Page 14 of Rescued Faith

Of course he wouldn’t mind. Bryce bit back a growl.

Jude glanced at Bryce, then at the others gathered around the table. “I’ll talk to her.”

Good. That’s what Bryce wanted, after all.

So why did he feel so deflated?

FIVE

The alarm on the IV pump blared again. And again. Where was the nurse? The bag of saline solution was empty and Penny needed to leave.

Now.

The door opened, a rush of cooler air sweeping in. Final?—

Nope. Not the nurse. Penny was in for it now. Libby walked into the hospital room. She didn’t even have to say anything. She just had that look of someone who had life figured out, staring down at someone who couldn’t pull it together.

She stood by Penny’s bed and folded her arms. Her crisp blouse was tucked neatly into her navy slacks, and every strand of caramel-brown hair was pulled back into a sleek bun. Nothing was out of place.

“So, were you even going to tell me you were in town, or am I only an emergency contact now?”

Penny held back a groan as she sat up. “It’s about time you got here.”

“What else are sisters for?” Libby set a bag on the bed and pulled out a hairbrush, toothbrush, and toothpaste. She handed them all to Penny. “Before I take you anywhere, you mightwanna take care of a few things. I don’t want you scaring the kids when they see you.”

“I look that bad?” Penny stood slowly and picked up the items.

“No comment.” Libby sniffed. “You sure smell like you were caught in a fire. But I suppose a shower will have to wait until we get you home.”

Home. What would that be like? Libby and Dan and their two kids had settled into a new house in Last Chance right before Penny had left. Penny only knew what it looked like from video chatting with the kids. Guess she would be seeing it firsthand now.

The nurse walked in. “Ready to go?”

For the love of all that is holy…“Yes!”

“Let me get this IV out of you and you can get dressed.” She made quick work of removing the cannula and bandaging the site. “I’ll be back later with discharge instructions.”

Free at last from the tubes and infernal beeping, Penny made her way to the bathroom. Yikes. Libby hadn’t been exaggerating. She looked awful. Felt worse. Her head screamed, her whole body was sore. No wonder Bryce hadn’t come to see her.

Not that she wanted him to. It would make it easier to pass this case off to Jude if she could avoid Bryce altogether.

After signing discharge papers and half listening to the nurse giving her instructions, Penny slid into Libby’s minivan.

“How are the kids?” Penny asked.

“How about we get down to the real issue.” Instead of starting the ignition, Libby turned to her. “I left California and moved here becauseyouwere here. And thenyouup and left. No rhyme or reason. Now, I don’t regret making that move, because it has been good for Dan and the kids and me. But you—I don’t hear from you for months, and then you wind up back in LastChance without telling me, and it’s thehospitalthat I get a call from? What’s that about?”

“I missed you too.” Penny gave her a fake smile. “But you know my job takes me all over. Besides, I thought you and Dan weren’t doing so well. When you moved out here, you weren’t even sure if he was coming with you.”

“I’m serious.” The older-sister scowl grew.

Penny pulled down the visor mirror. This was worse in daylight. Penny pulled out the hairbrush again. “For the record, I never asked you to move here.”

“I thought you left the ATF because it was dangerous. You seriously could’ve died, Penny.”

That fact was well established by the pain that ricocheted through every part of her. But dwelling on it never got her anywhere. She could only rely on one person. Herself. “But I didn’t die. I’m fine.”

And Libby had no clue why Penny had left the ATF. No one did.

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