Page 110 of I'm Watching You

Eleanor shrugged. ‘Sorry, but sheisan awful player today.’

Lindsay rose and watched Eleanor gather the cards to shuffle again. ‘My mind is distracted. I’m just worried about work.’

Eleanor started to deal the cards. ‘It’s okay, Lindsay. We can try another game.’

Lindsay thought she was going to go mad. She’d had to call in and get a replacement for tonight. Her boss had been happy to accommodate her and, in fact, had sounded a little relieved. But she felt as if she was letting everyone down.

Still, Lindsay smiled. ‘Eleanor, let’s take a break. I’d like to go outside for a minute.’

Eleanor rolled her eyes. ‘It’s a thousand degrees out there.’

‘I love the heat,’ she lied. ‘I’ll be back.’

Before anyone could disagree, she bolted outside. The afternoon sun bore through the trees and the humidity hit her like a brick. Sweat started to bead on her forehead. At least outside, she could breathe.

She stared at the line of trees wondering why the Guardian had chosen her. Had they randomly crossed paths? Had she done something inadvertently to trigger this chain of events? She dug her hands through her hair and paced back and forth.

The screened door squeaked open. Lindsay turned and saw Audrey standing outside with a pitcher of iced tea and a plate with a sandwich. Nervously, Lindsay rubbed damp palms on her skirt.

‘You’ve got to be thirsty and hungry,’ Audrey said.

Lindsay folded her arms over her chest. ‘You don’t have to worry over me.’

Audrey frowned as she set down her tray on a small table. ‘Of course I do.’

Lindsay didn’t want the Kiers to be kind. She’d bonded with them once and she’d lost them once. She couldn’t go through that a second time. ‘Thanks, but I’ve been thinking that I’ll call a cab and head back to town.’

Audrey didn’t hide her shock and disappointment. ‘A cab? You can’t leave now. It’s not safe.’

‘I’ll go straight to the Mental Health Services building. It’s got locks and guards and I have tons of work.’

Challenge had Audrey’s back stiffening a little. ‘I’m not going to argue with you, Lindsay. If you want to call a cab, then call one. But for just five minutes, sit, relax, and eatsomething. At the rate you’re going you’re going to collapse.’

To appease Audrey, Lindsay took half the sandwich. She bit into it and discovered it tasted good. ‘Thanks.’

Audrey looked satisfied. ‘I saw the noon news report.’

She felt so weary. ‘I missed it. What did it say?’

Disgust darkened her eyes. ‘Kendall Shaw talked about your past.’

An odd sense of acceptance rolled over her. How the reporter had found out didn’t matter at this point. ‘It was inevitable that it would all come out. Frankly, I’m even a little relieved.’

Audrey hesitated as if she wasn’t sure she should speak. ‘I knew you’d lost your parents, honey, but I had no idea that you’d suffered such a tragedy. Zack never told me.’

‘I asked him not to tell you.’

‘Why?’

‘I guess I was embarrassed. My home life wasn’t exactlyLeave It to Beaver. And your family life just seemed so perfect.’ Her reasons for keeping silent sounded silly when she voiced them. ‘I didn’t want you to think less of me.’

Audrey shook her head. ‘Perfect families don’t exist, Lindsay.’

She pinched a corner of the sandwich off. ‘Yours seems pretty close to perfect.’

A sad smile tipped the edge of Audrey’s lips. ‘Don’t be fooled. Robert and I have had our share of hard times. Things were particularly bad after Eleanor was born. She was our first child and we had such hopes. And then the doctor’s told us she had Down’s.’

That surprised Lindsay. ‘You all adore her.’

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