Page 84 of Beautiful Dreamer

“Okay.” Another pause. “Just checking. Let me know if you hearfrom her. I’m sure she’s fine.” Devyn wasn’t. What if she’d fallen somewherewith her cane and needed help? What if she’d run off the road a second time? Itcould happen. Lightning had been known to strike the same person twice, afterall. She didn’t even hesitate, threw off the covers in a panic and looked forher bag.Not again. No,no, no.

Chapter Twenty-One

Devyn didn’t notice the scenery this time. She didn’t allownostalgia to weave its way to her that afternoon. She was all action andadrenaline. Maybe suffering from PTSD from that last time she’d almost lostJill, Devyn drove faster than she should have, hell-bent on a mission.

She’d called Charlie’s phone again, but he’d not picked up. Jill’svoicemail box was full. Panicked, she’d even tried Elizabeth but clicked offthe call the second it went to voicemail. She just had to get there, plain andsimple.

When she pulled in front of Jill’s house nearly three hours afterleaving Philadelphia, it was dusk. She exited her car and stared in confusionat the house. It wasn’t dark and closed up the way it had been last time. No,in contrast, a warm glow of light emanated and she could glimpse Jill’s form inthe kitchen moving about. Relief arrived like air to the suffocating. Sheplaced a hand on her chest and waited for her heart rate to slow. Once it did,confusion layered in.

She shook her head in mystification and made her way up the walk,not even bothering to knock as she entered the house. Jill turned and did adouble take once Devyn appeared in the kitchen. She was dressed nicely in jeansand a yellow tunic and had a full face of makeup. She was perfectly fine inevery way.

“Devyn?” She glanced at Charlie in surprise and back again, as ifshocked. But there was the problem: She overdid it. That was Jill’s tell, theoveracting. “What are you doing here?” she asked loudly.

Devyn stared at her, exhausted and frustrated. “You haven’treturned any of my calls. Charlie couldn’t find you,” she said, gesturing inannoyance at the guy standingrighttherein plain sight of Jill. “So, you’re fine, then?” she asked,just for complete clarification. “Totally okay?”

Jill nodded.

“Then what the hell, Jill?” Devyn practically fell onto the floorin exasperation. What a total clusterfuck this whole day had been.

“I’m so sorry. I must have had my phone turned off,” Jill said,with a wince.

Charlie nodded vigorously. “She did. And when I also didn’t get ananswer this morning when I knocked on her door, I tried you.”

Jill raised her shoulders apologetically. “I was doing someearly-morning grocery shopping. I sometimes like to avoid the rush.”

Devyn didn’t believe these two for a second. “Were you trying toget me back here? Is that it?” She studied both of their faces.

Guilt hung from Charlie’s features like an uncomfortably crookedpainting. He looked away and she sighed.

“Someone want to tell me what’s going on? I’m hanging on by athread here. I was terrified for you and just abandoned everything I had on myschedule today to get here. I got on a damned plane. I need to understand—”

The doorbell chimed and Jill leapt into action. “Sorry, Devyn. Wehave dinner guests. You’re welcome to stay. I made that garlic chicken youlove. Charlie, grab an extra chair from the front room.”

Panic struck Charlie’s face, and his eyes darted to the table inquestion. Devyn followed his gaze where she saw that he’d already brought in a fifthchair, which really just said it all. Yep. This had been a setup. She heardvoices from the entryway. Elizabeth and Dexter. She only had a second or two toprep herself but the wistfulness was upon her immediately, blocking thatendeavor.

She turned and her gaze landed on Elizabeth, who froze.

Her lips parted slightly. She carried a six-pack of longnecks inone hand and a bouquet of flowers in the other, a gracious guest as always.“Oh.” A pause. “Hi.”

“Hi,” Devyn said, and shifted. She was instantly aware of herappearance, and closed her eyes in mortification. Jeans and an unironed whitebutton-down shirt she often wore for work. Maybe it was buttoned correctly.Maybe it wasn’t. Her hair had been finger-combed in the car at best. Sheprobably looked like someone who’d been out on an all-night bender while shestood facing the woman she loved.

And there it was. The word had been on the tip of her tongue morethan once.

She didn’t resist it in this moment the way she had shoved itaside anytime it tried to make an appearance in her head. Yet standing in thiskitchen, staring at Elizabeth, who was everything that was good and worthy inthis world, the feelings were too overwhelming. She let them wash over her likea flood.

“I didn’t expect to see you here,” Elizabeth said, and looked toJill as if to find out why she hadn’t been told.

“She just showed up,” Jill said with an excited smile as shecarried a big bowl of potatoes to the table. “Isn’t this a nice surprise? I hadno idea.”

“That’s a lie.” Devyn blinked and pointed at her sister. “Shefaked her own disappearance and gave me a virtual heart attack to get me hereto check on her.”

“Oh, damn,” Dexter said, the smile fading from his face.

Elizabeth’s brow furrowed and she set down the beer.

Devyn wasn’t done with Jill. She rounded the island after her, andthe anger came through in her voice. “Using your well-being asbaitis so far out ofbounds, Jill, that I don’t even know what to say to you right now. You knowwhat your accident did to me, and you used my own trauma like a weapon againstme. The ultimate manipulation.”

“How about we have some dinner? We can do that instead of this,”Jill said, trying to dodge the accusation.

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