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“Nothing.” I rub the back of my neck. “June. Um…” Why is this so hard to say? “I want to apologize. To you.”
Her eyebrows lift so high I think they might disappear into her hair. She says nothing, though, only puts down the shirt she’s folding and sits on her bed, watching me.
I guess I’m not getting any help from her. Not that I deserve it, but June’s never struck me as the sort to sit quietly. I go on. “I screwed up. Today, when I took your car without asking and, well, since I’ve met you, actually.”
“Huh,” she offers.
That’s not a real response. Her expression remains blank. I continue. “I would like what you offered last night.”
“What did I offer last night?” I swear the side of her mouth twitches.
“You wanted to be friends,” I grit out. “Would you still like to be friends?”
“With you?” She taps her pursed lips with her finger. “Let me think about it.” She pauses. “Are you going to steal my car again?”
“No one wants to steal your car, Freckles.”
She hums as if considering. “Do I still get to be cheerful? Oh, and I talk a lot. That’s a nonnegotiable.” She widens her eyes in mock innocence. “Talking’s my favorite.”
I throw up my hands. “I’m going to get Tabby through her shower.”
She dissolves into laughter, and the sound of it makes my chest feel light. Today was so long, but now, with her giggling in front of me, it doesn’t feel that bad.
“I’m sorry,” she says. “You were just so serious.”
I shake my head at her, but I can’t help grinning back. I wave her off and head to the door.
Still chuckling, she calls after me. “Hey, Duke.” I stop. “Thank you for saying that. Seriously.”
Nodding, I roll my eyes, but I can’t help smiling. Her shining eyes, her expressions… it’s all too hard to resist. She closes her mouth to smother her laughter, as if she’s trying to hold in her happiness, but it’s there, in the crinkles around her eyes. Damned if watching this woman’s happiness isn’t the best feeling in the world.
But when she bites her lip, my gaze follows the movement, and heat slices through me. I clear my throat and glance away.
“Did you want me to get Tabby ready for bed?” she offers. Because of course she does. I shake my head.
“I’d like to catch up with her.” As I move through the season, I won’t get to spend as much time with Tabby. One drawback of this life.
“All right, then. Let me know if you need me.”
I nod, and she returns to her laundry. The picture she paints—all homey and happy—is too cozy and appealing to me.
I run away.
June
ThenextmorningwithTabby goes more smoothly than the first. She’s still not a morning person, but she doesn’t grumble as much. After I get her on the bus, I get dressed and go visit Lily at the assisted living facility. The drive from Haddonfield to Moorestown isn’t long, especially when it isn’t rush hour. I wave to the security guard at the gate and park behind the building. In the lobby, I hit the button for her apartment, and she buzzes me up. The door to her place is open when I arrive. “Mama. Are you here?”
Of course she is. She’s not driving right now because of a recent toe amputation on her right foot. After the surgery, she spent a few weeks in a rehabilitation facility before they moved her to this place.
She wants to go home. When she had her stroke, she fell and broke her hip. After the surgery to repair it, the doctors struggled to stabilize her diabetes. The resultant setbacks ended in the toe amputation. It became clear she couldn’t move back into her big, sprawling Victorian, so she agreed to sublet it to a military family for the school year to offset the costs. I moved her things into storage and set her up here.
It’s a nice enough place. It’s just not Lily’s place.
“In here, June,” she calls, and I follow the sound of her voice into the bedroom. Using her cane, she gets to her feet and throws her arms around me. She motions to the kitchen and her table. “Come. Sit. It’s good to see you. It’s too quiet in this darn place.”
Until Lily’s health deteriorated, and she ended up in the hospital, she still had three kids living with her. It broke her heart when the children had to be re-homed.
“You could turn on some music or something.” I notice the radio is off, unusual for Lily. Usually, her space is full of delicious smells and music.
