Somewhere in His Arms (29 page)

             
Lucy tugged her hand away and pulled the sleeve down roughly. “You don’t
want
to hear about that!”

             
“No…?”

             
She shook her head stubbornly. “It is what it is.”

             
Not wishing to pursue the matter further, he offered her the Valium. “Take this then.”

             
“I don’t think I want to, Alec,” she gulped fearfully. “Mama--”

             
Alec pressed a finger to her lips. “I mean… we’ll both take one.”

             
Lucy didn’t want to. She’d seen what the drug had done to her mother. Most days, she’d lived in a semi-unconscious state where Lucy had to feed, bathe, and dress her. She wondered if Alec knew the sordid history of her parents. Rudy would have had to tell him. But he was looking at her with the same pain she felt deep inside. Perhaps, just for tonight…

             
“To sleep?”

             
He nodded, popped the other pill into his mouth, and washed it down with a swig of water. “I’ll stay with you …if you want.”

             
She reached for the Valium and placed it in her mouth. Lucy grimaced at the taste, and it took several gulps of water just to get it down. “Will… you,” she asked timidly, “hold me?”

             
He stroked her cheek and pressed his lips against her brow. “If you…want me to.”

             
“I want you to!”
she cried and fell into his arms. “I
want
you to!”

              Alec woke sometime in the night to the wind rustling leaves in the garden. He opened his eyes briefly. The room was dark and silent save for the sound of his wife’s gentle breathing as she slept in his arms. It was the first time they’d shared a bed since that night Lucy had fainted while tending him. She slept on her side and he spooned her, pressing his chest against her back and tucking his knees under hers. They fit together perfectly like those pieces in a jigsaw puzzle.

             
The Valium had done its work. She slept peacefully in his arms. Probably the best sleep she’d had in a long while. He tightened his arms around her and nuzzled his face into her hair. He closed his eyes and drifted back to sleep.

              When next he woke, it was morning. Sunlight was streaming through the curtains, and he knew he couldn’t put it off any longer. Alec reluctantly left the warmth of his marriage bed and went to take a shower. He leaned his head against the tile wall and let the hot water cleanse the aches and pains away. He shaved and dressed in jeans and a flannel shirt. Breakfast was a cup of coffee, but he made some oatmeal for Lucy in case she got hungry later.

             
Before he left, he slipped back into the bedroom to check on his wife. For a moment, he stared in awe of her fragile beauty. Her black hair streamed across the pillow and dark lashes lay against pale cheeks. The ache in his chest had set up permanent housekeeping, but he didn’t mind. Alec bent down to kiss her cheek.

             
Lucy stirred and her eyes fluttered open. “Alec?” she moaned sleepily.

             
“Shh,” he whispered and kissed her again. “I’ve got to run into town for a bit. I’ll be back in a few.”

             
“Where are you going? Come back to bed,” his wife grumbled.

             
Alec chuckled. “I’ve got to pick up some groceries and check on a few things. Is there anything you need?”

             
“A box of chocolate,” she murmured drowsily.

             
“Anything else?”

             
She shook her head, her eyes closing again. “Just you…”

             
“I’ll lock the door, love,” he said. “There’s oatmeal on the stove.”

             
“Okay…” she sighed and went back to sleep.

             
He kissed her brow and tucked the comforter around her shoulders. Alec shut the door and picked up his keys and phone. The sun had lent its vibrant streaks of crimson and violet to the dawning sky. Autumn was fast approaching, and he felt a foreboding chill in the air when he locked up and headed out.

             
The long ride into town allowed him to mull over things. He’d had to compartmentalize much of his life since meeting Lucy. But it wasn’t such a bad thing. It allowed him to focus on her and their marriage for a change. For so long he’d been trying to make his family happy that finding Gavin had been foremost in his mind, almost to the point of an obsession. He hadn’t been able to concentrate on work, which in his profession was a liability. He also hadn’t been able to sleep nor eat.

             
To make matters worse, Pat had been niggling him constantly for updates, even when Lucy was in hospital fighting for her life. He’d finally tossed out his old phone and gotten a new one with an unlisted number. He knew he had to call his mum and he’d do it.

             
Eventually.             

             
Alec didn’t want to think about that right now. All he wanted to do was get into town and hurry back to his wife. He smiled at that word.
Wife.
Yes, it had a certain ring to it. He only hoped his wife felt about him the way he felt about her. And the word that came to mind when he thought about how he felt about Lucy was…hopeless.

             
He supposed he’d fallen for her the moment he saw her balancing precariously on that barstool. He’d gone into the casino after a long drive to Gavin’s studio and having the door slammed in his face, so what if it had been ten years since he’d seen him last? Blood was supposed to be thicker than water. Or at least, that’s what he thought. He’d felt so sorry for himself that he’d driven all night from Los Angeles and ended up straight in Las Vegas.

             
He had never been one for gambling, but he figured it couldn’t hurt to play a few cards and piss up the joint. So there he’d been getting sloshed when he noticed the two plonkers laughing and gesturing toward the pretty young woman who was sitting all alone at the bar. He thought they meant to chat her up or something, but things took a serious turn when one of them pulled a small bag of pills out of his pocket.

             
That’s when Alec had noticed her.
Really
noticed her. She’d been wearing one of those long maxi dresses. It had been red with white flowers and there’d been a white flower in her upswept hair. Maybe a gardenia or maybe it had been a camellia? He’d observed her surreptitiously for over an hour, watching her dab at her eyes with a napkin and making small talk with the bartender. Then she’d dropped her purse and had nearly fallen off the stool when she bent to retrieve it. As she did so, there had been a slight glimpse of slender pins under that long dress. After that, one of the plonkers made his move and approached her. Alec had kept a careful eye on her as she politely rejected his advances, only for her lovely face to crumple when he cursed her. Soon after, she’d left for the ladies’ room and plonker had slipped a pill into her drink. When she returned, he knew he couldn’t leave her to her fate. So he’d snatched the drink out of her hands and fallen helplessly into a pair of the darkest eyes he’d ever seen. The rest of the night had been a blur. But apparently he hadn’t wanted her to slip through his fingers. When he proposed, it had been a joke, or maybe it hadn’t. He never dreamed she’d say yes, and he never dreamed she’d be a virgin either.

             
The rest of the night had been a blur. A very pleasurable blur as it turned out. He’d gone to bed that night the happiest he’d been in years. But when he awoke the next morning nursing a dreadful hangover he’d jumped into the shower, oblivious to the small figure that had slept beside him. When he’d finished the bed was empty, his bride had fled, leaving her innocent blood staining the sheets, and leaving him confused and feeling a loss he could not explain. And Rudy, he mustn’t forget Rudy.

             
Alec could laugh now at waking up one morning in his hotel a few days after his wedding to find his father’s old school chum beating the door down in a thunderous rage. But at the time, he’d been nursing the mother of all hangovers and hadn’t fully realized the import of his actions. Rudy had quickly given him the third degree, and once he understood that Alec had no idea what had happened, confiscated his wedding band and marriage certificate, and sent him on his merry way back to Los Angeles with the promise that he would look into the matter and to not worry his pretty little head over it.

             
If he hadn’t broken his leg he might not have found out he’d married Lucy. Oh, they might have figured it out sooner or later, but if it hadn’t been for Rudy swooping in and throwing them into the fire, they might very well have continued to roam aimlessly along the vast moors of life. At least now they had each other to weather whatever storm might come their way. Alec didn’t want to think about how close
he’d
come to losing his wife. If he thought about it long enough, he’d start to unravel at the seams, and Lucy needed him to be strong for the
both
of them.

             
With that final thought, he turned on the radio and continued the drive into town humming along to the uplifting beat of Jackie Wilson.

             
After a light breakfast of maple and brown sugar oatmeal with a side of toast, Lucy didn’t know quite what to do with herself, so she decided to go exploring. She found a laundry room tucked away from the kitchen, separated by a pair of sliding doors. There was a gorgeous red front-loading washing machine and matching dryer.

             
She decided to make herself useful and gathered up the used towels and clothing in the bathroom and tossed them into a hamper to be washed later. Then Lucy straightened the pillows on the sofa. Alec would probably scold her for trying to play maid, but if she didn’t do something to occupy her mind, she’d go mad.

             
Lucy wondered where her husband was sleeping. He’d slept with her the night before, but she had a feeling Alec would probably want to limit that if he could. He was being the perfect gentleman, it seemed he was terrified if he handled her too much, she’d shatter into a million pieces. She wasn’t made of glass!

             
Shaking her head and muttering under her breath, she found a small bedroom near the bath that she supposed Alec was using. It was
so
tiny! The room was obviously meant for function rather than comfort. There was a twin bed alongside one wall with a navy plaid quilt, a few pillows, and a hand-knitted afghan draped neatly across the end. A small desk and chair rested in one corner, and Alec’s duffle sat forlornly in the closet awaiting its owner’s return. A small area rug and plaid curtains completed the meager furnishings.

             
Her husband seemed very adept at keeping things shipshape and Bristol fashion. All Lucy had to do was plump his pillows for him. She winced, feeling another cramp knifing its way through her womb and hurried to the kitchen to take her pill. As she left, she noticed the staircase for the first time. Curiosity demanded she climb the winding marvel, but Lucy knew she wouldn’t make it halfway and left the exploration for another time. She barely made it back to her bedroom when she felt a sudden horrible gush and hightailed it to the bathroom.

             
Lucy sat in abject misery and hoped her husband had enough foresight to buy her a supply of overnights. She was going to need them. Lucy hung her head and waited for the storm to pass.

             
When she felt it safe to stand upright again, she brushed her teeth and washed her face. That much she could handle. But when she looked at the tangled mess that masqueraded as her hair, she flung the brush aside in frustration.
To hell with it!
So what if she looked like Medusa? Lucy wet a cloth and lay back down. Soon the familiar drowsiness began to overwhelm her and she gave in, grateful to be free of the pain for a time at least…

             
She awoke with a start, having dreamt of empty cradles. Lucy wiped the tears away and sat up. The cottage was silent; Alec wasn’t back yet. She felt groggy despite the nap and went to splash some water on her face. Apparently she was sleeping her life away.

             
Lucy straightened her bed and wondered what time it was. She put on her robe, deciding it wouldn’t do to put on anything she didn’t want ruined. Slowly making her way down the hall, she was rounding the corner when she came face to face with the barrel of a semi-automatic pistol.

             
Too startled to cry out, Lucy fell back against the wall and banged her head. She slid down into a crumpled heap, wondering what the hell happened.

             
Alec stood for a moment shaking in horror at the realization that he’d almost shot his wife. After picking his way through the small grocery store, he’d made a call to Pat who was none too pleased at what his stepson had to say. There’d been words exchanged and none of them made for polite conversation. He’d driven home feeling the worse for wear and not caring if he ever spoke to the old boy ever again.