Angel's Rest(56)

With that, there was nothing more to say. He rose and fled like the low-down, yellow-bellied coward that he was.





TEN





Two days later, on the evening of February 14, light reflected off a seventies-era mirror ball hung from a rafter on thirty-pound-test fishing line in the center of Eternity Springs Community School gym. Crepe-paper streamers swagged the bleachers, and pink and white helium-filled balloons rose from the backs of folding chairs set at round tables covered with white cloths. Candles floating in clear glass bowls served as centerpieces. Music selected by the disc jockey, Reverend Hart, ran the gamut from Sinatra tunes to country and western to hip-hop and the bunny hop.

Nic stood behind the refreshment table dipping pink punch into paper cups. She poured herself a cup of punch and tossed it back as if it were whiskey. She so didn’t want to be here.

Sarah sidled up beside Nic and said, “Am I glad you made cookies for us, Nic. The cakes are almost gone.”

“If you weren’t a master at baking, your treats would last longer.”

“Thank goodness we have yours, then. They’ll last.”

“Bite me.”

Sarah laughed and gazed around the gym, her violet eyes gleaming with satisfaction. “Doesn’t everything look pretty tonight? The mirror ball is inspired. The kids love it.”

“Where did it come from?”

“Bear brought it by.”

“Bear?” Nic shook her head. “You’re kidding. Where did Bear get a mirror ball?”

“I don’t know. Even more curious is where he keeps it. He lives in a yurt.”

Nic pictured a year-round universal recreation tent with its circular wooden platform, lattice framework, and conical roof covered with heavy wind- and waterproof canvas. “If his yurt has a mirror ball, I want to see it.”

As Nic and Sarah shared a grin, Reverend Hart introduced Maurice Chevalier singing “Thank Heaven for Little Girls” and the dance floor swelled with daddies and daughters. Nic watched Alton Davis lift his five-year-old into his arms and twirl her around, and from out of nowhere, emotion hit her like a truck. She closed her eyes and fought back tears.

“Nic?” Sarah touched her arm, concern clouding her eyes. “What is it? Are you okay?”

“Sure. I’m fine.” She tried to smile, but her lips began to tremble and she finally gave up. A tear spilled from her eyes and trailed down her cheek. She grabbed a napkin off the refreshment table, wiped it away, and began to babble the disjointed thoughts that spun through her mind. “You’ve done such a great job. I can do it, too. I love my mom. Truly, I do. I just never wanted to be like her. At least I won’t have to worry about the cost of braces.”

Sarah frowned. “I saw you drinking punch. Someone must have slipped past you and spiked it. You’re talking nonsense.”

“I’m not drinking spiked punch,” she replied, a hint of hysteria in her voice. “I can’t. I’m pregnant.”

As her friend’s jaw dropped in shock, Nic fled, pushing past Sarah and heading for the gymnasium doors. Out in the hallway, she spied a group of people congregated in front of the building’s exit, so she turned in the other direction and walked toward the classrooms.

Eternity Springs Community School served grades K–12 and currently had a student body of 102. The building was new, less than five years old, with three separate wings that housed younger grades, middle grades, and high school, each wing connected to the gymnasium. Nic had fled into the high school wing.

She turned a corner so that she wasn’t visible from the gym doors, stopped, and put her back against the wall. She closed her eyes and clenched her teeth, trying to find her composure and will away the tears. She’d held it together after Gabe left and all day yesterday, but now it appeared that her composure had evaporated. She hung on the brink of a full-fledged meltdown.

“Here she is, Sarah,” she heard Sage say.

Of course they’d followed her. Sarah, Sage, and Celeste rounded the corner, looking worried. Well, good. Maybe they could talk her down off this ledge. “Approach at your own risk,” she warned them. “I’m borderline crazy at the moment.”

Celeste said, “In that case, I suggest we find a more private place to talk. Sarah? You know the school, do you not? Where can we go?”

“Right here.” Sarah nodded at the nearest door as she dug in her pocket and pulled out a large ring full of keys. She searched their labels, saying, “It’s the chem lab.”