“Caren, it’s me. Stay calm now but there’s been an accident. It’s Auggie. It’s serious. No, quiet now and listen to me. She brought the baby and came to see me this afternoon. She ran to the store to get some milk and evidently another car hit her broadside. Worth got a call and is on his way to the airport. They’re stat-flighting her to a bigger hospital — I’m not sure where. I’ve got the baby here with me and will take him over to let Betsy take care of him while Worth’s gone. I don’t have any more information than that, but I will let you know.” He listened a few moments and then said, “I know you’re not able to take care of the baby,” Auggie’s dad rolled his eyes at us, “and that’s why I’m taking him to Betsy. Then you won’t have to worry about it. No, I know you can’t fly anywhere either… those blood clots you sometimes get in your legs. You’re not to worry your head, hear me? Between Worth and I, we’re going to take care of everything. I’ll keep you posted.”
After he hung up, I called Bernie and gave him his assignments. He was, to his credit, very upset and offered to do anything he could. I sort of liked the guy. Auggie and I had already hidden her car and she’d called Todd who agreed to put the word out that if any calls came in regarding Auggie LaViere, they were to be put through to him. We couldn’t tell anyone else, not even Brandon, although Auggie didn’t want him to worry. It had to look realistic.
To be on the safe side, I drove to the airport and put my car into long-term parking and then rented one. That allowed me to travel a bit more locally without being seen. I also called my office and had them cancel my appointments until further notice. Deborah Hunt, my assistant at the Louisville clinic would deal with things. As a precaution, I also called Cincinnati and left a voice mail for Jessie about the circumstances and asked her to take care of things for me, and that I’d be in touch. I called Betsy and told her Mr. Langford was bringing Ford home and that Auggie had been in an accident and I would be in and out as permitted. I told her to call an agency for help but she said her sister would come. That was fine with me. I told her to simply have her sister stay in an extra room until this all resolved.
As I was driving back to the farm, my cell buzzed and I was surprised to see Linc’s name on the caller ID. I didn’t answer it, but let it go to voice mail. No doubt he was more concerned with what he was supposed to do with Jessie than the fate of his sister. Let him figure it out — it only furthered our plan if he drove her home and maybe stayed a few days. Knowing Auggie’s mother, he was probably looking for somewhere to escape to anyway.
Without knowing what hospital Auggie was supposedly in, there was no trackable patient information. Auggie’s car was in hiding, as was she. I hoped she could deal with her captivity. I also hoped I had all the bases covered.
I couldn’t return to the Langford farm now or risk being seen by the farmhand, so I spent my time buying some clothing, a new computer, new cell phone, personal articles and favorite foods for Auggie. The farmhands always went home by dark and returned at dawn. That would be my window of opportunity to spend time with her.
I waited past dark and called Mr. Langford to make sure the coast was clear. I pulled into the yard and behind the barn and between us, we ferried the purchases I’d made into the house.
Drawing the blinds and curtains, Auggie was free to move about the house. No one would think it unusual given that Mr. Langford could be very upset and not sleeping well.
We had a light dinner and Auggie already was missing Ford. He was at that stage when babies begin doing things like crawling, sitting up and some even began to experiment with walking or pulling themselves up. We discussed that it was the price of his safety and I promised to take pictures and send her whenever I could. Luckily, she had been in the process of weaning him from nursing, so he had already been getting used to formula. I had also purchased myself a new cell phone so we had private lines that no one knew about.
After dinner, Auggie and I went up to her bedroom. She turned on the water in the bathroom and began to undress. I followed her and did likewise. We climbed into the shower and stood there, wet naked skin against skin, holding tightly. I kissed her hard on the mouth and then in paths over her naked body. I carried her to the bed and made love to her. It was an almost eerie experience. We were, on one hand, making up for lost time when we’d both been angry with the other. Well, she more with me, but I felt justified. At the same time, we made love almost as if she had, indeed, been hurt, and we might be parted for a lifetime. We entered a world where only the two of us existed. There were no interruptions; no casual conversation and no child. There was only a need to reassure one another that what we were doing was the right thing; the thing that would keep us all safe. It was a simple, possessive lovemaking and after she fell asleep, I lay there a long time and watched her.
For the first several days, I had to pretend to be by Auggie’s bedside, so I was forced to essentially go into hiding. I couldn’t appear at the farm until late, after dark when the farmhands were gone. I spent this time driving around, thinking and taking in movies in distant towns. From time to time, I checked in with my office, although I avoided speaking directly to either Jessie or Deborah. Mr. Langford kept up with his assigned people and the story had Auggie hanging on, but we were hopeful. The fewer details, the better.
After two weeks, Auggie had turned the corner and was stable. She would be transferred to a rehabilitation center somewhere in the south where she would stay in seclusion. I would return to work and to look after Ford.