Past, Present And A Future. Janice Carter

      Clare was packing her things when the store clerk rushed over to say there was an urgent phone call for her. “You can take it in the manager’s office,” the clerk was saying as she led the way.

      Thoughts of who it could be flooded Clare’s mind—her mother, her agent? The one voice she wasn’t expecting to hear on the other end of the line was Laura’s.

      CHAPTER FIVE

      “CLARE! I’m so sorry to interrupt your signing but something has happened.”

      “Laura! You sound terrible! What is it? What’s happened? Not Emma?”

      “No, not Emma, thank God. It’s Dave. He was up on the roof this morning cleaning out the eavestrough and he fell off the ladder.”

      “Oh, no! Is he okay?”

      “He’s in surgery. A compound leg fracture.”

      “God, that sounds horrible.”

      “It could have been worse. The doctor says he’s a lucky man. But…but the thing is, Clare…” Laura’s voice wobbled and suddenly broke off.

      Clare could hear her breathing heavily on the other end, trying to compose herself. “It’s all right, Laura. Take your time.”

      “He has to be in hospital for at least a few more days and then when he comes home, he’ll be off work for a while longer. And the thing is, I just can’t manage on my own. I know I should be able to, but Emma’s still getting up at night and I haven’t had a full night’s sleep since she was born.”

      Clare ignored the faint alarm bell going off in her head. Laura was calling for advice. That was all. “Well, isn’t there someone who can help out? Your parents or Dave’s?”

      “Mine have already left for Florida, remember? And I hate to call them back. Dave’s mother’s in a nursing home and his older sister has her own problems.” There was a frustrated sigh. “The only friends I have here are all working, including Anne-Marie. There’s no one.” Her voice pitched in despair.

      Clare’s hand tightened on the receiver. She sensed what was coming.

      “Could you…I mean, this is a horrible thing to have to ask but I was wondering if you could come back and stay with me? Just for a couple of days while I try to find someone in town. You said you had a gap in your book tour, didn’t you?”

      Clare closed her eyes, her imagined fear now out in the open. “Laura, I—I don’t think I’d be any help to you at all. I mean, I don’t know a thing about babies.”

      “I just need someone to watch her while I go back and forth to the hospital. You know—well, I guess you don’t—but it’s so hard to pack up a baby and take her everywhere. Her schedule will be completely thrown off. Besides, I don’t know if they’d even let babies onto Dave’s ward.” She paused to catch her breath. “The other thing is, I just need another person around. I don’t know if it’s the hormones or what, but I can’t stand being alone.”

      The rush of words told Clare that Laura was in no shape to take charge of the situation. “Okay, Laura. I’m finished here and I suppose I can afford a couple of days.”

      “Oh, Clare, thank you so much. I don’t know what I’d do without you. I’ve been frantic here.”

      Clare had a feeling that in other circumstances, her normally take-charge friend would have managed quite well. But perhaps the undercurrent of tension she’d picked up between Dave and Laura over the weekend was a sign of things not being normal in the Kingsway household. Whatever the reason, Clare knew she couldn’t refuse. She hung up the phone and stood for a long moment, thinking about the commitment she’d just made.

      Rearranging her book tour wouldn’t be a problem. Her next signing wasn’t until the end of the month. Still, staying on longer in Twin Falls meant postponing following up on her recent book proposal with her editor. She’d submitted it just before leaving for Twin Falls and was looking forward to getting back to work on the project. But the note of desperation in Laura’s voice was impossible to ignore. Her friend needed her. The Dundas family had been there for Clare years ago, and now she had the opportunity to repay that debt. If she had any luck left at all—and she was starting to wonder about that—she’d be able to put in her two or three days and leave again without having to bump into Gil.

      An hour and a half later, when the front door of the Kingsway home flew open at her knock, she knew luck had deserted her.

      “Clare!”

      “Gil. What are you doing here?”

      “You heard about Dave?”

      “Laura called me at the bookstore. Where I was signing,” she explained at the confusion in his face. It wasn’t only his unshaven face that added to his disheveled appearance, she was thinking. He was wearing jeans and a dark green plaid flannel shirt, tails out and unbuttoned to reveal a white T-shirt. His hair looked as though someone had been running fingers through it. Under any other circumstances, Clare might have thought there was a woman inside with him. But a sudden sharp wail from deep within the house told her the only female on the premises was baby Emma. A very unhappy baby Emma.

      Clare brushed past Gil and stepped inside. “Is Laura home yet?”

      “Still at the hospital. But she called a few minutes ago to say she’d be home in an hour or so.”

      Thank heavens. “Did she call you to come over after it happened?”

      He nodded. “I was cleaning out my dad’s garage at the time. The baby was asleep when I got here so I told Laura to go with Dave.”

      Another long wail. His head jerked up, toward the stairs. “I think she’s awake now.”

      “Sounds like it,” Clare said. “Maybe you should go get her.”

      “Me?”

      She smiled at the incredulity in his voice. “Aren’t you the baby-sitter?”

      “Well, uh, isn’t that what you’re here for?” When she failed to reply, he said, “Then I’ll leave you to it,” and made for the door.

      “Wait! You can’t leave yet.”

      “I’ve an appointment in half an hour with a real-estate agent at my dad’s place. I was about to call and cancel, but fortunately for me, you arrived in time.”