Page 55

J ack snarled his question . “Where is she?”

When Allison answered, the two men sped around the side of the house as fast as if the hounds of hell were at their heels. Wrenching open the back door, they raced into the living room.

Lucy wasn’t there.

They searched the house and found her upstairs in the bath, fully clothed but thankfully without water.

She peered at them as they entered. “Ooh, the cavalry’s arrived.” She looked around and in a fake whisper said, “Now I’m in trouble.”

She tried getting out of the tub but kept sliding back in.

Jack held back a smile as he went to lift her out, but Lucy was a dead weight. She put her arms around his neck and tried pulling him into the bath. Finally, he managed to get her out and carry her into the bedroom.

He glanced at Sebastian over her head, and it worried him at how stressed he looked.

Sebastian shook his head sadly as Jack deposited her on the bed. She immediately tried getting off and fell to the floor.

Jack picked her up again. “Stay on the bed, Lou.”

She mimicked his voice, trying to sound gruff, her head going from side to side with each word. “Stay. On. The. Bed. Lou.” She pointed to him. “ You stay on the bed.”

She scared him, but at the same time she was comical. Jack hid his grin as he sat on the edge of the bed.

Lucy narrowed her eyes, peeking at Sebastian standing at the foot of the bed. She hit Jack on the arm. “Mr. Boss looks cranky.” She waggled her fingers at Sebastian. “Yoo hoo!”

He just shook his head, his face a picture of sadness.

Jack hoped Sebastian would be able to cope with what was happening.

“Ooh, I’m in trouble.” She giggled at Jack behind a hand. “He’s gonna spank me,” she said in the sing-song voice as she settled herself against his side.

He put an arm around her.

“Do you know my horrible daughter came here and took my bottle away? Can’t find the other one.”

“You don’t need any more to drink, Lucy.”

Sebastian’s tone was harsh, and Jack knew inside he hurt badly.

This had to bring back all the horrendous memories of his mother for Sebastian, and Jack worried how this affected him.

He had his fingers crossed for them both.

Maybe this was the miracle they’d prayed for, and now they would have their beloved Lucy back.

“Do.”

Sebastian moved to the side of the bed as he stared down at her. “No, you don’t, Lucy.” He uttered the words with a shocked tone.

He sounded so stern, but Jack could see the pain etched on his face.

She began crying. “I do. I need it.”

The strain in Sebastian’s voice pierced Jack’s heart. “But why, Lucy? Why do you need it?” Now bewildered, he asked, “Why get drunk?”

“She broke my heart. Made me choose. I love my grandkids, but I love my men, too.”

“Oh, Lucy.” Jack’s heart almost broke listening to her. His eyes fill with tears at her agony, at Sebastian’s pain, at his own.

“Let me drink. Maybe it will take this heartache away for a little while.” She cried softly. “Nothing else does—I’ve tried. Going to get myself drunk then jump off the mountain this afternoon. Can’t find where I put my car keys.”

Sebastian visibly paled at her words. He held a hand to his mouth, rocking backward on his heels. Then he sat on the bed and took her hand.

He and Jack stared at each other, Jack startled by her words.

The tears in Jack’s eyes spilled out as he watched Sebastian put his other hand under her chin.

“No more drink. No more pain, Lou. Come on. You need to lie down and sleep this off. Then we can talk.”

Jack twisted her around and pushed her down until she was lying, her head on a pillow. He and Sebastian shared a look. He knew by Sebastian’s face that he felt the same shock when he’d heard Lucy talk about killing herself.

Lucy was sobbing into the pillow and kept muttering about killing herself so no one could tell her what to do anymore, that it was better to be dead than to live with the pain in her heart.

Jack stroked her arm.

Sebastian touched her gently on the face as he spoke. “No more talk about killing yourself. You don’t want to leave Jack and me alone.”

Lucy groaned in answer. She’d started sweating and looked bad.

Jack glanced over Lucy to Sebastian. “She’s going to feel really dreadful soon.”

The words were no sooner out of his mouth than Lucy tried jumping up, a hand covering her mouth.

Jack was quick, but Sebastian was even quicker. He grabbed her and carried her into the bathroom. She managed to vomit into the toilet as he held her.

“Maybe I shouldn’t have made her lie down,” Jack speculated.

“I think it was inevitable, Jack. It was going to happen sooner rather than later. It’s better she get it over with.”

Lucy wrapped her arms around the toilet bowl, clinging onto it.

There was nothing they could do until she stopped being sick. Then they could get her into bed, and hopefully she’d fall asleep.

Jack hated seeing her like this. She’d had no one to support her. He and Sebastian had been able to lean on each other to try and heal their broken hearts, but poor Lucy had no one. They both knew how Lucy carried her pain inside rather than sharing it.

Finally, after what seemed like ages, she stopped vomiting. She rested the side of her head against the bowl rim.

“I’ll check if she’s got some ice cubes in the freezer. See if we can get her to suck on a few to replace some fluids.”

Sebastian left the room and Jack washed her face with a cloth and dried it.

“Need to pee,” she sputtered.

She was so uncoordinated that Jack ended up pulling her jeans completely off.

It would be impossible to leave her, so he stayed to make sure she didn’t fall.

When she’d finished, he pulled her panties back up and carried her back into the bedroom.

Jack drew the covers back to put her in the middle of the bed, her head resting on a couple of pillows.

He yanked the bedclothes up, then took off his shoes and climbed alongside her.

“Bad, feel bad,” Lucy groaned.

“Just try and sleep, Lou. You’ll feel better.”

“Don’t wanna.”

“Come on, Lou. You need to sleep.”

“No. I dream of you. I dream of him. Hurts too much.” She waved her arms aimlessly around in the air. “Want to stay inside the blackness.”

“I promise it’s all going to be okay but only if you go to sleep.”

Lucy started sobbing. “She took you away. I didn’t want to choose. She took the only men I love away.”

Jack wrapped her in his arms and held her while she wailed.

Sebastian came in with a glass filled with broken ice cubes. He sat on the bed. “Lucy, come have some ice. It’ll make you feel better.”

“Nothing can make me feel better,” she muttered, her head buried against Jack’s chest.

But when she turned her head to look at him, he put a piece in her mouth. She shut her eyes as she sucked the ice, her tears still falling fast from beneath her lashes.

“How on earth she managed to climb the stairs without falling is a miracle, Seb. She couldn’t even stand properly.”

“I know. Don’t remind me.” He gave a shiver.

“You okay, Seb?”