Page 121 of Playing for Keeps

“That’s a good idea. We’ll make some toast for her tomorrow, okay? But in the meantime, it’s way past your bedtime so you need to go back to bed and have a big sleep.”

“Okay.” I could hear the exhaustion in his voice.

“Do you want me to sing to you?” I asked.

“Yes.” His voice was tiny.

The phone moved and I could see Alison’s arm helping Theo into bed, tucking the covers around him.

Alison must have propped the phone on the pillow next to him because my view was reduced down to the tip of his nose and the curve of his cheek and one closed eye.

I started to sing “When the Lion Sleeps Tonight” in a low voice. It had always been my go-to song with him. I wasn’t a particularly good singer, but that didn’t matter to Theo. The thing that mattered was that his dad was singing to him.

I suddenly realized Luke was holding my other hand.

I was about to launch into the chorus again when suddenly the phone was picked up and on the move.

“I think he’s asleep,” Alison whispered once she was out in the hallway.

“Does he have his cuddly blanket? You know, that fluffy yellow one with the blue ducks that he used to carry around when he was little? He pretends he’s outgrown it, but when he’s sick he still likes to cuddle it. It should be somewhere in his room. You might want that for when he wakes up.”

Alison gave a terse nod. “I’ll find it for him.”

“I’m sorry,” I said quietly.

Fuck. I didn’t know what I was apologizing for. Sorry that I was in a hotel room in another country with Luke rather than in Christchurch to look after my son when he needed me. Sorry that instead of being with her daughter at the hospital, she was having to look after her distraught grandson. Sorry for my part in whatever caused Char to put those pills in her mouth.

Alison took a deep breath. “Where’s Luke?”

“I’m right here,” Luke said, leaning in.

“We’ll probably know more in a few hours. There’s no sense in you coming home before we know how serious it is.”

“No. I’ll come home with Ethan. The team will understand.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be flying to South Africa on Tuesday?”

“The team will understand.” Luke’s voice left no room for argument.

“Okay, I guess it’s your choice.” Alison suddenly looked and sounded so very old and tired.

“Keep us updated, okay. As soon as you hear anything from Dad.”

“I will.”

We ended the call and I dropped the phone to the floor, putting my head in my hands. Guilt stabbed at me. “This is my fault.”

“How on earth is it your fault?”

“I should have been keeping a closer eye on her! I should have been looking for the warning signs! I knew she was upset after your parents missed the art gallery opening and I didn’t check up on her. I should have realized it could be a trigger for something like this to happen.”

I felt Luke seize up beside me. “Has this happened before?” he asked in a low voice.

I looked up through my fingers at him. “Yes.”

“What?” Luke lurched off the bed. “When?”

“When Theo was nine months old. She was upset over a fight with your parents so she took too many prescription painkillers and ended up in hospital having her stomach pumped.”