The Lives Between Us (39 page)

Noelle looked up at him with tears in her eyes.
Hiss
. “Sorry.”

“Oh, hey.” Mark ran a comforting hand around her face. It felt a little intimate, but he wanted her to be able to feel it. “It’s not your fault. They’ll be fine. Jeff’s at a difficult age that has nothing to do with you. I was a holy terror at thirteen. In fact I
know
this is payback for Ed.”

He sat back and nodded sagely. “When you get home, you should play the sympathy card. I bet you’ll be able to keep Jeff in line ’cause he’d feel guilty pulling stuff on you. You’re not fair game like us poor men.”

Hiss
. “Manipulative.”

Mark nodded. “And proud of it.”

“Skye just left.”
Hiss
. “Good job.”
Hiss
. “On Edward.”

“She showed you the article from his interview? You
would
like it. She made you out to be a sexy siren and Madonna rolled into one. Just teasing. She did a pretty good job.”

Hiss
. “Edward send.”
Hiss
. “Flowers?”

“His office did, and she loved them—as I’m sure she told you. Skye was very touched. That was thoughtful of you. Thanks.”

Noelle nodded.
Hiss
. “Should be.”
Hiss
. “Proud.”

“I am. Very.”

Hiss
. “How’s rest going?”

“With Skye?”

She nodded.

“Great. We had a little rough patch thanks to your husband, but we got past it.”

Hiss
. “What’d.”
Hiss
. “Edward do?”

Though their fight was history, it’d be interesting to have Noelle’s perspective. She was disabled, but nothing was wrong with her mind, and maybe consulting her would help boost her feeling of self worth.

Mark crossed his arms over his chest and affected a disgruntled expression. “Your husband opened his big mouth and mentioned my bout with Hodgkin's—”

Noelle frowned. “Really sick.”

“She didn’t need to know that. To be honest, it wasn’t really Ed’s fault. He didn’t know she’s got this hang-up about death. You know her niece died recently, but Skye had been orphaned long before that.”

“How die?”

“Her parents?”

Noelle nodded.

“It’s a bizarre story, actually. When Skye was twelve or thirteen her mom got hit in the head by a foul ball at a Tiger’s game and that night dropped dead.”

“Kidding.”

He slowly shook his head. “I’m not creative enough to make that up.”

“Father.”
Hiss
. “Struck by lightening?”
Hiss
.

Mark grinned at her joke, then sobered. “Her dad had a heart attack her junior year of high school.”

“So young.”
Hiss
. “Sad.”

“Yeah, it’s not surprising she avoids commitments. Heck, she’s never stayed in one job or lived in one place for more than a year or so. Anyhow, Skye totally freaked out when Ed told her I’d had Hodgkin’s.”

One side of Noelle’s cheek elevated, and her eyebrows arched in a look of concession. “What’d.”
Hiss
. “She do?”

“She ran. I got pissed.” He glared at her in mock anger. “And your husband laughed.”

Mark’s spirits lifted at Noelle’s genuine grin. Noelle didn’t laugh much, and a smile was rare, too, these days. She often lifted her lips in a brave simile of a smile to encourage Ed, but somehow the effort never transformed her eyes and her whole face the way it had just then. Mark wanted to make her laugh again.

“She called in the middle of the night and apologized, and I, gracious as ever ’cause I’m just that kind of guy, accepted her apology. Then I sent her copies of my annual doctor visits—signed—proving I’ve had a clean bill of health. After the fourth day, she called surrendering.”

Noelle laughed, which came out as a wheeze when not coordinated with the vent. “Didn’t.”
Hiss
.

“I did.” Mark nodded. He snatched a Kleenex from the windowsill and dabbed at the tears moistening the corner of her eyes.

“Now what.”
Hiss
. “Nice guy?”

“I’m not a nice guy. That’s what Skye
expects
but not what she
wants
. I’m going to give her what she wants—but doesn’t know she wants.”

Noelle rolled her eyes before smiling. Amusement shone in her eyes. “Women really.”
Hiss
. “Aren’t that complicat—”
Hiss
. “—ed.”

Mark’s eyes widened. She was kidding, right? “Uh... Yes, they are.”

“No, we’re not.”
Hiss
.

He shrugged. Let her think what she wanted. He knew better. “Now, you just need to help me decide the right time to propose.”

Noelle’s eyes widened. “Marry?”

“Yup.” He backed up and perched on the end of her bed again. “This is it, Noelle. I couldn’t tell Ed ’cause he’d think I’m nuts. But I love her. She had me from the beginning.”

Mark smiled and looked at his hands holding the tear-dampened tissue hanging between his knees, before trusting Noelle with the truth. “The way she harassed Ed over stem cells was great, but she’s a constant surprise and challenge.” He looked up at her. “Usually women are easy for me, but not Skye. She keeps me on my toes. She makes me happy. She challenges me. She’s got so much love to give, and she doesn’t even know it.”

“Wait ’til.”
Hiss
. “She knows.”

“She’s getting there. The idea of settling down doesn’t scare Skye anymore. She bought an apartment. She’s sticking around.”

* * *

Skye stood in the tiny kitchen area and surveyed the main room, then turned to the architect. “How much would it cost to knock down this wall? I want to open things up.” She looked at the ceiling. “And are skylights expensive? It’d be nice to get some extra natural light in here.” Her eyes widened. “Or a huge skylight to look at stars at night. Is that possible?”

He rapped his knuckles several times on the offending wall. “I’ll have to make sure this isn’t a weight-bearing wall. At first glance, I don’t see why it can’t go.” He meandered into the large main room. “As for the skylights... Let me do a little research and see what I can come up with.”

“Great.” Skye followed him into the huge living room space and moved far to the left. She spread her arms wide and swirled in a circle. “Now, here, I thought would be the perfect place to wall off the master bedroom. Then put the bath over there.” She pointed to the northeast corner. “And could I have a two-way gas fireplace that the master and main room could share?”

The architect pinched his bottom lip between thumb and forefinger and glanced around the empty space. “Let me think—” He broke off at the clomping and scraping on the stairs. “And you might want to get a carpet runner for the stairs to minimize racket like that.”

“Yeah, I’d probably prefer a doorbell.” Skye crossed the room to greet her unexpected guests.

Mark, Edward and Ben topped the stairs. Skye smiled. “Hi guys. What’re you doing here?” She glanced at her watch. “It’s a little early for lunch.” She looked at the architect, trying to remember what else she had to cover with him. Her head snapped around toward Edward. “Hey, aren’t you supposed to be in D.C.?”

Edward threw down several newspapers. They whizzed across the counter toward her. Skye lunged forward to catch them before they flew onto the floor. Her eyes widened at the headline. SENATOR’S WIFE SAVES SON. The one under it read, SENATOR’S WIFE RISKS ALL. Oh, no. This’d crush Jeff. Noelle would feel absolutely awful. Skye looked at the men. “How—”

“We’ll wait until you finish your business.” Edward glanced at the architect. “It’s not necessary to discuss your private business in front of others.”

Like you obviously did mine, was the unspoken dig. Edward thought she’d leaked the news. With their history, Skye couldn’t really blame him, but surely Mark didn’t think so. Mark stood military stiff and stared at the floor to avoid her gaze.

Are you kidding me? After all we’ve been through?

“It’s all right. We need to clear this up right now.” Skye looked each man in the eye, then punched the paper with an index finger. “
I
did not leak this information. I don’t know how they found out, but it wasn’t me.”

The men remained silent.

The architect gathered his tape measure and papers. “Skye, I’ve got enough information.” He moved toward the stairs. “I’ll look at the original plans and let you know about the stuff we talked about. I’ll call in a few days.”

“Thank you. I’m looking forward to getting your estimate.” Skye walked him to the top of the stairs and turned away before she heard the door close behind him.

Facing the men, she wrapped her arms around her stomach and glared at Mark. Skye didn’t bother to mask her disappointment and hurt. How could he doubt her?

“Don’t look at me that way. Who else could it have been?” Mark pointed at the papers. “There are too many specific details that nobody but family knew.”

“So naturally it must be me?”

“It wasn’t Noelle,” Edward said. “And it sure as hell wasn’t me.”

“Did you ask these guys who their sources were?” She gestured at the papers.

“They’re not talking.”

Surprise there. “What about hospital staff or the patients or visitors the day you and Jeff had your screamfest? It could have been any one of them.”

“The staff value their jobs,” Ben said.

“The staff are also silenced by strict HIPPA laws, but in case that wasn’t incentive enough, I personally appealed to each person and then had a talk with Don Adams, the hospital administrator, who very badly wants to stay on my good side,” Edward said.

“What about the ski patrol? Or the ambulance drivers?” Skye searched for alternatives to prove plenty of people had access to private information.

“Their reports have disappeared. Even if they talked, they’d have no credibility,” Ben said.

“So that leaves me.”

“That leaves you,” Edward agreed.

Skye sighed and looked at him. “Well, I didn’t do it.”

Mark jerked his head toward the other men. “They want you to print a retraction. They wanted to snoop into your past and dig up some dirt to prove you’re unstable—an unreliable source. But I convinced them that—”

“Big of you,” she interjected.

Mark took a step closer. “Why? What could you possibly gain from this? It isn’t even under your byline, so it can’t enhance your career.” He pursed his lips and frowned. “Why? Please, tell me it wasn’t for revenge.”

Dig into her past? Discredit her? Hell, they could plant evidence if they wanted. And how could Mark think she’d be so vindictive as to upset a quadriplegic woman and a mixed-up hurting kid? He really didn’t think much of her, did he? Outrage and pain replaced Skye’s sympathy.

Taking two deep breaths, she looked Mark in the eye and slowly enunciated each word. “I did not do this.”

Mark stared back. She thought she saw a hint of yearning before his gaze hardened. He didn’t believe her.

Skye pivoted and stood with her back to the men. Heat flooded her cheeks, and she blinked back tears.

“Skye if you—”

She walked to the window and looked out at the bustling lunch crowd below. “I’ve got a lot to do today. So if you don’t mind...”

Footsteps hurried across the room to her.

“Skye, we need—”

She whipped a hand up to cut Edward off. Swinging around, she pierced him with an icy glare. “I don’t give a
damn
what you need.” She crossed arms over her aching chest. “Out of respect for you and Noelle, I’ve held my opinions to myself, Senator,” She used his formal title to gain some distance and paint a shield on her battered heart. “But I think you’re wrong not to open up more to the press. That said, you should know that I would
never
involve Jeff that way.”

Skye held his gaze as if both their lives depended upon it. “Using a kid to get at you is low-class and reprehensible. You and Noelle chose your life as public figures; Jeff’s an innocent minor who’s gotten caught in your fallout. You need to leave now.” She turned away.

Skye kept her rigid back to them, listening as their steps clomped down the stairs. The second the door closed, a trembling started at her core and swept her body until her teeth chattered noisily, and she thought she’d throw up.

Skye dropped to the floor and buried her face in sweaty, shaking hands. After ten minutes, she lifted her head and frowned. Who could it have been? And why now? Eyes unfocused, she pressed a hand to her mouth. Why now?

It must be someone with new access to the Hastings. What had changed recently? Noelle moved to the rehab place… She got a private nurse… Edward was commuting back and forth… Jeff was in school…

Skye’s eyebrows rose. She popped off the floor and went to her computer. “What the heck is his first name?”

She went to the paper’s website and looked it up. John. “John Daniels. That’s right.” Opening Facebook, she found his Facebook page and searched his photos, looking for a family portrait. Nothing. But there was a shot of him at a hockey game, with his arm thrown around a familiar boy’s shoulder. Bingo.

* * *

Edward and Ben dropped Mark off at Aviva, then headed to Jeff’s school. Edward called ahead and got Jeff excused for the rest of the day. He should be waiting for them. They pulled up outside the main entrance and waited several minutes.

“Want me to go in and get him?” Ben asked.

“I’ll do it.” Edward got out of the car and headed toward the entrance. God, he hated having to tell Jeff he’d failed him again. Just when things were settling down and they were getting into some kind of a routine, this had to happen. Damn Skylar Kendall. He’d welcomed her into his family, and she’d stabbed them in the back. He cursed himself for all kinds of a fool. He should have been more careful.

As soon as he opened the exterior door, a reporter and cameraman moved forward. “Senator, how do you feel about the—”

“No comment.” Edward scowled and punched the silver button to be buzzed into the school. He turned and pulled the door closed behind him, to make sure the reporter didn’t follow him inside.