everything about everything.
She’d been so young. Just thinking about how young she had been made her throat tighten and ache.
And dumb, too. Definitely dumb. Eloping with a man she had known just four months was about as dumb as it got. Add to that the fact that she had run off three weeks before she was due to start her freshman year at Tulane, and dumb turned into downright stupid.
She knew better now, but of course now was too late.
In inviting her and Sara to visit LaAngelle Plantation, Callie had written that she was ill, without specifying the exact nature of the illness. Looking at her for the first time under a bright light, Olivia wondered just how serious that illness was. At the thought, she felt another icy pang of fear.
Had she found them again, this family that she had so foolishly spurned, only to begin losing them one by one? The thought chilled her.
Behind Callie came a man Olivia did not know. He was about Callie’s age, just a few inches taller than she, bald except for the short white fringe circling his head just above his ears, paunchy, and dressed in a short-sleeved white shirt tucked into a pair of neatly pressed and belted brown slacks. His face was jowly and flushed from the heat, and beads of sweat glinted on his temples and forehead. His left hand, square and stubby-fingered, rested possessively on Callie’s thin shoulder. He was followed into the kitchen by Seth’s fiancée, Mallory, who was saying something over her shoulder as she entered. Despite the humidity, Mallory’s blond hair was as smooth and sleek as if she had just stepped out of a beauty parlor, and her skin was perfectly matte. Her black linen sheath was unwrinkled, the big diamond on her ring finger and the smaller ones linked around her wrist sparkled, and even her crimson lipstick looked fresh. As the other woman walked by her without becoming aware of her presence, Olivia spared her an envious glance. Reed-slender, elegant, self-assured, and obviously affluent, Mallory was everything Olivia was not but wished she was. Only after Mallory appeared did Seth come into view, closing the back door behind him and locking it with a click.
CHAPTER 9
WHAT WAS IT SETH HAD SAID TO HER? HAVE you ever in your life done anything but cause trouble?
A dial tone buzzed in Olivia’s ear, telling her that her call had been cut off. Of course, she had never said so much as a word to the operator. Well, the information she had sought was obviously at hand now.
‘‘Oh, Seth, we should have stayed,’’ Callie said reproachfully to her son as the party walked across the kitchen. The bald man pulled out a chair. Callie sank into it as if her legs had suddenly given out, resting her arms on the table and leaning forward on them. The others sat, too, except for Seth, who stopped beside his mother to look down at her. He was frowning, and his hand closed tensely around the curved top rail of the Windsor chair.
‘‘Mother, they only let one person at a time into the Intensive Care Unit, and Belinda was there. She’s his daughter, remember? And Charlie was in the unit, too, as his personal physician. Phillip was in the waiting room. Carl was on his way. There is nothing you or I or any of the rest of us can do for Big John tonight that they cannot.’’
‘‘You would have stayed if I hadn’t been there. You just came away to bring me home. I know you, Seth Archer.’’ Straightening in her chair as if to deny the weakness she obviously felt, Callie tilted her head back to look up at him.
‘‘Mother . . .’’ Seth’s frown deepened. He, too, looked older in the bright kitchen light, Olivia saw. Time had etched fine lines around his eyes and deeper ones that ran from his nose to the corners of his mouth. His face was angular, with prominent cheekbones and a strong chin. His nose—the Archer nose—was long and straight with a faint bump on the high bridge. His lips were well-shaped but thin, and looked as if they scarcely
She’d been so young. Just thinking about how young she had been made her throat tighten and ache.
And dumb, too. Definitely dumb. Eloping with a man she had known just four months was about as dumb as it got. Add to that the fact that she had run off three weeks before she was due to start her freshman year at Tulane, and dumb turned into downright stupid.
She knew better now, but of course now was too late.
In inviting her and Sara to visit LaAngelle Plantation, Callie had written that she was ill, without specifying the exact nature of the illness. Looking at her for the first time under a bright light, Olivia wondered just how serious that illness was. At the thought, she felt another icy pang of fear.
Had she found them again, this family that she had so foolishly spurned, only to begin losing them one by one? The thought chilled her.
Behind Callie came a man Olivia did not know. He was about Callie’s age, just a few inches taller than she, bald except for the short white fringe circling his head just above his ears, paunchy, and dressed in a short-sleeved white shirt tucked into a pair of neatly pressed and belted brown slacks. His face was jowly and flushed from the heat, and beads of sweat glinted on his temples and forehead. His left hand, square and stubby-fingered, rested possessively on Callie’s thin shoulder. He was followed into the kitchen by Seth’s fiancée, Mallory, who was saying something over her shoulder as she entered. Despite the humidity, Mallory’s blond hair was as smooth and sleek as if she had just stepped out of a beauty parlor, and her skin was perfectly matte. Her black linen sheath was unwrinkled, the big diamond on her ring finger and the smaller ones linked around her wrist sparkled, and even her crimson lipstick looked fresh. As the other woman walked by her without becoming aware of her presence, Olivia spared her an envious glance. Reed-slender, elegant, self-assured, and obviously affluent, Mallory was everything Olivia was not but wished she was. Only after Mallory appeared did Seth come into view, closing the back door behind him and locking it with a click.
CHAPTER 9
WHAT WAS IT SETH HAD SAID TO HER? HAVE you ever in your life done anything but cause trouble?
A dial tone buzzed in Olivia’s ear, telling her that her call had been cut off. Of course, she had never said so much as a word to the operator. Well, the information she had sought was obviously at hand now.
‘‘Oh, Seth, we should have stayed,’’ Callie said reproachfully to her son as the party walked across the kitchen. The bald man pulled out a chair. Callie sank into it as if her legs had suddenly given out, resting her arms on the table and leaning forward on them. The others sat, too, except for Seth, who stopped beside his mother to look down at her. He was frowning, and his hand closed tensely around the curved top rail of the Windsor chair.
‘‘Mother, they only let one person at a time into the Intensive Care Unit, and Belinda was there. She’s his daughter, remember? And Charlie was in the unit, too, as his personal physician. Phillip was in the waiting room. Carl was on his way. There is nothing you or I or any of the rest of us can do for Big John tonight that they cannot.’’
‘‘You would have stayed if I hadn’t been there. You just came away to bring me home. I know you, Seth Archer.’’ Straightening in her chair as if to deny the weakness she obviously felt, Callie tilted her head back to look up at him.
‘‘Mother . . .’’ Seth’s frown deepened. He, too, looked older in the bright kitchen light, Olivia saw. Time had etched fine lines around his eyes and deeper ones that ran from his nose to the corners of his mouth. His face was angular, with prominent cheekbones and a strong chin. His nose—the Archer nose—was long and straight with a faint bump on the high bridge. His lips were well-shaped but thin, and looked as if they scarcely
Similar Books
