Page 167 of Merciless Desires

He left his cell phone number on the legal pad. “Sounds good. I miss you.” His words make my heart pound. I know he means physically, too.

“Me, too.” I squeak and feel tears. The emotions that come with this pregnancy are killing me.

“I’ll talk to you in a few.” He ends the call.

The bus lumbers up, and kids spill out. A dark-haired girl runs up to Lucy and starts chucking things at her, a school bag, lunch bag, and jacket, like her mother is that poor abused assistant in the movie The Devil Wears Prada.

I wonder if this kid is someone I want Sophie hanging out with. Would Darragh notice things like this? Keeping a smile plastered on my face, it widens seeing Sophie hop off the bus last, her blonde hair that I braided is a little disheveled from when she left in the morning.

“Hey, Sophie, do you want to come home with me and Avery?” Lucy jumps in, juggling her daughter’s gear before I even get a chance to say hello.

“Um.” Sophie looks at me.

I bend down and kiss her on the forehead. “Hey, you. We called your dad. It’s okay if you want to go.”

Sophie seems hesitant, and I don’t want to push her. “Okay.”

“You sure?” I take her backpack and lunch bag.

She shrugs. “Yeah.”

“Where do you live?” I turn to Lucy, holding Sophie under the umbrella.

“Right there.” She points to a brown and tan Tudor across the street.

“Oh.” That seems simple enough, but my heart jolts. “Wait, you know about her allergy, right?”

“Yes, we do. We get a list from the school of all the students with those crazy allergies.”

I trust Darragh knows better than me about these things. “Do you have the house phone number in case there’s an issue?”

“Yes.” Lucy’s nails tap on her phone, like she’ll call Darragh again.

Panic crawls in my throat while I dig inside Sophie’s school bag for the EpiPen. “I’ll be home if there’s an issue. Just call the house.”

“Take my phone.” Taking pity on me, Sophie hands me her cell with a smile because she knows even at seven how embarrassing it is not to have a phone.

Lucy smiles with victory. “That works. I have Sophie’s number.”

Sophie pops open her own umbrella. I lean in again and whisper, “If you want to come home, just call.” I wink.

“Okay.” She smiles, like she caught my meaning. A little secret code between her and I.

I like it.

I watch them cross the street and stay right there, on the corner, the rain pelting me. I’ve given up being completely dry with all the rain this place gets.

Sophie crosses the street, her little face smiling over her shoulder, and I wave.

When she goes into the house, I walk back to Darragh’s, but stand outside, shuddering. I held out all day, waiting for Sophie to get here. Knowing she was coming home was the only reason I stayed alone in the house without Darragh being there.

Lucy has both Darragh’s and Sophie’s cell phone numbers, and figuring Sophie will be at her house for a couple of hours, I decide to surprise Darragh at the hospital and get the comfort I need. Using Sophie’s cell, I order an Uber.

I get anxious when an accident closes the main road to the hospital, and flooding turns the short trip into an hour-long slog. I’m ready to ask the driver to turn around. My unease about being away from the house, away from Sophie, grows. I didn’t think of it before, but now I realize I should have stayed put, just in case Sophie called and wanted to come home. But then, the hospital comes into view. I get out and take a breath. It’s raining harder now, and Sophie’s phone slips from my hand.

“Oh, damn it,” I curse at the cracked screen.

Off in the distance, wide shoulders in a dark suit and a hair of rumpled gold catches my eye under the portico.

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