the other person has to answer.”

Riley shrugged his right shoulder. “Okay, ask away.”

She had a serious look in her eye. One that showed concern. “Were you married to Beth?”

“No. We were engaged.” He rubbed a finger down her bare arm. Her skin was soft to the touch. “It’s okay. I don’t mind talking about her. I think the wedding just brought up the memories. Thanks for asking about her.”

“I am sorry.”

“Thanks.” He scanned the blue water. “Now it’s my turn. Where’s your dad?”

“He’s dead. Where are …?”

“Wait. That’s it. No explanation? How am I supposed to get any information if all I get is a two-word answer?”

“You can make that your next question.” She nudged him with her shoulder. “It’s my turn. Where are your parents? See. You’ve got to word it just right so you get as much knowledge as possible.”

Riley scratched his chin. Two could play at this game. “They’re dead.”

“I keep hitting sore points.”

“No, you don’t. I’ll answer anything you want me to. Of course, now it’s my turn. Were you and your father close?”

“No.” She swallowed hard. “I guess this isn’t as much fun as I thought it would be. Is it?”

He shook his head. Calley jiggled the pole and looked out over the water.

“Let me check your bait. It must be water-logged by now,” Riley said. He hated to see the pain in Calley’s eyes when she spoke of her father.

Riley leaned forward in the boat while Calley reeled the line in. She grimaced while she watched him mess with all the hooks attached to the lure. Once finished, he reclined back next to her.

“Ick,” she said. “I’d hate to get stuck on that thing.”

“So you want to talk about it? Your dad?”

She shrugged. “Do you want to talk about your parents?”

“Not much to talk about. They died in a car accident when I was eleven. My younger brother was shipped off to family in California on my father’s side. I was sent to Atlanta to live with BJ, my aunt on my mother’s side.”

Calley stared over at him, was silent for a second, then burst into a laugh. “Do you realize you practically told me your whole childhood in about five sentences?”

“Not much of a storyteller, I guess. I’ll make you a deal. If you tell me your story in five sentences or less, I promise to clean any fish you catch.”

“That would be more of a threat if we actually caught any.” Calley sucked in a deep breath. “Okay, here goes. My parents hated me. My sister was and still is perfect.” She counted off the sentences as she went. “I ran away from home when I was sixteen and moved in with a neighbor so I could finish high school. That’s about it. And you get to clean the fish.”

“Why do you think your parents hated you?”

“They never believed me when I’d tell them something.” A dark cloud fell over Calley’s expression. Pain flashed into her eyes. Before he could ask her anything further the pole tugged up and down.

“What’s happening?” Calley jerked the rod back. It took all her strength to hold on.

“I think you’ve got something.” He placed his arm around her, helping her reel in the fish. “Here, guide it in. Not too quick or you’ll lose him. That’s it, nice and steady.”

Calley spun the reel, moving the pole as instructed. She gasped when a fish sprang out of the water.

“He’s a good-sized trout.” Riley grabbed a net and scooped the fish from the water. “I’d say he’s about sixteen to eighteen pounds.”

Riley held up the flopping fish for Calley to see.

She bounced away when he got close to her. The boat swayed back and forth. “It’s all fishy smelling.”

He laughed. “I guess that’s because he’s a fish.” He jerked the net toward her. “Come on, touch him. He feels fishy, too. Nice and slimy.”

“Stop it. I’m going to tell your aunt on you.” She giggled and moved back to the seat behind the one she was on.

Riley got up on one knee and shook the fish in front of her face. Calley wrenched to one side and the boat lurched. The net fell, and Riley slipped. He couldn’t catch his balance. His feet skated as his boots slid. With nothing to grab hold of he flipped over the side of the boat into the water.

“Are you all right?” Calley said once his head popped out of the water.

He looked up as she stared down at him coughing water out of his lungs. The sun behind her cast a glow of yellow over her dark hair. Man, she was pretty.

“Yeah, just didn’t expect it. But it does feel good in this heat.” He splashed water up at her. “Why don’t you join me?”

“Two reasons. First, there are fish in that water. And the second, I’d sink to the bottom with this belly of mine.”

“Suffer in the heat then.” He dove back under. He’d tip the boat to send her in but wasn’t sure how well she could swim, even when not pregnant.

He came up again and tugged his boots off. After draining them of water, he tossed them and his hat into the boat.

“Just like my bait, you’re going to get water-logged,” Calley said.

“Then I’ll climb back up and shake on you like an old wet dog.”

He ducked back under the water. His goal was to head under the boat to the other side. When he opened his eyes underwater to get his bearings, the air he had in his lungs expelled.

Before him was a bloated dead man.