“Okay. You first.”
Dust falls on my head as she moves closer, mouth almost to my ear. “You there?”
“Uh huh.”Where would I go?
“How about I tell you how I met Slate.” All the women in her side of captivity giggle in a manner so contagious, I can’t help but join.
Lucky told me about them but I can’t wait to hear it from a female perspective. “You were his dogwalker, right?”
“Right. He was going out of town and had recently found a stray dog. He told my agency he needed someone right away and left a key to his guesthouse. When I arrived, it was late so I put on my PJ’s. That’s when he burst in on me, stark naked.”
I smile, imagining my husband’s handler and the petite doctor confronting each other for the first time. “Not a stitch on him?”
“Nope. He sleeps in the nude. Because the agency never told him I was coming, he thought I was breaking in.”
She giggles. “He made abigfirst impression.”
I wait for the snickering to die down before I ask, “Was it love at first sight?”
“Not hardly. Lust, maybe. He was a real jerk at first. His life was pretty messed up at the time.”
“My husband said his dog found a human hand, right?”
“Yeah. It was a wild summer but I wouldn’t change a thing.” The young doctor sighs, my lids lower, and I yawn.
Melanie pipes up next. “Want to hear my story? …Callie you there?”
“Hmm? Everyone knows about you and CJ. Small town girl marries famous quarterback.”
She harrumphs. “I bet you didn’t know it was all a scam? A fake marriage?”
If this is her ploy to keep me awake, it’s working. I sit up a little straighter. “No way! You got three kids.”
She laughs, her nose now closest in the dim light. “Right? The marriage was only supposed to last a couple months.”
“Get out of town.” I think back to all the postings on social media and the TV ads.
“At the time, Chance had the best public relations firm money could buy. Only a few knew. CJ needed an image makeover and I needed a wedding to get back on my feet. My ex had locked me out of my apartment and took everything I owned.
“Wait. Didn’t you feel guilty, fooling everyone?”
“Not really. Over the years I’d spent thousands on gifts for my cousins. I figured fair is fair. Not only that, I was desperate.”
“What then? You fell in love for real?”
I picture the NFL star turned coach as I last saw him. He had two toddlers wrapped around each leg and carried a third in his arms. At that happy thought, I smile. My dark prison turns to summer and I’m sitting in a large field of green. Fluffy summer clouds float overhead and a red-headed toddler in a gingham dress runs toward me. Lochlan is there, too. He squats and scoops us both into a warm hug.
“Callie, luv?” He calls to me in my dream.
Flecks of stone fall into my face, I breathe fresh air, and open my eyes. The light next door is gone and everything again, black.
“Loch? You there?”Did I dream his voice or was it really him?
“Thank Christ.” My husband’s voice cracks. “Are you hurt, honey?”
“How long have I been down here?”
“Don’t fret. We’re minutes away from getting you out.”
