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Tears brightened Devon’s eyes and she blinked rapidly. Rayna Jo’s heart pinched at the sight, and she stretched out her hands. The moment Devon’s palms slid into hers, she tsked. “Honey, what’s wrong? Did you and Oscar have another fight? Is he still angry with you because you took the internship in New York? You’ve been crying. I can tell.”
“I-I’m… tired, Mama. That’s all.”
“I think it’s more than that,” Rayna Jo chided softly. “Just know that boy loves you, Devon. Even if you have to postpone the wedding for a bit, it’ll all work out.”
“Mama, I… Let me get the tea and we’ll talk. Okay? Don’t move. Don’t go outside. You stay right here and relax.”
“I am tired,” she said, leaning back in the chair. “I never do sleep well when your father’s away on business. I can’t wait for him to come home. I feel so safe when he’s here in the house with me.”
Devon left her mother in the second-floor bedroom and raced down the stairs, wishing she’d carried her cell with her so that she could’ve just texted Dara instead of having to go find her.
Dara sat in the living room, staring at her laptop screen, and as Devon walked into the room, she spotted Tessa and Mary Elizabeth coming up the walk toward the front door, casserole dishes in hand.
“Call Logan,” Devon said. “Something’s wrong with Mama.”
“What’s going on?” Dara asked, her frown deepening as she looked up from the computer where she worked.
“She’s acting strange, talking weird. She thinks Dad is away on business, and Oz and I are still together.”
“Come again?”
“Call Logan,” Devon repeated, “and tell him to get over here. Zoey, too, if she’s able,” she said, referring to Tessa’s daughter who was a psychiatrist. “I’ll let the Babes in. Oh, and I told Mama we’d bring her tea.”
“On it,” Dara said, setting the laptop aside and pulling out her cell while she stood to head toward the kitchen.
Devon hurried to the front door to unlock it since no one had been in or out yet today. Well, other than her mother’s trip to the balcony.
She swung the door wide just as the Babes made it to the top of the porch steps. “Hi.”
“How is she doing?” Mary Elizabeth asked without pause.
Devon invited them in, and the Babes seemed to understand how overwhelmed she felt. They rushed inside and hugged Devon tight, and once again, she fought off tears, explaining the morning so far.
“Oh, my,” Mary Elizabeth said. “Do you think she’s had a stroke from the stress? Some sort of nervous breakdown?”
Devon shook her head. “I don’t know. Logan said she was in shock last night. I asked Dara to text Zoey.”
“Zoey is away at a conference,” Tessa said. “She should be back in time for the funeral, but she always says it’s best if the person has no previous relationship to the therapist. Because they’re more likely to open up.”
“Logan’s on the way,” Dara said, joining them. “Tea’s almost ready. Zoey sends her best but—”
“Yeah, a conference,” Devon said.
“Give me those—and thank you,” Dara added, taking the casseroles. “I’ll put them away while you guys go on up.”
Devon led the way with two of the Babes following, every creak of the floorboards as familiar as breathing because she’d lived most of her life in this house. Her mother and father had moved them in with Grandma when she couldn’t take care of herself any longer, and Devon didn’t remember a time when at least a few of the cousins or their island friends weren’t bursting in and out of the front door.
Devon paused outside the bedroom and took a breath before going inside. Her mother had stayed put and seemed to be dozing. Maybe it was a side effect of the medication Logan had given her? “Mama?” she asked softly.
Rayna Jo opened her eyes and smiled before she turned her head, then lifted it from the back of the chair.
“Oh! I didn’t hear the doorbell. Did we make plans, girls? I’m afraid I’m not feeling up to it today. You’ll have to go without me.”
Devon watched as Tessa and Mary Elizabeth exchanged a glance before moving toward their friend.
“No, no. We thought since your girls were in town, we’d come visit,” Mary Elizabeth said. “Cheryl and Adaline will be here soon.”
“Oh. Well, I should get dressed,” Rayna Jo said.
