“Should I go to the hospital?”
“No,” Colin said. “The place will be packed with people. But, Gemma, would you find out the truth? If it’s serious they might not tell me.”
“I’ll find out,” she promised. “I’ll call Tris and ask him.”
“Thank you,” he said. “Now go to bed.”
“It’s lonely without you here hogging all the space.”
“It’s lonely here without you in every way,” he answered and they hung up.
Gemma tried to sleep,
but she was worried about Pere. The next morning, she got up early. She knew it was no use going to the gym. There were some people who could work out alone, but she wasn’t one of them. If she was by herself, ten minutes after she got to a gym, she began thinking of something she’d read, or needed to read, and left. She wouldn’t even be aware of what she was doing. She’d just find herself at her car, her keys in her hand, and minutes later, she’d be back at work.
She managed to doze a bit, but when she finally awoke it was still early, and she wondered if Tris was at Ellie’s having his egg burrito before the store opened. Fifteen minutes later, she was at the back loading dock. One of the men waved at her and she went inside. As she’d hoped, Tris was sitting at the table and drinking coffee, an empty plate in front of him. He’d just finished eating.
“Gemma!” he said. “What a wonderful surprise.” He guessed why she was frowning. “Pere is fine. Just a broken leg. He swerved to miss some critter crossing the road and hit a tree. And yes, he was probably going too fast.”
Gemma let out her breath and sat down. “Colin was afraid Pere was seriously hurt and no one was telling him.” She got out her phone, excused herself to Tris, and quickly texted Colin that Pere was okay. When she finished, Ellie asked if she wanted anything to eat.
“Whatever is the least amount of trouble,” Gemma answered. She looked back at Tris as a thought came to her. “Is Pere in a cast?”
“From crotch to ankle. It’s going to take him a while to recover from this.”
Gemma was looking at the tabletop, and when Ellie put an egg sandwich and a big mug of tea in front of her, she spent a lot of time saying thanks.
Tris had been watching her. “You have something in mind, don’t you?”
“Not really,” Gemma lied. “Have you met Pere’s latest girlfriend?”
“I wouldn’t call her ‘latest.’ They’ve been together for over a year,” Tris said. “Who have you been talking to?”
“No one,” she said, lying again, but she couldn’t tell him what Rachel had told her in confidence. “It’s just that she didn’t strike me as someone to settle down and raise a family. How about you? What did you think of her?”
“I don’t think a single thought has ever gone through my mind when I’m around Eloisa. When I look at her it’s all physical.”
“My point exactly.” She took a bite and chewed slowly while Tris tried to figure out what she was up to. “Do you know the interior layout of the Frazier house?”
“I spent a lot of time there when I was a kid. Why?”
“I was just thinking about that little room off the kitchen. I saw a bathroom with a shower next to it, and isn’t there a big couch in that room?”
“You mean the old porch. Mrs. Frazier did the same thing my mother did. After Colin was born, she had the porch enclosed so she could watch the children while she was in the kitchen—not that Alea ever did any cooking, but she does love to supervise. Mr. Frazier called the room a jail because she put a gate across the doorway and locked the kids inside.”
Gemma was patiently waiting for him to finish. “I want you to suggest to the Fraziers that Pere should stay in that room while he recuperates.”
“Why? He could stay at his place in Richmond. He’ll be fine there.”
“Don’t you think that Pere will need constant tending and that he’d be better off at home?”
“Did Alea put you up to this?”
“No. I was just thinking about Pere, that’s all.”
Tris wasn’t understanding. “That’s good of you, but Rachel is the one who’d get stuck with taking care of him, and she already has too much to do. But maybe you’re right that he’d be better off in Edilean. He could stay upstairs and I know just the nurse for him. She—”
“No!” Gemma said, then lowered her voice. “I mean, it’s not fair to anyone to have to run up and down stairs all day. But maybe someone could help with the cleaning so Rachel can spend as much time as needed with Pere.”