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“The florist is busy today,” I say.
“Ah, this one’s from somewhere different.”
I see the card and open it.
Thinking of you and sending our sympathies. Can’t wait to hug you when you both get home! xoxo, Ainsley, Tansy, Faye, Aly, Caro, and Lule
“Those girls are the best,” Bee says, a little wistful.
“Can you tell me,” I say, catching the hotel manager before she slips out. “The ones that came earlier. Do you know who sent them?”
“I don’t know. They’re really nice. Usually they put cards with all the arrangements. You could check?”
“Oh, okay,” I say.
“Although,” she says with a shrug. “The delivery guy just moaned about how it was a really big order.”
I pull my phone out of my purse and mumble a quick, “Excuse me.”
Bee gives me a small smile as I cross the room and step outside onto the small cracked concrete patio. My heart flutters, realizing I’m going to call him. There’s only one reason he would send all these flowers, and it has nothing to do with the dead man being honored today.
I dial his number. It doesn’t even ring. Instead, it’s a message saying the number is out of service. Frowning, I open my voice mails and try calling that number instead. It rings once… and goes straight to voice mail.
It’s a generic voice mail message. The message beeps, and I stand there, mouth open, but nothing comes out. I can’t find the words. Can’t make the right sounds. I hang up. I stay right there on the crappy concrete patio outside the Pahrump Budget Motel, in the late fall desert sun, for far too long.
My back is aching, my legs exhausted, but all I can think about is how empty my heart feels. The hollow, dull ache is almost too much to bear.
CHAPTER44
MEGAN
“Glad to seeeveryone brought their appetites,” Bee mumbles as she leans against the wall next to me. The room is full of people in various states of inebriation, all of them eating as if the food is running out. Which, it is.
“Where’s the ham?” A gentleman wearing a bolo tie and a face tattoo of a cartoon woodpecker frowns at us.
“It’s all gone,” I say. “But there’s still roast beef.”
“I wanted ham.” He stands there as if just saying it again will make the ham appear out of nowhere. Bee presses her full lips together into a tight line and pulls out her phone as if to avoid the situation. I let out a sharp breath.
“I’m sorry. We didn’t anticipate needing so much ham.”
“You should’ve.” He grabs a fistful of roast beef and shoves it into his pocket, wiping his hand on his jeans as he walks away.
“What just happened?” I ask as the baby delivers a swift kick to my sciatic nerve. I flinch and rub at the pain that radiates from my butt down the back of my leg.
“You should sit down,” Bee says, putting her hands on my shoulders as if she’s going to direct me to an open chair. But they’re all full.
“It’s fine,” I say, waving her off and leaning back against the wall. “Honestly, it’s worse when I sit.” My back is achy, my ankles are swollen, and my belly keeps tightening with Braxton-Hicks contractions.
“You need to drink more,” she says, grabbing a bottle of water and unscrewing the top.
I nod my thanks and take a long drink. “Where’s Midge?” I ask, realizing I’ve lost track of her.
She disappeared somewhere into the crowd, blending in as if she belongs with this rabble of misfits. I sort of think it’s her special talent: blending in with whoever she is with at any given moment.
“Last I saw her she was talking to Daryll and Cheryl.”
I frown, not realizing the busybodies of Holiday Homes Trailer Park had arrived.
