Reunion in October (The Calendar Girls Book 2) (26 page)

Apparently, the fates would only allow me to have contact with one Candolero at a time. Desiree, whose blood test also came back negative, now became my new best friend, showing up every other day to talk to me, fill me in on her classes at the community college; her arguments with her friend, Casey; her issues with her mother; and various minor problems in a teenager’s life. The topic of Josh, however, never came up, and I refused to demean myself by asking. The closest we came was on Thursday, when she showed up after her classes and asked me to accompany her shopping for a Halloween costume.

“My parents are throwing their usual party next Saturday,” she said as we drove to the local magic shop—a mecca for one-of-a-kind costumes and accessories. “You should come!”

Unease crept over my flesh like a hairy spider. “Umm...no. I don’t think so.”

“Why not? Josh will be there.”

Ding! Ding! Ding! No more calls, please. We have a winner.

Not that I would admit to Desi that her brother’s presence was the precise reason I wouldn’t attend. “I’m working,” I said instead. “I’m on the four-to-twelve shift next week.” No lie. Although, I admit that a warm and fuzzy blanket of relief enfolded me because I had such an inconvenient work schedule.

“Oh,” she said with a frown. “That’s too bad.”

“Yeah.” I was a lucky girl to dodge that bullet. Fortune, however, didn’t smile on me for too long. No matter how I argued, Desi insisted on buying the skimpy cavegirl costume which showed a little too much cleavage and a lot too much leg. At least she’d be under her parents’ supervision at the party. I just hoped they didn’t hate me for not getting her into the full-frocked nun costume I’d voted for.

On the drive home, I ventured, “Desi? Do your parents know you’ve been spending so much time with me lately?”

“Sure.” She grinned and patted my thigh. “It gives me street cred with them.”

I spared her a quick, questioning glance. “Street cred?”

“Yeah. Even Josh doesn’t hassle me if I say I’m coming over to hang with you.”

Several disturbing thoughts vied to reach my lips first. The eventual winner was, “You don’t lie about that, do you? Say you’re with me when you’re not?”

“Un-unh. I wouldn’t do that to you, Frannie. Honest.”

Question two: “I assume they know I went costume shopping with you today?”

She nodded. “That’s why Mom told me to invite you to the party.”

“Your mom invited me?” My heart sank. I had hoped any true invitation would have come from Josh, but apparently, he hadn’t forgiven me for my interference with his sister—an episode his parents still didn’t know about. I straightened in the driver’s seat. Okay, then. Chalk this experience up to another man who couldn’t understand how much I valued my job. At least this time, I’d only wasted a few weeks falling for the wrong guy, rather than spending years and thousands of dollars on an aborted wedding. Could I pick ‘em or what?

Well, no more nonsense. I was done with men, the whole gender. If I wanted companionship, I could always adopt a dog—a
female
dog. Sam Dillon had a rescued greyhound, the sweetest dog I’d ever met. I bet if I asked, he could put me in touch with the rescue organization. In fact, I should call him now. Start the ball rolling on my new friend.

Mind made up, I popped a quick U-turn at the next light. “I’m gonna drop you off at home,” I told Desiree. “I just remembered something I have to take care of.”

She glanced at me, brow puckered in confusion. “Did I say something wrong?”

“No. Everything’s fine.”

“Josh would have invited you eventually,” she added—as if that would help.

“It’s fine, Desi. I’m not upset over the party,” I lied. “I really do have an errand to run.”

“Okay. If you say so...”

I pulled up to the curb at the Candolero house and shifted into park. “Sorry about this,” I said. “Tell your mom I really appreciate her invitation. I’ll talk to you soon.”

When I drove away, I left a perplexed teen behind. I, on the other hand, felt more assured than I had in ages. This was good. This was right. It would have been even better if Sam had answered his damn phone, but my luck still ran closer to bad than good.

Chapter 18

Emily

Asking Roy to take me home so I could pack a bag to leave him smacked of cruelty. Plus, I didn’t have the courage to face him again after our disastrous session with Dr. Calderon.

Instead, I called Sam to pick me up at the hospital. This, of course, meant the perfect Paige would learn first-hand about my marriage’s implosion. I squirmed at the idea. Sure, I knew the entire town would spread the news within hours, but I kinda hoped someone in my camp would be willing to tell my side to the masses before the ugly rumors started. Unfortunately, Paige and I had never been bosom buddies. She had no reason to give me the benefit of the doubt.

I take a lot of the blame for that. Sam had carried a torch for Paige for decades, but she had set her sights on getting far away from Snug Harbor, first attending SUNY Albany, then staying there to work in the state offices. Meanwhile, Sam waited for her to come back, to realize what she sought sat right here in her backyard, totally and completely devoted to her. And I, Sam’s loyal friend, watched with a mixture of sympathy and resentment as he grew lonelier with each year that passed. I hated Paige for that, for not seeing the wonderful man who’d lay the world at her feet if she’d just smile at him.

Sure, everything was yellow socks and lollipops between them now, but I still worried she’d eventually break his heart. In a nutshell, I didn’t trust her. And I really hated thinking she’d now have a weakness to hold against me, a weapon she could wield to prevent me from telling Sam to give her up and find someone better.

My discomfort seemed justified when Sam strolled into my semi-private room, hand-in-hand with Paige Wainwright. And of course, she looked perfect: a pretty deep purple sweater that set off her perfect blond hair and blue eyes, well-fitting jeans that showed off her perfect figure, and the perfect pair of heeled knee-high black boots. I still wore my scruffy sweats and had tied my greasy hair back in a messy ponytail with a rubber band a nurse gave me.

“You ready to go?” Sam asked as he greeted me with a quick peck on the cheek.

“Hi, Em.” Paige smiled and took my hand. “How are you feeling?”

Insignificant and stupid, but I didn’t say that. I opted for, “Good, Paige. How are you?”

“Good.” She cast a glance at Sam, and sparks flashed hot enough to set my bed ablaze.

“Okay, guys, break it up,” I grumbled. “Have some respect for those of us in marital mourning.”

Paige blushed. “I’m sorry. Are you okay?”

She sounded genuinely concerned. I shrugged. “Just another day in paradise.”

“Listen, if you need to talk,” she replied with another touch to my hand. “Not just now, but you know. At, like, two in the morning when you can’t sleep.”

I shrank away. “Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.” I’d never call her at, like, two in the morning. Not even if a zombie apocalypse left us the last two humans on Earth. Then again, I doubt she would have extended the offer if she believed there was the slightest chance I’d follow through. That made us even, as far as I was concerned. One well-meaning lie apiece, for those keeping score.

An awkward silence fell between us until Sam cleared his throat. “So. How do we go about springing you?”

I pointed out the door. “Nurses’ station. I’m all discharged. I just need you to go down there and tell them you’re here for me so they can fetch the magic chariot.”

“Okay then,” he replied. “I’m on it. Be right back.” He turned and left the room, taking all the tranquility with him.

“Well.” Paige cracked first.
Wuss.
“Do you have any belongings you need me to grab?”

I let her squirm a little more. “Just what I’m wearing. That’s the beauty of coming in via ambulance. No excess baggage.”

“Oh.”

My gaze traveled to the drooping flowers in the glass vase Roy had carried in here earlier in the week. I had no intention of taking them with me. They only made me wonder how little he really thought of me. The drawing from my babies sat folded in my pocket, a talisman to be viewed and touched whenever their absence devastated me to the point I couldn’t consider taking another breath. The only other item I took was Ambrose Chase’s business card. Once I’d gained back some semblance of a normal life, I’d contact him and deliver on my promise to help him with his research. Call me crazy, but I’d still like the chance to get my name in book. Then again, what name would he use?

The awkward silence between Paige and me returned and, since no one had yet taken Margie’s spot near the door, we didn’t even have a stranger to break through the wall.

Finally, I couldn’t take the strain anymore. “Do you really love him?”

She did a double-take. “Huh?”

“Sam,” I reminded her sharply. “Do you love him?
Really
love him? Enough to stay here? Even when our sleepy little town gets boring?”

Her posture stiffened to steel. “Actually, I had already decided to stay here
before
Sam told me he loved me.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

Turning her angry gaze from me, she stared out the window. She clasped her hands in front of her, fingers fumbling over each other. “I don’t think it’s any of your business.”

Well, really, what else did I expect perfect Princess Paige to say? “You’re right,” I admitted.

As the heavy silence fell yet again, I fussed with the blanket on my bed.

“Yes,” she said at last in a soft, but weighty, whisper. “I love him. Enough to stay here, no matter what does or doesn’t happen in this town. Or to follow him into purgatory, if that’s what he needs me to do. Satisfied?”

“Very,” Sam announced as he returned to my room, pushing a wheelchair. While Paige and I both flinched and flushed with guilt, he grinned. “So can my two favorite ladies call a truce and become friends now?”

I offered Paige a grudging nod, which she returned. “I guess,” I mumbled.

Bending over the wheelchair, Sam leaned toward Paige. “What do you say, sweetheart?”

“Of course,” she replied, her posture no longer quite so solid.

“Good.” He straightened and pushed the chair next to my bed. “Let’s rock and roll, Em.”

One hand on my upper arm, he helped me into the chair, which was ridiculous. I was perfectly fine, but the dumb hospital legal rules insisted I had to leave in a wheelchair. I shot a disgruntled glance up at Sam when he pushed me toward the door. “I thought I had to wait for a hospital employee.”

“I’m the police chief. I get special dispensation.”

With Paige behind us, we left the hospital. Once the automatic doors ushered us outside into the cool mid-morning sunshine, Sam turned the handles over to his girlfriend. “Stay with Em. I’ll go get the car.” He dashed off before either of us could argue.

I struggled around my dry throat to apologize. “I’m sorry if I embarrassed you up there.”

“I wasn’t embarrassed. I know you care about him, and I respect that you were worried I might not be...genuine...in my feelings. But, I really do love Sam. I just hate letting him think he’s got the power in our relationship. It brings out his arrogance, and shifts that balance between us. I prefer to keep him guessing.” She winked at me. “Know what I mean?”

Yeah. I did. A weird thought popped into my head: Paige knew Sam better than I did. I couldn’t hide my surprise, and I laughed. “You’re all right, Paige.”

“Gee, thanks.” She placed a hand on my shoulder and squeezed. “You’re all right, too.”

Sam pulled up in his police cruiser and rolled down the window. “Ready?”

I looked over the official car, the red and white lights on the roof, the cage that separated the front seat from the back. Today was, apparently, a day full of surprises. “You’re kidding,” I said with a cocked eyebrow.

“It was either this or the Jeep.” He shrugged.

“And you didn’t bring the Jeep because...?”

“I didn’t want you to have to jump up to climb in.”

“I’m not an invalid, Sam. Or a felon.”

Paige’s laughter broke into our debate. “Come on.” She pulled open the front passenger door. “Get in. I’ll play felon.”

I couldn’t backpedal fast enough. The last thing I wanted was to whip out the diva card. “Oh, you don’t have to. I’ll sit in the back. I was kidding. Really.”

“Relax,” she replied. “I don’t mind. I haven’t been in the back of a patrol car since that incident my freshman year at college.”

Sam sat up, frowning. “What incident?”

She winked at me again as I slid into the car’s front seat. “Nothing major. Just a little lewd and lascivious behavior.”

“What?!”

“Take it easy, Sam. It was years ago.” Leaning down, she whispered, “See? Balance restored,” and shut the car door.

I bit back my laughter while she climbed into the back seat. I hated to admit it, but Paige was growing on me.

****

Francesca

Resolved to move on, I went home for some shuteye before tonight’s shift. After a dreamless sleep, I showered and fixed a light supper. I’d just finished washing the dishes when my doorbell rang. My heart thumped against my ribs. Josh? I raced to the door, peered through the peephole, and my heartbeat only picked up rhythm. Wrong Candolero. This time, his mother was at my door. Panic set in. Had something happened? To Desi? Or to Josh?

I yanked open the door.

“Mrs. C.? Is something wrong?”
Please, God, no
.

She shook her head. “You didn’t come inside when you dropped off Desiree this afternoon. I have something for you.” She held up a package about the size of a pencil case, wrapped in metallic pink paper with an intricate ribbon bow. “A gift.”

I opened the door to let her inside, all the while declining her generosity. “That’s very nice, but you don’t need to give me anything.”

“Yes, I do. I know what you’ve done for my Desiree.” She lifted the package toward my face. “Please.”