Kayla exited the cab and hurried across the street to the capitol building. She only had five minutes to find the meeting room, and the last thing she needed this morning was to be late.
The day had not started well. After tossing, turning, and hoping that Steve would call her despite the late hour, Kayla had finally fallen asleep early in the morning. The loud ring from the wake-up call had startled her awake, but had not left her in a pleasant mood.
Checking the time, Kayla had contemplated calling the apartment again. But she knew that Steve had his interview later that morning and she did not want to wake him or Stephanie if he had gotten home late. So she did the next best thing and called her mother. Caroline would be up early getting ready for another day at the Fish Market.
Kayla had been right. Caroline had picked up immediately, and promptly said that she was in the middle of fixing breakfast for Stephanie. As Caroline told Kayla about Steve's midnight phone call and his lack of explanation for what had happened, it was clear that Caroline was not happy with her son-in-law. That makes two of us, Kayla had thought at the time.
After talking to Caroline, Kayla had called the apartment, but again only got the answering machine. She was so tired of hearing that outgoing message that she vowed to change it as soon as she got home. With little other choice, she decided to get ready for her day. She stepped into the shower and hoped the warm water would wash away her frustration and concern. It had not worked.
To top matters off, when she got out of the shower and returned to the main room, she found the message light on her phone blinking. She could not figure out how she missed hearing the phone ring until she remembered she had lowered the volume after receiving the wake-up call that morning.
Chastising herself for not turning the volume back up, Kayla had quickly retrieved the message. It was from Steve who, from the background noise, was at the Fish Market. The tone of Steve's voice indicated that Caroline had ordered him to call Kayla immediately.
The message had been short. Steve had sounded apologetic, but simply said that he was fine, that he was sorry he had not been able to call her the night before, and that he was sorry he had worried her. He wished her good luck at her meeting and her hearing, and promised to call her that evening.
Kayla had immediately called the Fish Market again, but Caroline said that Steve had just left to get ready for his job interview. He had given Caroline no information about what had kept him out all night, but Steve must have worked his charms on her. She no longer seemed quite so unhappy with him. That makes one of us, Kayla had thought.
Rather than calling the apartment immediately, Kayla had waited until after she had finished getting ready. Steve's interview was not for a couple of hours, so she figured he would be home for a little while. She was wrong. Once more, she got the answering machine, and she could not help but wonder if Steve had screened her call knowing she probably was not too happy with him.
All the phone calls had delayed Kayla at the hotel and left her in a foul mood. It got even worse when her cab got snarled in traffic. Her ten-minute trip to the state board offices took almost three-times that long.
The long cab ride had given Kayla plenty of time to stew about Steve. If she did not know him so well, she would have been tempted to think he had spent the night out with the boys or doing something less savory. But she trusted him. And basic logic told her that Steve would not have called Caroline so late - or initially told her he would be back in a few hours - if he was trying to avoid getting caught.
No, this was not a normal husband staying-out-all-night situation. This was Steve, which meant it was anything but normal. The more she thought, the more she suspected it had something to do with Lawrence Alamain. Steve had wanted to talk to Roman about Lawrence at the birthday party and, in the aftermath of the scene with Shane, she had never asked what Steve and Roman had talked about.
So what would be related to Alamain and have kept Steve out all night? There were several possibilities, none of which made Kayla feel any better. Anything related to Alamain was definitely dangerous and, knowing Steve, probably not exactly legal.
Sighing, Kayla gave a soft prayer of thanks that Steve was safe and that whatever had happened had not left him hurt . . . or worse. It was the "or worse" that had Kayla's heart pounding and her Irish temper raging at the same time.
The cab's arrival at the capitol had forced Kayla out of her thoughts. Now she was racing up the steps, hoping to find the designated meeting room in time. Luckily, the meeting room was in a nearby hallway. She entered the room with seconds to spare.
Inside were two people from the state nursing board staff who spent the next hour explaining the procedure for the hearing that afternoon. Kayla was lucky; there had been some changes to the agenda, so her hearing should begin around 2 p.m. Kayla would be allowed to make an opening statement. After that statement, the board would ask her any questions they had and then she would be allowed to make a closing statement. The staff members had emphasized that the board had the entire record from the hospital board hearing and would be well-versed in its contents.
Kayla tried to get the staff members to hint at what the board was thinking, but they had been exceedingly polite and completely non-committal. When Kayla's questions had all been answered, the staff members had wished her luck and exited the room.
As Kayla followed after them, she checked the time. It was still before noon, so she had plenty of time before the 2 p.m. hearing. She thought about going back to the hotel and trying to call Steve again. By the time she got back, he might be home from his interview.
But the more she thought about it, the more she decided it was better to wait. She wanted to focus on the hearing and she doubted a talk with Steve would help that focus right now. He was safe and sound; the rest could wait until that evening.
Exiting the capitol, she noticed a small café across the street. That was perfect. She would find a table and have a light lunch while preparing her opening and closing statements to the board. She would focus on the hearing and on making the best impression possible. Saving her career had to be her priority right now. Dealing with her wayward husband would just have to wait.