Page 16 of Property of Bob

“How does he look?”

Pearl and Shay exchanged a quick glance I noticed. “Don’t do that.”

Pearl frowned. “Do what?”

“That look.”

“What look?”

“The one where you decide how much to tell me,” I sighed. “I’m a big girl.”

Shay smiled. “You’re going to fit in way too well here.”

“That keeps getting said to me, and I don’t like it.”

Pearl sat beside me on the edge of the bed. “He looks like someone who got hurt really badly and is still healing.”

I nodded slowly.

That wasn’t exactly comforting, but it was honest.

“Is he conscious and talking?” I asked.

“Yeah,” Shay said. “His voice is rough, but he can talk.”

“Clearly enough to threaten to leave the hospital?”

Pearl laughed. “Very clearly.”

“Okay.” That helped more than I wanted to admit. If Ashland was still pissing people off, then he was still Ashland. I looked down at my hands. “I should’ve known.”

Pearl tilted her head. “Known what?”

“That something happened.”

Neither woman said anything.

I shook my head. “Never mind. That was stupid.”

“It wasn’t,” Shay said.

I looked at her. She pushed away from the doorframe and sat on the other side of me.

“You haven’t seen him in twenty years. You couldn’t have known.”

“I know.” Logically, I did. That didn't stop me from feeling guilty.

Pearl bumped her shoulder lightly against mine. “You’ll see him tomorrow.”

I nodded.

“Then you can decide whether you want to hug him or yell at him.”

“Probably yell.”

Shay smiled. “That’s usually safer.”

“Good.”