The Escape Collection: (The Escape Collection) (86 page)

She waited a few minutes after Taylor’s door closed before she laced up her runners. As soon as she walked out the front door and inhaled the fresh night air, she could feel herself relax. Darci eased into the run, and soon she was up to speed. Feeling her muscles push, her lungs pulling deep breaths and the sweat drip down her back, felt good. Really good. Some nights, when the stress of life got to be too much, she’d find tears streaking down her cheeks. The release of physical energy combined with the build up of emotions created a release that left her cleansed and refreshed when she got home.
 

She pushed up a tough hill, letting her breath get deeper as she dug deep. One foot in front of the other, she chanted silently to herself. Just keep moving. She crested the hill and fell into a slower pace while she regained her breath. Darci approached the street where Cam lived, and turned the opposite way. Even though running had been his idea, she hadn’t mentioned it to him yet. Except for Taylor, her nightly runs were her little secret.

She powered through the rest of her route and was completely lost in her own thoughts, eyes down, as she turned up the path that led to her door. When Darci looked up, she stopped short and clutched her chest. Illuminated by the porch light, Cam lounged against the door, waiting for her.

“Oh, Cam.” Darci took a series of deep breaths in an effort to slow her heartbeat. “You scared me.”
 

He jumped to his feet. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” She waved away his concerns. “What are you doing here?” She tried to act casual, like it was perfectly normal for her to be running in the middle of the night. She pulled one leg up behind her to stretch out her quad.

“You’ve been running.” It wasn’t a question.

“Just a bit.” Darci switched to the other leg.

“Every night from what I understand.”

Darci dropped her leg and stared at him. “I…just…how do you know that?” She finally managed to get the words out.

Cam smiled. “Don’t worry, I’m not stalking you. Barb mentioned it to me the other day.” Before she could ask how Barb knew, he explained, “You run past her living room window. She stays up late watching TV. I don’t think she knew it was a secret.”

“It’s not.” Darci resumed her stretching. “I just haven’t told anyone.”

“Hey, you don’t have to apologize, I think it’s great. But why so late? Do you think that’s safe?”

“Please, in this town? Of course it’s safe.” Darci smiled. “Especially since the neighbors are apparently keeping an eye on me.”
 

“True.”

Cam shifted from foot to foot, and looked at the ground. Darci thought he looked a bit like a shy little boy all of a sudden. She’d never seen him look anything but totally sure of himself. It was kind of cute.

“You didn’t tell me why you’re here so late,” she said after a moment.
 

He looked up and blew out a deep breath. “Barb told me that Taylor was going to Abby’s party. That’s great.”

“Yeah, well. I don’t know if I really had a choice in the matter.”

“Well, I do think it’s great and I thought that maybe, well, if you didn’t have anything to do Saturday night…”

She waited. A slow smile spread across her face.
 

“Well,” he continued, “maybe you would like to get some dinner? I mean somewhere besides pizza at Peppi’s?” He smiled, causing his eyes to crinkle up at the corners. Every reason Darci had ever had not to go out with Cam, flashed through her head. And promptly vanished.
 

“I’d love to. I’m sick of pizza.”
 

Chapter 15

Two days later, Darci couldn’t decide what she was most nervous about, Taylor remembering to pack all of her insulin supplies, or the fact that in a few hours she’d be on her first real date in years.
 

“You’re sure you have everything?” Darci asked Taylor for the fifth time.
 

“Mom.” Taylor dropped her bag at the front door. “I told you, it’s all packed. And before you can ask again, my levels have been perfect, and yes, I’m testing my blood sugar like six times a day. I’m doing everything I’m supposed to. It’s fine.”

“And you-“

“I won’t have any soda. And Abby said she’d make sure there were healthy snacks for me. I’ve already told you all of this.”

It was true. Taylor had recited the same lines to Darci all afternoon, each time with a little less patience and a lot more attitude. She looked at her daughter. Really looked at her. Almost thirteen, Taylor was no longer her baby, and although Darci knew she had to let her go, it was a whole lot harder then she would have guessed.
 

“It’s not a big deal, Mom,” Taylor said. “I promise. And anyway, don’t you have a date tonight?” She flashed her mom a mischievous grin.
 

Darci had never kept secrets from Taylor, so, when she’d asked Darci what she was going to be doing with her free evening, Darci mentioned causally that she had dinner plans with Cam. She certainly hadn’t called it a date. “We’re just going for dinner,” she said.

“Right.” Taylor winked. “I’m not going to lie, Mom. It’s kind of weird that you’re going on a date with Coach Cam.”

Darci’s heart lurched. “If it’s at all strange for you, I’ll cancel.”

Taylor tipped her head and examined her mother with a wicked grin. “I thought you said it was just dinner?” She ducked and just missed the cloth that Darci tossed at her head. “Gotcha.”
 

“Not funny,” Darci said.
 

“I knew it was a date,” Taylor said once her giggles were under control. “And seriously, it is kind of weird, but it’s also pretty cool.”

“You’re really okay with it?”

“I really am.” She gave her mom a quick hug then pulled back. “But please don’t tell me you’re wearing that?”

Darci looked down at her jeans and white blouse and shrugged.
 

“And your hair, Mom.” She grabbed Darci’s pony tail. “Seriously?”
 

“What? This is how I always wear my hair.”
 

Taylor sighed dramatically and grabbed her mother’s arm. “And that’s the problem.” She pulled her mother in the direction of the bathroom. “Wow, it really has been awhile since you’ve done this. Come on, I’ll help you.”

***

After a bit of searching, Taylor managed to dig out a denim skirt and red low cut shirt, that she deemed date appropriate, from the back of Darci’s closet. With Taylor’s instructions, Darci brushed her hair out and used a bit of hairspray. Examining herself in the mirror, Darci had to admit, it was an improvement over the ponytail and jeans.
 

“You need lipstick, Mom. And please tell me you own mascara.”

Darci stared at her. “How do you even know what mascara is? You’re only twelve.”

“Please,” Taylor said, as she dug through Darci’s drawers. “I’ll be thirteen, like, right away. And I’d wear mascara if you’d let me.”

“No.” Darci grabbed the tube and applied a few quick strokes on her eyelashes. “Better?” She batted her eyes.

“I guess it’ll have to do.” Taylor started giggling and Darci gave her a gentle shove. “Okay, okay,” Taylor conceded. “You look great.”

The door bell rang, and Taylor sprinted for the door. Despite feeling weird about it, Darci had agreed to let Cam pick her up at the house. The plan was that they would drop Taylor off at the party on their way.
 

Darci took one more look in the mirror, flicked the light off and started down the hall. As she got closer, she could hear Taylor say, “I can’t believe you guys are going on a date.”

Darci couldn’t make out Cam’s response.
 

“Well,” Taylor replied, “Mom looks hot.”
 

A smile split Darci’s face and she walked out to greet her date.
 

Chapter 16

Cam took Darci to Nicola’s, one of the nicer restaurants in Bayfield, not that there were a lot of options, but the food was delicious and more importantly, Darci was enjoying the company. Through appetizers, and their entrees, conversation had been easy and comfortable.
 

It wasn’t until the plates were cleared that he said, “So, I want to hear about your running.”

Darci raised an eyebrow. She was impressed it had taken him so long to bring it up.

“Well,” she said. “I took your suggestion. And you were right.”

“I was?” He tilted his head and smiled.

She swatted her napkin at him. “You were. Running has been a huge stress relief for me. I didn’t realize it before, but it’s actually very freeing to be able to just take off and not worry about anything. Even if it is for only an hour.”

Cam nodded and took a sip of his wine. “That’s why I suggested it. Maybe we can go for a run together sometime?”

“We’ll see.” Changing the subject, she picked up the dessert menu and said, “I’m definitely in the mood for a piece of chocolate cake. Want to split one?”

“Absolutely.”

After they ordered it, guilt washed over Darci. She sat back in her chair and started fiddling with her napkin. “Is it terrible that I want a piece of chocolate cake so bad because we haven’t been able to have any in the house?” She looked up at Cam. “I mean, it’s not even like we used to eat sweets a lot. But now that I can’t have it, I want it even more.”

“It’s not terrible at all.” He reached out and took her hand, releasing it from the napkin. “It’s normal.”

“But I can have the cake and Taylor can’t. It makes me feel terrible.”

“You’re a fantastic mother,” he said. “Don’t let yourself feel bad. Not for a second. Ever since I’ve known you, you’ve done everything for that girl. You’ve devoted your entire life to making Taylor happy. And you’ve done a great job. But, you need to live too.”

His gaze held her, and Darci felt her pulse speed up. There was no way that Cam could understand how she was feeling, but it didn’t matter. Just the fact that he cared enough to be her friend through everything, was enough. Much more than enough.
 

“Darci,” he said, his voice low, “I think you know how long I’ve waited to do this again.” Cam sat up out of the chair and leaned across the table toward her.
 

Her head raced with a thousand reasons why she shouldn’t, but she ignored them all and met him half way. His lips were soft, the kiss gentle. He continued to hold her hand as they each sat back.
 

“That was-“

The ring of Cam’s cell phone interrupted her. He ignored it, but the moment was gone.
 

“Go ahead and answer it.”

“No,” he said, “it’s fine. If it’s important they’ll leave a message.”
 

Darci tried to ignore the ringing. “You’re not even going to see who it is?”
 

He laughed. “Does it bother you? Don’t tell me, you’re one of those people who just has to answer a ringing phone, aren’t you?”

“Guilty. Now, please, answer it.”

Still laughing, Cam pulled his cell out of his pocket. The smile fell from his face when he looked at the caller ID. “It’s Barb.”

Fear pricked at the back of Darci’s neck.
 

Taylor.

“Barb,” Cam said into the phone. “What’s up?”
 

Darci could tell he was trying to sound causal, but he wasn’t doing a very good job of it.
 

She waited while Cam nodded in response to whatever his sister said. He wouldn’t meet Darci’s eyes.

“What is it, Cam?”
 

“We’ll be right there,” he said into the phone. Pressing end, he put the phone in his pocket and threw some money on the table.
 

“It’s Taylor,” she said pushing her chair away from the table. “Isn’t it?”

She didn’t need him to answer. She knew.
 

***

When they got to the hospital, Barb jumped up from the chair where she was waiting for them in the lobby.
 

“She’s okay,” Barb said. “It was a scare for sure, and the girls were-“

“What happened?” Darci interrupted. “Where is she? Where’s Doctor Wilson?”

Cam put his hand on her shoulder, but she shrugged it off. “Barb? Where is she?”

“Emergency room,” Barb said. “She’s fine, Darci. Really.”

Darci didn’t hear what else Barb said. She was already running towards the ER.
 

“Mrs. Johnson?” Joelle appeared from around the corner, right as Darci pushed her way through the doors. “She’s in here.” She grabbed Darci’s arm and gave it a squeeze as she lead her toward a curtained cubicle. “She’s going to be fine, it was just a scare.”
 

Darci pushed through the curtain and Taylor’s eyes fluttered open. “Mom?”

“Hey kiddo.” Darci crossed the floor and took her daughter’s hand. It felt small and cool in hers. “What happened?”

“Taylor’s blood sugar got a little low,” Joelle said. Darci hadn’t realized the nurse was still there. She shuffled to the side as Joelle moved in to take Taylor’s vital signs. “It caused a seizure, but she’s going to be fine.”

“A seizure?” Darci looked from Joelle back to Taylor. “Oh my God. Are you okay?”

Tears leaked down Taylor’s cheeks. “I don’t even understand what happened. We were watching a movie, and all of a sudden I started feeling dizzy, even though I was sitting down. And then Abby asked me if I wanted some popcorn, and I totally yelled at her. Everything got blurry and… that’s all I remember.” Taylor sniffed and Darci handed her a tissue.
 

“It’s okay.”
 

“No, Mom. It’s not okay. When I woke up everyone was freaking out and Abby’s mom called the ambulance. I totally ruined Abby’s party. She’s never going to forgive me.”

Darci took Taylor’s hand and squeezed, forcing her daughter to look at her. “It’s not your fault. Abby’s your friend, she’s not going to be mad at you.”

“I feel so stupid.” Taylor yanked her hand away from Darci and rolled over to her side.
 

“Give her a minute,” Joelle said. She gestured for Darci to follow her out to the hallway.