got stuck in traffic. That coast road always becomes a mess in a storm.”
“But why doesn’t she call?” Caro paced some more. “And why doesn’t she answer her cell phone? I’ve tried her half a dozen times.”
Jilly gripped Caro’s shoulders, slid her into a chair and pressed a steaming cup of herbal tea into her hands. “She’ll be fine. You know Olivia. She’s got the best mind out there. If there was a problem, she took care of it. If she needed help, she’d tell us. Stop seeing problems that aren’t there.”
“She should call,” Caro muttered, then strode off to the window as an ambulance raced past.
Jilly knelt down next to her husband and slid an arm around his shoulders. “Some way to welcome you back from Colorado, Walker. I’m sorry to toss this plumbing thing into your lap, honey.”
“Not a problem. I like to tangle with plumbing now and again. After renovating that house in the mountains, I know a thing or two about flappers and snakes.” He scanned the toolbox and pulled out a long rubber tool. “This should do the job temporarily, but you’ll have to replace those gaskets.”
Walker watched Caro continue to pace anxiously. He gave a little nod at Jilly. “Why don’t you take Caro upstairs to rest. I’ll handle things here. I’ll keep trying Olivia on her cell phone. Maybe you could knock me out a cappuccino before you go.”
“But you’ve been trying to fix that plumbing for hours, honey.”
“And I’m finally making progress.” Walker glanced at Caro. “Go on. She needs to rest and I’ve got to beat some sense into this drain. And you, gorgeous, are distracting me,” he said with a low laugh.
* * *
AN HOUR PASSED. The storm winds continued to pound the coast, and there was still no word from Olivia. Jilly frowned and then dialed the hardware store.
“Yep, Olivia Sullivan was in here, but that was two hours ago. I hear there’s been some kind of mudslide on the coast road. Maybe she got caught in that. Traffic is backed up for miles in both directions. There was a bad accident above Butterfly Cove.”
Jilly fought a wave of panic. “What kind of accident? What happened?”
“Don’t know. Somebody told me a minivan from school was involved, but that’s all they knew.”
Jilly tried her friend three more times and got no answer.
Down in the kitchen, Walker was washing his hands at the sink, looking smug, the way a man did when he had just tackled a nasty plumbing problem.
“You did it?”
“That I did, though the supplies Olivia is bringing back will come in handy.”
Jilly rose on her toes and kissed him deeply. “My hero. But I’m worried. It’s not like Olivia to be out of touch for so long. She’s always hyper-responsible. And she left the hardware store hours ago. I called and checked.”
She took the cup of coffee Walker held out to her. “I’m going to try her cell phone one more time. Then I’m calling the police.”
When Jilly dialed Olivia’s number again, the phone rang twice. There was a click and a man answered. The voice was husky and rough, and he sounded tired.
Jilly frowned. “Who is this?”
The man cleared his throat. “This is Officer Russo. Who am I speaking to?”
Jilly gave a muttered oath. “Rafe? Rafe Russo?”
“That’s right.”
“Well, the party you are speaking to happens to be Jilly O’Hara. Olivia’s friend. Your friend, too, unless you’ve forgotten. Now will you kindly tell me where Olivia is?”
“She’s been in an accident. She’s at the emergency care clinic down on Admiralty Street. But don’t get yourself worked up. She’s stable and she’s going to be fine.”
Jilly’s hand clenched against her chest. “What—what kind of accident? What happened, Rafe?”
“Mudslide on the coast road. She managed to maneuver her car to avoid hitting a minivan full of kids, which was a brave thing to do. In the process, she spun around and slammed into my police cruiser. She got my attention.”
Jilly took a deep breath. “And she’s really okay?”
She squeezed Walker’s hand tightly as he stood beside her, giving silent support.
“I’m not lying, Jilly. Olivia is fine. They are going to keep her overnight for observation. She’ll have to watch that shoulder for a few weeks. No lifting. No quick movements. I just checked with the doctor, and they gave her something to make her sleep, but I’m going to stick around until she wakes up.”
Jilly frowned. Rafe was sticking around, was he? This had promise. Jilly had never found out what had gone wrong between the two of them back in high school, but it looked as if they were going to get a second chance.
“That’s great, Rafe. I’ll come right over.”
“No, you sit tight. The storm is knocking out power lines everywhere. The governor has called an emergency alert. People need to stay off the road tonight so rescue crews can get in and out.”
“Then keep me posted, okay? Have Olivia call me when she wakes up in the morning. And Rafe?”
“Yes?”
His voice was cooler, Jilly realized. He sounded about a hundred years older than he had been the last time she had seen him. Probably war did that to you. “Thank you for staying with Livie. And welcome home. I’m glad you’re here.”
“Hell of a first day back,” Rafe said dryly. “But I’ll take mudslides over IEDs any day.”
CHAPTER THREE
“OLIVIA SULLIVAN? SHE’S right down the hall, Deputy Russo.” The harassed clinic nurse looked up from her computer and nodded at Rafe. “But she’s still sedated.”
“Not a problem. I’ll just look in on her for a few minutes.” Actually, Rafe was relieved by this news. Seeing Olivia again had left him off balance, unprepared for the wave of emotions that had come in the wake of their meeting. He wasn’t sure how she would feel about seeing him again either.
She’d probably throw a shoe at him.
He deserved all that and more.
Rafe opened the door to her room and moved quietly around to her bed. She was still asleep, her breathing slow and regular. An IV line dripped from a bottle over her head and Rafe thought she looked even more beautiful than he remembered.
But tired.
Thinner.
Too pale, and not from the accident.
Why wasn’t she glowing with life, married with three kids and a big house
