A Little Secret between Friends

On the hand, she could use some help.

In the end, the decision wasn’t Sally’s to make. Colin entered the kitchen. He must have seen the blue flame on the stove, because he came rushing around the island and almost tripped over her.

“Oh my God, Sally! What happened to you?”

He crouched beside her, as Neil had done, only this time she felt no fear. Armani seemed to sense his presence was benign, as well. He stopped whining and lay down at Sally’s side.

“My head,” she said, barely finding the strength to speak. “My hand.” She lifted it slightly.

“You burned yourself.” Colin reached to the stove and switched off the burner. “Badly. And you’ve hit your head. It’s still bleeding.”

He opened drawers until he found the clean tea towels. Taking several, he made a compress and applied it to her wound. He tied one of the towels completely around her head to hold the others in place.

Then he found a bowl, filled it with cold water and immersed her burned hand. The relief from pain was instantaneous.

“Talk to me, Sally. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. My name is Sally Elizabeth Stowe and it’s Friday the twenty-third.”

He looked taken aback at first, and then he smiled. “Well, your mind is working all right. But then it always has.”

This, coming from a man who had spent the past decade and a half debating almost everything she said, was a compliment, Sally knew.

“What a lot of blood.”

His face was awfully white, Sally noticed. He’d aged since Beth’s death, but not unattractively. A little gray sprinkled in with the chestnut-brown. A few more lines spreading out from the corners of his alert, probing eyes.

“Head injuries always bleed profusely, Colin.” She remembered Lara, when she was two, splitting her head open on the stone hearth of their first rental home, and the amazing amount of blood she’d lost in a relatively short time. Sally had hit the panic button then, but at Emergency Lara had received three stitches and been pronounced fine.

On the drive home, Neil had bitterly castigated Sally for her carelessness, conveniently forgetting that she had asked him to keep an eye on Lara while she folded the laundry.

That had been the last in a series of arguments that had convinced her she could not spend a lifetime with the man she’d married so rashly. She’d moved out the next week. Drawn up a separation agreement that Neil had never signed…

“Must have been a hell of a fall, Sally. Did you burn your hand, then lose your balance?”

She closed her eyes, remembering the vile sneer on Neil’s face just before he’d given her that second shove. The ice-man smile.

She doubted if any of Neil’s colleagues would believe that the polished, urbane man who was one of the city’s most accomplished criminal lawyers had this darker side.

Besides, even if Colin did believe her, she wasn’t sure she wanted him to know.

“That must be what happened. It’s all kind of blurry right now.”

Blurry was the right word. Her vision still wasn’t quite right. And her understanding of the situation was equally out of focus. Neil had lost his temper hundreds of times before, but he’d never laid a hand on her before. What was so different this time? Did he resent her possible judicial appointment that much?

“You look like you’re in a lot of pain.”

“I’m actually starting to feel a little better.”

“You’ll need stitches for that cut, I’m guessing.”

He was probably right.

“Should I call an ambulance?”

“I’m not that badly off. But maybe you could drop me at the Rockyview Emergency? Unless you have plans?”

Colin’s laugh was bitter. “I never have plans these days. Not that it would matter if I did. Come on, sweetheart, we’ve got to get you up off that floor.”

He started to put his arms under her then paused.

“You smell good,” she murmured.

“What?”

She couldn’t believe she’d said that. It was just the contrast from Neil, she supposed. “Don’t mind me. I’m delirious.”

“Before I move you I’d better make sure you don’t have any other injuries. Back? Neck?”

“Fine. Nothing hurts but my head and my hand.” And those were enough. “You know, a few painkillers would go down real nice about now.”

“Let’s get you up, first. Here goes.” Colin put his arms under her back, helping her to a sitting position. “Okay?”

“A little dizzy,” she admitted.

“Think you can make it to the car?”

“But all this blood will stain your seats.” There was a pool of the stuff in the kitchen. It was on her shirt and Colin’s socks. He must have removed his shoes at the door.

“I’ll take care of it,” Colin promised. “What about the dog?”

“Could you put him in the laundry room, please?”

Colin pulled off his socks so he wouldn’t track blood all over her house, then settled the dog. Next he grabbed a throw blanket from the family room and wrapped it around her shoulders. As gently as possible, he helped her up. Slowly they crossed to the back door where he slipped his shoes back onto his feet, then swung her up into his arms and carried her out to his car.

The round trip to the emergency room took under four hours, which wasn’t as bad as it could have been. Colin stuck with her the whole time, except when she was in the examining room.

“How many stitches?” he asked on the drive home.

She fingered the raw spot on the side of her head. “Four. You know, I’ve never had stitches before. If you don’t count childbirth.”

“Why would you…?” Colin began to ask. Then, “Oh…” as he figured the answer out on his own. “That must really hurt.”

“It’s not the worst part,” she assured him, then smiled at his grimace.

It was peaceful riding in the car with Colin, which was strange. She wasn’t used to being in his vicinity without a good argument brewing between them. Usually legal in nature, but sometimes political or economic. In truth, their world views weren’t that different, but from the first time they’d butted heads in law school, they’d seemed to take pleasure in picking fights with each other.

Back at her house, Colin surprised her by producing a key to her front door, then helping her inside. When she looked at him questioningly, he said, “It’s Beth’s.” He started to work it off the chain, but she stopped him.

“Keep it. If I ever lock myself out, I’ll be glad you have the spare.”

Trailing her hand along the hallway wall, to keep herself steady, Sally headed for the laundry room. As soon as she opened the door, Armani tumbled out, barking excitedly.

“I’ll take care of him. You should get some rest.” Colin crouched beside the puppy. “I’ll bet you need to go outside, don’t you, fella?”

“Thank you, Colin.” Sally couldn’t wait to get off her feet. It was almost midnight now and all she wanted was sleep. In the hospital Colin had told her he would stay the night to keep an eye on her. Otherwise, the doctor would have insisted on admitting her.

Sally tossed her bloodied clothing into the hamper and put on flannel pajamas. She managed to brush her teeth then, with relief, crawled under the covers.

Within a minute, she heard Armani and Colin return to the house. There were some noises in the laundry room. She presumed Colin was making sure the puppy had food and water for the night.

Then Colin came to her room. She’d left the door open, but he stood out in the hall.

“Are you okay?”

“Fine.” The painkillers were blessedly effective.

“How long were you there? Lying on the floor before I got here.”

“I’m not sure. Lucky for me you showed up when you did.” Then she realized how strange that was. Colin never dropped by, and certainly wouldn’t do so without phoning first. “How was it you came for a visit tonight, anyway?”

Colin looked surprised. “Don’t you remember phoning?” He disappeared down the hall, returning a few minutes later with her cell phone. He’d wiped off the blood and now he pressed a button to show her the last number dialed.

She vaguely recalled fumbling with her cell phone, then dropping it. “I must have hit one of the speed-dial buttons.”

“When I answered you asked for Beth.”

“Oh.” Now that he said that, she recalled thinking of her friend in those first painful and confusing moments. Beth had always been the person she turned to during an emergency.

But how awful for him, to get a call like that. “I’m sorry, Colin. I guess it must have been instinct or something. I wasn’t thinking straight.”

“That’s okay.” He disappeared down the hall, then came back with painkillers and a glass of water.

“You make a good nurse,” she told him, and immediately regretted the words. Beth had died at home and that last month had been hard. There’d been professional home care, but both Colin and Sally had helped. Then, the last two weeks they’d taken turns so Beth would never be alone.

He’d made a good nurse then, too.

“I keep saying the wrong thing.” Was it her injury? Or just being around Colin? He’d always brought out the worst in her. In law school she’d been compelled to prove him wrong at every opportunity. And when they occasionally found themselves on opposite sides of the same courtroom, sparks were sure to fly. They were so combustible they’d earned a reputation with their colleagues.

But there’d been no hint of an argument between them tonight.

“That’s okay, Sally. But it was hell seeing her suffer, wasn’t it?”

Colin collapsed into the chair across from her bed with a weariness that seemed more of the heart than the body. For the first time it struck Sally as strange that they’d never talked about this before. They’d both supported Beth through every stage of her cancer from the day she’d found the lump, to the day she’d finally died. Two years of their lives, and yet never had she and Colin shared what they were going through.

And since the funeral, they hadn’t spoken at all.

Even now, she spoke hesitantly. “This may sound trite, but she was such a genuinely good person. I’d known her since she was a schoolgirl and I never saw her do anything mean to anyone.”

“Her students loved her. She got letters from all her second-graders. Those were the letters I found hardest to read after…after she was gone.”

“She loved those kids so much.” Beth had been a natural with children. That she’d never managed to have one of her own had been her biggest regret. “And she was always so good to Lara.”

“What do you miss the most?” Colin asked.

“That’s a tough one.” There were so many things. The annual holiday they took back to the lake in Saskatchewan where they’d gone to camp when they’d been kids. Their movie dates, where they alternately laughed and cried through the chick-flicks the men in their lives refused to see. The times they’d shared a bottle of wine and just talked.

“You know, I think I missed her the most on my birthday.” For the first time in Sally’s life, the day had passed unremarked by anyone. Her parents were gone, she had no husband, and Lara, with her father that weekend, had forgotten to phone. “Beth always took me out for lunch on my birthday.”

“I remember.”

Sally shifted into a sitting position. The pain in her head had settled into a moderate throbbing. Her hand, treated with cream and wrapped in a bandage, no longer burned. “What about you? What do you miss most?”

“Her smile, I guess. Or maybe the way she always worried her eyebrows when she was concentrating.”

Sally gave a snort. “That was so annoying.”

“I know. But sort of cute, too. How about that yellow blouse she wore every Easter?”

“With the embroidered Easter eggs? God, that was so tacky.”

“She wore it because the kids loved the colors. Remember how she used to play Neil Diamond when she was in an especially good mood?”

Sally sang the first couple of lines of “Sweet Caroline,” with Colin joining in partway through. Eventually they forgot the words and, after they’d both given up on the song, their glances caught and held. Sally felt as if her own grief was being mirrored right back at her.

He really loved Beth, Sally thought. Not that she’d ever doubted it. She’d known her best friend had a great marriage. But he’d really loved her.

“Speaking selfishly,” Colin said, picking up the thread of conversation, “I’d have to say I miss her companionship when I come home from work—not to mention her cooking. She knew all my favorites.”

“And what would those be?”

“Anything with a tomato sauce. Pizza. Lasagna. She made the best chicken cacciatore.”

“Same things we ate when we were university roommates.” Beth had done most of the cooking then, too, Sally recalled. “So what do you eat for your dinners now?” she asked Colin. “Takeout?”

“No. I boil things. Microwave things. Grill things. I just can’t cook anything.”

“So by cooking, you mean combining more than one ingredient in the same pot?”

“I guess that’s what I mean.”

“I should teach you how to stir-fry. It’s sort of like cooking, only easier. And healthy, too.”

“Is that what you were doing tonight when you had your…fall?”

“Yes.” Why had he hesitated that way? Sally angled her head for a closer look at him. Two minutes ago Colin had seemed ready to spend the night in that chair. Now he was poised on the edge of the seat cushion, watching her closely.

Did he suspect that there was nothing at all accidental in what had happened to her? For a moment she considered confiding in him. But could she really trust Colin with this when she, herself, didn’t know how to react?

Besides, she had to remember that to Colin, Neil was a respected colleague. And a friend, too. After all, they’d gone to school together. And when Sally and Neil had been married, they’d gone out with Colin and Beth occasionally.

Sally’s instincts were to keep silent. She had to figure out what had happened and why. She needed to step carefully, because if she made any mistakes, Neil would make her pay, for sure.

And even though they were having a nice conversation tonight, Colin wasn’t someone she wanted to take into her confidence. Ever since she’d found out Beth was in love with him, she’d walked on eggshells around the man.

“Is Lara at Neil’s?”

“She’s at a sleepover party.”

“What time are you supposed to pick her up in the morning?”

“She’s getting a ride. She’ll be home around eleven.”

“Right. That’s taken care of, then. Where would you like me to sleep?”

Right where you are. Of course, Sally didn’t dare say that, even though it was so comforting having him close. “The spare room is down the hall to the left. There are clean towels in the bathroom closet.”

“Okay.” Colin stood and stretched out his tall, large-boned frame. He cut an imposing figure in the broad-shouldered suits he wore to work, but to Sally’s mind he looked even better in the jeans and plain blue T-shirt he wore tonight.

He left the room, and moments later Sally heard him moving around in the kitchen. Was he cleaning up the mess from her aborted stir-fry?

He was back ten minutes later. “Still awake?”

“So far,” she agreed.

“You had a lot of food prepared,” he commented.

Neil had said the same thing.

“A lot of food for just one person.”

Where was he going with that? She made a noise of disgruntlement. “I was alone, okay? I burned myself and I fell. I’ve always been kind of clumsy.”

Colin folded his arms over his chest. In the low light, she couldn’t see his eyes at all. “I’ve always thought of you as graceful, actually.”

Really? She felt something lurch inside her, a pleased yet shy reaction that reminded her of her younger self. It had been a long time since a man’s compliment had elicited such a response from her.

“I’m going to leave the hall light on, okay? You know I have to wake you up in a few hours to give you another quiz.”

“I’ll bone up on provincial capitals while I’m sleeping.”

Colin smiled. It seemed as if he was going to leave, then he changed his mind and took a couple of steps inside her room.

“Sally, I know you told me you were by yourself when you fell tonight. Are you sure about that? Is there any chance your head injury affected your memory?”

She was so tempted to tell him. But the habit of holding her best friend’s husband at a distance was too ingrained to break now.

“I was alone and I fell, Colin. That’s all.”

He looked at her sadly, as if her answer had disappointed him.

“By the way,” he said. “There’s a silver pen on your island. It’s engraved with the initials ‘N.A.’”

The pen she had used to sign the passport application earlier. Trust the crown prosecutor to have noticed that. He was looking at her expectantly now. Waiting for her confession, no doubt. But she wasn’t giving in to his courtroom tactics.

“I guess Neil must have left it here the last time he came to visit Lara,” she replied softly. Then she closed her eyes and pretended to sleep.

CHAPTER THREE

AT TWO O’CLOCK in the morning, the alarm on Colin’s wristwatch began to beep. He’d been sleeping lightly and woke easily. Careful not to disturb Armani at the foot of the bed, he got up and pulled on his jeans.

When the puppy had started whimpering an hour ago, Colin hadn’t wanted him to wake Sally, so he’d let him into his room. The puppy had hopped up onto the bed as if permission were a forgone conclusion. Colin suspected this was not the case. Still, at least the dog had been happy.

Colin crept down the hallway. At the entrance to Sally’s room, he paused. The door stood open, and light from the hall spilled onto Sally’s bed, highlighting the blond streaks in her hair and emphasizing her pale complexion. One hand, the uninjured one, clutched the sheet, holding it to her chin.

She looked unaccustomedly young, vulnerable and sweet. And seeing her that way filled Colin with an uncomfortable guilt.

In the almost twenty years he’d known her, Sally had rarely let down her guard around him. He was used to her alert and wary, her keen mind poised to take advantage of his first sign of weakness.

He didn’t know why she’d developed an almost instantaneous animosity toward him. He supposed it had all began in Foundations to Law—their very first class on the first day of law school.

He’d stood up to disagree with a point she was making—about what, he could no longer remember. He’d turned her opinion into a joke and made the entire class laugh. Sally had appeared to take the insult calmly, but from that moment on, she’d made a point of gunning for him whenever she could.

She’d proved herself a worthy adversary, in a battle that Colin soon understood he was destined to lose.

Because it hadn’t taken more than a few weeks for him to realize Sally was the last woman he wanted to argue with. But his belated attempts to win her over had failed miserably.

For almost three years they had failed, and then, inexplicably, they hadn’t.

It was just a week before December exams, in their final year, when he’d offered Sally a ride home from the library and she’d surprised him by accepting. In the car that night, they had managed to have their first real conversation since they’d met. And when he’d invited her to his off-campus apartment, she’d accepted.

They’d made love that night and their relationship had changed.

Only, unknown to him, the cute education student he’d dated a couple of times previously was Sally’s best friend and roommate. Once Sally connected the dots—apparently she’d never in a million years have surmised from Beth’s glowing descriptions that her friend was talking about Colin Foster—she’d become colder and more antagonistic than ever.

He’d only just met Beth. He hadn’t been in love with her yet. “I’m not going to ask her out again,” he’d told Sally when she’d decreed their one night together would never be repeated.

“I still won’t get involved with you,” Sally swore. And that very night she was on Neil Anderson’s arm at the university pub.

Every day for a whole week Colin had fought her to change her mind. Finally, angry at her stubbornness, he had asked Beth out again and his relationship with Sally had reverted to its original footings with one twist. They still argued, disagreed and, whenever possible, avoided each other. But underlying the old antagonism was a new awareness that could leave him momentarily breathless in her presence.

To his consternation, Sally had seemed impervious to this new affliction of his, suffering none of the same side effects herself.

She was the strongest woman he’d ever known. Throughout Beth’s illness, she’d never broken down. That must be why seeing her hurt and needing his help felt like an invasion of her privacy.

He went to her bedside and flicked on the reading lamp. “Sally? Can you wake up for a minute?”

He put his hand on her shoulder and was surprised how fragile and womanly that one, innocent body part felt. Even covered in flannel. He squeezed, then gave a gentle shake. “Sally?”

“What?” Her good hand let go of the sheet in order to brush the hair off her face. “Colin?”

She sounded startled, but not afraid.

“This can’t be true,” she murmured, her eyes suddenly open wide and staring at him.

Both pupils equal in size, he noted in the logical side of his brain. His emotional half wished he could fold this woman within his arms and crawl into bed with her. She looked…cuddly. Adorable.

Sally Stowe cuddly and adorable? Impossible.

He could tell the second Sally’s full consciousness returned. Her hand touched the sore spot on her head and her eyes gained their usual sharp focus.

“There are ten provinces in Canada, fifty states in America, and the Flames are in the running for the Stanley Cup this year. Can I go back to sleep, please?”

It was a relief to know she was okay. That she hadn’t seriously injured herself with that fall. Still, he wouldn’t have minded if the more vulnerable Sally had hung around for a while longer.

“All clear,” he said, resisting the impulse to touch her cheek. “Good night, Sally.”

She closed her eyes and seemed to fall back to sleep instantly. He paused, inexplicably reluctant to leave her alone in this room.

What if, he started to think. What if…?

But he couldn’t let himself finish that question, not even in his mind. To wish he might have had a future with Sally meant repudiating his years with Beth. And he could never do that.

EIGHT HOURS AFTER he’d left his ex-wife lying on her kitchen floor, Neil Anderson’s conscience began to trouble him. He’d just dropped off the young lawyer he’d taken to dinner. They’d had sex at his place after, but he hadn’t wanted her to stay the night. Even though Lara wasn’t with him this weekend, that was one of his rules. No women overnight. Ever.

Maybe that was harsh, but it wasn’t his fault he had to live his life this way. He didn’t want to be with a different woman every month or so, shuffling them out the door when the good times were over. He wanted what every man had the right to expect. His wife in bed with him at night and still there when he woke the next morning.

Sally.

Neil’s hands tightened on the steering wheel. Full of resentment, he turned toward the Elbow Valley community.

He hadn’t meant to hurt her tonight, of course. He still couldn’t believe he’d actually shoved her that hard. That was all it had been, though—a shove. It wasn’t his fault she’d been stupid enough to touch the stove, or that her head had knocked against the stone counter. When he’d left her she was conscious. He was sure he’d heard her moan.

But in the past hour he’d started to worry. What if she’d been injured more seriously than he thought? You could never tell with trauma to the head. Since Lara was out for the night, Sally could end up lying on the floor until morning.

But as he turned onto her street, he saw that she wasn’t alone. There was an SUV he didn’t recognize parked in her driveway. What the hell was going on? He glanced at his dash. It was almost three in the morning. The lights were out in the house, so Sally wasn’t entertaining late.