Two tousled heads were bent as the twins focused on their masterpieces. Charles stayed where he was for a moment, pulling his phone from his pocket and hitting a rapid-dial key.
‘Emergency Room.’
Charles recognised the voice of one of the staff members who managed the phone system and incoming radio calls.
‘Hi, Sharon. Charles Davenport here. I’m working from home for a few hours.’
‘Yes, we’re aware of that, Dr Davenport. Did you want to speak to the other Dr Davenport?’
‘No. I actually wanted to speak to Dr Forbes. Is she available at the moment?’
‘Hang on, I’ll check.’
Charles could hear the busy sounds of the department through the line but it sounded a little calmer than it had been earlier today. When he’d gone to his office to collect his briefcase after the latest meeting, there’d been security personnel and police officers there but Elijah had assured him that everything was under control and he was free to take the time he needed away.
Right now, the voices close by were probably doctors checking lab results or X-rays on the computers. Would one of them be Grace, by any chance?
He hadn’t seen her when he’d been in at work earlier and this was getting ridiculous. It was well into the second day after their night together and they hadn’t even spoken. His intention to protect everyone he cared about by ignoring the potential for public scrutiny on his private life had been so strong, it was only now that it was beginning to feel like something was very wrong.
No. Make that more than ‘feel’. He knew that he was in trouble.
He’d met the Australian dog walker, Kylie, in the foyer on his way in, minutes ago. The one that looked after Houston when Grace was at work.
She’d introduced herself. Because, she explained, she might be in residence for a while—if Grace left before Houston’s owners were due to return.
But Stefan and Jerome had been planning to come back in less than a couple of weeks as far as Charles was aware.
Why would Grace be thinking of leaving before then?
It had only been just over a day since he’d seen her. How could something that huge have changed so much in such a short space of time?
He needed to speak to her. To apologise for not having spoken to her yesterday. At the very least, he had to arrange a time when they could talk. To find out what was going on.
To repair any damage he had the horrible feeling he might be responsible for? He’d tried so hard to do things perfectly this time—to think through each step logically so that he could avoid making a mistake.
But he’d missed something. Something that was seeming increasingly important.
Sharon was back on the line.
‘Sorry, Dr Davenport. Dr Forbes is in CT at the moment. We had a head injury patient earlier who was extremely combative. We had to call Security in to help restrain him while he got sedated and intubated.’
‘Yes, I saw them there when I was leaving.’
‘He was Dr Forbes’s patient. She’s gone with him to CT and may have to stay with him if he needs to go to Theatre so I have no idea how long she’ll be. Do you want me to page her to call you back when she can?’
‘Daddy... Daddy...’ Cameron was tugging on his arm, a sheet of paper in his other hand. ‘Look at this.’
‘No, thanks, Sharon. She’s busy enough, by the sound of things. I’ll catch up with her later.’
He ended the call. Was he kidding himself? He’d been trying to ‘catch up’ with her from the moment he’d arrived at work yesterday and it hadn’t happened. And suddenly he felt like he was chasing something that was rapidly disappearing into the distance.
‘Daddy? What’s the matter?’
The concern in Max’s voice snapped Charles back to where he was. He crouched down as Max joined his brother.
‘Nothing’s the matter, buddy.’
‘But you look sad.’
‘No-o-o...’ Charles ruffled the heads of both his boys. ‘How could I be sad when I get to spend some extra time with you guys? Hey...did you really draw that picture all by yourself?’ He reached out for the paper to admire the artwork more closely but, to his surprise, Max shook his head and stepped back.
‘It’s for Gace,’ he said solemnly.
‘So’s mine,’ Cameron said. ‘But you can look.’
The colourful scribbles were getting more recognisable these days. A stick figure person with a huge, crooked smile. And another one with too many legs.
‘It’s Gace. And Horse.’
‘Aww...she’ll love them. You know what?’
‘What?’
‘I’ll bet she puts them in a frame and puts them on her wall.’
The boys beamed at him but then Max’s smile wobbled.
‘And then she’ll come back?’
Why hadn’t it occurred to him how much the twins were already missing Grace? How much they loved her as well as Horse. He hadn’t factored that in when he’d chosen to distance himself enough to keep his family temporarily out of the spotlight, had he? When he’d left her text unanswered and had told that journalist that they were nothing more than friends.
And never would be.
How many people had overheard that comment? Passed it on, even?
Could that have been enough to persuade Grace that she didn’t want to be in New York any more?
The sinking sensation that had begun with that chance meeting with Kylie gained momentum and crashed into the pit of Charles’s stomach but he smiled reassuringly and nodded.
It was tantamount to a promise, that smile and nod. A promise that Grace would be back. Now he just had to find a way to make sure he didn’t let his boys down.
‘You guys hungry? Want some cookies and milk? And Curious George on TV?’
‘Yes!’
At least three-year-old boys were easily distracted.
Or maybe not.
‘Spider cookies,’ Cameron shouted. ‘They’re the bestest.’
‘I think we’ve run out of spider cookies,’ he apologised.
‘That’s okay, Daddy.’ Max patted his arm. ‘I’ll tell Gace and we’ll help her make some more.’
He had to sit down with the boys and supervise the milk
