Steve carried his duffle bag into the living room and set it down by the door. He checked his watch and then called out to Kayla.
"Sweetness? You better get a move on, baby. We gotta get Stephanie to your folks and then to the airport pretty soon."
"I'm almost ready," Steve heard her call from the bedroom. "Just a few more minutes."
Steve sighed and sat down on the couch. As he waited, he went over the details of the trip one more time, wanting to make sure he had covered all of the bases.
He knew that it was highly likely that the ISA was keeping an eye one him and would be immediately suspicious if he traveled pretty much anywhere in the direction of the southeast United States.
So he had come up with a plan that, with a little luck, would leave the ISA clueless. He and Kayla would fly to Charleston, South Carolina. As far as anyone knew, they were taking a long romantic weekend in the city where they had spent their first anniversary.
Steve had booked three nights at the same hotel where he and Kayla had stayed on their previous trip. Once they landed in Charleston, they would rent a car and check into the hotel. They would spend the night in Charleston and then make the five- or six-hour drive to the Deakins' wilderness retreat in Georgia the following day.
They would then spend two nights at the wilderness camp. Once Steve had talked to Deakins, he and Kayla would drive back to Charleston, check out of the hotel, return the rental car and fly back to Salem.
If the ISA was keeping an eye on Steve, hopefully, all they would see is that he and his wife were having a romantic getaway. The car rental and the reservations at the wilderness retreat were under a different name, and were made on a credit card also issued under that assumed name.
Steve knew that it was possible the ISA might figure out that he and Kayla were not actually in Charleston, but, by then, he and Kayla would be in Georgia and the ISA would be none the wiser. If anything, the ISA would expect him to go to Kentucky and would be looking for him there.
The only person who knew where he and Kayla were really going was Shane. Steve chuckled slightly at the irony of that, given how unhappy Shane was about Steve's trip. But Steve trusted Shane to make sure that the ISA paid a price if Steve and Kayla suddenly disappeared.
For a moment, Steve contemplated trying to get Kayla to agree to stay behind again. While he truly believed there was a minimal risk to his plan, there was risk nonetheless. It had been one thing for both of them to face risks together when it had just been the two of them, but now they had Stephanie. She needed at least one of her parents to be there for her.
But Steve also knew how Kayla felt about being left behind. More than that, he knew that life itself was a risk. There were no guarantees about anything in their lives, and he could not ask Kayla to stay behind because of those risks any more than he could agree to drop his attempts to clear Shane's name.
Steve's thoughts were interrupted as Kayla walked into the room, carrying Stephanie's diaper bag and her own suitcase, as Stephanie toddled behind her. Steve jumped up and rushed to take the suitcase from Kayla.
"You should have called me, baby. I'd have helped you haul this stuff out."
"It's okay," she said as she set the diaper bag by the door. "I can handle it."
Before Steve could respond, he heard a crash behind him. He quickly turned around and saw that Stephanie had pulled one of the toys off of the end table. She was sitting down, clearly startled by the noise and looking like she was about to cry.
Moving quickly, Steve picked Stephanie up. He quickly soothed her cries. "Looks like our baby girl is getting adventurous," he said, turning to Kayla.
She was standing by the door, unmoving. Her eyes had a glassy look and her breath was coming in shallow gasps.
"Sweetness," he called gently. "Are you okay?"
Kayla did not respond at first. Steve walked closer. "Look at me, baby," he said, more forcefully this time.
After a few interminable seconds, Kayla finally blinked and looked at him. Then her cheeks flushed, she stepped away, and picked up the fallen toy.
"I shouldn't have left this on the table like that." Steve could hear the tremor in Kayla's voice and did not miss the way she was avoiding looking at him.
"Forget about the toy, Kayla." Steve put Stephanie in her playpen and stepped towards Kayla. "What's going on with you?"
"Nothing." Kayla finally looked in Steve's eyes. "I was just surprised by the noise."
Steve sighed, remembering what Shane had said about Kayla's reaction to the dropped tray at the hospital. Once again, Steve silently cursed Cal Winters for what he had done to his wife.
Reaching out he took Kayla's hand. "Baby, I know you, and that reaction was more than just surprise." Before Kayla could object, he continued. "Don't deny it. You were somewhere else for a minute there and I know it's not the first time it's happened."
"What are you talking about?"
"I talked to Shane the other day. He told me what happened when that nurse dropped the tray. What he described was exactly what I just saw."
"I think you both have overactive imaginations," Kayla said dismissively. She moved to the couch, sat down, and pretended to look through her purse.
"What just happened wasn't my imagination, Kayla." Steve sat down next to her. "Talk to me, baby. I just want to help you."
Kayla kept her eyes focused on her purse and did not respond. Steve reached out and turned Kayla's face until she had no choice but to look at him.
"Please," he said softly.
Kayla took a deep breath and nodded. But before she spoke, her eyes widened and she jumped up. "Look at the time, Steve. We have to go or we're going to miss our flight."
Steve looked at his watched and cursed silently. Kayla was right. If they did not leave right now, they were never going to make their flight.
"All right, baby." He stood up and gathered their bags, while Kayla hurriedly got Stephanie into her coat.
As they walked out the door, Steve paused and looked at Kayla. "We are going to talk about this, Sweetness."
"I know," Kayla said simply. She kissed his cheek and then brushed by him out the door.
Steve took one last look around the apartment and then closed the door. Now he had two missions to accomplish on this trip - find a way to clear Shane's name and help his wife.