“For not arguing about me going with you to fetch Ruby.”
He smiled at her. “I figured you’d refuse to stay put, even if I told you to.”
She gave it some thought and confessed, “That’s true.”
They both laughed a little. In the quiet that followed, a thread of remorse spiraled through her. They were on the last stretch of a marathon. In a handful of hours, she would board a train at Penn Station and they would go their separate ways.
It was a smart choice, of course.
Still the right one—despite her doubts crowding in.
“Go on, now.” Ellis sent a nod toward his room. “You should catch some shut-eye.”
It did feel odd to have him relegated to the davenport in his own apartment, particularly since she wouldn’t be sleeping a wink. She was certain of that. Although, she imagined he wouldn’t be either.
Resting beside Calvin was at least a sensible way for her to pass the time.
“Well…good night, Mr. Reed.”
He smiled again. “Night, Miss Palmer.”
• • •
Lily had guessed wrong. After she jolted awake, she realized she had fallen sleep. Beside her, Calvin’s rhythmic breaths had certainly added to the comfort from Ellis’s downy pillow.
How long had she dozed off? A dark gap in the curtain confirmed it was night.
Then a knocking sound reached in from the next room, and she discovered what had woken her. She pictured Mr. Gantry at the front door, rage warping his face, shotgun in his grip.
But he couldn’t have known where they were.
Unless he’d managed to trail them.
She scurried off the bed, fending off waves of dizziness and terror, and peered out of the room, only to find that she wasn’t alone in her suspicions.
“Is it him?” she whispered toward Ellis’s back in the entry. A large kitchen knife glimmered in his hand. She risked a few steps forward for an answer. “Is it?”
He showed her his palm, an order to stay back.
More knocks reverberated with force, and Lily had a terrible notion of who else it could be. For Max, a few henchmen could solve his sister’s issues in another way. Ruby’s transfer could have all been a ruse.
Ellis stooped for a look through the peephole.
Breath held, Lily mentally prepared to nab Calvin. They would flee down a fire escape outside the bedroom window—if there was one. Heavens! Why hadn’t she checked?
But Ellis lowered his knife and unlocked and opened the door. He spoke with the caller, blocking the person’s identity, until he stepped back to welcome a familiar guest.
Lily burst into a grin. “Oh, Mrs. Dillard, it’s you.” In the whole of her life, Lily had never been so happy to greet anyone.
As Ellis locked the door, Geraldine scanned the room. “Where is he? I gotta see him. Where’s my Calvin?” Wringing her hands, she seemed almost frantic.
A glance at the clock affirmed she was several hours early. It wasn’t yet four in the morning.
Lily had to remind herself of what Geraldine, as a mother, had to be going through. She moved closer and replied quietly, “He’s in the bedroom, fast asleep.”
“And he’s not hurt? He’s all right?” Geraldine’s moistened eyes pressed for the truth.
“He’s fine.” Or he would be, Lily hoped.
Geraldine turned to Ellis, as if in need of confirmation. But when her gaze dropped to his hand, he relinquished the knife onto the entry table. “Only a precaution.”
Lily continued with Geraldine, detouring from a more daunting explanation. “It’s such a lovely surprise to have you here already.”
“After Mr. Reed called, I just wasn’t gonna be able to wait. Doc Summers let me borrow her car, as I used to drive some…and seeing as…I’d be…” Her attention splintered, landing on a sight behind Lily.
In the bedroom doorway, Calvin stood in a grungy shirt and overalls, rubbing his eyes.
Geraldine’s gasp held a quiver. She started toward him, but paused and folded onto her knees. Slowly she held out her hands, a gesture of yearning lined with fear of scaring him away. “Cal, baby…it’s me. It’s your mama.”
He was stunned or confused. Likely both.
According to Ellis, Ruby had been aware of her mother’s illness all this time. But had Calvin known as well? Did he believe his mother simply didn’t want him?
Had Sylvia filled him with even more crushing lies?
Dread from such questions appeared to crease Geraldine’s features. Seconds later, however, the answers became apparent, as much as needed to be, when Calvin’s tentative steps soon hastened to reach his mother. He threw his arms around her neck,