steady man now.”
“I don’t see him around here nowhere.”
“I’m waiting on his phone call right now,” Zelda said, pointing towards the pay phone behind her. “He had to leave town on business for a couple of days.”
“On business? I had no idea that you’d found yourself a genuine businessman. I’ll bet you he don’t have no set of wheels like this, now does he?” Pinky revved the engine again.
“Get lost, Pinky. You and me are over and done with.”
Pinky laughed and gave her the finger, then floored it, burning rubber as he peeled away from the curb.
“Fuck you,” Zelda muttered, staring after him. She was so done with this shitty town and all the redneck assholes who lived in it. Fact was, they could all burn in hell for all she cared. Pretty soon she’d be kissing this town goodbye for good.
Zelda got up and walked over to the phone. The clock on the wall inside Kroger’s read twenty minutes past five. Earl was twenty minutes late calling, but that didn’t mean that anything had gone wrong. She’d give him another ten minutes; if he didn’t call by then, she’d come back at nine o’clock in the morning, just as they had planned.
That’s one thing she really liked about Earl, besides how good he was in the sack. He was real smart, and he had understood right from the get-go that they always had to have a backup plan in case things didn’t go the way they were supposed to.
Earl was so much smarter than Doug Cummings and his bimbo lawyer wife, they’d never catch on to who he really was. Until it was too late. Of course, it didn’t hurt that he was so hot-looking and such a smooth talker.
Zelda looked at the clock again and saw that it was five-thirty, so she moseyed down to the street and stuck her thumb out. It didn’t even bother her that she had let Earl take her car to Virginia and she had to thumb a ride home. It was a small price to pay for what she would get in return.
CHAPTER
11
A nne awoke with a start when the ICU nurse tapped her on the shoulder.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Cummings, I didn’t mean to startle you,” the nurse said quietly.
“That’s okay,” Anne said, rubbing her eyes. “I must have dozed off.”
She sat forward in the chair and curled her fingers against Doug’s cheek.
“Has his condition changed any?”
The nurse shook her head. “No, he’s the same.”
Anne ran her fingertips lightly over Doug’s temple, where a touch of gray crept into his close-cropped dark hair. She spoke quietly to him. “I’m right here, Doug. You’re in the hospital and everything’s going to be just fine. Kendall went to check on Chancellor. They took him in the horse ambulance to the EMC. She’s going to call me as soon as she knows how he’s doing.”
She was beginning to feel less self-conscious about talking to Doug in front of the nurses. They acted as if it were a natural thing to do and had told her more than once that they believed he could hear her, or at least knew that she was there.
“Mrs. Cummings, there are a couple of sheriff’s deputies in the waiting room. They would like to speak with you,” the nurse said.
“Sheriff’s deputies?”
The nurse nodded. “They want to talk to you about your husband’s accident.”
“Now? Surely that can wait.”
“I already suggested that to them, but they were pretty insistent. They said it won’t take long.” She smiled sympathetically.
Anne sighed and rose reluctantly. She leaned down and kissed Doug on the top of his head and whispered, “I’ll be right back.” She turned to the nurse. “Will you come and get me right away if anything changes?”
“Of course I will. By the way, my name is Robin. I just came on shift and I’ll be working until eleven tonight. Dr. Martin wrote instructions that you’ll be spending the night here, so if there is anything I can do to make it more comfortable for you, please let me know.”
“Thank you, Robin.”
“Just press the buzzer by the door
“I don’t see him around here nowhere.”
“I’m waiting on his phone call right now,” Zelda said, pointing towards the pay phone behind her. “He had to leave town on business for a couple of days.”
“On business? I had no idea that you’d found yourself a genuine businessman. I’ll bet you he don’t have no set of wheels like this, now does he?” Pinky revved the engine again.
“Get lost, Pinky. You and me are over and done with.”
Pinky laughed and gave her the finger, then floored it, burning rubber as he peeled away from the curb.
“Fuck you,” Zelda muttered, staring after him. She was so done with this shitty town and all the redneck assholes who lived in it. Fact was, they could all burn in hell for all she cared. Pretty soon she’d be kissing this town goodbye for good.
Zelda got up and walked over to the phone. The clock on the wall inside Kroger’s read twenty minutes past five. Earl was twenty minutes late calling, but that didn’t mean that anything had gone wrong. She’d give him another ten minutes; if he didn’t call by then, she’d come back at nine o’clock in the morning, just as they had planned.
That’s one thing she really liked about Earl, besides how good he was in the sack. He was real smart, and he had understood right from the get-go that they always had to have a backup plan in case things didn’t go the way they were supposed to.
Earl was so much smarter than Doug Cummings and his bimbo lawyer wife, they’d never catch on to who he really was. Until it was too late. Of course, it didn’t hurt that he was so hot-looking and such a smooth talker.
Zelda looked at the clock again and saw that it was five-thirty, so she moseyed down to the street and stuck her thumb out. It didn’t even bother her that she had let Earl take her car to Virginia and she had to thumb a ride home. It was a small price to pay for what she would get in return.
CHAPTER
11
A nne awoke with a start when the ICU nurse tapped her on the shoulder.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Cummings, I didn’t mean to startle you,” the nurse said quietly.
“That’s okay,” Anne said, rubbing her eyes. “I must have dozed off.”
She sat forward in the chair and curled her fingers against Doug’s cheek.
“Has his condition changed any?”
The nurse shook her head. “No, he’s the same.”
Anne ran her fingertips lightly over Doug’s temple, where a touch of gray crept into his close-cropped dark hair. She spoke quietly to him. “I’m right here, Doug. You’re in the hospital and everything’s going to be just fine. Kendall went to check on Chancellor. They took him in the horse ambulance to the EMC. She’s going to call me as soon as she knows how he’s doing.”
She was beginning to feel less self-conscious about talking to Doug in front of the nurses. They acted as if it were a natural thing to do and had told her more than once that they believed he could hear her, or at least knew that she was there.
“Mrs. Cummings, there are a couple of sheriff’s deputies in the waiting room. They would like to speak with you,” the nurse said.
“Sheriff’s deputies?”
The nurse nodded. “They want to talk to you about your husband’s accident.”
“Now? Surely that can wait.”
“I already suggested that to them, but they were pretty insistent. They said it won’t take long.” She smiled sympathetically.
Anne sighed and rose reluctantly. She leaned down and kissed Doug on the top of his head and whispered, “I’ll be right back.” She turned to the nurse. “Will you come and get me right away if anything changes?”
“Of course I will. By the way, my name is Robin. I just came on shift and I’ll be working until eleven tonight. Dr. Martin wrote instructions that you’ll be spending the night here, so if there is anything I can do to make it more comfortable for you, please let me know.”
“Thank you, Robin.”
“Just press the buzzer by the door
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