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I have to just accept that I’m not going to win this battle.I don’t like it, but just like with any of my patients, I need to respect her personal choices.
I finish up the computer fixes, and then Grammy heads out to open up the bakery for the day, but not before I squeeze her into a bear hug.
By the time we’re done, there’s not much work left in the kitchen. I tell the guys that I’ll see them again at family dinner, and then I drive across town to my house.
I pull up to the curb of a building I barely recognize. I almost have to double-check the address and make sure I’m on the right street. Shaking my head, I hop out of my car and trudge up the walkway.
Excessive quantities of pink and red flowers spill from the banister and bloom in the front yard. The curtains are pink now, too. And there’s an electric pink welcome mat on the front porch. My sisters really outdid themselves here.
I give a courtesy knock and only make it two steps inside before I halt.
What the f—?
In the short time I’ve been away, the girls have successfully turned my bachelor pad into a goddamn sorority house. There’s pink everywhere. In every shade imaginable. The nail polish fumes are so strong, I’m instantly getting dizzy. Someone’s vacuuming. There’s cleaning supplies littering every flat surface. Lana Del Ray is blasting from the kitchen.And all four of my sisters are singing at the tops of their lungs.
Ruby catches sight of me and squeals. “Mason!!”
They all rush at me. Four screaming blurs of pink crash into me, damn near knocking the wind out of my lungs.
“Damn! What a greeting!” I laugh, trying to keep my balance.
The girls are talking a mile a minute as they drag me into the kitchen.
“Okay, so update about Kevin, the tongue ring guy from the gas station!”
“Did I tell you I ran into Zara at the gym? Oh, she’s not happy with you!”
“Don’t eat that pasta! I was about to toss it. It’s like two weeks old!”
Before I know it, I’m shoved into a kitchen chair and a plate of hot food is thrust in front of me and the girls are recounting every little thing I’ve missed over the past weeks.
The house feels familiar and foreign, both at once. I feel a sense of comfort while there’s this distant unease lingering at the back of my mind. It’s the weirdest thing.
Seriously, though—why does it feel like something’smissing?
Yes. It’s so damn good to be back.
Except I’m not so sure this place feels like home anymore. Maybe it’s because of all the pink?
Or maybe it’s something…else.
23
KARLI
My eyes skim the blur of words on the page, but my brain doesn’t register a damn thing. So I have to start over, slowly reading the sentence word for word all over again.
Ugh!
I’m too distracted. I feel antsy. My mind is a hundred miles away. I’ve been trying and trying to concentrate and it’s just not happening.
“Grr!” I give up.
Flinging my medical journal onto the cushion beside me, I get up off the couch and stalk across the room to peek through the front curtains again.
There’s nothing beyond the window but the darkness of the rainy night sky. Just like when I checked two minutes ago.
I drop down on the window seat, pick up the journal and try to give reading another shot. “Hmm…That’s interesting,” I mumble to myself and flip the page, trying to convince myself that I’m concentrating.
