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Maggie turned to her and said, “He seems completely taken with you, Kelly. I feel bad you need my reassurance about him. What makes you doubt him?”
“He has a rep,” she said, pulling out onto the road. “Like I said, I try to trust the man.”
“I know nothing about him except that he is a good veterinarian, according to Justin.”
“Yeah, well, it takes one to know one, I guess.”
They didn’t say much getting back to Cypress Cove. A sense of relief flooded over Maggie when they crossed the tracks into town. Home sweet home. Kelly pulled into the parking lot behind the community center. The AA meeting was over, and the cars were gone.
“Do you have time for a cup of coffee?” Kelly asked.
“I’d love to, but I need to run over to Spencer’s and pick up a few things. I brought the skiff in. Can I have a raincheck?”
“Yes, of course. I owe you, Maggie, thank you so much.”
Maggie quickly stepped away, avoiding any goodbye hugs. She felt guilty that she was resisting more with Kelly, but how much was expected? Right now wasn’t a great time to be jumping into any relationships. She felt like everyone had too much drama. Even the incident with Johanna made her weary. Was that going to cause an issue between Justin and Steve, who had been lifelong acquaintances?
The temptation was to confront Justin about it and offer her advice. They’d never had that kind of confrontation yet, where she thought he should respond differently than he was. Was it within her boundaries as his girlfriend? She’d feel it out. After leaving the rescue, she crossed the street to Spencer’s, and her phone beeped with a text from Annie.
You free? Call me, please.
She hit the call button. “Hey, how’s work?”
“I’m home,” she said. “I’m watching you.”
Annie and Steve lived in the apartment above Casson’s Hardware, and Maggie looked up to see Annie hiding behind a curtain.
“Are you okay?”
“No. Can you come up?”
“Of course. I just dogged Kelly though, so I’ll have to sneak.”
“Come around to the side entrance,” she said.
Looking over her shoulder, it didn’t appear Kelly was watching, so Maggie dove between the grocery and hardware stores and opened the private entrance door. Climbing the steps, she looked up to see Annie waiting at the top of the stairs.
“You’re never going to believe this.”
“What’s wrong?” Maggie asked, worried. “Is the baby okay?”
She smoothed her hands across her little belly. “She’s fine. I got fired.”
“What? How’s that possible?”
“The entire office was terminated. They claim the state budget didn’t allow for a social services office in our parish, so they are going to have social workers from Orleans parish cover all the cases here.”
“That’s ridiculous! This is one of the poorest parishes in Louisiana. What’s going to happen to all the cases?”
“I have no idea. All I know is that I have to find something else to do pronto so we can pay the COBRA, or I’m not going to have any health insurance when this baby comes along.”
“Annie, I’ll pay for your insurance. I was going to offer to pay anyway, but I was worried Steve would get his nose out of joint.”
Annie took hold of Maggie’s arm and pulled her into the apartment before she embraced her and began to cry. They didn’t say anything, but stayed in each other’s arms for a while. When she was finished for the time being, Annie let go and led the way into the kitchen for a paper towel to blow her nose.
“I can’t be proud right now,” she said. “I accept your offer.”
Maggie had a big bank account due to a cheatin’ husband paying up out of guilt. Asking him for a dime had never occurred to her, but when he gave it to her, she knew it would come in handy. And after Annie got pregnant, Maggie had told Justin in confidence that she would do what she could for her friend. Now that it was upon them, she’d make good on that promise and, doing so, felt at peace. It was what money was for. That and animals!
