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“I just let the lie go on for too long. I didn’t know how to say it, and I didn’t know how you’d feel about Louisa. She meant so much to you.”
“Yes. Well, if you’re asking if I’d like it if Miss Tolliver was my second mom, I’d say it’s a dream come true!”
“Oh, my word, Merry. We’ve only been dating a few months!”
“Do I get to call her Mom, too? Or Mama? Or something like that?”
Her mom’s laughter was filled with relief and tears.
“Is she as pretty as I remember?”
“Even prettier,” her mom whispered.
“Oh, Mom. Look at you with a hot younger girlfriend.”
“Merry!” She laughed again, but then she said softly, “I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. Just don’t do this again, okay? You were pushing me away, Mom. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know why.”
“I’m so sorry, baby. I should’ve told you. I just… God, it feels good to have it out. I’ve felt sick for months. The longer I kept it to myself, the harder it seemed to tell you. I’ve always taught you to be brave, and I couldn’t tell you my biggest truth. What kind of woman am I?”
“The screwed up kind, just like the rest of us.”
Her mom laughed and Merry smiled into the phone. “And the best kind. The very best. I love you, Mom. Just keep me in the loop on your super-hot dates from now on, okay?”
“I will. I promise I will. No more lying. I love you too much for that.”
“And maybe you could bring her with you when you come visit. I’d like that.”
“Oh, it’s too soon for that, but… Hell, if it works out then maybe I’d like that, too, baby.”
By the time she got off the call, Merry was limp with weariness. The day had been more than an emotional roller coaster. It had been a giant pinball machine, and she almost ignored the message icon that popped back up with new insistence. Whatever the urgent news was, she couldn’t deal with it. She couldn’t.
But she hit the play button anyway, and as soon as the words unfolded in her ear, she realized her insane day had only been a prelude to this moment. “Oh, my God,” she whispered. Then she let out a scream that shook her own eardrums. “Oh, my God, Grace!”
Grace stopped dead on the road and turned to her with terrified eyes.
“I can’t believe it,” Merry said. “He did it.”
“Did what? Who?”
But Merry was sobbing too hard to say another word.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
MERRY PACED ACROSS their apartment for the fiftieth time. “I don’t understand. It’s almost eleven o’clock. Why can’t anyone find him?”
“Listen, Cole just got back in cell range. He’ll find Shane, all right? Just stop pacing! You’re making me dizzy.”
“I have to pace or I can’t think. Why would he do that, Grace?”
Grace looked troubled. More than that, she looked confused. “I don’t know.”
“I just need to talk to him. Ask him. If he—”
Her phone cut her off and Merry answered it before the first ring had even finished. “Yes?”
“Merry!” Levi Cannon’s voice boomed. “How’s the savior of Providence doing?”
