Captive (18 page)

I’d been exchanging texts with Ryke off and on all day. When I got home that evening, I dialed him in hopes of hearing his voice before game time.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hey, how are you?”

“Good. I’m about to eat my peanut butter sandwiches. How are you feeling? Are you sick?”

“No, I feel good. Extra tired from all the walking we did today, but it was fun.”

“Was it a kid you met from work that you took shopping?”

“Yeah. Melody. She’s the greatest kid, Ryke. We went to the toy store and then did a horse carriage ride. And then to the hair salon to get our hair and nails done, and to the ice cream parlor you and me always go to. I let her get a banana split for dinner, which wasn’t very responsible of me, but you should’ve seen her face when they brought it out!”

“You sound happy, baby.”

“I am. It was so good to get my mind off things and just think about someone else for the day. And she thanked me at least a dozen times.”

“How old is she?”

“Five.”

“That’s cool that her parents don’t mind letting you spend time with her outside the office.”

“Actually, she’s in foster care. But her foster mother seems pretty okay.”

“What’s the deal with her parents?”

I paused, remembering the confidentiality I was required to maintain. “I wish I could say. She’s been through a lot. I had such a good time with her today.”

“I’m glad. You gonna watch me play?”

I curled up on the couch and flipped to the channel the game would be broadcast on. “Always. Can’t wait. I miss you.”

“Miss you, too. Mimi’s gonna be there by nine to stay the night.”

I groaned into the phone. “I don’t need a babysitter. I’m perfectly fine on my own. Seriously, Ryke, Mimi has her own life, and she doesn’t need to be here around the clock.”

“Just the nights I’m gone. I don’t want you alone. I have to go, okay? Take it easy and call me if you can’t sleep or if you’re upset. Promise me you will.”

I smiled. “Promise. I love you.”

“Love you, too. The midwife I hired is coming in the morning.”

“Great,” I said sarcastically, sighing. “Should I have the pullout couch ready in your office so she can stay here at night, too?”

“That’s not a bad idea. But I don’t want you touching the pullout couch. Ask Mimi to do it.”

“Not happening. One babysitter is enough.”

“Well, since I technically hired both of them, they answer to me.”

I let him know with my tone that I was serious. “No. Don’t smother me. No one here at night but Mimi. And maybe you, if you stop being so bossy.”

“Alright. But seriously, Kate, don’t lift anything heavy or climb any ladders. Be safe, please.”

“Baby, I have no reason to climb a ladder. Don’t worry. Focus on your game, okay? Go kick some ass.”

“Okay. I’ll call you after the game.”

We said our goodbyes and hung up. My mind glossed over the reason for his concern. I’d had a great day with Melody and was about to settle in and watch a hockey game. I didn’t want to spoil my good mood by thinking about the thing that always ruined it.

I had to force my mouth to remain closed when I opened the apartment door and saw the woman standing there. My instinct was to let my jaw drop, because she was not at all what I was expecting.

She was short and curvy, dressed in a sunny yellow kimono that her large breasts were straining against. Salt and pepper corkscrew curls flew in all directions, contrasting with the creamy, unlined skin on her face.

“Harmony Moonstone,” she said, extending a hand.

“Harmony.” I shook her hand and stepped aside to let her in. “Nice to meet you, I’m Kate. And … just so I’m clear, you’re the midwife my husband hired?”

She breezed past me and I wrinkled my nose. The smoke I smelled on her was definitely not the kind that came from cigarettes. Where the hell had Ryke found this woman?

“Mmm-hmm,” she hummed, her eyes scanning the apartment before she turned to me. “You may find me an unusual midwife. I believe that treating the body starts with treating the soul.”

“Uh … sure.”

She bustled over to the flat screen TV on the wall and pointed at it. “Are you open to moving this while you’re pregnant? Maybe putting in an aquarium instead?”

“I … guess so, sure.”

“And we need yellow in here. May I have the walls painted? Yellow promotes calm energy.”

The sound of Mimi walking into the room made me turn, and I gave her a
you’re not gonna believe this
look.

“Mimi, this is Harmony, the midwife who’s going to be coming by,” I said.

“Nice to meet you,” Mimi said, waving.

“You too.” Harmony put a hand to her chest. “Your aura is so peaceful. Are you a Virgo?”

“Um … Aquarius.” Mimi gave me a quick glance. “I’m just heading out to the store, so I’ll see you later.”

She bolted and left me with the quirky lady, which I’d have to thank her for later. I tried not to stare at Harmony’s unrestrained, bouncing boobs when she walked over to me and touched my stomach for a few seconds.

“Mmm.” She smiled. “Happy baby. Sad mommy, though.”

“I’m not sad,” I said defensively.

She met my gaze and just stared. Her light brown eyes had a beautiful rim of green that I focused on, because damned if I’d look away first.

“Disappointed,” she pronounced.

“What – me?”

She said nothing, but continued boring into me with her eyes.

“Yeah,” I said, shrugging. “Maybe. I’m sure Ryke told you that. We weren’t planning on this. We were going to adopt a baby, and now I’ll have to wait until … you know.”

She shook her head, her mouth set in a line.

I sighed with annoyance. “Until after this miscarriage.”

Harmony was still studying my eyes, and the corners of her lips crept up slowly. My annoyance became flat-out anger over her smiling about something so awful.

“Yeah, it’s pretty amusing,” I muttered.

“Child.” Her voice was warm and smooth. “There’s only one who knows what’s in store for any of us, and it’s not you.”

“Did my husband tell you I’ve been pregnant twice, and lost both?”

She nodded.

“Then you know I’m not predicting anything, I’m just using my track record to draw a rational conclusion.”

“It’s a high-risk pregnancy, yes. But there is risk in everything, child. You could walk outside and get struck by a car, but that doesn’t prevent you from ever leaving your home.”

I arched my brows at her. “If I’d been hit by a car twice already, trust me, I’d be wary of it happening again.”

Harmony’s smile widened. “Ah. Well then, you must think of it like I do. If I’d been hit by a car twice already, and I was still standing here, I’d be certain my chances were less than those of someone who has never been hit by one.”

She put her palm back on my stomach and grinned happily. “Baby is good. Baby needs peace and positive energy to grow. I will help with the changes you need.”

“Changes?” I asked.

She waved a hand dismissively. “We must bring in yellow and rearrange the furniture to create the right energy. Add some plants. Baby needs earth, air and water. You must eat healthy and stay relaxed.”

“Is this a feng shui thing?”

She smiled. “I follow some of those principles, yes. And some of my own, too.”

It surprised me how reassuring it was to have someone telling me what to do. Would having the walls painted yellow help anything? It was impossible, yet a voice inside me asked what it could hurt. Harmony was giving me a checklist, and completing it would occupy my mind. And this was what Ryke wanted since he’d hired her.

“I can do all that,” I said. She lowered her brows in a glare.

“Others will do all that. You will relax.”

“Actually, I have to go in to work. I’m a counselor. I usually work three days a week.”

Harmony shrank back like I’d smacked her. “You mustn’t take on the pain and burdens of others right now! It’s not good for you.”

“It’s my job, though. Counseling, I mean. I don’t take on anyone’s pain. I just help them talk through it. It’s important to me.”

“Mmm.”

I already knew that meant she disagreed. “I have to get ready and go, but you can do whatever you need to do here with … the yellow and all.”

I couldn’t get over my surprise that Ryke had chosen Harmony to take care of me. I figured he knew something I didn’t, so I shrugged it off and concentrated on the day ahead of me at work.

When I finished drying my hair and went to refill my coffee cup, Harmony had arrived for her second day of work. She was chatting with Mimi about the garden she planted every year.

“Good morning, Katherine,” she said when she saw me. Today she looked a little more sedate in a tan kimono, but she was still braless and her hair was still flying in all directions.

I smiled through sips of coffee. “No one’s called me that in a long time.”

“I think we connect more intimately with people when we use their full, given names,” she said, walking toward me and reaching for my coffee cup. “No more coffee. It’s not good for the baby.”

I gaped at the cup she’d taken from me. “What?”

“You’ll hardly miss it.” She waved a dismissive hand and I glared at her.

“Kind of like I’ll hardly miss the TV?”

While I was at work yesterday, she’d made changes, alright. Every wall was painted yellow now, even in our bathrooms. The furniture had all been rearranged, and the TV had been replaced by a large aquarium. Large, tropical houseplants had been placed in every room. Those, I kind of liked, but I wasn’t going to tell her that.

“You needed a change of pace. And your husband told me to do whatever I think is best for you.”

Mimi interrupted what may have been a brewing confrontation. “How about breakfast, you two? Eggs? Toast?”

“Mmm, eggs would be great,” I said.

“We’ll need to take a look at your diet,” Harmony said, reaching into the giant canvas bag slung over her shoulder. She sat a ceramic jar on the counter and dug further, pulling out a scrap of paper. “I’ve made a list of the things we’ll want to have on hand.”

“Were you planning on going to the store today?” I asked Mimi.

She nodded and started pulling stuff out of the fridge to cook breakfast. I tried not to think about how perfect a fresh cup of coffee would taste with the eggs and toast while I ate.

“I might as well head to the store,” Mimi said after we finished. Harmony picked up the cream-colored ceramic jar she’d set on the counter and carried it into the living room.

“Come, child. Sit,” she said to me. I sat down on one end of the couch, and she sank into the other side. She pulled the lid off of the jar and set it on the cushion that was between us.

“Fear is a powerful thing,” she said in her warm, smooth tone. “It keeps us trapped in the darkness.”

I nodded, unsure what she wanted me to say. She reached inside the jar and pulled out several slips of plain white paper and a pencil, handing them to me.

“What are you afraid of?” she asked. “Don’t tell me what it is. Just write it down on a slip of paper, fold it, and put it inside the container.

I wrinkled my face with dismay. “Um … I really don’t have anything.”

“Nonsense. Everyone is afraid of something. Go ahead.”

“What are you afraid of?” I asked. She met my eyes and considered.

“My mother has cancer, and I’m afraid of watching her suffer,” she said. “I’m afraid that when the end comes and I need to be strong, I’ll fail her.”

“You don’t seem like the sort of person who’s afraid of anything.”

“We all have fears, child. Share one of yours.”

I took a deep breath and stared at the slip of paper. What would it hurt? I scrawled
I’m afraid I’ll have another miscarriage
on it, and folded it in half. Harmony pointed a plump finger at the jar and I dropped it in.

“Now,” she said. “Dig a little deeper. Write something down that you’re so afraid of, it pains you to think about it.”

I glanced at her and wrote out another fear:
I’m afraid of disappointing Ryke
. Harmony gestured at the jar again and I folded the paper and dropped it in.