The Professor's Defender

Chapter 6

Declan kept telling himself it didn't matter if Chantale had changed her mind. Just because she had been gone for more than four hours, didn't mean she had actually changed her mind. Except she seemed like a considerate woman. If she wasn't coming back, then surely she would call. But how long might it take to pack? Surely she wasn't bringing her whole wardrobe-

Then he saw the lights in the driveway.

Two, no, wait, three cars.

He made his way to the front door and opened it. He would have slammed it shut had it not been for the wan face of his lawyer. Every instinct had him wanting to reach out to her, but the three cops surrounding her precluded any such action. Out of frustration, he turned to Seth. "I thought you said they wouldn't be involved. I specifically remember telling you to keep them away from me and my property."

"Look, Byrne, none of us is happy about this, but something has happened and we need to talk to you about it." Seth's face was in a grim line. "If you force us to, we can have the conversation on your front porch. Better yet, Chantale and I will leave you with these two."

Declan had only to look at Seth to see the veracity of his statement. He held open the door and waited until one guest and three unwanted interlopers entered his sanctuary.

The three cops were heading into the living room, but Chantale bent over to try to take her boots off, then she staggered. Declan was there to steady her, but was nearly attacked for his trouble.

"Keep your hands off of her." It was a snarl from Colton and Declan damn nearly snarled back and would have, if not for the woman he was holding on to.

"She needs to go to the hospital," Seth spat out.

"She needs food," Dorrie said, turning to Declan. "Do you have something we can feed her?"

Feeling like he was late to this particular party, Declan indicated the kitchen. "I made a pot of chilli. I can get her a bowl right away." He started to guide Chantale to the kitchen when she batted his hands away.

"I need to take off my muddy boots."

Regret for his earlier rude behaviour came quick and sharp. "It's not a big deal, Chantale. I can clean up a bit of mud." What he didn't point out was that none of the police officers had offered to take off their shoes.

He must have said the right words because she allowed him to guide her to the kitchen. She sat heavily at the table and Declan went for the stove while Dorrie went for the fridge.

"Is it okay if I give her a glass of orange juice," Corporal Duhamel asked. Dorrie was her name, Declan remembered.

"Of course," Declan assured her. "Feel free to have one yourself, if that would make you happy."

"There's no reason to be snippy, Byrne," Seth said. "Chantale needs the sugar." He looked over at his sister-in-law. "She neglected to tell any of us that she's hypoglycaemic."

Concern lanced through him. "Does she need to go to a hospital?"

The two women answered 'no' and then two men answered 'yes'.

Not a whole lot of help, Declan thought. Blocking out everyone else, he looked directly at Chantale. She met his gaze, held it, and then gave a quick shake of her head. Good enough for him, he thought. He then went back to scooping out the chilli.