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Sam made a lukewarm offer to clean up after breakfast, but I shooed him aside and did it myself. This was partly because I thought he deserved a break today after feeding the kids and taking over nighttime duties last night, but it was mostly because I needed something to do with my hands so I wouldn’t constantly reach for my phone.
After the dishes were finished, I got my answer. Suzie’s phone beeped while I was drying my hands on a dish towel. She read the text and her eyes cut to me.
“Michael is coming home.”
It was not lost on me that my phone remained pitifully silent through this exchange.
So, option three, then.
I swallowed hard. “That’s good. That’s really, really good.”
Itwasgood. It was good that he was coming home. It was heartbreaking that he wasn’t coming home tome.
“I should go.” I draped the towel over the oven handle and turned away.
“Nora,” Suzie said softly.
I shook my head. “I’m okay. Just…overwhelmed. It’s been a rough twenty-four hours. I need a shower and a minute to get my head together. We’ll talk tomorrow, okay?”
“Okay,” she said, but her expression was troubled.
“You’ll let me know he’s fine when you see him in person?” I asked. I didn’t care if it was pathetic. I needed to know he was all in one piece, that he was really and truly okay.
Suzie nodded. I grabbed my purse and was out the door before anyone could see the tears in my eyes.
Chapter 33
Michael
“Michael!”
I dropped my bag and let Suzie wrap me in a crushing hug. I craned my neck over her shoulder, looking past my sister into the kitchen. Where was she?
“I’m so glad you’re okay,” Suzie said, not letting go.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I’ll be here for a couple days, and then I’m heading back to finish out my contract.” I patted her on the back, trying to ease her grip on me. “Where’s Nora?”
“She’s not here. She stayed last night, but she had work today and—where are you going?”
To Nora. Always.
I was already out the door, calling over my shoulder, “I’ll swing by tomorrow.”
It should have occurred to me that she wasn’t here anymore, but I was exhausted and not thinking straight. She had told me to go to Suzie’s, so I had gone to Suzie’s. I had tried to text her this morning, right after Suzie, to let her know I was coming, but my phone died before I could hit send.
Damn people and their iPhones. No one had a compatible charger for my android.
I pulled up to Nora’s Victorian and cut the engine. The lights were all off, with the exception of the porch. Was she asleep? I checked my watch. It was only ten, but maybe. Too bad if she was. I didn’t care if I woke her. It had been fourteen hours since I’d gotten her message. Fourteen hours of letting it build inside me.
We were doing this. Now.
I knocked. When there was no answer, I turned the doorknob. It opened, and I stepped inside.
I paused, waiting for my eyes to adjust to the dark, before heading to the stairs. I found her curled up in her bed, sound asleep. I touched her shoulder gently, wanting to wake her but not wanting to give her a heart attack.
She bolted upright with a startled gasp. So much for that idea.
“It’s me,” I said quickly. “Michael.”
