The Curl Up and Dye by Sharon Sala Page B

so she’d clean that up tomorrow. All she wanted to do was take a bath and get in bed.
    Sunday night in Blessings was low key, and she was grateful for the lack of traffic. By the time she pulled up in Mike’s driveway, she was shaking. It took her a few moments to remember she hadn’t eaten a bite of food since breakfast. She grabbed her bag and locked his car, then walked across the yard to her house and went inside.
    Her house was cold. She amped up the thermostat and dropped her purse and coat on the sofa as she headed for the kitchen. The thought of food actually turned her stomach, but she knew she needed to eat.
    She dumped her dirty clothes in the washing machine and put them on soak in cold water, then peeled a banana and ate it slowly while she scrambled some eggs. She was used to living alone and thought nothing of the quiet, but tonight it was unsettling. She couldn’t quit thinking about how scared she’d been, and how helpless she’d felt when Mike had passed out in the car.
    The phone rang as she sat down to eat, but when she saw the caller ID, she let it go to voice mail. She didn’t want to talk to Sue Beamon right now. Sue was a nice woman, but she was also a busybody, and the last thing Lily wanted was to be pumped for information.
    As soon as she finished eating, she went into the living room to turn on the television, needing the noise to remind herself she wasn’t alone in the world. After that, she headed for the bathroom to take a long, soaking bath.
    ***
    The day dawned cold and gray; the air felt thick and damp. Lily dressed for comfort rather than work, knowing she was only going to be in the pharmacy half a day and then at the hospital until they ran her out.
    She ran across the yard to clean Mike’s car, and then headed back to her house to get ready for work. She dug out a pair of navy blue sweats, found a sweatshirt that matched, and put her long hair up in a no-nonsense ponytail. The final touch was an all-weather coat instead of a jacket, in case it finally rained.
    Because she had dressed down to such a degree, she put on a little more makeup than usual to spruce up her appearance. She went out of the house with mascara and a light dusting of eye shadow to go with the rose-colored lipstick. From the neck up, it was the closest she’d come to looking like her old self in years.
    When she got to the pharmacy, she went straight to the back to talk to the boss before they opened the doors for business. She found him behind the counter in the pharmacy taking inventory.
    “Hey, Mr. Phillips, I need to take off at noon.”
    He frowned. “I don’t know if…”
    “I promised Mike Dalton’s parents that I’d take care of him until they could get here.”
    His frown deepened. “Mike? What happened to Mike? The wife and I were out of town yesterday.”
    By the time she’d filled him in, he was in shock. “Good Lord, LilyAnn. You saved his life.”
    She shook her head. “The doctors saved his life. I just got him to the hospital.”
    “Still the same thing,” Phillips said. “Of course you can take off. If I need more help, I’ll call my wife. Margie doesn’t mind helping out.”
    “Give Mike my best wishes,” he said.
    “Thank you so much. I won’t have to do this after his parents arrive.”
    “No problem,” he said. “In the meantime, count these out for me.”
    And just like that, the morning began. When the doors opened later, nearly every customer who came in had heard about Mike’s accident and headed straight for Lily. They all wanted details and updates, and for the time being, she was a hot commodity on the Blessings gossip chain.
    ***
    T. J. Lachlan drove into town for some paint and caulking. The sooner he got the old house fixed up, the sooner he could sell it. He hadn’t made up his mind what he would do afterward, but it didn’t matter. He liked living without encumbrances that tied him to one place for too long.
    It hadn’t taken long to realize that