Page 39 of I'll Be There
“I’ll talk to him when he gets back from Canada,” she said finally. “You’re right. He should know the woman he’s about to marry.”
“I think he’ll surprise you with the fact he already does.”
Liza made a face.
“C’mon. I know what will help. Coffee.” Grace held out her hands.
Liza let Grace help her up. Looked around the room. “Grace, I hate to say this, but...I know you went to tons of work, but I can’t have my wedding reception here. It feels like...like a tomb.” She rubbed her hands on her arms. “I know we’re running out of time, but can’t we do better than this?”
Grace took a breath. Found a smile. “I’ll figure it out.”
“Coffee for you, then, too,” Liza said and wove her arm through Grace’s.
“Let’s ask around at the coffee shop, see if anyone has any ideas.” Grace held the door open for Liza, then turned off the lights as they left. “I’ll come back for the twinkle lights later, after we figure out what we’re going to do.”
The sky had turned a brilliant, joyous blue overhead, wept clean of the storm from last night, the smell of spring hueing the breeze—lilacs, wild roses, lilies. Liza got in on the passenger side, Grace at the wheel.
“By the way, when I met Ivy at the courthouse, she said that she could call the clerk and put together a wedding licensefor you if Conner can sign and file it by five o’clock. I tried calling him— a few times—but no answer.”
“They probably don’t get cell reception up in Canada.” Liza glanced at Grace, grinned. “Or maybe they’re having too much fun to answer.”
CHAPTER SIX
“For the record, I think this is a bad idea.” Reuben held the door open as Pete, Conner, Micah, and Romeo walked through the double doors into the Thunder Bay Regional Hospital. The soaring three-story glass entrance let in the blue-skied sparkle of midafternoon.
“We can’t just go back to Deep Haven without checking on her, knowing if she’s going to make it,” Conner said.
“And,” Seth said, “can I mention that Conner and Micah need to change their shirts before they get arrested? Or admitted.” He had reluctantly agreed to check on Blue instead of turning them all in.
In fact, for now it seemed like Seth believed them, especially after Conner resigned himself to telling the entire story. The death of his brother some seven years ago, Justin’smissing “partner,” Liza’s group text, and the advent of Blue’s phone call. A search of the deceased in the truck confirmed what a few eyewitnesses had remembered—a man in a gray shirt fleeing from the grounds, followed by crazy Conner and his gun.
“Besides, without the jump drive, and until I can get Danny Boy’s phone unlocked, I can only guess at what happened,” Conner said. “If she’s awake enough to talk, maybe she can help fill in the blanks.” He walked up to the desk and addressed the nurse there. “This isn’t my blood,” he said without preamble. “It belongs to someone named Harmony Blue. My buddy and I were there when she got shot. She was brought into the ER about two hours ago. We just want to check on her.”
Nurse Elliot, according to the badge around her neck, considered him a moment. “What did you say her name is?”
“Harmony Blue,” Micah said, leaning on the desk. He had washed his hands, but Harmony’s blood still stained his shirt sleeves and chest. He always had anI’m-in-chargeaura about him that made people take him seriously. Now, Nurse Elliot, middle aged with cropped blonde-gold hair, responded in kind, returning her gaze to her screen. “I can tell you that she’s here and out of surgery, in recovery.”
“We’d like to see her.”
“I’ll have to call up, get permission.” Elliot picked up her phone. Asked about Blue. “She’s being transferred to Critical Care. Family only, I’m afraid.”
Conner hadn’t a moment’s hiccup. “She’s family. She’s...my sister-in-law.”
Elliot raised an eyebrow. “That’s not immediate—”
“My brother’s dead. She’s all I have.” And that, he reckoned, was true.
Still, to his surprise, he got a pass. “I’ll be right back,” he said, but glanced at the double doors down the hall.
He headed to the elevator, while Micah and the rest wandered toward the coffee shop.
Ten minutes later, Conner came down the back stairs, over to the double doors, and let them in. “Yeah, you really do need to change your shirt, Micah,” he said as they headed back upstairs, toward Critical Care.
In fact, probably they needed an entire costume change. “See what you can find in the way of new threads,” he said to Seth, whose eyebrows went up.
“I’m not breaking the law for you.”
“I’ll do it,” Romeo said. Frankly, Conner had sort of forgotten he was along. He suddenly realized that Romeo, quiet and absorbing everything, had received more of a field trip than he’d bargained for.
