“I do.” Another yawn shook through him. He looked up into Aud’s eyes. “I guess I’ll see you later, then?”
“Definitely.” Aud graced him with a dazzling smile before briefly kissing him. “I’ll be back in a little while.”
“We will too.” Julie paused at the door. She looked out, then back in. “Felix, hurry up. It looks like she’s holding the elevator for us.”
“I’m glad you’re going to be okay,” Felix muttered, then scurried after Julie, but Leo was happy to see the slump was gone from his posture.
The nurse stood there as Aud left with his friends. “Is there anything you need right now?”
“I don’t think so.” Leo let out another yawn. “I believe I could use a bit of a nap.”
“Good. In a little while they’ll have an order sheet for your dinner ready for you. I’ll be back when that shows up, or you can use the call button on the TV remote.” She turned and walked out.
Leo’s eyelids got heavy. He slipped into a restless sleep. Light flashed off a huge knife that a grinning and ranting Randal kept thrusting into his side. Each time, he jerked back awake. It kept happening until he welcomed the nurse returning and waking him up to find out what he wanted to eat for dinner. By then he was ready to stay awake for a while in hopes that Randal would stop stabbing him.
28
WHEN THE phone rang, jarring him from sleep, Aud jerked and nearly rolled out of bed before he managed to get it into his hand. He didn’t look at the number; he just swiped across the bottom of the screen to answer the call. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” Heather laughed. “I think everything is fine.”
Rubbing his eyes, he settled onto his side, the sheet riding low on his hips. “Sorry, I thought maybe you were Leo.”
“Sorry to disappoint you. Is he still getting out of the hospital today?”
“Yeah. This afternoon after the doctor comes by.”
“So, you have time to come by the gallery and interview a prospective artist this morning, then?”
Aud had promised Julie and Felix he’d stop by Leo’s apartment and help them set up a welcome-home party before he went to the hospital to get him. “What time?”
“Ten. You’ve got about forty-five minutes to get showered and down here.”
“You’re already at the gallery?” He moved so the clock was visible. It read a couple of minutes after nine.
“Yep. Since you’ve been out so much the past few days, it’s easier for me to clean up in here if I show up early. Parking’s easier too.”
“Okay. If I need to be there, I can be. But I hope it won’t take long. I’m supposed to do things before I pick up Leo from the hospital.”
“So get out of bed and get moving. I’ll see you in a few minutes.” She hung up.
Aud stretched and yawned. He’d gone to bed after midnight, when the nurse had finally kicked him out of Leo’s room for the second night in a row. From what he could tell, he and Leo were going to be equally relieved at Leo being released from the hospital. If for nothing else, they would be able to do what they wanted and not worry about people telling them they were staying up too late. Unless Leo’s folks stayed around more than a day or two.
He climbed out of bed and shambled toward the bathroom, pausing to glance into the living room and make sure the window was still there. It had become a strange, uncomfortable reflex. Even after the bay window was repaired, he still kept expecting it to be gone and just leave either a huge hole in his wall where it had been or the hideous plywood back in its place.
Half an hour later, without grabbing even a cup of coffee but hoping Heather had some at the gallery, Aud headed out of the house. He took particular care in locking the door, then chided himself for checking it twice to make sure it was locked. Randal’s still in jail. There’s nothing he can do to me from there. Everything’s safe.
HEATHER HANDED him a cup of coffee before he made it halfway from the door to the counter. “You were fast.”
“So the artist isn’t here yet?” He sipped the steaming blackness from his favorite mug.
“Nope.” She glanced at the clock behind the counter. “But he still has five minutes before he’s late.”
“Good.” Aud took another sip of coffee. “That will give me time to get this down. Any chance you brought in some donuts?”
She put a hand on her hip and gave him a scathing look. “Do I look like the breakfast lady to you? You’re lucky I made coffee.”
He flashed her a quick smile. “I am. So why didn’t you call and let me know about this new artist last night?”
“You were at the hospital the whole time, or you were supposed to be.”
“Right.” He finished off his coffee and headed for a second cup. “But you could’ve left me a message.”
She trailed behind him toward the back room. “I considered that, but I also thought if you couldn’t make it this morning, I could at least give a preliminary evaluation and let you know what I thought.”