CHAPTER 31

 

When Kian got home, Cate was walking back and forth in front of the lounge windows holding Sierra who was still red-faced and grizzling. She’d changed her into a pair of loose pyjamas but she still felt warm and clammy.

“Is she OK?” Kian asked.

“I’m hoping it’s just a fever,” Cate shrugged. Every little cry was like a knife to her heart. It was horrible seeing her baby girl in such discomfort.

“What can I do?” Kian asked.

“Liv has organised a family dinner tonight at their house to welcome Ruby to Seattle. I can’t go with Sierra poorly like this but could you maybe take Lola and Mats?”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to stay home?” Kian said, looking at the ominous black clouds hovering above the Sound. “You’ll be on your own here. Nate’s got a training session tonight.”

“I’ll be OK,” Cate said. “The forecasters think we’re going to miss the worst of the bad weather.”

Kian raised an eyebrow, “they said that a year ago.” Sierra had been born in the midst of superstorm Sierra. Cate had gone into labour at Nate’s birthday party next door but she hadn’t been able to go to the hospital because the storm had brought down trees and power lines, blocking the roads. She’d been delivered right there in their lounge by Luke’s dad, who was an OB-GYN at Seattle Central.

“Give your Auntie Bee a big kiss from me, OK?” Cate made sure that Lola and Mateo were both bundled up against the freezing cold weather. She brushed her lips against Kian’s. “Drive safe, OK and will you apologise to Ruby and Liv again?”

“They’ll understand,” Kian said, shrugging on his thick coat. “I’ll text you when we get there.”

As the front door shut, Sierra let out another wail. “I know,” Cate tried, rubbing her back. She carried Sierra into the kitchen and got her water and a paracetamol. “I need you to drink this for me, sweetheart.”

After she’d given Sierra the paracetamol and persuaded her to drink some more water, Cate curled up on the sofa. It was really cold. Even though she had thick socks on, her toes felt like they were made of blocks of ice. She dug them in between the sofa cushions and picked up her phone. Kian hadn’t texted her yet to say that they’d got to Liv’s house safely. She looked at the clock; they should be there now. She decided that she’d give herself ten minutes and then she’d start worrying.

The house phone rang, which woke Sierra up again. “I’m sorry, sweetheart,” Cate cooed.

“Hello?” Cate asked cautiously.

“Good evening, Mrs Warner. It’s Jose at the guard station. We’ve got a Declan Yates here to see you.”

“Darn,” Cate slapped her hand to her forehead, with Sierra being poorly she’d completely forgotten that she’d promised to go back to the gym to catch up on rehearsals after Ruby had got settled over at Liv’s house.

“That’s OK, you can send him up.”

“Wow, it’s so cold in here,” Cate shivered. Her breath visibly floated through the air. She touched one of the radiators but it was stone-cold.

“Brilliant!” Her cell-phone beeped. It was Kian. He and the children had arrived at Liv’s. At least something tonight was OK.

There was a knock on the front door. Cate checked the security camera; it was Declan.

“I’m so sorry,” Cate said as she opened the front door. She was hit smack in the face with a gust of the coldest air she’d ever felt. Declan’s padded Parka was covered in snowflakes.

“It’s snowing?” She definitely shouldn’t have let Kian and the children go to her sister’s house tonight. “When did that start?”

“About twenty minutes ago,” Declan’s teeth chattered. “Can I come in?”

“Of course,” Cate stood back to let him in and then quickly shut the front door. “I’m so sorry.”

 “You don’t need to apologise,” Declan said, shrugging off his coat. “I just thought that rather than you trekking all the way to the gym, we could practice here and then you could still keep a check on Sierra. Wow, it’s almost as cold in here as it is outside.”

“I think the heating’s broken,” Cate said, snuggling Sierra closer to her chest. “I was just going to investigate.”

“I’ll do it,” Declan said, “you’ve got Sierra. Where’s your fuse box?”

When he came back, it wasn’t good news. “Have you got firewood?”

Cate nodded, “it’s over there. Kian brought some more in this morning. Why?”

The lights above their head flickered and went off. “The power’s down.”

Sierra started crying again. “It’s OK, baby girl,” Cate tried to soothe her. The darkness made everything seem scary. She found the torch they kept on top of the fridge and was then able to locate the candles and matches stored under the kitchen sink. When she walked back into the lounge, Declan was building a fire in the hearth.

Cate laid Sierra down on the sofa and surrounded her with cushions so she wouldn’t fall. She put the candles on the mantelpiece and lit them, giving the room a lovely, warm glow.

“How is she?” Declan asked, looking at Sierra who had fallen asleep again.

“She’s got a fever,” Cate said softly. The snow was still coming down thick and fast. Her phone beeped with another message from Kian. He and the children were going to stay at Liv’s tonight.

“I think you should do the same,” Cate said to Declan. “They’ve closed the nearby roads.”

She scavenged all of the pillows and blankets that she could find from the rest of the house. “Are your clothes wet?” Cate asked Declan. “You can borrow some of Kian’s? He won’t mind.”

“I’m OK,” Declan said, sitting on the rug near the floor with his back against the sofa. Cate wrapped herself up in several blankets and settled Sierra in her lap. She didn’t want to go too close to the fire in case it made Sierra’s fever worse.

There was a knock at the back door. Cate didn’t want to wake up Sierra so Declan answered it.

“Have you still got power?” Layla asked, her teeth chattering loudly. “You definitely don’t get cold like this in California.”

“We haven’t got power,” Cate said, “but we’ve got a lovely warm fire. Why don’t you stay here tonight?”

After Layla had texted Luke’s parents to let them know where they were – Allison and Eric were both stuck at the hospital – Layla and Luke wrapped themselves up in warm blankets and sat close to the fire.

“Where’s Lola?” Luke asked.

“She’s staying at her Auntie Liv’s house tonight,” Cate explained. She took Sierra’s temperature again, “I think it’s going down a little.”

After Sierra and Luke had both gone to sleep, Cate apologised to Declan again. “I’m so sorry I missed rehearsals this afternoon/evening. It’s going to be really tough learning two new dances.”

“We could always get some practice in now?” Declan suggested.

“It’s freezing cold and it’s the middle of the night.”

“What else are you going to do?” Declan asked. “It’s not like any of us adults can sleep.”

“I’ll look after Sierra,” Layla volunteered. “I’m bored of just watching the flames.”

“OK,” Cate stood up, “but if you make me take off this warm blanket, I might just have to kill you.”

“How about…” Declan thought about it for a moment. He tugged the blanket from around Cate’s shoulders and instead wrapped it around her waist. “You pretend it’s your Paso skirt?”

The two dances they had this week were the Paso Doble and then a group Swingathon.

“Wow,” Luke woke up as they practiced their Paso Doble routine. “That looks so cool. Will you teach me how to do that cape thing?”

“Sure,” Declan grinned. As he showed Luke how to work the cape, he suggested, “maybe you and Lola could go to dance classes together? It’s a lot of fun.”

“Lola?” Luke blinked a couple of times.

“Sure, why not?”

“Lola’s not a proper girl. She plays soccer with the boys.”

“Luke!” Layla admonished. “Just because Lola plays soccer with the boys does not mean that she’s not a proper girl. Your mom is one of the country’s best cardio-thoracic surgeons and most of the other top surgeons are men but that doesn’t mean that she’s not a woman.”

“Mom isn’t one of the best, she’s the best and Dad says it’s because she’s a cold-hearted bitch.”

“Luke,” Layla quickly handed Sierra back to Cate and led Luke through to the kitchen so that they could have some privacy. When they came back, Luke looked a little shame-faced. “I’m sorry I said a naughty word,” he apologised to Declan and Cate.

After Luke had gone back to sleep, Cate couldn’t stop thinking about what he’d said about Lola. “I grew up with a single mum who was definitely a loud and proud feminist and I never once thought that I couldn’t do something just because I was a girl. I guess I thought that was the norm. I know that Luke’s just a child but what he said just now really scares me. I don’t want any limitations put on my children. Why can’t Lola be a girl and play soccer?”

“Unfortunately, we don’t live in a perfect world,” Declan said. “People are always going to have their own opinions and prejudices. Do you know how many people automatically assume that just because I’m a professional dancer and I perform in fake tan and sparkles that I must be gay?”

“Stay away from my dad then,” Layla snorted. “As soon as he found out that my brother, Nate was gay, he kicked him out of the house. I haven’t spoken to him since.”

Cate looked down at Sierra, who was sleeping on her lap. “I just want my children to be happy and healthy, that’s all.”