“I feel like I’ve caught some weird bug, but it isn’t like anything I’ve ever felt before.” She paused. “Although, I haven’t had more than a cold since I moved here. Maybe it’s an Idaho thing.”
His lips twitched. “Maybe.”
He kept his arm around her waist while they walked to the kitchen, and she settled at the table. “I feel bad making you take care of me.”
“I don’t mind.” He stirred the soup on the stove and left the spoon in the pan, moving to the fridge where he drew out the butter. “Bread?”
Frannie pointed at a white container on the far end of the counter. “In there.”
He pulled out the loaf and stared at her with no small amount of surprise. “Generic, store brand bread?”
“It’s not betrayal. If there are leftovers that won’t keep, I bring them home from work and freeze them. But I don’t want to eat my bread all the time. Sometimes I even make a quesadilla from that sliced cheese where they’re all individually wrapped.”
“Fair enough.” He chuckled and set to buttering four slices. “Do you have any cupcakes here?”
Frannie shook her head. “Sorry. Mimi and Izzy don’t eat them.” And her butt didn’t need any more calories. She had so little will power when she was at work without bringing it home too.
“They don’t eat your sweets?”
“Uh, no.” Frannie rolled her eyes. “Mom wants the gluten free, sugar free, calorie free, dairy free, everything free, but still somehow tasty.”
“She’s allergic? I saw her eat a cupcake at the twin’s birthdays.”
“I think she’d like to be because then she’d have a reason to feel special. Who knows what’s going on in that woman’s head? I can’t figure her out half the time.”
Matthias poured the soup into two bowls and set everything on the table, the plate of buttered bread in the middle. “I didn’t have this in mind for the first time we shared a meal together.”
“S’mores don’t count?”
“As a meal?” He looked offended she’d even suggest that. “No way.”
“Do you cook?”
“A few things, enough so I don’t starve and I get to eat more than just noodles or macaroni and cheese.” He swiped up some bread, folded it in half and dunked it in his soup. “You?”
“A few things. I’m just usually too tired by dinner to do more than nuke some chicken and make a salad.”
“It must be hard having rehearsals for the play in the evenings.”
“Once we get further in, I’ll know for sure. But it is only two weeks. After the play I’ll take a couple of days off and crash, probably.” Frannie took a bite, and had to cough before she could swallow.
Matthias frowned. “I figured you’d be okay since its smooth soup. No chunks.”
“Don’t talk about chunks right now.” She groaned and shot him a smile. “There probably wasn’t much else in the cupboard, either. I haven’t been grocery shopping yet this week.”
He looked like he wanted to say something about that, but he didn’t—a fact for which Frannie was grateful. She said, “Is this a date?”
He swallowed and lifted his attention to her. “Do you want it to be?”
“Why are you here?”
Matthias sat back in his chair. “Maybe I’m just here because I want to be here.”
“All of a sudden. Like, you just decided this week we should spend all this time together?”
“It doesn’t feel sudden to me at all.” His fingertips tapped the table. “It feels like it’s been a long time coming.”
She didn’t disagree, but still. “There’s a reason why I don’t get involved. If we started…dating, or whatever, and then we broke up, it would be all awkward. We’d have to tiptoe around each other for the rest of our lives.”
She would end up having to watch him marry someone else, knowing he slipped out of her grasp.
That would suck.
“Who says it’s going to go bad?”
“You don’t know that it won’t.”
“And you don’t know for sure it will.” He studied her for a minute. “Look Frannie, I like you. I wouldn’t have kissed you if I didn’t. But this isn’t an ultimatum, and I can’t promise a future I don’t know for sure is going to happen. I’d like to spend time with you, get to know you better.”
“And this doesn’t have anything to do with the letters? Because all this seems like it happened at the same time.”
Matthias’s shoulders slumped. “You are the single most cynical woman I have ever met in my entire life. It’s exasperating.” He ran a hand through his hair.
“Why have I never seen you with another woman before? Why me? Why now?”
“I don’t know.” He turned his hands so, for a second, she saw both of his palms.
Was he going to give up? Was she driving him away? “I’m sorry. My head is all messed up from the headache, and I don’t feel good at all.” She pushed the bowl of soup away. “Ignore me.”
He shook his head. “Don’t think so. I think this is the most truth you’ve ever spoken to me.”
“I don’t lie.”
“But you rarely ever admit you doubt so much about yourself either.” Matthias waited a moment, and then said, “I can’t give you self-esteem, Frannie. You have to find it in yourself, because you have to see yourself how God see’s you.”
“How does He see me?” God was—she didn’t even know. Up there. Disconnected from what was happening on earth, or that was what it felt like at least.
“Trust Him with your problems.”
Frannie shook her head. “Where is all this coming from? Why do you suddenly think I need fixing so badly? Is it that obvious something is wrong with me?”
“Nothing’s wrong with you.” He circled the table and crouched beside her, laying his hand on her shoulder. “Calm down, okay?”
That was when she realized her breath was coming in gasps. “What’s happening to me?”
“I don’t know. But be sure I’m going to figure it out. You can trust me, I’m not going anywhere.”
“Are you sure?”
“I don’t leave.” His gaze held hers. “I’m not the one who leaves.”
“Why did she do that to you?” Frannie felt warmth on her cheek. He swiped it with his thumb, and she realized she was crying.
“I don’t know.” He gave her a soft smile. “I heard she’s some famous Christian singer now. Maybe that’s why. It’s impossible to keep up with popular music when Hal only plays classic rock and old-man country on the radio station.”
She smiled, but it didn’t hold. “Is something wrong with me?”
He lifted her up so she was standing, and they walked to the hallway. “Let’s get you settled back on the couch, and I’m going to make a call. Everything’s going to be fine.”
“Promise?”
Frannie laid back on the couch and felt his lips touch her forehead.
“I promise. Get some more rest, okay?”
“Wake me up for rehearsals.”
**
Matthias gripped the phone until he picked up.
“Sheriff Mason.”
“There’s something seriously wrong with Frannie.”
He heard John up and moving. “Tell me what.”
“She took a nap. When she woke, her head was all messed up. She’s dizzy, slurred speech. Talking in circles. She’s fine one minute, then she’s upset and crying.”
Then I’d have to watch you marry someone else, knowing you slipped out of my grasp.
That would suck.
Matthias knew she hadn’t planned on saying that—or the rest of it—out loud. The only thing he could think to do was pray. That’s why he’d tried to get her, even in her confusion, to go to God. Because Matthias was scared out of his mind. He’d never seen her like this.
John said, “I’ll call the doc. You want us there, or you want to bring her to the medical center?”
Matthias blew out a breath. “S
he’s already freaked out. I don’t know if it’s a good idea to push her into a check-up in this state. We have an hour until rehearsal. Why don’t you tell Doctor Fenton to swing by? At least he can observe her.”
“I’ll ask. But if he balks, you need to get her an appointment.”
Matthias watched the slow rise and fall of her breathing, thanking God she wasn’t coughing anymore. “Whatever gets her to the doctor, she needs to think it was her idea.”
Chapter 12
“Precious.”
Frannie spun in time for Olympia to swallow her in a warm hug. The woman held on long enough it could have been considered a snuggle. Eventually Frannie leaned back, and Olympia released her.
“Don’t look so embarrassed, Precious.”
Frannie sighed, glancing around the Meeting House where rehearsal was about to start. “Tias is acting like I’m glass that might break at any second.”
Olympia’s eyebrows rose, and Frannie realized she’d called Matthias by his nickname. “My boy, he treats the things he cares for very, very well.”
Frannie didn’t even know what to say to that. He really was taking care of her. It should feel suffocating, but it didn’t. She wasn’t used to attention. Or care. Maybe it was just the fact it was him that made the difference.
Olympia patted her cheek before moving back over to the kitchen, where she’d been preparing a late supper for everyone due at rehearsals. They’d even bought up everything left over at the bakery and had it brought over. Apparently Mimi hadn’t sold much that afternoon, but if the town was buying the remainder, Frannie didn’t have anything to complain about.
“You all right?” Nadia Marie was frowning.
Frannie shrugged. “Are you?”
Nadia Marie glanced at the stage, where Bolton Farrera shifted boards and lined them up next to each other. He had a ball cap on instead of his trademark cowboy hat, and he’d shoved a pencil in front of his ear under the edge of the hat.
Nadia Marie sighed. “It’s the tool belt. Gets me every time.”
Frannie laughed. Matthias looked back from his spot beside Bolton and smiled. She smiled back, glad whatever weirdness that happened in her house had passed. She wasn’t totally fine. The headache was still present, but she wasn’t dizzy, and it felt like she could think straight now, at least.
“Good evening, ladies.” Terrence sat in the row in front of them, a smudge of something on the front of his shirt. Apparently he’d eaten already.
“Terrence.”
Nadia Marie nodded. “Terrence.”
He looked around like he was searching for something to talk about, and his gaze settled on Nadia Marie’s purse on the seat beside her. “Did you get mail this week?”
Frannie leaned over to look. The envelope was different than the two she’d received from the killer. Her stomach unknotted at least a little, as Nadia Marie smiled.
“That’s cool.” Terrence pulled it out of her purse and looked at the front. “I’ve never gotten any—”
Nadia Marie snatched it back. “Don’t touch my mail.”
“I was just looking.”
“It’s none of your business.”
Terrence lifted his hands, palms out. “Relax. I don’t care about your love letter from your boyfriend anyway.”
Frannie glanced at Nadia Marie, shooting daggers at Terrence with her eyes. She looked like she wanted to jump up and scratch his face. “It’s from my brother. Not that it’s any of your business.”
Frannie glanced at Matthias again, widening her eyes so he would know something was wrong. It seemed so natural to ask him for help, but why couldn’t she deal with this on her own? What had happened to her that made her think she wasn’t capable of managing her own life? It was like this virus made her forget who she was any more.
She turned to Nadia. “I’m sure Terrence didn’t mean anything by it.” Frannie gave him a very pointed look. “I’m sure he won’t ever try to touch your mail again.”
Terrence nodded frantically, looking scared of both of them. Was this the rush Andra got when she intimidated people? Whether she intended on following through with it or not, Frannie was discovering a little bit of strong confidence went a long way.
She said, “You had better not.”
“Gees, you don’t have to get all stressed out about it. It’s just a letter, it’s not like it contains state secrets. What’s the big deal if I look at the envelope?”
Frannie nearly groaned. “You’re not helping, Terrence.”
“Why? Is it such a secret her brother’s in the military?”
Frannie turned to Nadia Marie. “He is?”
Nadia Marie’s lips curved into a small smile. “He’s a staff sergeant in the Marine Corps.”
Terrence had the decency to look a little impressed.
“Awesome.” Frannie grinned, and Nadia Marie returned it.
“I know.” Nadia Marie sobered. “He’s deployed right now, and my mom has his dog. He’s freaking out because I can’t go check on Dauntless, and mom is weird about dogs. But there’s no one else. The marshals refuse to transfer the dog to Sanctuary every time Shad gets deployed, like a dog is going to tell my brother where WITSEC placed me.”
Terrence snorted. “Your brother’s name is Shad? And his dog is called what—Dauntless? What is that?”
“It’s from a book, Terrence.” Frannie sighed. She didn’t read that much, but even she knew what a Dauntless was. “And what does it matter what Nadia Marie’s brother’s name is. Obviously it’s going to be something cool. Your mom must be a character.”
Nadia Marie snorted. “You could call her that, yes.” She laughed. “Think hippie who doesn’t like animals and is allergic to most herbs on the planet, with a Marine son who hates the name Shadrach, and an artistic daughter who sucks at painting.”
Frannie smiled at her. “I have no idea how to picture that.”
“That’s the point. She defies understanding, and she loves it that way. But she doesn’t really love Dauntless, more like tolerates him. And there’s nothing I can do about it.”
“It’s just a dog.” Terrence’s face scrunched with what was probably supposed to be confusion. “What’s the big deal?”
Frannie wasn’t sure a dog was ever just a dog. Unless it was super annoying or something. “It’s not tiny, is it?”
Nadia Marie shook her head. “German Shepherd, and he can sniff out IED’s. He has medals for bravery, but he hurt his foot so he couldn’t go this time. Plus he’s getting older, so they’re talking about retiring him.”
“That’s sad,” Frannie said. “But maybe if he retires permanently the marshals might let Dauntless come here.”
“True.” Nadia Marie nodded, her eyes sad now.
Frannie squeezed her forearm, wondering why her friend had never mentioned her brother before now. Maybe it hurt too much to talk about him when he was in danger, and she couldn’t even be somewhere she would receive word quickly. If her brother was hurt it would take time for the information to reach Nadia Marie through the marshals. There might even be days where she didn’t know anything.
“It must be hard, to be here when he’s in the line of fire.”
Nadia Marie shrugged. “No harder than anyone else with a loved one who is deployed.”
“Still,” Frannie said. “It wouldn’t ever be easy.”
“It is what it is. Being in the marines is what makes Shad happy, and until that changes, I’m going to support him.” Nadia Marie sniffed. “It just sucks I haven’t seen him since before I was admitted to WITSEC. I can’t ever see him, even when he’s home. Except for Skype and letters, but that’s not a hug from my brother.”
Bolton strode over, his attention so fully on Nadia Marie it was like no one else existed in the whole world.
Terrence got up, immediately backing away from the approaching man. Matthias sat beside Frannie while Bolton said, “Did Terrence say something to upset you?”
Nadia Marie shook her head. �
��It’s okay. We were just talking about my brother.”
“Yeah?” He looked interested, but didn’t ask further. “You sure you’re okay?”
“You need something?”
Bolton said, “Actually, since I have zero artistic ability I was thinking maybe you could help me with the set. The backdrop needs painting so it looks like a villa at a winery. You think you could help me with that?”
Frannie glanced aside to Matthias and grinned. Bolton wanted to work closely with Nadia Marie on the set? It might not be a date, but Bolton hadn’t ever made a move to spend time with her before this. Was he changing his mind about them having a relationship, or had he just seen her upset and wanted to cheer her up?
Nadia Marie smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Sure. I’m not Picasso.”
Bolton flashed his straight, white teeth. “I can’t draw better than a five year old, so you’ve got one up on me.”
“I’m sure we can make it look good.”
Andy clapped. “Okay, folks!” The room quieted down like a class of obedient first graders. “Terrence and Nadia Marie, let’s do the first wedding scene.”
Frannie glanced at Nadia Marie, who grinned back. “This will be interesting.”
She walked with Nadia Marie to where they were going to stand together. It would be interesting to see if Terrence was even capable of the emotion it would take to scream at Nadia Marie during what was supposed to be their wedding. A scene that would turn into his grand revelation of her infidelity, which was going to then prove to be untrue. After Nadia Marie faked her own death, of course.
Bolton had stopped work, his eyes on where Terrence was making his way to Nadia Marie. The rest of the actors stood around, forming the congregation for the service. They all took their positions, and the scene started.
The door of the Meeting House opened. Doctor Fenton looked around, his eyes zeroing in on Frannie. Was he making a house call? She’d woken up feeling better. Had Matthias called him?
The doctor sat watching as they worked on the scene. Once they got through it Frannie could explain to both him and Matthias that she felt better. It might have been disorienting enough earlier, but she was fine now.
Sanctuary Buried WITSEC Town Series Book 2 Page 14
