23. Jayne

I could feel myself drifting. Didn't hurt that the couch was comfy or that the episodes of the cooking competition show I was watching were pretty much the same thing each time, just with different contestants.

I was also full. Besides the po'boy and the pie, I'd finished the rest of the chocolate marshmallow fudge. Spider was curled against my hip, and Sugar was on top of the couch. Pretty sure they were both asleep, too.

I missed Sin, but I wasn't mad about the low-key, quiet evening. I yawned, wondering when he'd be home.

Just then, I heard a car in the driveway. Could they be back already? I wasn't sure what that meant. Had someone else shown up to collect the money? I was guessing no, otherwise Matt and Sin wouldn't be home; they'd be tailing him.

I sat up and tried to see out the window, but I'd only raised myself to stare into Sugar's fluffy white fur. "Is that Daddy, Sugar?"

"Not Daddy. A lady."

I frowned. "A lady?" I got up all the way and had a look for myself. A silver BMW had pulled alongside the RV and parked. I couldn't see into it from this angle and didn't recognize the car.

I stayed at the window, watching.

Isla got out. She was in jeans and a top, far more casual than she'd been at the funeral, but still cute. She went to Matt's front door and knocked. Of course, there was no answer.

She stared at the door and let out a deep sigh, her whole body moving with it. I felt bad for her. A broken heart was never any fun. She actually looked like she might cry. Now I really felt bad for her.

She looked up at the door again, raised her hand like she might knock a second time, then stepped back, dropped her hand to her side and just stood there.

For a moment, she didn't do anything else. Then she sat in one of the rocking chairs on his porch and dug into her purse. Maybe she was looking for something to write him a note on? Or her phone? I couldn't be sure. Whatever she was looking for, she didn't seem to find it.

Then she pulled out a tissue. She blew her nose and dabbed at her eyes like she'd already been crying.

I went to the bedroom and put on my flipflops, because anything I couldn't just stick my foot into was too hard to deal with. "Mama be right back, okay? I'm going to check on the lady and make sure she's okay."

Spider lifted his head. "What lady, Mama?"

"The one on Mr. Matt's porch." I figured I'd offer her tea or something, give her an ear if she wanted to talk. At the least, I could take a message for Matt, even though I knew he wasn't interested. He'd made that clear at the funeral.

I left the RV, walked around the front and headed for Matt's house. "Isla?"

She looked up. "Oh. I didn't think anyone was here."

I couldn't very well tell her where Matt and Sin went. "Yeah, just me. Boys' night out. You know."

She didn't smile. Just sniffed and nodded. "Oh. I was hoping to talk to Matt." Her lower lip crumpled, and a new tear slid down her cheek.

Stupid pregnancy hormones had me on the verge of crying. "Hey, it'll be okay."

"No," she sobbed. "I don't think it will be."

"Do you want a cup of tea or something? If you need to talk, I'd be happy to listen."

She sniffed again and seemed to look at me like she was really seeing me for the first time. "Yeah, okay, that would be nice."

"Come on."

As soon as I was back in the RV, I put the kettle on and stuck teabags in two cups.

Isla stood in the middle of the lounge, looking uncomfortable. "Do you know when Matt might be back?"

"No, I'm sorry. I could text my husband and?—"

"It's fine. I don't want to be a bother." She forced a quick smile. "So how was your dinner the other night?"

"Dinner?"

"At Urbano?"

"Oh, right, the Italian place." We'd eaten at so many good spots. "Yeah, it was great. The desserts and everything."

Her smile seemed more genuine then. "It's a wonderful restaurant. Matt and I used to go there a lot."

I nodded. "Matt mentioned that."

"Does he talk a lot about me?"

I didn't want to lie. That would only give her false hope. I tried to be diplomatic. "He's mentioned you once or twice." I just hoped she didn't ask me what he'd been talking about when her name had come up.

She gave me an odd look. "Do you think … do you think Matt is handsome?"

Was she questioning her choices? I wasn't sure. Maybe she just needed reassurance that he was good-looking? "Yeah, absolutely. Very handsome. Smart, funny, a great businessman. He's definitely a catch."

That didn't cheer her up the way I thought it would. Was there any fudge left? No, I had definitely eaten the last piece. Too bad. When I was down, the antidote always seemed to be sugar. Granted, Isla wasn't a winter elf. But still. Most women generally responded well to sugar.

That made me look toward the window where Sugar had been sitting, but she was gone. Where were the cats? I looked up and saw them in the crow's nest over the cockpit. Remembering Isla had no love for cats, I said nothing.

At least her allergies hadn't kicked in yet. Surprising, considering there had to be cat hair on everything in here.

The kettle whistled. I filled the cups and added three good spoonfuls of sugar to mine. "Do you take sugar?"

She wrinkled her nose. "No, don't touch the stuff."

"Really?" No wonder she cried so easily. Poor thing. "I don't think I could ever give up sugar."

Her brows rose with what I interpreted as a slightly superior attitude. Okay, maybe she was skinnier than me, but I was growing a child. She blinked slowly. "After a while, you don't miss it."

I doubted that with every fiber of my being, but my bladder was too full to argue. I should have visited the bathroom before I'd gone out to talk to her. "If you'll excuse me, I'll be right back." I patted my stomach. "Having a baby resting on your bladder is quite an experience, I assure you."

"I, uh, bet."

"Please, grab a cup of tea and have a seat." I gestured toward the couch. "I'll just be a second."

"Thanks." She was moving toward the tea as I left. I did what I had to do and came back. She was on the couch, looking at her phone. She put it away when I returned.

I picked up my tea and sat one cushion away. The hot cup felt good in my hands. "How did you and Matt meet?"

That got her to smile. "We literally ran into each other at a club in town. There was a great little jazz quartet there that night, and I guess it was meant to be. He spilled his drink all over me and made me spill my drink on myself, too. The rest, as they say, is history." She laughed softly.

"That's quite a story." I sipped my tea. It was apple cinnamon, and although I hadn't had it in a while, I remembered liking it. Now it tasted a little off. Could tea go bad? Get stale? Being pregnant had affected my tastebuds somewhat. I chalked it up to that and didn't say anything, since Isla didn't seem to be having any issues with hers. I took another sip just to be sure of the taste. Didn't seem as bad this time. "And that's how you met Charlie? Through Matt?"

Isla's amusement faded. She looked down at her cup. "Yes."

"Sorry," I said. "Matt's still upset about her, too. I didn't mean to bring up sad feelings. I shouldn't have said anything."

"No, it's okay." But she was still staring into her cup. "Matt really liked her."

"Seems like everyone who knew her did. I did. She was lovely." My head felt odd. Thick. Like I was coming down with something. We had been around a lot of people at the funeral. If one of them had given me a cold, I was going to be so mad. I drank some more tea. "Didn't you?"

"Oh, Charlie was something else, that's for sure." Something in Isla's face changed. She looked different. A little wonky. Like her face was melting on one side.

Which made me think about Charlie and her fondness for the Cheshire Cat. Cat. Cats. I glanced up at our two, peering down at us, unbeknownst to Isla.

Matt had said Isla was allergic to cats, so why didn't she seem allergic now? That was weird, right? Why were my arms so heavy? My head kept wanting to nod forward.

"I'll take that." Isla lifted the cup from my hand and dumped it in the sink. She did the same with hers, then tossed the tea bags into the trash.

"Hey, I wasn't … done with … that." The tea hadn't been great, but it was still my tea.

"I think you've had enough."

Who was she to judge?

After rinsing the cups, she turned around and smiled at me, looking more and more like the Cheshire Cat.

My whole body was quickly turning to stone. I tried to reach for my phone, but my hand barely twitched. Panic had begun to set in, not so much for myself but for Jack Jr. "What did you do to me?"

"Maybe we should go for a walk. Get some fresh air."

"No. I want … to … stay … here." Even talking took a major effort. My eyes wanted to roll back in my head, but I fought to stay conscious. She'd slipped something into my tea. Obviously. Why, I had no idea, but there was no denying I'd been drugged with something. "What … did…"

"You think you're cute, don't you? You and your blue hair. Just like Charlie and her stupid pink hair. Flaunting herself in front of my man." She bent, looped my arm around her shoulders, then pulled me to my feet. She had the nerve to grunt like I was an impossible load.

"Flaunting?" But it came out more like flhhng . I sounded drunk. Regardless, I hadn't flaunted or flirted with anyone except my husband. This chick was nuts.

She moved me toward the door. I refused to cooperate, doing my best to drag my feet and slow us down. One of my flipflops came off, but I was powerless to do anything about it.

I was not going with this lunatic without a fight. I gathered every ounce of strength I had left and conjured an ice sword into my hand. Except nothing happened. Not even any random snowflakes.

I tried again, but I couldn't even keep my head up. My thoughts were starting to swim in a murky mental cloud of darkness. I thought I heard Spider hiss.

The last thing I remembered was losing my other flipflop as Isla dumped me into the backseat of her car. It put me at just the right angle to see Spider and Sugar looking frantically down at me from the window of the RV.

My sweet babies. If I could have reached toward them, I would. Help Mama. Help Mama and your baby brother. Then the lights went out.