Page 78

“Okay…”

“Someone’s singing opera in the ER,” she said.

I could hear the squeaky sound of shoes on a polished floor like she was walking me somewhere.

“Opera?”

“We’ve got a bachelorette party here. The bride has alcohol poisoning and her friends brought her in. The whole group is drunk. One of them is a soprano, and she’s singing in the room. It’s amazing. Ready?”

“Ready.”

She put me on speaker, and I heard a door open. The voice of an angel drifted through the phone. “Ave Maria.”

It was beautiful. Ethereal. It brought tears to my eyes, standing on this sidewalk. It felt like a gift, this unexpected beauty in the middle of a mundane morning.

Alexis tapped me into a different world. She was this incredible woman, working in a hospital two hours away, treating a patient whose friend was singing in Latin. Just in her normal routine, Alexis was living a life a thousand times more interesting and cultured than mine—and she wanted to include me in it.

This gesture made me grateful in a way I couldn’t explain. She was giving me more of herself, even if it was just a peek into a moment of her day.

When it ended, Alexis whispered into the phone, “Gotta go.” And she hung up.

I smiled, wiping at my eyes. I stood there, looking at my screen, with a grin on my face.

I wanted more.

I wanted to see her world with my own eyes, not just these glimpses behind the curtain. I wanted to be a part of it.

But it was by invite only. And I doubted she’d ever ask me.

I was getting ready to head back in when the phone rang again.

This time it was Amber. My good mood disintegrated. I let the phone ring three times before I reluctantly pressed it to my ear. “Yeah?”

“Hey. Um, so I didn’t get the direct deposit this week?”

I scrubbed a hand down my face. “It hasn’t even been seven days since I reopened the house. And I had to comp the stay for my guests last weekend.”

“Uh, okay, why?”

“Just some dumb stuff. The trees dropped some acorns on them and—”

“Okay, Daniel? I don’t care.” Her voice was edgy. “You said I’d be getting money every week.”

I blew out a calming breath. “The house is booked up through Sunday,” I said carefully. “I can send you the money on Monday.”

“How much?” she asked quickly.

I drew my brows down. “Is everything okay? You seem…tense.”

Actually, she seemed wired. She seemed high.

Amber being high wasn’t exactly a new development. She’d been doing better over the last few years though. But if she was getting back into drugs, I didn’t like that she was doing it when the money for the house was dangling in front of her like a blank check.

“I’m fine,” she said, a little too curtly. “I just need the money. If you can’t get me money every week, the deal’s off.”

I nodded. “Okay. Last weekend was a one-off. It won’t happen again.”

“And don’t be comping people. What’s wrong with you?” she snapped.