The River Rolls On (Bellingwood Book 10) Read online

  "Go on," she said. "I'll be right there."

  Henry left the bathroom and Polly pulled herself up. She bent over the sink and looked at herself in the mirror. She was a sight. Her face was splotchy and her eyes were bloodshot. She wet another washcloth and giggled. Leia had taken up residence beside the sink and was batting at the running water.

  "I'm not very pretty tonight," Polly told the cat. Then she whispered. "It's embarrassing to have your sweet husband help you while you're puking your guts out. It's a good thing he loves me."

  Leia glanced up as if she understood Polly's words, then went back to batting at the water. Polly opened a new toothbrush and turning the water to cold, brushed her teeth. Leia stood up and tried to snag the end of the toothbrush as Polly moved it.

  "You're not helping," Polly said after she spat. "But then, that isn't your job." She dried her face, picked Leia up and carried her out to the media room.

  "Are you hungry at all?" Henry asked. "I can put this in the fridge for later."

  "It isn't that my stomach is upset. I just started picturing what happened to me this morning and everything rebelled. I'm sorry."

  "No apologies, please," he said.

  She dropped Leia onto the sofa and sat down, then opened the bag of food. She'd ordered a pasta primavera and actually, it sounded good. "What about some wine?" she asked.

  "Are you sure?"

  She nodded and jumped when her phone buzzed with a text.

  "Mom just called and told me what happened to you. Can Billy and I walk your dogs tonight? I don't want you to go outside."

  "It's Doug," she said with a smile. "He wants to know if they can come take the dogs for a walk so I don't have to go outside."

  Henry grinned. "You have great friends, but they don't have to do that. I can."

  "What if I let them? I wouldn't mind if you stayed here with me. Is that okay?"

  He bent over the back of the couch and kissed her forehead. "Of course it is."

  "If I know my friends, they're going to be overly helpful the next couple of days. You may want to run away."

  "I'll be fine with all of it. As long as you stay inside and safe, I don't care how many of your friends show up."

  Polly texted back to Doug. "That would be awesome. Thank you. We're locked up pretty tight over here, so text me when you get to the back door."

  "Gimme three minutes," he responded. "And we'll come get them in the morning, too. Tell Henry it's cool."

  "They'll be downstairs in three minutes," she conveyed to Henry. "And you're supposed to let them take the dogs out in the morning, too."

  He nodded and put a glass of white wine on the table in front of her. "I can learn to accept their help. Come on, dogs. It looks like you're going to spend time with someone else this evening."

  He walked through the office to the back steps and let out a whistle. Obiwan and Han ran after him and followed him down the stairs.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Sleep had been elusive, yet Polly didn't want to get out of bed. She knew today would be filled with friends asking too many questions. She didn't want to have to relive yesterday over and over.

  Henry had sent the dogs downstairs with Doug, and Sylvie was stopping by to pick Rebecca up for school. There was no reason she had to go anywhere. Her bed was going to be just fine.

  "Polly, honey," Henry said, as he sat down on the bed beside her.

  "Don't make me get up."

  "I'm not going to. You were up all night. I was worried."

  "You didn't sleep either?"

  "Not much, but that's okay. You should have said something. We could have watched television." He took a breath. "I need to spend time at the coffee shop today. Who do you want to come over and stay with you?"

  Polly pulled herself into a seated position. "You have to go? I thought you'd be able to take time off."

  "I'll be in and out all day long, but I need to work."

  "You're fine. I'm just being a wimp. Why do I need a babysitter?"

  "Because I'm not leaving you alone. Not even here."

  "You left me alone last night to go get supper."

  "Not really," he said with a chuckle.

  "What does that mean?"

  "That means that Stu Decker kept an eye on you while I was gone."

  "That's ridiculous. I'm safe up here with everything locked down."

  "Too late," he said. "It happened. Nothing you can do about it."

  "So, I'm not going to be allowed to be alone? This is going to get old fast."

  The thing was, Polly would have been fine with Henry spending days at home with her. She hated the idea of putting anyone else out. They didn't need to see her be so afraid of the world.

  "I've heard from your friends. Any one of them will spend the day with you. In fact, all of them would if that's what you want."

  Polly slid back down in the bed and pulled the covers over her head. "I don't want anyone here. I don't want this to be real. Tell me it's not real, Henry. Tell me that my little utopia in Bellingwood, Iowa, hasn't failed me."

  "You need to give me a name," he insisted.

  She pulled the blanket down below her chin. "I don't want to have to answer everyone's questions today. It's just too much. I know I sound like a whiner and that drives me crazy, but I'd give almost anything to ignore yesterday."

  "I know you won't believe this, but the more you talk about it and own what happened to you, the less of an emotional impact it’s going to have on you. If you internalize it, all that's going to do is make it bigger and bigger in your mind."

  "When did you get so smart?" she asked with a small snarl in her lips. "I don't want to."

  He bent over and put his arms around her. "I don't want you to have to. If I could take this all away and deal with it myself, I would. But your friends love you and they're worried. Each one of them texted me last night to tell me that they were leaving you alone until you were ready to talk. These are your friends, sweetie. Remember that."

  "I know. You're right." She sat up again. "Would it be strange if I said that I wanted your mom or your Aunt Betty here today?"

  He sat up and looked at her, his brows creased. "Really?"

  "If I can't have you, I'd just as soon have one of them stay here with me. Would they do it?"

  "In a heartbeat. You'll probably make Mom cry, asking her to do this."

  "They're family and I guess that's who I feel the most comfortable with."

  "What would you like me to tell your friends? You know they're going to ask about seeing you."

  "Anyone can come any time. I want to see them. That's not it. But if someone is going to spend the day with me, I want it to be your mom. And your aunt too if she wants to come."

  He leaned back in and kissed her cheek. "I'll call Mom. She'll be over in a flash. We might have trouble keeping Dad away, too. Is he okay?"

  "Sure. That's fine. I feel like I'm being turned into an invalid. Can I go downstairs? I'd like to spend time with Sarah today. I need to explain this to her." Polly closed her eyes. "How is she ever going to trust that I can keep Rebecca safe when these terrible things keep happening?"

  "Don't worry about that. She'll understand."

  "I don't know what I think I'm going to explain to her. I wish I had some inkling as to why this happened."

  "It will reveal itself soon enough," Henry said.

  "That scares me too."

  "Are you ready to get up or do you want to sleep?"

  "I won't be able to sleep if you aren't in the bed."

  "You didn't sleep with me in the bed last night."

  "It would have been worse if you weren't. I'm sorry I kept you up."

  "I'll try to get through as much as I can this morning and come home early. Maybe we can try to take a nap."

  "A nap?" she asked with a grin. "A real nap or a different kind of nap?"

  "You're really asking me that question? Now? After all that happened?"

  "Well..."

&nb
sp; He smiled at her. "We'll make time. I promise."

  "Knew you would. Now go make your calls. I'm taking a shower."

  "Another one?"

  "Yep. Call me Psycho-Polly. But I think this one will just about do it. I almost have all of yesterday's yuck showered away." She patted her head. "And besides, my hair has to be a complete wreck after sleeping on it when it was wet last night."

  He tilted his head and looked at her. "It's interesting. Not a complete wreck, but interesting."

  Polly swatted at him. "Go call your mom. I'll be out in a few minutes. Is there coffee?"

  "Of course."

  ~~~

  Polly startled awake and looked around to get her bearings. Marie Sturtz was on the couch across from her, quietly knitting.

  "Are you all right?" Marie asked.

  "How long was I out?"

  "About forty-five minutes. As soon as Leia curled up in your lap, you dropped off to sleep."

  "I'm sorry I'm not better company."

  "Oh Polly, don't think about that. Henry told me that you didn't sleep last night. I don't think I'd sleep for a week after what you went through." Marie put her knitting down on the table in between them. "Can I get you anything from the kitchen? I need a glass of water."

  "I can do it," Polly said.

  "Don't be silly. I know where things are."

  Polly followed her out into the kitchen. "I feel ridiculous. I can't believe I need a babysitter."

  "None of us want to think about what could happen to you if those men got their hands on you again, so let your friends and family take care of you. You do enough for us every other day of the year."

  "I still feel ridiculous." Polly poured the last of the coffee into a mug and took the time to set it up for another pot. So far it wasn't helping to keep her awake, but who knew how many people would be by this afternoon.

  "What would you like to do for lunch?" Marie asked. "I could start something."

  "I'm not even sure what I have. I was going to go to the grocery store yesterday." Something flashed through Polly's mind. It was a tiny piece of a memory of an image in her side view mirror. Rats. She almost had it.

  "Then we order out. Bill can pick lunch up and bring it to us. I know he'd love to say hello to you. He's been worried sick. Do you want a tenderloin from the diner?"

  Polly shook her head. That didn't sound good at all. "I don't know what I want." She took a sip of coffee and looked out her kitchen window. There were people working in the garden on the corner. It was so good to see green grass and bright colors. She had promised herself that she was going to appreciate that every single day after the winter they'd just been through.

  "Who's that woman?" she asked.

  Marie joined her at the sink and looked out at the garden. "Which one?"

  "The woman in the red plaid jacket. Do I know her?"

  They watched for a few minutes until the woman turned.

  "That's Lillian Dexter," Marie said. "I'm surprised she's here. She owns the flower shop uptown."

  "Lily's Flowers?"

  "That's the one."

  "We use her all the time. She does beautiful work."

  "Yes she does and she's quite proud of it." Marie grimaced. "I'm sorry. That was rude of me. She does do beautiful work. I should just leave it at that."

  Polly chuckled. "That's funny. So, she's not usually a dig in the dirt kind of girl?"

  "She doesn't dig in someone else's dirt unless there are stories she can spread." A light went off in Marie's head. "That's why she's here. She's looking for gossip about yesterday."

  Polly laughed out loud.

  Marie ducked her head. "I'm horrible, aren't I? I should be ashamed of myself. Why don't we return to the fact that she is very talented and does beautiful work?"

  "And she's a gossip."

  Marie rolled her eyes. "Just like me, I guess. Would you allow me to retract everything I've said?"

  "Nope. I like it."

  Polly's phone rang. "It's about time," she said. "I was beginning to wonder if this new phone even had a ringer on it."

  She swiped it. "Hello?"

  "Hello there, dear. I couldn't wait any longer. I had to hear your voice. How are you?"

  She mouthed the word, "Lydia" to Marie and said, "I'm fine, Lydia. I wondered how long it would take you to call me."

  "I wanted to give you plenty of time to recuperate before I started bothering you. Henry tells me that Marie is staying with you today. Would you two like lunch?"

  "We were just talking about that."

  "Have you made any decisions?"

  "Other than deciding that we want some, nothing is set in stone yet."

  "I've sliced a ham and a roast for sandwiches. Sylvie has your favorite bread and Andy made potato salad and cole slaw. Could we come over and hug on you for lunch?"

  "No Beryl?"

  Lydia laughed. "She'll be there, but made me promise that she didn't have to bring anything."

  "That makes sense. If you want to come over, I'd love it. The place is locked down. I think you and Sylvie are the only ones with keys."

  "I'll pick the others up. If we're there right at noon will that be okay?"

  "It would be lovely. Thank you, Lydia."

  "Dear, all I want is to hug you so tight that you pop. Thank you for letting me come over."

  "Lydia is bringing food," Polly said to Marie. "If Bill wants to join us, that would be wonderful."

  "I'm not sure how he'd react to being surrounded by all of those women. I'll ask," she said. "But I doubt that he comes over today. Maybe another day this week."

  "Before they all get here for lunch, I'd like to run down and see Sarah Heater. Can I get away with that?" Polly asked.

  Marie took a breath. "I've been given strict orders not to let you out of my sight."

  "Today isn't a day that I'm going to give anyone any trouble about keeping an eye on me," Polly said. "Would you mind going with me, then? If you don't want to see her, that's fine. But I'm afraid that once this day gets moving, it won't slow down. I need to talk to her about what happened."

  "I can knit anywhere. I'll just sit in the hallway while you have your conversation."

  "Are you sure that won't be too far away?" Polly teased.

  "Don't get sassy with me, young lady," Marie said with a laugh. "I'm old enough to be your mother."

  Polly reached out and hugged her and felt tears come back into her eyes. "I'm so thankful you're here."

  "Oh sweetie," Marie said, drawing her arms tight around Polly. "I love you."

  "I love you too, Marie."

  Polly opened the door and shooed the dogs back into the living room as Marie walked through and they went down the steps together. She waved at Stephanie in the office and crossed over to the addition.

  "This might take a few minutes," she said. "Make yourself comfortable in the lounge. I'll be back."

  Marie nodded and then followed Polly into the addition and watched as she knocked on the door to Sarah Heater's room. Evelyn opened the door and gave Polly a look of surprise and then a quick hug.

  Polly waved to Marie and shut the door behind her.

  "Polly Giller, are the rumors true about you?" Evelyn Morrow, Sarah's nurse whispered.

  "Probably. And that's why I'm here. How's Sarah doing?"

  "As well as can be expected. She drifts in and out. The drugs are keeping the pain at bay, but not all the time. She's either awake and hurting or asleep and quiet."

  Polly took a deep breath. "When do you think I could speak with her?"

  "Let's just see what we can do," Evelyn said and walked to the bed. They'd moved the large bed off to one side a couple of months ago and replaced it with a hospital bed so Sarah could find more positions to be comfortable. It was facing the south windows because she had fallen in love with the horses and donkeys in the pasture. Eliseo made sure to exercise them in the pen where she could see them and as it got warmer, they spent more and more time playing outside.
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  Polly smiled at their antics. This had been the perfect room for Sarah. The windows to the south were filled with gorgeous horses and the windows to the west looked out over Eliseo's garden to the sycamore tree-lined creek. Spring had brought a great deal of beauty to Polly's back yard and she was glad Sarah could enjoy it.

  "Sarah?" Evelyn asked quietly. "Can you hear me? Polly is here. Are you able to talk to her?"

  Sarah's eyes fluttered open and a tiny smile crossed her lips. Her eyes shut almost immediately, but she reached her hand out and Evelyn took it.

  "When she's too tired to speak, she still communicates with us," Evelyn said. "Take her hand. She'll squeeze it when she has something to say."

  Polly took Evelyn's place by Sarah's bedside and then took Sarah's hand in hers. All of a sudden she had no idea what to say to the woman. Everything that had been important up to this point suddenly seemed trivial. Even the fact that she'd been kidnapped yesterday meant nothing in the face of Sarah's last few days on earth.

  There was no need to talk to her about what was happening here. Sarah trusted Polly and the people around her to care for Rebecca long into her daughter's future. That and making sure that Rebecca knew how much she was loved were the only things of any importance. This fact settled so deeply into Polly's soul that she was still and watched as the woman breathed in and out.

  Evelyn smiled and gestured to the chair beside Sarah's bed. Polly sat down.

  "We've said everything we need to say to each other," Polly finally said. "I can't tell you how grateful I am that you trust your daughter to me. I wish you could be here to watch everything she becomes, but I will always do my best to make sure she's happy."

  Sarah smiled again and Polly felt her fingers gently squeeze. She wanted to hold this poor woman close - anything to generate enough energy so she could continue to live.

  "You've taught me so much," Polly said. "Just now I learned a huge lesson about what's important."

  Sarah lifted one eye as if asking a question.

  "It's only love. That's all. Nothing else. None of the silly stresses we put on ourselves, no gossip or trying to be better than anyone else. Not competition or being a great business person. None of that. Just making sure we love each other. That's the only thing that matters right now. It's the only thing that should ever matter."