was born. And of course Carolyn would have also told her about heaven.
Recovering, she tried to smile. “Yes. They’re all together now, and I think they’re happy. And I think they’re watching over us.And they’ll always be in our hearts, so we’ll never forget them, will we?”
Maya just blinked at her, looking vaguely reproachful, as if she was offended Angela expected her to buy such a load of BS.
“I want to go to bed now.”
“Oh,” Angela said, surprised. “Okay. Let’s get you a bath first. How would that be?”
Maya didn’t answer, but she obligingly stood and walked with Angela down the hall to the bathroom. Angela turned on the taps, then opened the medicine cabinet to see if she had an extra toothbrush for Maya.
The sight of Ronnie’s red toothbrush in its cup froze Angela in her tracks. The blind fury she’d repressed until now surged back, pulling every muscle in her body taut.
She’d seen the bastard tonight in the hospital parking lot.
As she’d walked to her car with her orphaned niece...as she’d tried to absorb the knowledge that her sister and brother-in-law had been killed in their prime of life...as she’d wondered what the hell she was going to do...she’d looked up and seen him, the man she’d thought she’d marry, standing fifty feet away.
She’d seen them , actually.
Ronnie and the woman he’d dumped Angela for, kissing by Ronnie’s car, twined around each other like the strands of a rope.
With a silent curse, she hurled Ronnie’s toothbrush into the trashcan.
* * *
A fter a quick bath and a glass of milk, Maya went willingly to bed with her dog snuggled under her arm. Angela made up the double bed in the guest bedroom/office/exercise room for her and she fell asleep before Angela flipped the wall light switch. She left a small lamp burning on her desk in case Maya was afraid of the dark. The soft, even sound of the girl’s breathing reminded Angela she wasn’t entirely alone in the universe, after all. One other member of her family was still alive, and she was grateful.
Shutting the door behind her, Angela shuffled, exhausted, back out to the living room, wishing she could as easily put this nightmarish day behind her. She glanced at her watch: ten fifteen. There was no way she would sleep tonight.
So...what now?
She wandered into her walk-in closet, took off her shoes, lined them up in their slot at the end of the row on the floor, and tried to decide what to do next. Shower now, or wait? Start calling their mutual friends and distant relatives to give them the grim news? Maybe she should start with Vincent and Justus. Or would they have been V.J.’s in case of emergency contacts on his phone? Maybe the hospital already contacted them...? God only knew. She’d been too stunned and determined to get Maya out of there to ask.
And how light a sleeper was Maya? Would she wake up if Angela got on the phone and started—
Knock-knock-knock.
She looked around, startled. Who the hell could that be?
Quickly retracing her footsteps, she checked the peephole.
Justus .
Her heart soared.
Someone from the hospital had called him. She swung the door open and stared at him for a long, charged moment. Big surprise: he looked wrecked. Strained face; bloodshot eyes; red nose; flaring nostrils. He seemed to have aged twenty years since she saw him last night.
At the sight of her, the edges of his lips turned up in the beginnings of a rueful smile and he opened his arms. With a cry, she threw herself at him, grateful to be with someone who could share her pain and help her through this long, dark night. His heavy, muscular arms clamped tight around her and she hung on tighter. His hands sifted through her hair before rubbing roughly over her shoulders and back as if he needed to make sure that she, at least, was still in one piece.
The same urge overcame her.
She clawed her way closer to him, fingers digging into his back and shoulders, reveling in his warmth and
Recovering, she tried to smile. “Yes. They’re all together now, and I think they’re happy. And I think they’re watching over us.And they’ll always be in our hearts, so we’ll never forget them, will we?”
Maya just blinked at her, looking vaguely reproachful, as if she was offended Angela expected her to buy such a load of BS.
“I want to go to bed now.”
“Oh,” Angela said, surprised. “Okay. Let’s get you a bath first. How would that be?”
Maya didn’t answer, but she obligingly stood and walked with Angela down the hall to the bathroom. Angela turned on the taps, then opened the medicine cabinet to see if she had an extra toothbrush for Maya.
The sight of Ronnie’s red toothbrush in its cup froze Angela in her tracks. The blind fury she’d repressed until now surged back, pulling every muscle in her body taut.
She’d seen the bastard tonight in the hospital parking lot.
As she’d walked to her car with her orphaned niece...as she’d tried to absorb the knowledge that her sister and brother-in-law had been killed in their prime of life...as she’d wondered what the hell she was going to do...she’d looked up and seen him, the man she’d thought she’d marry, standing fifty feet away.
She’d seen them , actually.
Ronnie and the woman he’d dumped Angela for, kissing by Ronnie’s car, twined around each other like the strands of a rope.
With a silent curse, she hurled Ronnie’s toothbrush into the trashcan.
* * *
A fter a quick bath and a glass of milk, Maya went willingly to bed with her dog snuggled under her arm. Angela made up the double bed in the guest bedroom/office/exercise room for her and she fell asleep before Angela flipped the wall light switch. She left a small lamp burning on her desk in case Maya was afraid of the dark. The soft, even sound of the girl’s breathing reminded Angela she wasn’t entirely alone in the universe, after all. One other member of her family was still alive, and she was grateful.
Shutting the door behind her, Angela shuffled, exhausted, back out to the living room, wishing she could as easily put this nightmarish day behind her. She glanced at her watch: ten fifteen. There was no way she would sleep tonight.
So...what now?
She wandered into her walk-in closet, took off her shoes, lined them up in their slot at the end of the row on the floor, and tried to decide what to do next. Shower now, or wait? Start calling their mutual friends and distant relatives to give them the grim news? Maybe she should start with Vincent and Justus. Or would they have been V.J.’s in case of emergency contacts on his phone? Maybe the hospital already contacted them...? God only knew. She’d been too stunned and determined to get Maya out of there to ask.
And how light a sleeper was Maya? Would she wake up if Angela got on the phone and started—
Knock-knock-knock.
She looked around, startled. Who the hell could that be?
Quickly retracing her footsteps, she checked the peephole.
Justus .
Her heart soared.
Someone from the hospital had called him. She swung the door open and stared at him for a long, charged moment. Big surprise: he looked wrecked. Strained face; bloodshot eyes; red nose; flaring nostrils. He seemed to have aged twenty years since she saw him last night.
At the sight of her, the edges of his lips turned up in the beginnings of a rueful smile and he opened his arms. With a cry, she threw herself at him, grateful to be with someone who could share her pain and help her through this long, dark night. His heavy, muscular arms clamped tight around her and she hung on tighter. His hands sifted through her hair before rubbing roughly over her shoulders and back as if he needed to make sure that she, at least, was still in one piece.
The same urge overcame her.
She clawed her way closer to him, fingers digging into his back and shoulders, reveling in his warmth and
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