The announcement was so unexpected, Jeanne Louise nearly dropped the kid. Keeping her grip as the girl busily washed her hands, she asked, “Oh? What makes you say that?”
“He smiles more with you around. And he doesn’t seem so sad all the time anymore,” Livy said simply. “He’s been very sad as long as I can remember. I thought it was my fault, but Grandma says its because Mommy died. She says he misses her. But he doesn’t seem to miss her so much with you around.”
Jeanne Louise hesitated, but then asked, “Is that all right with you? If he likes me?”
“ ’Course,” she said with a grin. “I like you too. Besides, he’ll need someone to make him smile when I go to heaven.”
Her own smile freezing in place, Jeanne Louise peered at the child’s innocent face and felt her heart squeeze.
“I’m done. You can put me down now,” Livy announced, forcing her from her momentary stillness.
Jeanne Louise lowered the girl to the floor, quickly washed her own hands, and then snatched a couple of sheets of paper towel from the dispenser for the two of them. Once done, they tossed the paper towels and headed out of the washroom. It wasn’t until they’d stepped out into the food court that she realized she’d been so distracted by her unexpected feeding that she’d forgotten to go to the bathroom.
Eight
“Are we going swimming when we get back?” Livy asked excitedly as Paul buckled her into her seat.
“As soon as we’re at the cottage and get everything out of the car,” Paul said, finishing his task and straightening to close the door. He glanced through the front passenger window as he did, frowning when he noted how pale and tight Jeanne Louise’s expression was. His gaze slid back to his daughter. Livy was still awake and smiling. Frowning, he opened the passenger door and leaned in.
“Jeanie?” he said, worry crowding his thoughts as he noted that her complexion was actually gray, her teeth clenched, and the muscles of her jaw jumping. While she turned to peer at him, Paul would swear she didn’t really see him. Her concentration was wholly internal on the pain she was suffering as she worked to keep his little girl from feeling it. The headaches were getting worse, taking more out of her each time, he acknowledged. They could bring an end to them if she’d just turn his daughter. But then he hadn’t asked her to do that yet. Paul supposed he’d hoped she’d suggest it, and she still might. But if she didn’t soon, he’d have to. The increasing speed and harshness of Livy’s headaches made him suspect they were running out of time.
“Put her to sleep,” he said quietly, and then had to repeat the suggestion more firmly because Jeanne Louise didn’t seem to understand. Or perhaps she hadn’t heard. Whatever the case, after he said it the second time some of the tension seemed to ease from her face and Paul peered into the backseat to see his sweet daughter was sleeping.
He sighed, some of his own tension easing as well. He didn’t want his daughter to suffer, but felt no better knowing Jeanne Louise was doing so in her place.
Paul turned back to the woman to see that she was rubbing her head with her fingers, trying to massage away any lingering pain. He immediately raised his own fingers to her scalp to join her in the effort, moving his fingers in firm circles on her head.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered as he worked.
Jeanne Louise mumbled wearily in response, though he wasn’t sure what she said or if she’d even heard what he’d said.
Paul sighed and used his fingers on her head to draw her forward and kiss her forehead gently, and then he eased her back in her seat. “Sleep on the way back,” he said softly as he did up her seat belt. “A nap will do you good.”
Straightening, Paul stepped out of the way and closed the door, then walked around to the driver’s side and got in to start the engine. Jeanne Louise’s eyes were closed as he pulled out of the parking spot, so it came as something of a surprise when she suddenly sucked in her breath beside him with a hissing sound.
He’d just brought them to a halt at the lights at the parking lot exit. Paul glanced to her sharply at the sound, but couldn’t at first tell what was wrong. Jeanne Louise’s head was sideways on the headrest, turned toward the window. He started to reach toward her, to see if she was all right, and then his eyes slid past her to the vehicle next to them: A blue van with a dark-skinned woman at the wheel. The woman was staring straight at Jeanne Louise, her eyes flashing gold. He’d seen enough immortal eyes to recognize them and felt his own heart jump in his chest.
“Get us out of here,” Jeanne Louise suddenly growled, swiveling her head away from the window to reveal a face stark with alarm.
Paul glanced from her to the woman and then turned to peer forward and hit the gas as the light turned green for them. He reacted instinctively, turning left onto the main road, cutting off oncoming traffic from the plaza across from them. He felt his heart thud again at the sound of wheels screeching in protest, and then flushed guiltily as he realized what he’d done. Fortunately, no one hit them and other than a couple of annoyed honks and no doubt some cursing that he couldn’t hear, nothing happened. Paul glanced in the rearview mirror as he roared up the road, half afraid the van too might have turned against traffic and would be following them, but the van had been in the next lane over that was supposed to cross over into the plaza and it had done exactly that. That didn’t mean it wouldn’t now turn and come back out to follow them, though, he acknowledged.
“You have to get off this road now,” Jeanne Louise said urgently, swiveling in her seat to peer out the rear window. He knew she had better eyesight than he did. For all he knew she could see the van and knew it was following. Paul didn’t question her, but simply shifted into the right lane and took the first road right and then the very next left. He continued like that, taking turn after turn until Jeanne Louise slowly relaxed and eased back to sit in her seat. “I think we lost them.”
Paul nodded, but continued taking turns a few more times before pulling over in a residential area to turn on his GPS and punch in the motel in Ipperwash. He was quite sure they’d lost the woman in the van, but in the process he’d got himself lost.
“Who was she?” Paul asked as he waited for the GPS to calculate the route back to the motel.
“My stepmother, Eshe,” Jeanne Louise said wearily.
Her eyes were closed so she missed the horrified look he cast her. Dear God, of all the people to run into.
“Why didn’t you tell me your parents lived in London?” he asked with dismay.
“They don’t. They live in a small town about twenty minutes outside the city,” she explained, and then grimaced and admitted, “And I wasn’t really paying attention to where you said we were going shopping. My head hurt and—”
“Yes, of course, I’m sorry,” Paul interrupted. The little scare hadn’t done anything to ease the tension and pallor of her face. “It doesn’t matter. We lost her. They might look for us here in London, but we won’t be here. We’ll just stay out of London and stick to Ipperwash.”
“Yes,” she agreed, leaning her head back and closing her eyes.