Whispers in the Dark - Maya Banks [139]
Rachel’s eyes darkened in sympathy and she took his hand in hers. “I know you don’t want to leave her. You’ve been with her every day. She knows you’re here. She knows you aren’t going anywhere. She knows that, Nathan. I promise. You need to get out. Get some air. Spend some time with your brothers. Leave Shea to us. I swear to you we’ll take good care of her.”
They were right, but it didn’t make it any easier to think of leaving her even for a little while. Rachel squeezed his hand and urged him with her eyes to do as they’d asked.
He leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek. “I know you will. I couldn’t leave her in better hands.”
“Then go,” Sarah urged.
He let go of Rachel’s hand and started toward the door but then paused and turned back one last time. “Call me if…if there’s any change.”
THEY were late. Shea would have frowned but there wasn’t much to frown about and it took too much effort. It was too beautiful a day to exert negative energy, and she’d worked so hard to expel any and all blackness from her mind.
A surge of excitement danced up her spine, dispelling some of the murkiness she’d embraced, when she heard the door slide open. She turned ever so slightly to see that Rachel, Sarah and Sophie had all come out. The baby…Shea pondered a minute, trying to remember the baby’s name. Charlotte.
She loved it when Sophie brought the baby out to toddle around in the playpen that had been erected on the sprawling deck. A mat covered the wood so that Charlotte didn’t get splinters in her hands or feet.
Toys were scattered carelessly around the area, and Shea thought the entire house and deck looked…lived in. Like a family shared love and laughter within its protective arms.
Sophie leaned over to put Charlotte down on the mat and handed her one of her favorite toys to chew on. She was teething and gnawed on anything she could get her hands on.
Rachel settled into the swing next to where Shea sat wrapped in her quilt while Sarah sat on Shea’s other side in a wicker armchair. Sophie came away from the partitioned-off play area and sat with Rachel in the swing.
“You’re looking better today, Shea,” Rachel said, her sweet voice soothing over Shea’s ears like music.
Sarah and Sophie both smiled and nodded their agreement. Shea knew they were lying, but she loved that they cared enough to want to make her feel better. And even if she didn’t look better, she thought maybe she did indeed feel better.
Sophie rose from the swing and went to perch on the oval wooden table that rested just in front of Shea. Their knees were nearly touching. She reached for Shea’s hands and for a moment simply held on and squeezed comfortingly. Rachel and Sarah both sat forward, their gazes focused solely on Shea. Shea could feel the warmth and the love in those stares. She marveled at how these women could care so much for someone they didn’t really know. But then Shea already liked them so much and she drew great comfort from their company.
“Shea, it’s time to stop hiding,” Sophie said gently. “I know you’re scared. I know you’ve been through such a horrible ordeal. But you’re safe now. You’re with people who love you. It’s okay to let down the barriers and allow us in.”
Rachel glanced first at Sarah and then to Sophie and finally back to Shea. “We understand what you’re going through. We’ve all been there. I’m still working on getting there, but it gets easier every day. We’re all here to help you. All of us.”
“Nathan is so worried for you,” Sarah said. “He’s not sleeping well. He’s not eating. He loves you so much, Shea. He’s suffering too, and I know you don’t want that. He hides it from you because he doesn’t want to burden you and he doesn’t want to add to your stress.”
Shea’s brow wrinkled and she blinked. They all looked so very sincere. And worried. Part of her wanted to push through. Shrug off the heavy veil of silence and the comforting white void. But the other part of her feared losing that barrier because, without