Nick's Child by Freda Vasilopoulos

Author:Freda Vasilopoulos [Vasilopoulos, Freda]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Romantic Suspense
Publisher: Belgrave House
Published: 1998-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

“Dr. Forbes doesn’t exist.” The words rang in Nick’s head. His breath hissed out and he jerked back from the phone. So there was something weird going on. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise, but having his suspicions confirmed jolted him.

He stared out of the window over the sink, his mind blank. A hummingbird hovered next to the feeder on the other side of the screen, its feathers iridescent as an opal. It fed, then darted away, borne on invisible wings.

Beside him, Tessa hung up the phone. She hugged her arms around her waist, shivering. “You heard, and it’s just what you were thinking, isn’t it? That the signature on the death certificate was forged.”

“It’s not an answer,” Nick said tightly. “Only another indication that nothing about this is going to be easy.”

Tessa’s eyes looked like black holes in her stark white face. He placed his hands on her shoulders, but she stiffened her spine. “No, I’m not going to faint.” Her breath rasped in her throat and she swallowed audibly. “Larry’s going to let me know as soon as he finds out anything else.”

The dishwasher swished and grumbled in the silence that fell between them. Finally Nick stirred. “I’ll pour us some more coffee. Go into the living room.”

“It’s my house,” she muttered, as she went in to sit down. He might be taking a lot upon himself acting like he lived there, but she was too tired to argue. She massaged the ache in her temple with the tips of her fingers.

Nick handed her a fresh mug of coffee. She cradled it in her hands, clutching at the warmth as if it were the middle of winter instead of a pleasant evening in July. Sinking down on the sofa opposite her, he set his own mug on the coffee table.

Tessa took a sip of the coffee and nearly choked. “What did you put in it?” she sputtered.

“Some brandy I found in the sink cupboard. I suppose Millie uses it for Christmas cakes or something. Drink up. It won’t hurt you. And the coffee’s decaf. It won’t keep you awake.”

Tentatively, she sipped again. The alcohol seared her throat, but subsided to a comfortable glow in her stomach. The incipient headache began to fade.

Nick crossed his ankles and leaned back in the corner of the sofa, giving every appearance of composure. Inside, he felt as if his guts were tied in knots. His stomach burned. He wondered if the ulcer he’d had two years ago had come back to life.

Still, he was sure what he felt was nothing like the hell Tessa was going through. She sat there, her knuckles white around the coffee mug, her eyes too big and dark in her pale face. She’d gotten thinner. The bones under her skin seemed too fragile to support her body.

Only her breasts were more rounded than they’d been last summer. He’d felt their fullness pressed against his chest earlier. He could only imagine the determination she used to

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