The minute he crossed the threshold to the room and Fiona would have floated after him, she’d popped right back to her tent by the stream.
She knew what that meant.
At the current stage in Prentice and Bella’s game, Fiona found this surprising (and heartbreaking, but only for Fiona, still, she didn’t go there).
Nevertheless, after she had a good night’s sleep, the next morning she was wandering down to the stream when she popped back into the bedroom of the guest suite.
It was morning. Bella was sleeping in bed.
Prentice was standing beside it, wearing just his jeans, watching her.
Then Fiona watched Prentice get dressed, go to Bella’s handbag, pocket her passport, then go to her wardrobe and grab her luggage. She floated after him as he carried it out to the Range Rover. After tossing it in, he walked back into the house.
Fiona stayed outside, staring at Bella’s empty luggage in the back of Prentice’s 4x4. Then she burst out laughing.
Prentice got the kids ready and out of the house and Fiona went to Bella’s room, wiling the morning away reading the rest of her journals.
By the time she was done, she was shedding ghostly tears again.
Seriously, Bella’s father was a tosser.
And that ex-husband of hers? There were no words to describe what he was.
She was still holding the journal when Bella moved.
Quickly putting the journal back and arranging it in Bella’s exacting way, she looked to the bed.
Bella was sitting up in bed covers held to her na**d chest, head turned away from Fiona, staring in horror at the clock saying it was twelve after eleven.
Then she was a flurry of motion.
She threw back the covers, catapulted out of bed, snatched up her discarded clothes from the night before and threw them on.
Then she went directly to the wardrobe. Tugging the doors open, she even leaned in to grab her suitcases before she realized they weren’t there.
She stared at the empty space.
Fiona giggled at Bella.
She couldn’t help it; Bella’s face was just too funny.
“What on –?” Bella started to say, stopped then searched the room.
Then she searched the house.
Thoroughly.
Finally, she saw Prentice’s note propped up against the coffeemaker.
Fiona stood behind her, reading over her shoulder as Bella read it.
E,
S is with me so you can sleep in. Call me when you wake up and I’ll bring her home.
P
PS: The coffee’s made, just add cinnamon and flip the switch.