AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The thought of a fifty-eight-year-old man requiring full-time nursing care ate at me, especially when I thought about all the times he was lucid. Himself. Until I thought about how upsetting it was when he wasn’t. Confused. Angry. Scared.
His sister loved him fiercely, but Aunt Tootie couldn’t do it on her own, and we weren’t equipped to help him. The thought of seeing him today, not knowing the kind of day he was having, stacked a slimy layer of unease on top of my already-churning stomach.
Let’s get this over with.
I glanced around the nearly empty parking lot. “Figured the King boys would be here.” My fingers clenched into a fist just speaking their name aloud.
“Aunt Tootie and Bug worked it out. Sullivans have the first hour, and then the Kings can pay their respects after.”
I nodded. The long-standing feud between the Sullivan family and the Kings was a thing of legends, going back longer than I could remember. Though Outtatowner was a coastal tourist town, those who were from there, us townies, knew the line was drawn. You were either with us or with them, no two ways about it.
The only two who’d managed to find some peace were Aunt Tootie and the Kings’ aunt Bug. Even though they didn’t like each other, they took it upon themselves to make sure we didn’t tear down the town around us when we got to arguing with each other. For the tourists’ sake, we kept outward appearances, but it wasn’t unheard of to have a throwdown at the pub on a Saturday night.
I reached out to Penny, and she tucked her little hand in mine. Together we walked with Lee toward the funeral home. The warm air inside whooshed out as I pulled the heavy door open. The familiar smell of roses and musk turned my stomach. I pushed down the flash of my mother’s smiling face as I walked through the door.
The foyer was nearly empty. Hushed voices floated through the air, and small handfuls of people huddled in groups.
“Why is no one here?” Penny whispered.
My heart sank. I remembered Bowlegs as a kind and soft-spoken man. A little odd, even for a townie. Neither a Sullivan nor a King, he was a staple in our community. Every day he’d walk the town in his Moon Boots, collecting cans or feeding the wildlife.
My eyes swept through the sparse crowd and recognized every single person in the room.
Except her.
I hastily signed the guest book as Penny asked Lee a thousand questions about Bowlegs, my eyes tracking the unknown brunette quietly weeping in the corner.
Outfitted in a formfitting black dress that swept just past her knees, an air of elegance swirled around her. The short sleeves fluttered around her slim biceps. The woman dabbed a tissue under her pert nose, and a soft sob escaped her again. I watched her take a shuddering breath before fresh tears leaked out from thick, dark lashes.
I leaned into Lee. “Who the hell is that?”
His gaze fell onto the stranger, and he shrugged. “No clue.”
“Daddy, I’m hungry.” Penny pulled at my hand, and I looked down at her. Her eyes sliced toward the open casket.
Lee leaned down to her. “Are you starving... todeath?” Mischief laced his tone as a cackle erupted from Penny. Heads turned in our direction.
I shot them each a warning glance as a hand clamped over her mouth, and Lee pulled his lips in to stifle his own laughter.
“I already paid my respects. I’ll find Pickle a snack. You go ahead.”
I looked at Penny to make sure she was okay with the plan, and when she laced her hand into Lee’s, I knew she was relieved to not be going with me toward the casket. I nodded, and Lee brought Penny down the hallway toward the small room that would undoubtedly be filled with coffee and pastries.
As I made my way toward the front of the room, I couldn’t help but watch the mysterious woman. I noticed others had started watching her too.
Deeply upset, the woman wept, silent sobs racking her body.
Did Bowlegs have a daughter?
Clearly a stunner like her wasn’t some unidentified widow. Sure there were rumors he was secretly wealthy, but Bowlegs was an elderly man, and this woman was a knockout. Surely she had her pick of any man.
With a sad shake of her head, the woman looked longingly at the casket a final time before turning. As she swept past me, our eyes locked.
My breath seized.
My heart hammered.
What the hell?
