Kerry hummed. “A nonanswer. Interesting. Will you please give her this? This is a bunch of toast made with special butter that doesn’t upset stomachs. I was very sick when I was pregnant with my son, and it is a godsend.”
I didn’t want to admit it, but this was actually helpful. I was so bad in the kitchen that I wasn’t sure that I could toast bread without burning it.
“That’s very nice of you. Hopefully she’ll be up to eating it.”
Kerry stared at me, and I wondered if she was about to push for more information. “So, are you okay?”
“What?”
“Are you okay? If she was sick, it had to be pretty scary.”
“It ... was. But it turned out fine.”
Kerry slowly nodded and her eyes started to my truck—which I should start parking farther back in Grace’s driveway—and then back to me. “You know, if you’ve been staying here with her ...”
“Please don’t.” I would beg if I needed to.
“Then it’s good that she’s not alone, especially if she’s sick.”
That wasn’t where I expected Kerry to go with this. “This is just while I’m in town.”
“So, for the foreseeable future, I guess?”
“It’s like I said yesterday. I have no idea.”
Kerry hummed. “Well, I won’t keep you. I know you have a lot of denial to be in, and I have gossip to find. Don’t worry, though, I won’t say anything about what I’ve learned here. I do have some decorum, even if itisnewly learned. And if I did say anything, I have a feeling the girls and Hugh would cuss me out. They’re rather protective of you two. It seems like you have a good support group here.” She gave a little half wave, turned on her heel, and headed back to her car to leave.
I was sure she meant well, but her words did nothing for my rising anxiety.
It was only made worse when I heard footsteps and saw Grace slowly making her way down the stairs. I tried to shove it all away and focus on her.
“Hey, how are you feeling?”
When I spoke, she paused and looked me up and down. Her cheeks grew dark, and I wondered if she somehow knew what I’d done overnight.
“Better. Not one hundred percent, but I’m alive.”
She sounded more like herself, not the version of her that needed me to stay with her last night. I would never admit it out loud, but I missed that.
“Kerry came by.”
“Kerry?” Grace frowned. “And you answered the door?”
“I thought it might be Brooke.”
“Brooke has a key and doesn’t believe in ringing a doorbell. I’m guessing everyone’s gonna know that you’re staying here.”
“She said she would keep it to herself, but they might.”
“I suppose it’s not the end of the world. I just wonder what they’re gonna think about it.”
“They can keep their damn thoughts to themselves.”
“It wouldn’t be anything bad. It would mostly be them wondering when we’re gonna get together.” Her cheeks were a delicate shade of pink. “That’s probably not a good idea for us.”
It wasn’t, but I could certainly think about it, especially after what had happened the night before.
“Do you feel up to eating?” The topic change was all I could do. There was no way I could think about this for much longer and look her in the eye.