Page 51

That’s how he labeled her?
“What’s your actual name?” he asked.
In a dream, she could be anyone; she could be Belle or Sophia—no, those would be hard to pull off. She blinked up at Halo, and just in the off chance this wasn’t a dream, she said, “I’m Mary.” And then she coughed long and hard. Such a graceful flower.
Someone from the café across the street came with a bottle of water and handed it to Halo. “Aiytah,” he said. “Thanks.”
“Mary, was that an American accent I heard?”
She nodded vigorously as she covered her mouth with the back of her hand and coughed again.
“More scrapes and bruises than I would have thought,” he said gently. “These look like they might be a few days old?” There was a question in his comment and a deeper concern.
If Mary saw these kinds of bruises in the emergency department, she’d ask if the person felt safe at home. “Yes,” she managed. “Long story. I’m traveling with a friend. We were up on an Alp skiing. And my story goes downhill from there.” Hey, that one wasn’t bad. She’d have to work that into her comedy routine somewhere along the line.
Shoot, Deidre had signed them up for the open mic tonight.
This morning’s events, though, would be a good enough reason to call it off.
“The kids?” Mary asked anxiously. “The woman?” Their safety was what was important at this moment.
“No idea. I’m sorry. They are off in the ambulance. I’m sure they’ll mention it in the paper tomorrow. The news tonight. We can keep an eye out. Speaking of ambulances, do you feel like you’d like to get checked out? You breathed in a lot of smoke.”
“Yeah, I’m good. I just need to cough up the soot. A little saline up the nose. A throat lozenge, I’m good to go.”
“You’re quite the monkey. I’ve never seen anything like that.”
“Ah, well, it was good that you guys put your weight on that pole first. It would have been an easier climb had it been at a ninety-degree angle, but I would never have been able to reach the balcony if it was upright.”
Halo lifted her arm, turned it, and searched along its length with the practiced eye of a medic. He replaced it in her lap, then reached for her other arm. “Were you a gymnast? A circus acrobat?”
“Pole dancer.”
His brow drew together in confusion. Apparently not in his paradigms. Having turned forty at one minute after midnight. Maybe he thought women had an expiration date. Well, lucky her, she didn’t much care what he thought.
She was down. This was solid ground. There was fresh air. Life was good.
A stiff drink, though, might make life great.
Did they drink at nine in the morning in Tallinn?
He laid her hand gently on her lap. “The burns look like they’re first-degree. Painful, but I don’t think they need medical intervention.” He reached out for her pants. “Max.”
Max shifted off just long enough for Halo to pull her clothes free. Then Max budged closer to Mary, and she’d never felt safer. More supported.
Why didn’t she have a dog?
She wanted a dog.
Halo handed the pants over. “I don’t know if you want to put them on or if that would be painful.”
Mary snapped the pants out so they laid in front of her. Avoiding the water, she grasped the waist band to tug them over her feet.
“Pole dancer. You know of all the things you could have said to me, that was not one I would have conjured.”
“I don’t look athletic enough?”
“No, you look like a lady.” His eyes grew wide, and she saw that he was scrambling around in his mind. “I …” His face flamed red; it was endearing.