asked, an undeniable look of anger on his face.
“Let’s try not to
jump to too many conclusions. Let’s just wait for MacKenzie, maybe she’ll
remember something that will shed light on Carlos’ behavior,” was Jake’s reply.
They didn’t have
long to wait before the women re-entered the room. Her distress still apparent,
MacKenzie refused to look in any direction other than the floor. Jake knew she
was probably embarrassed at her emotional outburst, and refused to allow her to
dwell on that thought. Making his way to her, he gave no thought to the fact
that he had removed his shirt and that his bare chest only served as a reminder
to her discomfort.
“Put this on,
Jake,” Aviva said, tossing him one of Jason’s endless supply of t-shirts.
Catching it in
mid-air, Jake eyes only lost contact with MacKenzie’s face for the brief moment
it took him to pull the shirt over his head.
“MacKenzie, this
is an overused statement, but try not to worry. I know you probably don’t want
to admit that you’ve been thinking about the possibility of an accident, but we
have, and...”
“Don’t you dare
say that, Jacob Kingdom, don’t you even think it!” MacKenzie cried.
“I have thought
about it and I’m going to tell you what I know–”
“Jake!” Aviva
intervened on her friend’s behalf.
“It’s okay, Angel.
Let him finish,” Jason assured his wife.
Giving Jason a
speculative look, Aviva withheld further comment and gave Jake the benefit of
the doubt.
“We checked all
the hospitals within a fifty mile radius. Noelle has not been admitted, so put
that thought out of your mind.”
Jake saw MacKenzie
deflate as the full impact of his words hit her. He knew she had been worrying
about this possibility but had refused to give voice to it.
“Are you sure?”
Came the almost inaudible question.
“We checked,
MacKenzie, she’s not there.” Jake again assured her.
Within seconds, a
change came over MacKenzie and Jake knew she was going to withdraw from them.
She knew something, and whatever it was, she was unwilling to share it with his
family.
“I’m so sorry that
I came running over here. Mr. Kingdom, I apologize for disrupting your
household this late at night.” Spinning around as though confused at who to
look at first, MacKenzie took in each member of the Kingdom clan, color rising
in her face. “I should go. Thank you all again.”
Heading her off as
she made her way to the door, Jake blocked her path. “I’ll wait with you while
Josh calls you a cab. The others were just leaving.”
None of his family
questioned him. It was as though they all instinctively knew he wouldn’t allow
her to leave the house. As his brothers and father passed her by, they each
stopped to show some form of support and comfort. From Jackson and Josh there
was a squeeze of her hand. Jason bent over and gave her a light kiss on the
cheek. From Aviva, there was an embrace and whispered words meant only for
MacKenzie.
When only the two
of them remained, Jake didn’t give her time to withdraw further. “See no
disruption, only concern for you and the baby.”
“I don’t
understand why he’s doing this,” MacKenzie said, fresh tears gathering in her
eyes.
“I don’t either,
MacKenzie, but I will get to the bottom of this, I promise. In the meantime, I
need you to tell me if anything unusual happened yesterday.”
Taking her limp,
cold hand, Jake pulled an unresisting MacKenzie towards the sofa and helped her
to take a seat. Deciding to give her time to compose herself, he made his way
to the bar and filled a glass with water. Her face stilled held a distracted
look; so Jake took her hand and wrapped it around the glass.
“Drink this and
then tell me everything. It doesn’t matter how inconsequential you think it,
don’t leave anything out.”
Raising the glass
to her lips, Mackenzie drank until it was empty.
“Another?” Jake questioned
with a nod in the direction of the glass.
“Yes
“Let’s try not to
jump to too many conclusions. Let’s just wait for MacKenzie, maybe she’ll
remember something that will shed light on Carlos’ behavior,” was Jake’s reply.
They didn’t have
long to wait before the women re-entered the room. Her distress still apparent,
MacKenzie refused to look in any direction other than the floor. Jake knew she
was probably embarrassed at her emotional outburst, and refused to allow her to
dwell on that thought. Making his way to her, he gave no thought to the fact
that he had removed his shirt and that his bare chest only served as a reminder
to her discomfort.
“Put this on,
Jake,” Aviva said, tossing him one of Jason’s endless supply of t-shirts.
Catching it in
mid-air, Jake eyes only lost contact with MacKenzie’s face for the brief moment
it took him to pull the shirt over his head.
“MacKenzie, this
is an overused statement, but try not to worry. I know you probably don’t want
to admit that you’ve been thinking about the possibility of an accident, but we
have, and...”
“Don’t you dare
say that, Jacob Kingdom, don’t you even think it!” MacKenzie cried.
“I have thought
about it and I’m going to tell you what I know–”
“Jake!” Aviva
intervened on her friend’s behalf.
“It’s okay, Angel.
Let him finish,” Jason assured his wife.
Giving Jason a
speculative look, Aviva withheld further comment and gave Jake the benefit of
the doubt.
“We checked all
the hospitals within a fifty mile radius. Noelle has not been admitted, so put
that thought out of your mind.”
Jake saw MacKenzie
deflate as the full impact of his words hit her. He knew she had been worrying
about this possibility but had refused to give voice to it.
“Are you sure?”
Came the almost inaudible question.
“We checked,
MacKenzie, she’s not there.” Jake again assured her.
Within seconds, a
change came over MacKenzie and Jake knew she was going to withdraw from them.
She knew something, and whatever it was, she was unwilling to share it with his
family.
“I’m so sorry that
I came running over here. Mr. Kingdom, I apologize for disrupting your
household this late at night.” Spinning around as though confused at who to
look at first, MacKenzie took in each member of the Kingdom clan, color rising
in her face. “I should go. Thank you all again.”
Heading her off as
she made her way to the door, Jake blocked her path. “I’ll wait with you while
Josh calls you a cab. The others were just leaving.”
None of his family
questioned him. It was as though they all instinctively knew he wouldn’t allow
her to leave the house. As his brothers and father passed her by, they each
stopped to show some form of support and comfort. From Jackson and Josh there
was a squeeze of her hand. Jason bent over and gave her a light kiss on the
cheek. From Aviva, there was an embrace and whispered words meant only for
MacKenzie.
When only the two
of them remained, Jake didn’t give her time to withdraw further. “See no
disruption, only concern for you and the baby.”
“I don’t
understand why he’s doing this,” MacKenzie said, fresh tears gathering in her
eyes.
“I don’t either,
MacKenzie, but I will get to the bottom of this, I promise. In the meantime, I
need you to tell me if anything unusual happened yesterday.”
Taking her limp,
cold hand, Jake pulled an unresisting MacKenzie towards the sofa and helped her
to take a seat. Deciding to give her time to compose herself, he made his way
to the bar and filled a glass with water. Her face stilled held a distracted
look; so Jake took her hand and wrapped it around the glass.
“Drink this and
then tell me everything. It doesn’t matter how inconsequential you think it,
don’t leave anything out.”
Raising the glass
to her lips, Mackenzie drank until it was empty.
“Another?” Jake questioned
with a nod in the direction of the glass.
“Yes
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