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“I blurted it out, then ran away.” My chin hit my chest in shame. “I’ve also been ignoring him for the past three days.”
“Oh, dear. You like him.” It wasn’t a question.
“It’s complicated.”
I told her a little about Alec, his relationship to my best friends, and the recent events in their lives. It felt good to talk to her like we used to, before our lives were turned upside down by Alzheimer’s. Growing up, she’d always been my closest confidant, the one person—besides Dad—who I could tell anything to without fear of judgment. They’d never once treated me like I was anything other than their flesh and blood. They loved me unconditionally.
“It sounds like you’ve got an amazing group of friends.”
“They’re the best.” Looking down at my watch, I jumped out of the chair. “I’ve gotta go or I’m going to be late.”
Grabbing my jacket off the coat-tree by the door, I was reaching for the knob when she spoke.
“We’ll talk more when you get home, but I’m going to search online today to see if I can find a job I can do from home.”
“What? Why?” I whipped around.
“You can’t keep working three jobs while you’re pregnant, sweetheart.”
“We won’t be able to pay—”
“That is not your problem,” she seethed. “It never was and it was selfish of me to lay that burden on your shoulders.”
“Mom,” I sighed.
“No, Quin. Enough is enough. I’ll call Chief Matthews if I have to, but one way or another, this is going to end.”
Nodding my head, I decided to let it go for now. There was no use arguing with her, not when she was amped up. I’d revisit the discussion in a few days when she’d had a chance to calm down a few notches.
I left the house without another word and made the short trek into town, parking in the side lot next to the hardware store. The walk from there to River’s store was less than five minutes, but since I did both jobs every day except Wednesday, it was easier to leave my car closer to where I’d finish.
River was behind the counter when I strolled in, filling the reservoir on one of the two hot water machines we used to make tea.
“Hey,” she greeted me with a grin.
“Hey,” I returned. “Have you talked to Ems today?”
Emory had been released from the hospital, but after the scene in the parking lot, I’d avoided going to her apartment. I was the worst friend ever.
“She and Luc have been holed up in her place. Other than the text she sent us yesterday letting us know they’re still alive, I haven’t heard a word.”
Thank God.
“Do you think he’s ever going to let her leave his sights again?” I teased, taking off my coat and replacing it with the cute apron River insisted we wear.
“Maybe in a month or two,” she chuckled. “But you know how those del Toros are when they want something.”
Boy, do I ever.
“Yup.”
Nausea churned in my belly once again and not because of the obvious reasons. I hated lying. Abhorred it, really. Yet, here I was, lying by omission to someone who’d laid out their sordid past to me in great detail without breaking a sweat. I wanted so badly to lay all my truths at her feet and beg for forgiveness, but before then, I had to talk to Alec.
_______________
To A Tea had been a steady kind of busy most of the morning and afternoon, helping to keep my mind off my troubles. The same could not be said for the few hours I spent stocking shelves at the hardware store. It was a tedious job on the best of days, but today it lacked even a minuscule amount of luster.
After placing a new shipment of air filters on the top shelf, I was making my way down the rungs of the ladder when my world began to spin out of control. Closing my eyes against the sudden onslaught of dizziness, I took several breaths in through my nose and out my mouth, my hands fisted around the sides of the ladder like it was my lifeline. Thankfully, I wasn’t too far from the ground that a fall would cause a lot of damage, still, I didn’t want to test my theory.
