“Yep. She even demanded security check the footage, but it was the strangest thing. No one was on there, just white snow. She claimed it was a conspiracy and wanted to sue the owner of the apartment building.” Rory stood up and stretched. She was stiff from trying to sleep on the couch. “You really don’t mind if I use your shower, Lydia?”
“Nope. Here. Take the spare key to my apartment. That way, if you come in late tonight, you’ll still be able to get in.” Lydia tried winking, but she wasn’t very good at it.
Ellen held out her arms. Rory took the key and then turned around. “You want a piggyback ride, Miss Ellie May Rider?”
Ellen giggled and nodded her head.
“If you want to ride the horsey, you have to answer yes or no,” she persisted.
Ellen ducked her head against her mother. “Yes.”
Rory’s heart fluttered. More and more, Ellen was talking to her and the others when they implemented the tools they were given.
“I’m headed down to the laundry room. I’ll be galloping down the stairs. You’ll have to hold on tight.”
Lydia lifted Ellen onto Rory’s back, and the child wrapped her arms around Rory’s neck and clamped her knees against her ribs. Ellen giggled again and then let out a loud whoop, presumably to get Rory to gallop toward the door. She did so, making Ellen squeal with joy. Lydia started to trail after them, but Sally caught her arm.
“You stay here. She can’t always be with you. Remember, we talked about this. You don’t want her to have separation anxiety on top of everything else. I’ll go with them. Let Rory and me look after her. We’ll be right back up.”
“I thinkIhave separation anxiety,” Lydia confessed.
Cindy had risen to her feet, and she put her arm around Lydia.“Rory and Sally have this. We’ve all been watching the videos on selective mutism and the tools for working with Ellen to help her to talk to us. You have to let us help you, Lydia. We want to help.”
Rory didn’t wait to see if Lydia was going to hang back this time. The moment Sally opened the door, she galloped through, doing her best to sound like a horse as she approached the stairs, hitting them with her shoes, clattering loudly on each tread. Sally added to the noise with her own feet, in an effort to sound more like they could be part of a herd.
Rory coughed twice on the way down the stairs because the little hands were so tight around her neck. She didn’t stop though. Her phone continued to vibrate in her pocket. She realized she should have answered Gideon before she offered to give Ellen a piggyback ride.
Lydia had explained that she had also suffered from selective mutism as a child, although no one had put a name to what she had. She simply was so severely shy that she didn’t speak to anyone, not even most relatives. Later, she had anxiety attacks. Lydia didn’t want that for her daughter, and she was doing her best to get Ellen the tools to deal with her social anxiety. Her friends wanted to give her whatever she needed to help.
Rory set Ellen on one of the machines that was vibrating. Ellen laughed and clapped her hands. Sally stood close, wrapping one arm around her waist to ensure that the little girl didn’t fall. They watched as Rory transferred the clothes from the washing machine to the dryer. Several of the washing machines were being used but only two of the dryers.
She pulled her phone out and glanced down. Gideon was worried.
I detest that I can’t come myself. Should I send Javier?
When she hadn’t answered him right away, he had waited approximately two minutes and sent another text.
He said you were uneasy around him. Ethan is free.
Gideon was such a good man. He was so worried about her. He was the one injured, and yet because he couldn’t get to her, he was going to send one of his friends to check on her.
She texted him back.I’m sorry I worried you. I’m washing clothes and playing with a friend’s little girl. All is well. When I’m finished with chores, I will come to you with food. Let me know what you’re in the mood for.
She hoped by mentioning Ellen, he would relax.
There was a brief silence. Normally, Gideon texted lightning fast. He also had a tendency to touch her mind. It was always light, but he took advantage of the connection between them. He hadn’t done that, not since he’d awakened from whatever dark place he’d been. She suspected he’d been put into a medically induced coma by a doctor. It was the only explanation she could think of that would have taken him so far from her. Had that broken their mental connection—made it so they no longer could touch one another telepathically?
I’ll call in an order to the restaurant in the harbor. The Salty Dog. It will be waiting. An hour?
She’d told him two hours. She still had to shower, dress, fold her laundry and interview with Larrsen.
Seriously need two hours to get everything done. Will hurry. If I get it all done before then, I’ll text you.
She did her best to sound matter-of-fact. She could tell he was uneasy, but she didn’t know why. She shouldn’t have tried to tease him about not having a kitchen. She wasn’t good at texting. Until she’d made friends with the women at her apartment building and Lani and Dana at work, she rarely texted anyone other than a boss for work. It was no wonder she didn’t know how to make him laugh.
He gave her a thumbs-up. She really wanted to see him sooner, but she wasn’t going looking as if she’d spent the night on a couch.
“Come on, little Miss Ellie May Rider, you need to get back on your trusty steed.” She galloped around the room and deliberately looked as if she were bucking and rearing. “If youdare.” She made her voice menacing and then whinnied loudly.
