Return by Karen Kingsbury Page A

Irvel? Some juice, maybe?” Irvel smacked her lips together and made a few swipes with
    her tongue at the pasty residue near the corners of her mouth. “Yes … that would be lovely, dear. And later maybe some tea.” “I brought peppermint tea today.” Ashley held the orange
    juice close to Irvel and bent the straw so she didn’t have to lift her head off the pillow. “Peppermint’s your favorite, right?” Irvel sucked hard on the straw and downed half the glass. She
    backed away from the straw. Juice trickled down her soft, wrin kled chin, but she made no move to wipe it off. Her eyes grew wide, and she looked at Ashley as if seeing her for the first time. “My goodness, dear. You have lovely hair. Has anyone ever told you that?”
    “Not lately, Irvel.” Ashley snatched a tissue from Irvel’s night stand and dried her chin. “Thank you for noticing.”
    As quickly as her energy level had peaked, it dropped, and the old woman settled deeper into the pillow. “Can’t understand why I’m so tired.” She peered at Ashley and made an attempt at another smile. “Hank leaves me here to have tea with the girls, and look at me. Too tired to get up.”
    “It’s okay, Irvel. Hank wants you to get some rest.”
    “Yes.” Irvel’s words were slurring now, and she’d be out soon. As long as Ashley had known her, Irvel had been able to fall asleep in seconds when she was tired.
    “You’re right. Hank likes when I get …” The old woman’s eyes closed, and Ashley smiled at the soft snores.
    She bent over and pressed a feathery kiss on Irvel’s cheek. The woman’s skin was soft and dusty, like the fuzz on a peach. When Ashley drew back, she studied Irvel. She couldn’t be dying, could she? Irvel wasn’t even eighty yet. She had lots of time, right? The woman’s breathing was not quite steady and even slower than usual.
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    Before leaving, Ashley took Irvel’s hand in hers and closed her eyes. God, help her pull through this … please. Sunset Hills wouldn’t be the same without her.
    She laid Irvel’s delicate hand back on the bedspread. “Good night, Irvel. Dream about Hank.”
    The rest of the day Irvel stayed in bed, while the others did more than their usual mumbling and wandering about. Lu, the owner of Sunset Hills, had hired a bookkeeper so Ashley could be with the residents. She enjoyed eating with the ladies and bringing Bert’s lunch to him. She liked helping them with their showers and having tea with them in the afternoon.
    But all day, nothing felt quite right.
    It was Irvel’s absence, of course, but it was more than that. Ev ery few minutes Ashley caught herself thinking thoughts that had nothing to do with work. Why didn’t Landon call more, and what kept him so busy? And what would happen when he’d fin ished his one-year commitment to the FDNY? Would he come home to Bloomington? And if so, would they pick up where they’d left off before September 1I? Or had his feelings for her cooled?
    And what about her paintings?
    Landon had moved on with his life, but here she was, still hid ing at Sunset Hills Adult Care Home. Meanwhile her house was practically bursting at the seams with artwork, pieces never seen by anyone but her and little Cole.
    The fog of unsettling thoughts stayed thick around Ashley’s heart long after she finished her shift and picked up Cole from her parents’ house. Questions assaulted her the entire drive back to her own home.
    Why was she different? Everyone else had a plan, a purpose. Brooke and Peter had their family and their medical practices; Erin and Sam were moving to Texas in the summer, and Erin al ready had a teaching job lined up; Kari had her modeling and Ryan his football coaching, and together they had sweet baby Jessie and a future so bright it was sometimes painful to look at. Luke … well, he was the exception.
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    But all of her sisters had found that next phase in life and moved into it without looking back. So what about her? She’d