She started for the house, then decided she needed an extra dose of the one person who could fill all her hollow places, and instead, turned toward the farmhouse.

  * * *

  Baye was in such good spirits, she practically bounced through the back door of the farmhouse.

  “Whoa. Somebody’s in a good mood,” TJ said. “And I’m about to make it better.”

  “You can’t possibly,” she said, retrieving a bottle of water from the refrigerator. She was bursting with energy after her night with Teague, breakfast, then yoga. She loved her life right now.

  “You got a call from a woman who saw one of your birthday party flyers and wants to talk with you.” She held out a pink Sticky Note. “This is her number. She said you can call in the mornings between ten and noon. I told her I didn’t think that would be a problem.”

  “Awesome,” Baye said. She broke out into a brief happy dance, then stopped mid-hop when TJ’s expression changed. “What?”

  “You should talk to Tommy and try to cheer him up. He worships you, and he’s very sad that he has only Mac and Cappie to take care of at Teague’s place. John says he still goes over there with Buster and sits in the empty barn.”

  Baye sighed. “I know. It breaks my heart to go in that barn myself. I just don’t know how to explain to him that Teague is convinced she’s going to die, and the animals will be coming back when she doesn’t. He’s an open book, and I know he’d let the secret slip when he’s around Teague.”

  TJ closed her laptop and stared at Baye. “I know you’re happy about finding temporary places for her animals, but this whole thing could blow up in your face, you know.”

  “It won’t. I won’t let it.”

  “I hope so. You know her better than I do. But if I were you, I’d be afraid your deception will damage the trust between you two.”

  “She’ll be so glad when I bring them home after her birthday that she won’t even think about the little lie I’ve told.”

  “What about ones still there—Leo, Cappie, and Mac?”

  “I’m still trying to convince Teague to let me have Cappie and Mac. I have some ideas for winning her over on that subject. Leo has a dozen good applicants, but none of them want to just foster him and give him up. I’m still looking for a temporary home for him.”

  “Why not just place him permanently?”

  “He sleeps on the bed with us most nights. When we watch television, Cappie cuddles on my shoulder, and Leo drapes himself across her lap. She’d miss him too much if I rehomed him.”

  “What are you going to do when she pushes you to go ahead and find a home for him? She’s seen how many applicants were on his spreadsheet. You’ve already lied to her about finding a woman who would take him hiking and kayaking with her. She’ll want to meet her and place Leo right away. You know, snatch the Band-Aid off all at once.”

  “Don’t you worry about it.”

  “I do worry. I like Teague, and you’re lying to her about the animals.” TJ’s voice rose when Baye turned and went back into the kitchen to get away from the things she didn’t want to think about. “What if this family curse is real? Or maybe she believes it enough that she really will pop an aneurysm thinking about it? What are you going to do if she does die, and you have to find permanent homes for them?”

  “Stop it.” Baye was back at the table where TJ was working in three fast strides. She shouted back. “Just stop it. Teague is not going to die. She will understand I tricked her because I don’t want her to lose the animals she loves. The fur babies I love now, too. She’s not going to die, and I’m going to get them all back when she doesn’t, and she’ll understand.”

  “Uh, Baye.”

  She whirled toward the front door where Libby stood with Teague right behind her. Teague’s face was blank, but her hand tapped a nervous pattern against her hip.

  Baye’s heart dropped. How much had she heard? “Teague, baby.”

  Teague turned and strode out the door. Baye scrambled to follow, but she had hopped the fence and was running across the pasture now.

  “Shit.”

  “She was standing on the porch about to knock when I got here, so she just came in with me,” Libby said, her words weak and tentative.

  Baye turned back to TJ and pointed at her. “This is your fault. What I did with her animals is none of your business. Now look what you’ve done.” She was screaming. She was losing it. “You’re fired. Get your stuff and go.” She headed for the door.

  “Where are you going?” Libby stepped aside to get out of her path.

  “To find Teague and fix this.”

  * * *

  Teague locked the door to the cottage and lowered the shades to darken the entire room. Baye had lied to her. She couldn’t see it. She couldn’t read the deception. What else had she lied about? Would she continue to lie?

  Uncertainty tore at her, and rage filled her. She looked at the numbers on her whiteboard. Maybe they were a lie, too. She threw all but one marker across the room, scattering them everywhere, then used the remaining one to draw long, slashing marks and scribbles over the equation she’d worked on for weeks. She could trust nothing.

  She willed her aorta or the vessels in her brain to burst. All her pain would go away in minutes. She prayed to whatever higher power might be to take her into blessed, final darkness.

  Banging, banging, banging on the door enraged her even more.

  “Teague, honey. Let me explain.”

  “No, no, no,” she screamed. She grabbed her desk and heaved it over, shattering the glass top. “You lied. Leave me alone. You lied to me.”

  “Oh my God. What was that? Oh my God. Are you hurt?”

  “Go away.” She yelled so loud her throat hurt.

  “Please Teague. Let me explain. I love you. I didn’t mean to hurt you. Let me in, Teague. Please don’t hurt yourself.”

  Teague left the main room and went in to the windowless, small bedroom of the cottage. She locked the door and curled into a fetal position on the bed. Her head hurt. Her chest hurt. Baye’s betrayal hurt so bad.

  * * *

  Baye ran to the house where Connie was in the kitchen.

  “Come quick. Teague is having a major breakdown in the cottage. She won’t let me in, and I can hear her breaking things.”

  Connie looked up, her eyes wide. “What in the world? What happened?”

  “She was upset by something she overheard, then ran off and locked herself in the cottage.”

  “Oh, dear. She hasn’t thrown things since she was a child.” She pulled a ring of house keys from the pocket of her dress and hurried into the pantry. “I better get a sedative to calm her down.” She used the keys to open a locked drawer and took out one of two injector pens. “I hope these are still good. It’s been so long since she’s had a freak-out. I normally keep these up to date, but she’s been doing so well, I hadn’t even thought of it. This one has just expired. You better come with me. I might need help restraining her.”

  * * *

  Connie knocked on the door of the cottage. It was quiet inside now. “Teague? Honey? Let me in, okay?”

  No answer.

  “There was a big crash,” Baye said. “I could hear glass shattering. She might be hurt.”

  Connie pulled her keys out again and unlocked the door, opening it cautiously. No Teague, but the room was a wreck. The glass-top desk was in a million pieces, but Baye didn’t see any blood.

  “She’s probably in the bedroom,” Connie said. She went to the closed door and knocked. “Teague? Are you okay?”

  No answer again.

  Baye was scared. She had no idea Teague was capable of the destruction she saw in the main room.

  Connie used her keys again, unlocking the bedroom door. “Honey, Baye’s here. Whatever’s wrong, we can work it out, okay?”

  “No, no. She lied.”

  Baye flinched at the shriek, and something hit the door. Another loud bang, but away from the door.

  Connie squared her shoulders. “Let me go in. I’ll yell if I need you.” She slipped past the door and closed it.

  Baye could hear the murmur of voices—Teague’s sharp tones mixed with Connie’s soothing alto. Another bang, then more voices. It seemed like a lifetime before Connie finally opened the door. Baye could see Teague curled up on the bed, her back to the door.

  Connie closed it quietly. “I gave her the shot. She’ll sleep probably for the next eight to ten hours if that injection hasn’t lost its potency.”

  “How often does this happen?” Baye asked.

  “I don’t think I’ve seen her so bad she tore stuff up since she was a child. I keep the shots up to date because she would sometimes work without sleeping for several days, and I’d have to force her to rest, then eat.” Connie led her out of the cottage. “I’ll call the agency to get this cleaned up, and I’ll check in on her periodically until she wakes up.”

  “I can stay with her.”

  Connie patted her on the arm. “I don’t think that’s wise, honey. Just the mention of your name set her off again. She’s punched a couple of holes in the bedroom wall. I’ll have to get some repairmen in later, but we should leave her alone for now.”

  “This is TJ’s fault. She should mind her own business.”

  “Can you tell me what happened?”

  Baye confessed it all—her deception and Teague walking in while TJ was talking about it.

  Connie shook her head. “You can’t blame TJ, honey. This is something you did, and you need to take that responsibility so you won’t ever do it again if she gives you another chance.”

  “If?”

  “You must realize all that Teague has overcome. The one thing she hasn’t been able to master is being able to read people. She’s been taken advantage of in many situations because she’s incapable of lying or deception, so she can’t begin to anticipate or recognize that trait in other people. She was hard to raise because you couldn’t tell her the little stories you normally tell children about a tooth fairy or the Easter bunny. Lying is her deal-breaker.”

  “How do I make this right, Connie?”

  “I don’t know, dear. Give her time. I’ll talk to her tomorrow and get her to go see Dr. Hansen, but you shouldn’t pressure her. It could set her back again. You should go home and let me handle this.”

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Baye, you’ve got to stop this now.” Libby came into her darkened bedroom and opened the light-blocking drapes. “You’ve been holed up in here without eating or bathing for four days. You haven’t taken your medicine or done your yoga. Enough is enough.”

  Baye had waited three days, existing on nothing but Connie’s covert updates. Teague was okay, but she refused to talk to Connie about what had happened. She had been working in her suite of rooms until a new desk arrived and the whiteboard that she’d pounded with her desk chair was replaced. But then Tommy had showed up with all of Baye’s things packed in a couple of boxes. Teague was done with her. Baye sank into a well of depression and hadn’t left her bedroom in over a week.

  “I can’t. I can’t fix this, and I can’t live with it.”

  “You’re starting to scare me. Either you get up and take a shower and come downstairs to eat something, or I’m going to call Dr. Hansen and tell her you might be suicidal.”

  “I can’t get up.”

  “Then I’m going to get TJ, and we’ll pick you up and put you in the shower.”

  “I fired TJ.”

  “No, you didn’t. Human resources falls under my duties, and I unfired them.”

  Baye sat up in the bed, squinting when Libby turned on the bedside light. “Can you tell them I’m sorry?”

  Libby handed her some pills and a glass of water. “Take these. No argument or I’ll call Dr. Hansen.”

  She swallowed the pills and started to lie back again, but Libby grabbed her hand and pulled her up, then led her to the bathroom. “You can tell them when you come downstairs after you shower. Then we can talk about a plan for what to do next. I’ll go get you some clean clothes.”

  * * *

  “I don’t know what to do, Dr. Hansen.” Baye grabbed another tissue. She was so tired of crying, but she felt she was at the bottom of a deep well with no way to get out. “She won’t even talk to me. I never meant to hurt her. I wanted to save her animals for her. She loves them so much.”

  “You have to understand that Teague sees almost everything as black and white. There are no gray areas for her. She believed you understood her handicap and would safeguard it. Instead, she thinks you knowingly took advantage of her inability to recognize deceit when you lied to her.”

  “I didn’t. I didn’t realize.”

  Dr. Hansen’s secretary stepped into the office after a quick knock at the door. “I’m so sorry to interrupt, Dr. Hansen, but there is an emergency at the hospital. I know Ms. Cobb usually comes in with Ms. Maxwell, and the emergency involves Ms. Maxwell.”

  “Oh my God. Teague’s in the hospital?” Baye jumped to her feet.

  “I don’t know the circumstances, but they asked if you could come right away,” the secretary said.

  “Yes,” Dr. Hansen said, rising. “I’ll go now.”

  Baye’s phone rang. It was Connie. “Connie, are you with Teague?”

  “No. I’m sitting with my sister’s grandchildren while she’s at a dentist appointment. The hospital called me because I’m Teague’s emergency contact, but I can’t leave. The children are napping. It would take me too long to wake them and get to the hospital. Can you go?”

  “I’m with Dr. Hansen, and they just called her. Her office is in a building next to the hospital. We’re going over there now.”

  “She’s been so fragile lately. She insisted she could go alone for the MRI, but she’s apparently having an episode because she doesn’t do well in tight places, and they don’t know what to do.”

  Baye followed Dr. Hansen as they hurried through the skywalk connecting the medical office building with the hospital. “We’re on our way. I’ll call you after we get her calmed down.”

  “I’m not sure seeing you will help, Baye. You should let me handle this,” Dr. Hansen said.

  “I love her, and she’s in pain. If I make it worse, I’ll leave, but you can’t stop me from seeing her.”

  When they reached the MRI suite, a technician greeted them. “Are you Dr. Hansen?”

  “Yes. Where’s Ms. Maxwell?”

  The technician pointed to a door. “She’s in the MRI room, but she’s freaking out and won’t let anyone touch her. I called security. They might have to hold her so you can sedate her.”

  “Don’t let them in. Let me see what I can do first. Do you have a sedative?”

  “Yes. A lot of patients request it for the full-body scans because they take so long.”

  “Give it to me.” She slipped the syringe in her blazer’s pocket and turned to Baye. “You can come in, but if she reacts badly to seeing you, I want you to leave immediately.”

  Baye nodded but didn’t promise.

  When they stepped inside, Teague was raging, pacing back and forth. She was dressed in sweatpants and a hospital gown. A tray of medicines and instruments was scattered across the floor. She was alternating swinging her arms and holding her head.

  “Teague. Tell me what’s happening. What’s upsetting you,” Dr. Hansen said.

  “I can’t. I can’t.”

  “Okay. You don’t have to get back in the machine, but you need to calm down.”

  “I can’t. I can’t.” She didn’t look at them or seem to hear Dr. Hansen. “My head. My head hurts.”

  Dr. Hansen tried to catch Teague’s arm to make her stop pacing and face her, but Teague swung around, flinging Dr. Hansen against the wall.

  “We’re going to have to let security in,” Dr. Hansen said.

  “No!” Baye lunged after Teague and wrapped her in a tight hug from behind. Teague twisted and dragged her a few paces, then stopped as Baye kept the pressure on her.

  “I can’t.” Teague’s resigned tone cut into Baye’s heart.

  “It’s okay. I’ve got you.” She kept her grip firm against Teague’s tense body. “It’s going to be okay. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I didn’t understand. I thought I was doing something good for you, but I know better now. I’ll never, never deceive you again. I love you, baby. I’ve been in the pit of darkness without you. Please, please let me back in.”

  “Baye?”

  “Yes, baby. It’s me. I’m here. I love you. I never meant to hurt you. I didn’t understand. I won’t ever do it again.”

  “I don’t want to die.” The words were so soft, Baye almost couldn’t hear them.

  “You’re not going to. I’m not going to let you. I love you too much.”

  “My head hurts.”

  “Dr. Hansen is here to give you something for that. Will you let her?”

  “Okay.”

  Dr. Hansen moved to them and quickly injected the sedative. “She needs to lie down,” she said. Baye loosened her hold and steered them toward a gurney that rested against the wall by the door.

  “No,” Teague said, her words slurring a bit. “I need to finish.” Her eyes drooped, and her legs suddenly went wobbly. Baye slipped next to her, drawing Teague’s arm over her shoulder to support her. “I have to know.”

  Dr. Hansen signaled the technician to come back into the room, and the three of them helped her back onto the bed of the MRI. By the time she was settled, her eyes were closed, and she was limp. The technician fastened straps across her body.

  “Pull them snug,” Baye said. “The pressure will help keep her calm if she wakes a little.”

  “Baye.” The whisper surprised her, because she was sure Teague was sound asleep.

 

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