Page 31 of Sheltered By Love

Chapter Six

Felicity

When I first saw a picture of Blueskin Bay, I was sure it had been airbrushed.

But as I walk along the main street, cookies cooling in a baking tin, my eyes on the still harbor, small fishing boats moored at the jetty, and the scent of seaweed and salt filling the air, it’s as beautiful as the day I stepped off the bus.

From the second floor where my office is, I can see over the rooftops of my neighbors, and look straight down the harbor.

But it’s not the harbor I’m walking toward today, it’s the beach to the right and where the Blueskin Bay Nursing home is located.

Usually, the water calms me. But today I’m anxious. Anxious to see my only friend, anxious to ask her about the Reid family but mostly about Zane being in my home installing cameras.

I take a deep breath in, hoping it’ll cleanse away the dread and the fear that the Reid family isn’t as trustworthy as they appear to be.

Nicki is at her usual spot, waiting for me, and chatting with the receptionist, so I’m spared my awkward explanation of who I am, and why I want to visit an elderly woman who’s no relation to me.

Nicki greets me with a smile and points down the pastel walls, filled with plastic flowers, and faux cheer.

“Perfect timing. She’s just made some tea even though she knows I can’t stand the stuff,” she says.

I return her smile and stroll down the hallway until I find Viola’s room.

I knock and cautiously push open the door, eyes averted, just in case. “Viola? It’s me, Felicity,” I call out.

I hear a hacking cough from inside the room. “Lovely! Come in then girl!” she bellows.

Now less uncertain, I push open the door and relax as Viola engulfs me in a cushioning hug, in stark contrast to the man I left just minutes ago.

I examine her. Her roots are showing in her blue rinse, which she’ll hate, but her cheeks have color, and she’s breathing a little easier than the terrible night I had to call Nicki three weeks ago.

“How are you?” I say.

Her dark eyes narrow a fraction, annoyed I’m starting a conversation with such a rote question.

“I haven’t seen you in a week and that’s all you’ve got?” she answers.

I plonk myself into one of her chairs, sinking in as the weight of the past few days pushes me down. “I brought you cookies. Zane helped roll them,” I say without thinking.

At the grin on her face, I mentally slap myself. “He installed an alarm for me.”

She gives me a knowing smile. “They’ll be keeping a close eye on the place now I expect. Good. I’m pleased Garrett listened to me.”

My jaw slackens. “Listened to you?”

She nods, bites into a cookie, and sighs. “I asked him to check on you. Pleased to see he kept his word.”

It’s nice to know she was thinking about me. I was beginning to worry our relationship was one born out of pity and me buying her cigarettes when Nicki refused to.

“Zane knows about Roger,” I say.

She leans forward to pour me a cup of tea. “Jump his pen again?”

I can’t really bring myself to tell her about my night’s escapades or the infrared fiasco, so I nod and duck the question.

“I didn’t know Zane was so…hostile,” I say.

“Well, I could have told you I suppose. But you were in such a state with moving in, I didn’t want to give you even more reason to fret.”

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