“Be specific.”
“Number-three handle,” I say.
He flips to the next. “This one?”
“Kelly clamp.”
He shakes his head. “Crile. Kelly’s bigger.”
Right. I knew that. Focus, Tabitha.
We move through twenty in five minutes. Sweat prickles under my shirt. On the last card, my phone buzzes again. I pick it up and glance down.
It’s a reply from Marjorie.
He says to tell you Zach sends his love.
A moment later…
And thank you.
I laugh, an ugly sound that’s half a sob. Zach. His dog. The hero who ran to the ranch when the beam fell and saved Henry’s life. That gorgeous dog who lay on the barn floor while Henry and I?—
“Everything okay?” Eli asks.
“Mrs. Simpson says he’s smiling.”
Eli watches me for a beat. “And you’re staying.”
I hesitate. Then, “I’m staying.”
He nods like he understands all the math I’m not explaining. “Okay. Then we make sure we both know all this shit inside out and make those third- and fourth-years look like morons. Got it?”
I smile weakly and nod.
Ten
Henry
One more day down, and morning comes again.
My head aches in a pulsing but manageable way. Every once in a while, my scalp tightens where the stitches are. In those moments, I imagine I can feel the exact outline of where the surgeon opened me.
Mom slips in with a paper cup and a smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “Good morning, sweetheart,” she says. “Ice?”
I nod.
She tips a chip into my mouth, and for a second, I’m five years old again, burning up with a fever while she whispers stories about outlaw cowboys who rode into storms and back out again. I swallow carefully. It hurts less than yesterday.
She settles in the chair by my bed. Last I heard, she’d left a voicemail for Tabitha. I don’t know if Tabitha ever called her back.
I watch her for a moment and then force out, “Any word from Tabitha?”
She doesn’t look surprised by the question. “I spoke to her,” she says gently. “Yesterday. Twice.”
The ache behind my eyes tightens. I picture Tabitha’s honey hair and piercing amber eyes. I called her amber the last time we were together.
Does she think about that time?
