Reckless Abandon (November Blue, #2)(67)

sleep.



*



“Ember.” Monica’s whisper pulls me from a deep sleep, and I have to squint the blinding sun away.

“How long have I been asleep?” I carefully balance my elbows on the hammock’s netting and swing my legs off the side.

“Like two hours, I guess. Bo was looking for you after Ainsley left. I’m so, so sorry, Ember.” Monica breaks into a full cry.

This is the first time we’ve been alone. “Did you ever meet with Bo at Tarryn’s last night, or did this all happen before?”

My God, was this all just yesterday?

I fill Monica in with a timeline of my night before Bo comes through the trees.

“We’re going to take Regan home to get clothes and a good night sleep before the funeral tomorrow.” Monica stands up, brushing

herself off. “Want me to bring you clothes?”

I look nervously to Bo, under Monica’s assumption that I’ll be staying here. I hope to.

“Bo, is it OK if—”

He nods and wraps his arms around me, silencing the rest of my sentence. Monica rubs my back, signaling her departure. Bo sweeps

open the curtained branches of a weeping willow and rests his back against the tree; I follow and sit next to him.

“This spot is gorgeous, Bo. So peaceful.” An old habit takes over and I mindlessly rest my head on his shoulder.

“It’s Rae’s favorite...or was ...” I slide my head to his bare chest as he kisses the top of my head. Bo runs his thumb over

the hump of my shoulder and slowly drags it across my collarbone. “Are you OK?”

I look up. “What do you mean, am I OK?”

Bo squares my shoulders in his hands. “Your collarbone never stuck out like this; you’ve lost a lot of weight, Ember.” He rolls

his thumbs over my collarbone to accentuate his point.

“I’m fine, Bo.” I furrow my brow at his bizarre topic of choice given the circumstances.

He gives me a concerned once-over before welcoming me back into a one-armed embrace. I replace my head on his shoulder before he

starts speaking in a distant tone, still tracing my shoulders with his thumbs.

“Did you call Adrian?”

“No.” I honestly haven’t thought about it, though I suppose someone ought to. As tired as I am, I’m actually hoping he heard it

on the news.

“Why not?” Bo sounds surprised, and suddenly, it occurs to me.

“I don’t know,” I shrug, “I guess when he told me he never wanted to see me again, I assumed that included phone calls.” With

my ear pressed against his warm skin, I feel Bo’s heart rate pick up.

“He said that to you?” I nod and shrug once more. I simply don’t care about Adrian Turner right now.

“What happened?” Bo asks, but we’re interrupted by the sound of branches breaking beneath someone’s feet.

“Here you two are.” David enters our fort and squats in front of us with a light grin on his face. “Spencer, the funeral home is

all set for tomorrow. Josh left some notes here for scripture suggestions.”

“Whatever you think is best, David.” Bo lifts his arm from my shoulders and rubs his eyes with a sigh.

Standing, I stretch my arms overhead. “David, I’ll walk back to the house and take a look at Josh’s notes with you. I don’t

think I’ve ever actually opened a Bible, but...Bo, why don’t you just hang out here, and I’ll come find you when I make lunch,

OK?” Bo doesn’t argue; he lets his head tilt back against the weeping willow and he closes his eyes.

Once back on the driveway facing the house, David takes my hand.

“I’m so glad you’re here, November.” The shaking of his hand makes me turn my head. He has tears streaming down his face.

“David, I’m so sorry.” I stop and pull my hand away to give him a hug.

“I thought losing Spencer and Vivian was the absolute worst thing that could have happened to those kids,” David speaks as we

enter the house.

“This is so f*cking unreal, excuse my language. In case anyone happens to ask, I put all of Rae’s stuff in her bedroom before Bo

came in last night. I can’t believe the funeral’s already tomorrow ...” I know I’m rambling, but David doesn’t seem to mind.

“Well, the family from California’s on a flight out here as we speak, and everyone else is here. Spencer doesn’t want to do a

wake, just the funeral service.”

“Where’s the cemetery? I don’t even know...why didn’t I ever ask him?”

“Ah,” David comes up behind me and gives my shoulders a playful squeeze, “you two were busy falling in love.” He says it like

we never stopped.

I never did.



*



When the sun finally sets on the first day she’s gone, the readings, the music, and all other arrangements are set for Rae’s

funeral. I haven’t seen much of Bo since lunch by the pond. Family from California have come and gone to their respective hotels.

I’ve just spent the evening organizing food donations in the refrigerator and freezer. When the last of the dishes are put away