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“Knock, knock.”
They looked up to see Amber Greely with Brulee on a leash. The women ran over to the dog and made over her, getting a little weepy that she’d almost lost her mother.
“I feel the same way,” Amber said. “I was going to knock on Annie’s door, and then I saw you two in here. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Of course not,” Kelly said. “We’re holding down the fort so my dad can supervise the trailer move today. Everything is falling into place for the rescue. Justin called Gus and told him Maggie wants to keep moving forward. She’s not about to let a little boat accident ruin her plans.”
Amber’s phone beeped. “It’s Dave,” she said, smiling. She walked out onto the sidewalk to take the call, and they heard her concerned conversation and then a little laugh.
“Dave?” Kelly asked.
“You know,Dave Chastain?”
“Oh shit!” Kelly hissed. “Dave! And Amber! How the hell could I forget?”
“Here she comes.”
“Anyway, I just wanted to offer my help at the rescue. Dr. LeBlanc is helping Doc Chastain at the clinic this week while Justin stays in New Orleans with Maggie, so I’d just get in the way. I’ll be at LeBlanc’s, mucking out stalls and cleaning cages. And please take my cell number. I’m serious, I really want to help.”
“I didn’t know Ted was helping out at Chastain’s,” Kelly snapped, frowning. “I live with the guy. You’d think he would have told me.”
“Oh, no, no, no, no, it just came up. Everything has happened in the past hour.”
“Thank you, Amber. I was wondering what the hell was going on.”
“Everything that has happened in the last week is showing me that I’m not as rigid as I’ve thought myself to be,” Amber said. “We all just have to roll with the punches.”
“It’s the only way,” Annie said, watching Amber bend over to kiss Brulee on the head.
Was this the same Amber who, on horseback, spied on Justin and Maggie having sex on the dock the first night they were together? Or the Amber who broke into Bayou Cottage right after Maggie had moved in, ransacking the place, stealing Maggie’s electronics? She’d apologized, but it appeared she found another way to make amends. Emotions increasing, Annie knew it was just being pregnant and all the stress of the last twenty-four hours that made her want to kiss Amber. She held back from doing anything she might regret later.
It was time for Amber to get over to the LeBlanc Clinic, so she said goodbye and walked out the door with Brulee.
“Now there are some strange bedfellows,” Annie said, a little jealous. “I wonder how she came to have Brulee.”
“Maybe Justin asked Dave to get her,” Kelly said. “I wish I could call Maggie.”
“Me too, but I’m sure her phone got ruined. She always keeps it in her pocket, and they found her in the water.”
“Let’s go see her,” Kelly said. “I’m going to call my mother and tell her to get over here. She’s the only one who doesn’t lift a finger. Did you notice?”
Annie wasn’t going there, but she had noticed since she moved in above the hardware store that if you had anything to say to Steve’s mother, you’d better get her before noon.
Kelly made the call, and Beverly Casson promised she’d be right over. Then she called her father.
“Annie and I need to go to New Orleans and see Maggie,” she said. “I called Mom, and she’s on her way over.”
“I guess I’ll lose business today,” he replied, chuckling. “But that’s okay. You girls go. Give her my love.”
“Do you have Justin’s phone number? We should ask if we can bring anything,” Annie said.
“No, but just call the hospital. She’s in ICU. Ask the nurse to ask Justin to call.”
Annie did that, and Maggie didn’t want anything from the cottage, but she was glad they were coming, and if they wanted to bring a laptop, they could work on the rescue paperwork.
Gus had come that morning, too, bringing Maggie’s laptop. When the girls arrived, Justin would leave for a while to go home to shower. For the first day post-accident, everything was running smoothly. The key would be to get Maggie to hang in there while she recovered.
“I feel good,” she said. “I really want to go home.”
