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Gwen has been in my office all day.
When I walk in, she looks up from her tablet.
“We close for an hour for lunch. I’m ordering in. What would you like?”
“I’m good with whatever,” she says, looking back down.
“I’m also going to try to get Cora to nap in one of the exam rooms and have her stay at my place tonight.”
She looks back up at me, and the way she looks at me sends chills up my spine.
“You wanna close the door and have a seat?” she asks, frowning.
I shake my head but do so, anyway.
“I think Cora should stay at a hotel tonight and?—”
Hell no. “I want her with me.”
“I understand, but just for tonight. I’ll stay with her. Tomorrow night, this weekend, your place will be a good choice.”
“Is he …? Is William …? Is?—”
She nods. “I’m going on record here that I think Chloe is going to be pissed when she finds out, but?—”
“If he’s here, he’s not in Walton. If he’s here, she and Aggie are safer there.”
“Can you pull off normal at least until they fly out?” she asks.
I nod. “Is there someone or a security team hotline I can call and hire a person to watch out for Doc and Hilda?” I slap my hand over my mouth. “Grace is blonde. She works here and?—”
“Covered on all fronts,” she assures me, making it obvious that she thought about his whole sick preference to blondes.
I know she’s constantly on those dating sites. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he hasn’t tried to get her—” I stop when I notice her eyes do something different—flare maybe? And then … then I start to panic.
Gwen gets up and circles my desk, squatting in front of me. She looks up at me with kindness, care, and deep concern. The way Gwen only looks at Chloe. She looked at Cora the same way and?—
I close my eyes and picture it, the similarities in Cora and Chloe, especially with her blonde hair. Their eyes … our eyes.
“Breathe, CeCe.”
“You think Cora … You think she’s—” My voice gets stuck in my throat.
“Shh. Breathe, okay?”
I take a few breaths in and out, trying to get my shit together—needing to get my shit together. Then I finally ask, “Did you think that before?”
A subtle dip in her chin gives me the answer.
“Her eyes. How stupid that I didn’t see?—”
“Twenty-four hours. You have to hold this all together for twenty-four hours.”
“Chloe’s going to want to know her daughter.”
“Chloe will embrace her in the most beautiful way there is, but she’s had the luxury of time. Cora?” She moves her head from side to side. “She’s going to need time, and we—you and me—have to give her that for her and for Chloe.”
* * *
