The Last of the Moon Girls(104)

“I told you to go, Andrew. You had work to do, and I had . . .” She paused, cocking an eye at him. “Come to think of it, what are you doing here?”

“Roger called me. He said he told you to stay by your phone, but you weren’t picking up. He called me to see if we’d spoken. He told me about your run-in with Dennis, said he had a bad feeling. So I started calling. When you didn’t answer, I came home. Then I got to the house and saw the fire trucks . . .” He paused, remembering the sinking feeling in his gut when he saw the ME’s van.

“I’m okay,” Lizzy said, waving off the rest before he could get it out. “But let’s not talk about it anymore right now. I’m tired.”

She lay back and closed her eyes, and for a moment he simply watched her breathe, grateful for the steady rise and fall of her chest. She looked small and pale in her faded hospital gown. Fragile. The memory of the body bag being carried from the remains of the barn made his throat tighten as he stared at her face, bruised and streaked with soot. He’d nearly lost her. Except she wasn’t his to lose.





FORTY-TWO

August 20

Lizzy opened her eyes to watery light and the scent of coming rain filtering through the parlor windows. She was groggy and stiff, her neck painfully kinked after a night spent propped up on the settee, where Evvie and Rhanna could take turns keeping an eye on her.

It had been well after midnight when they finally returned home. Rhanna had helped her out of her clothes and prepared a warm bath scented with chamomile, then helped her bathe and wash her hair. Afterward, she’d been bundled into a pair of soft flannel pajamas and tucked up on the settee with a pillow and blanket, the way Althea had done when Lizzy was little and down with a stomachache or a cold.

She could hear Rhanna in the kitchen now, talking with Evvie, their voices lost amid the sound of running water. It wasn’t hard to guess the topic of their conversation. She threw back the covers and sat up gingerly. The room swayed as she pushed to her feet. She waited for the dizziness to pass, then padded toward the kitchen.

Rhanna flashed her a look of disapproval as she reached the doorway. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Getting some coffee.”

“I’ll bring you coffee. You lie back down. There’s enough of a mess in here with all this black dust everywhere. We don’t need you on the floor to boot.”

“You know there’s nothing wrong with my legs, right? I’m perfectly capable of standing.”

“And perfectly capable of falling down and cracking your head again,” Rhanna shot back. “Let’s go.”

Lizzy allowed herself to be steered back to the settee. Rhanna gave her pillows a quick plumping, then pulled back the blanket. “Down you go.”

“Thank you,” Lizzy said as Rhanna retucked her blanket. “For taking care of me.”

Rhanna’s lips curved, a soft, fleeting smile. “It’s me who should be saying thank you. After all the years, and all the mistakes, I’ve been given a second chance. And then yesterday I almost lost you. It made me realize how much I’ve missed.” She shrugged heavily. “I guess I’m trying to make up for lost time.”

Lizzy swallowed the sudden lump in her throat. “You look tired. Did you get any sleep?”

Before Rhanna could respond, there was a knock on the front door. Rhanna stepped away to answer it, returning a moment later with Andrew in tow.

“You’ve got company,” she announced cheerfully. “And perfect timing too. He can make sure you stay put while I brew a fresh pot of coffee.”

Andrew watched her go, then turned to Lizzy. “You look better.”

Lizzy rolled her eyes. “Liar.”

“Okay. You look cleaner.” He eased into the armchair nearest the settee, forearms propped on his knees. “Seriously, though, how are you?”

“Sore. I feel like I’ve been pummeled with a baseball bat. Other than that, I’m okay. Rhanna’s doting on me like I’m an invalid. She’s been wonderful, actually.”

Andrew’s gaze strayed to the coffee table. This morning’s copy of the Chronicle lay folded in half, presumably where Evvie had left it after reading it. Lizzy had already seen the headline. SECOND BLAZE AT MOON GIRL FARM TURNS DEADLY.

Andrew picked it up, scowling at the photo of the collapsed barn. “Have you read it?”

“I don’t have to. I was there.”

He tossed the paper down with a look of disgust. “I should have seen it coming.”

Lizzy stared at him. “How? Dennis wasn’t on anyone’s radar.”

“Maybe, but he should have been on mine. He said something once, about you having the nerve to come back here and stir up talk about the murders. He trash-talked the Moons in general, but it was mostly you he focused on. I should have put it together.”

“Why would you? It’s nothing half this town hasn’t said at one time or another. And there were things we didn’t know, Andrew. Things no one knew—and never will now that Dennis is dead. But it’s over. No one will ever be charged. But we know what happened, or at least who was to blame. And the Gilmans will know too. And the rest of Salem Creek can believe what they want. They always have.”

Rhanna appeared holding a mug with a paper straw in it. She handed it to Lizzy, then turned to Andrew. “Can I get you one before I head to the market?”