Saving Grace (What Doesn’t Kill You, #1): A Katie Romantic Mystery
Page 43
Chapter Forty-one
I spent the night with Emily at the Peacock Flower, as did Oso, who we smuggled in after dark. He and Emily enjoyed the high life together while I zoned out to American Idol and my preferred Peacock Flower dinner of fruit and rum punch.
I poured myself another glass as I chewed a piece of pineapple. I wondered where Ava was. I knew her parents had sprung her, because Anita had called me. Ava had, too. They both left effusively grateful messages on my voicemail. My emotions had redlined, though, and I couldn’t even handle praise.
And they weren’t the only callers I screened. Bart’s calls went to voicemail, too, and I left his texts unanswered. I focused everything I had left in the tank on Emily, until I fell asleep with one inch of rum punch in my plastic cup and the TV and lights still on.
The next morning I rose early again, this time to take Emily to the airport. My body was awake but my mind was numb, my heart black. I would deliver an Academy Award performance of “fine,” though, or die trying. Oso sat tall between us on the drive.
Emily said, “I’m so glad I came. This has been the best vacation ever. And that includes my honeymoon trip to Banff and to see the Calgary Stampede Rodeo.”
My fingers were drumming the steering wheel of their own accord. I stopped them. “You’re kidding, right? This has been a nightmare.”
She laughed, the sound like breaking glass in my head. “Well, it has been for you and Ava. I feel bad about that, but I know Ava is in good hands. And it was exciting, and it was memorable. Really.”
“Do me a favor. When you talk to Collin, how about you use the word ‘peaceful’ instead of ‘memorable’?” An image of Collin kidnapping me and dragging me back to Dallas popped into my head.
“Yeah. I’d better give him the sanitized version.” She pulled out her ticket and passport, reading them for, by my count, the twentieth time.
I noticed I was fanning my knees together. I gripped my left thigh and ordered it to stop. Ten more minutes, and I wouldn’t have to fake it anymore.
She said, “I hate to bring up a bad subject, but I need to tell you something before I leave.”
Perfect. More bad news. “Go ahead.” Oso’s ears rose and he licked my right knee.
Emily caught her lip between her teeth, then released it. “Nick gave notice at the firm the Monday after you left. By email. From his vacation. It was kind of a big deal at the office, even though he wasn’t an attorney. His divorce went through, I hear. But nobody knows for sure why he left.”
Holy crap. She should have just handed me an IV drip of Bloody Marys with her news. My truck hit a sharp-edged speed bump too fast and too hard. In lieu of enforcing speeding laws, St. Marcos put speed bumps across all the roads, as if the potholes weren’t already enough of a danger to tires. How apropos of the day, of my life. Symbolic even. If I had bought all that karma and chi stuff they pedaled at the Peacock Flower Spa, I’d say mine were out of whack. If I bought into them, which I didn’t. The universe just hated me, that was all.
“Ah, so Heathcliff can wander the moors alone now.” It sounded flat even to me.
“I’m sorry, Katie.”
“I’ll be fine.” My phone rang. Caller ID said it was Rashidi. His helpfulness, already amazing, had multiplied by ten when I bailed Ava out. He had promised yesterday to pull together a slate of contractor candidates overnight. I didn’t want to talk to anyone, but I owed it to him to answer.
“Do you mind?” I asked Emily.
“Go ahead,” she said.
I put my headset on and pressed Accept. “This is Katie,” I said.
“I got some guys dem for you to meet, to pick your new contractor from,” he said. He sounded excited.
“Thanks, Rashidi. You pick one, please. I don’t need to meet them.” I didn’t care, and it didn’t matter. Who even knew if I’d have a house to finish? I’d bet one point two million on snake eyes at the Lucky Lady Bail Bondsman yesterday. If Ava crapped out on me, I’d bust.
“Are you sure?” he asked.
“Completely.”
“All right. Crazy Grove good to go then. We come to Annalise this afternoon, four o’clock or thereabouts.”
“That’s his name? Crazy Grove?”
“Nah, it William Wingrove. Grove—short for Wingrove. He go by either Crazy or Grove or both.”
Locals loved their nicknames. Even the billboards for senatorial candidates gave them: “Vote for Derek ‘Lefty’ Paul,” or “Now’s the time for Janeen ‘Babyface’ Richards.”
“Interesting name.” I put on my blinker to turn into the airport entrance.
“He gonna do you right, Katie. Everything gonna be fine.”
My throat constricted. “Thanks, Rashidi.” I reached for my phone to press the End key, but he kept talking.
“By the way, I with Ava. She got out just fine yesterday, stayed with her parents. She said she left you messages. I just wanted to make sure you knew she good and she grateful to you.”
“That’s wonderful. Thank you again.” I pressed End and ripped off my headset.
We pulled into the flat airport parking lot that was the size of an Albertson’s grocery store lot back in Dallas. I cracked the window and left my fuzzy friend and one of his rawhide bones in the truck with the windows halfway down. He’d spent a lot of time in this position yesterday and now today, but he had enjoyed his treats.
“Be a good boy. I’ll be right back,” I told him. He didn’t even look at me. All his attention was focused on the bone.
I walked Emily to the ticket counter. My eyes were burning. I needed to make this quick.
I threw my arms around her. “You are such a good friend, Emily. I love you. I’m going to miss you.”
“I love you, too,” she said. “You are going to be fine, Katie. I know you will.” She patted my back as she spoke.
I kept hearing that word “fine” thrown around, but I hadn’t seen it in action yet.
Emily promised to check on my brother and to give Rich a hug for me. And then she left for Dallas. And it was just like the game of pick-up sticks I’d played with my girlfriends as a kid—when a player removed the wrong stick, the whole pile crashed. Emily was the wrong stick.
I needed to find a soft place to land.
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