The Courage Tree - Diane Chamberlain [12]
Or maybe Paula just seemed more aggressive today because his heart was not on this tennis court in Reston, but rather at Ayr Creek, where Sophie would be babbling excitedly to Janine about her weekend at camp. He wanted to hear all about it. Despite the fact that he had strongly objected to her going, he hoped she’d had a wonderful, healthy time. He had no desire to have his grave misgivings about the trip proven correct.
Paula let out a whoop as she sent the final ball over the net, far out of his reach. He didn’t even bother attempting to return it. Instead, he bent over, his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath from the wild ride she’d just taken him on.
“Congratulations,” he called across the net. This was the first time she had beaten him so decisively. He straightened up, walked toward the net, and shook her hand.
“A hollow victory,” Paula said, pulling the clasp out of her dark hair and letting it fall across her shoulders. She tossed it back from her face with a shake of her head.
“Why do you say that?” he asked, as they walked on opposite sides of the net toward the benches.
“Because you weren’t paying a bit of attention to the game.”
“Well, my focus might have been a little off, but you won fair and square.”
Paula sat down on the bench and mopped her face with a towel. “You’re still worried about Sophie, huh?”
“Not worried, really.” He slipped his racquet into its case. “If anything had gone wrong at the camp, we would have heard. I’m just really curious to see how she made out. This is the first time she’s ever done anything like this.”
“The first time she’s been able to,” Paula reminded him, and he knew where she was headed with her train of thought.
“Right,” he said. He sat down and took a long drink from his water bottle.
“But you still can’t admit that it’s that herbal treatment that’s made the difference, can you?”
“Oh, I’m willing to concede that it might be,” he said. “But everyone says—everyone except the doctor in charge of the study—”
“Schaefer,” she said. “And I know what you’re going to say. That everyone else thinks her improvement is just a temporary effect of the herbs.”
He guessed he was beginning to sound like a broken record. “Right. So who would you believe?” he asked. “Sophie’s type of kidney disease has been around a long time, with bona fide researchers looking at it from every angle. Should I believe them, or some alternative doctor who appeared out of nowhere with his bag of weeds?”
“But she’s doing so much better,” Paula argued.
“I’ll admit that those IVs she gets have made her feel better. That doesn’t mean she is better.”
“Are you going over to Ayr Creek to see her tonight?”
“Uh-huh. Want to come?”
Paula nodded. “If that’s okay with you,” she said. “Unless you want to spend the time alone with her and Janine.”
He appreciated her consideration, but he also knew how much she cared about Sophie.
“No, I’d like you to—”
They both turned toward the small parking lot at the sound of a car door slamming shut. The tennis court was surrounded by trees, and Joe stood up to try to peer through the branches. A woman was running from the parking lot toward the tennis court.
He frowned. “That looks like Janine,” he said.
“Joe!” the woman shouted as she pulled open the chain-link door of the court, and he could see her clearly then—clearly enough to see the fear in her face.
He froze where he was standing. Sophie. Something was very wrong. Paula stood up next to him, clutching his arm as Janine ran toward them.
“What’s the matter?” he asked, finding his voice as he took a step toward her. “Is Sophie all right?”
Janine glanced at Paula, then back at Joe again. “She’s late returning from camp.” Janine was winded. “She’s riding with another girl and one of the leaders. I’ve been waiting at