Page 32 of When Cardinals Appear

“You already found a place?” My stomach dropped, and I struggled to keep my voice even.

“Yeah. Look, I know we talked about me crashing with friends until you return and then we’d find a place together, but I think you’re going to love what I found. It’s a great complex with a gym and a pool, and the apartment has all the latest amenities. It’s three bedrooms, which I know seems like a lot, but we could each have our own office.”

I sank to the floor and covered my mouth with my hand, fighting a wave of nausea as James continued his ecstatic exclamations about the apartment. It was beginning to feel like my real life was moving on while I remained in some sort of limbo, tying up loose ends. I could see the logic in him apartment hunting without me, but the news still hit me like a ton of bricks. Especially since James wasn’t known for being prudent when it came to financial decisions.

“Honey? Are you still there?”

“I’m here,” I said, shaking my head as I tried to clear it. “That all sounds great, but are you sure we can afford it?”

James scoffed. “We’ll figure it out.”

That wasn’t very comforting. I gnawed on the inside of my cheek as I debated my next words. “Do they at least have a website I could look at?”

“Of course they do. I’ll email it to you, and we can talk more later after you have a chance to review everything. Sound good?”

It didn’t seem like I had much of a choice. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “Thanks, James.”

“No worries. I got you.”

You’ve got me, but how about a budget? Perhaps I wasn’t being fair, but James had a habit of jumping into things with both feet without fully thinking them through. I had asked him to wait for me to look for places to avoid that exact situation. From all the amenities he’d listed, I was pretty sure we were going to be in over our heads.

“How are things going?” James asked when I didn’t respond.

I stood and stepped over to the front window. All the cars were gone save Mom’s and Steven’s. “It’s been stressful.”

“Any idea how much longer you’ll have to be out there?”

“Actually, things are moving a lot quicker than I anticipated,” I said. “Steven and I have divided up the furniture and other things. And today we had some help getting ready for the estate sale this weekend.”

“Wow, that is fast. And good news. I miss you.”

“I miss you too.” I meant it, mostly. I missed having him to lean on, the way he distracted me from my pain just when I needed it most.

“Have you seen your dad yet?”

“I had dinner with him the other night.”

“I’m glad to hear that. I know things have been rough between you two recently,” James said with enthusiasm. “So, who helped you move the furniture?”

“Um, Steven asked a few guys he knows,” I responded meekly. I didn’t want to get into who the guys were right then. While I’d told James about Nate, I wasn’t sure whether he would put two and two together. Something told me to keep that information to myself, at least for the moment.

“Well, that’s nice. Hey, I’m sorry, hon, but I’ve gotta go. I’ll send over the apartment complex’s website. Give me a call after you take a look, okay?”

“I will. I love you.”

“Love you, too, babe.” My phone beeped three times, and I suddenly felt every mile of the distance between us.

“‘A few guys I know,’ huh?” Steven asked as he stepped back into the hallway. “That’s not quite how I would describe them.”

I leaned against the wall with one arm and pressed my forehead against it. “It just didn’t feel like the right time to tell him.”

“Is he aware your first love still lives here?”

“We’ve had the whole ‘exes’ conversation, but I’m not sure if he’d remember who Nate was.” I pushed off the wall and walked by him into the kitchen. “It’s been a long day.”

“A long but productive day,” Steven countered, following me. “I was thinking of ordering a pizza for dinner and inviting Rose to join us.” He gave me a critical once-over. “Unless you’re tired of people.”

“That sounds nice, and I’d love to see Rose!”

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