Treasure Uncovered (Bellingwood #3) by Diane Greenwood Muir Page B

ready for this next project. I'll use your office if that's alright. I talked to Doc Ogden. Jason will be here after school and Mark says he's getting pretty good with the evening chores. The two of us will manage just fine."
    "Oh, I forgot about Jason and Andrew! I don't mean for you to babysit those boys too. Sylvie will be here by six. Do you want me to call her? Oh, Henry, I'm sorry!"
    "No." he said calmly. "Please don't. I understand what your life is like here and you have to know by now that I want to be here for you when you need me. Jason will be great in the barn with me and Andrew will be great upstairs with your other animals. I won't be babysitting them, they'll be helping me, like they help you. Now, you go take care of your girls and call me when you know something."
    “I will. I can't believe this." She turned to go to her truck and Henry pulled her back into another hug.
    "Polly, call me even if you don't know something. Call if all you need is to talk to me. And if you don't have time to talk, text me. Please let me know when you get to the hospital, so I don't worry about you being on the road."
    "I promise to let you know as soon as I can," she replied. Polly gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and got into her truck to head for Lydia's house. When she arrived, she pulled up to the front door behind Aaron's SUV. She jumped out of the truck, walked up the steps to the porch, and was reaching for the doorbell when Aaron opened the door.
    "Come on in," he said. "She's in the kitchen."
    Polly followed him back to the kitchen and found Lydia sitting at the table playing with an empty mug, spinning it around on the table. Her eyes and nose were red from crying and the mug was stuffed with used tissues.
    "Did you reach Andy yet?" Polly asked.
    "I haven't tried again. I ran out of energy."
    "Do you know anything more about Beryl?"
    Lydia looked at Aaron, who said, "We don't know anything. She was unconscious when the EMTs got to her at her house. They're still en route to Methodist Hospital and I haven't heard from them."
    "What about Deena? And Miss Kitty?" Polly asked.
    Lydia said, "Deena took the cat to her house. She's shaken up, but her mother said she is perfectly fine. I can't believe she wasn't in the studio, too. Sometimes God takes care of the littlest things, doesn't he?"
    Polly nodded and asked, "What about the studio, then?"
    It was Aaron who answered. "There's water everywhere and the bathroom or storage room or whatever it was is completely destroyed."
    "Have you seen it?" Polly asked him.
    "No, I haven't been there yet. I'll go over after you two leave for Des Moines."
    "All of her work and her supplies!" Lydia cried out. "What will she do?"
    "That's the least of our worries right now," Polly said, then turned to Aaron, "Do you think we should head down to Des Moines?"
    "I think you need to be there. I know Lydia needs to be there and you appear to be the sanest one in the bunch today." He smiled at her. "How do you like finally being the one to take care of everyone else?"
    "It's a new experience," she said, smiling back at him.
    "But, are you okay to drive, Polly? I should stay in town."
    "Oh, sure. I'm fine," she said, "but, if I could get hold of Andy, I'd like to take her with us."
    Lydia held her phone out to Polly, "Try her again. It's not like her to miss phone calls and not return them right away."
    Polly waved her off, "I've got it. Just a second." She moved out into the living room and dialed Andy's phone number from her own phone.
    It rang twice and she heard the woman's voice, "Hello, Polly, how are you doing?"
    Polly took a breath and decided to blurt it all out in a hurry, "Andy, Beryl's studio exploded and they've taken her to Des Moines. Lydia and I were about to leave to head down and I wanted to see if you would like to go with us."
    She heard a sharp intake of breath and then nothing. "Andy, are you still there? I'm sorry to have shocked you like this."
    "Beryl? She's