Chapter 108

- CALDER -

That was too close.

My jaw hurts from clenching. My mind won't slow down. I've been pacing the same spot on the floor for so long that I'm surprised I haven't worn a hole into the boards.

It was only a false alarm, I remind myself. Lily is fine - for now - and the doctor said she was only having Braxton-Hicks contractions, probably made worse by stress. But even though she's now safe in our bed, I still can't seem to make myself calm down. When it comes time for the real thing... I don't even want to think about it.

"There's no need to be so worked up," Lily tells me. "Everything is fine. Come to bed."

"Everything is not all right," I say. "Your mother upset you so much that you - "

"It was my dad's fault, too," she says. "And it was a false alarm. I'm all right. No harm done."

"Maybe not this time, but I'm not willing to take that chance again." I resume my pacing. "That woman needs to go."

"I agree," she says. "And she's already looking for a place. But in the mean