Page 110 of Must Have Been Love

“They’ve had a positive sighting,” Parker croaks when he ends the call. “She’s safe and well, and having a fucking English afternoon tea.”

Asher coughs out a laugh. “Jesus. Hudson must be furious.”

Parker’s gaze shifts to me then away again. “You could say that.”

I let out a long breath. “Would you like a coffee?” I ask Asher. “Or another drink?”

He shakes his head. “I’m good. Go sit down. You look about as sick as Parker does.”

I don’t want to sit down. If I sit down I’ll have to think and that’s the last thing I want to do right now. Thankfully, Parker’s phone rings – again – and his croaky voice cuts through the air.

“Francie. Hey.”

From the corner of my eye I see Asher frown at the name. At any other time in my life I’d be interested by that.

“Nah, she was just on the phone to me. That’s why you probably got voicemail.” Another pause. “They think they’ve found her.” He coughs. “Yeah, I know.” He glances at me again, like she’s saying something. God, I need to get a grip. I feel like I’m on the edge about to tumble over.

“Uhuh,” he murmurs. “No, no need to come. It’s mayhem on the island and it’s only gonna get worse when Hudson and Autumn get back with Ayda. You know what he’s like. He’s gonna wanna hermit it up again.”

Asher grabs a book from Hudson’s table and starts to thumb through it. I can just about see the title –Weather Systems of The Atlantic Ocean. I don’t bother to point out to him that he’s looking at it upside down.

We’re all doing what we can to keep our sanity right now. If he wants to pretend he’s not interested in his sister’s friend, he can have at it.

I’m pretending I never got that phone call from Dr. Methi, after all.

While Parker is talking to Francie and Asher is pretending to read maps upside down, I head into the kitchen and clean up. I check the refrigerator for supplies, because if Hudson needs to ‘hermit it up’, whatever that means, he’ll need food in the house.

There’s milk and juice and fruit and cheese. All good healthy food that a great father would have for his kid. Then I see a pack of ground beef with a day until it spoils, so I grab it and some ingredients for a chili, because there are going to be a lot of people here, and they’ll be hungry, no matter what happens.

“What’s going on?” Asher asks a few minutes later. “Jesus, that smells good.”

I’m frying off the onions. “I’m making chili.”

He tips his head. “You cook in a crisis?”

“I don’t know. I’m not sure I’ve been in a crisis like this before,” I say, adding in some spices. “And chili is about the only thing Icancook.”

“Parker says you think this was your fault,” Asher says, grabbing a carton of juice from the refrigerator and pouring himself a glass. He takes a long sip, looking at me over the rim of the tumbler.

“Itwasmy fault,” I tell him. “I was the one in charge of looking after Ayda. I’m the one who lost her.”

“Parker also thinks it’s his fault for being sick,” Asher says.

I frown. “Well it isn’t. He can’t help being sick.”

“And I’m almost certain Autumn will say it’s her fault because she was supposed to be looking after Ayda.”

“It’s nobody’s fault but mine,” I say. “I think we can all agree on that one.”

“She’ll be okay,” he says softly. For a moment he looks so much like his brother it makes my heart tighten. I know how close he and Hudson are. I want to be his friend. I want to accept his understanding.

But I can’t. “Thank you for trying to make me feel better,” I tell him.

He nods. Then Parker calls out his name.

“They’ve got her,” he shouts out, his voice so thin it sounds almost transparent. A second later Parker appears at the door, his fingers gripping onto the wood to steady himself. “They’ve got her,” he repeats, quietly. Then he crumples to the ground, his eyes hazy, his body weak.

We both run over to help him, Asher lifting one arm, me catching the other, and somehow we manage to get him back to the sofa as he starts to mumble incoherently.

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