“They’re somewhat busy right now,” Skip said matter-of-factly. “The police take a dim view of convicted felons carrying concealed weapons.”
Bruno pursed his lips and gave Skip an appreciative nod. “The final irony. I must find my own way home.” He turned and walked away.
“Lily? How’s Mr. Richards?” Skip asked.
“He wants to go home.”
A moment later Richards came through the front door holding onto Lily’s arm, Skip rushed forward. The old man struggled with each step, his physical pain obvious. They’d made plans for getting him here, but hadn’t considered the toll the encounter might take. Beads of sweat had formed on the old man’s brow and his complexion was a pasty white.
“Mr. Richards let me help you.” Skip reached out, but the old man waved him away.
“The help of this young lady is enough,” he said. “She lightens my soul and thereby eases my burden.” He took another faltering step and his knees buckled.
Skip and Lily grabbed Richards as he fell and supported him until they could get him to the concrete pony wall where Skip had been sitting.
“Do you have any pain, Mr. Richards?” Skip asked.
“In my back. Here.” He raised his hand a few inches, but let it drop. “I am so tired.” He muttered, “Perhaps my load is heavier than I anticipated.”
“Keep him company, Lily. Holler if he gets worse.”
“What’s wrong with him?”
“He’s having a heart attack.” Skip pulled his phone and dialed 9-1-1.
CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE
Roxy
LILY AND I arrived home shortly after five, our arms loaded down with bags of groceries. We’d braved the throngs of afternoon shoppers while Skip spent time with Baldorf, who wanted to debrief over the user interface of his technology. I chuckled at the thought, because Skip was not exactly a ‘debriefing’ kind of guy. But if he really was going to quit his job with the private investigator’s office and work full time with Baldorf, I supposed he should get used to it.
Tonight was a dinner for the four of us—not that I knew much about the whole cooking thing, but it was a special occasion—beyond the fact that we were all still alive.
“It’s nice to be home,” I said as I stepped inside.
“I totally agree.” Lily set her bags on the counter, then turned to me. “When can I go see Mr. Richards?”
“Mr. Richards? Lily, we’ve only met the man. He just had a heart attack. I think we should let him recover so he can go home.”
“No,” Lily said. “He’s my friend and if it wasn’t for him, we might not even be here. And he’s like going to give me art lessons.”
“Art lessons? When did he agree to that?”
“He said he’d teach me to draw and paint while we were sitting in the library.”
“Oh. You didn’t ask…I mean, you didn’t say anything.” I stopped myself and shook my head. “This is so strange. Lily, I’m not used to having friends. I guess that’s something I’m learning from you. You’re right. We owe Mr. Richards a lot. I’ll call the hospital and find out when he’ll be able to have visitors. I’m guessing he’ll be there for a few days.”
While Lily and I prepped dinner, she chattered on about how much she hoped to learn from Richards. At one point I stopped and gazed at her.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Nothing’s wrong. I was thinking maybe you’ve found your passion in life. How would you like to go to an art gallery with me this week?”
Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. “Serious?”
“Absolutely.”
“That would be awesome.” A grin spread across her face and she wrapped her arms around me. “Thank you.”
I kissed the top of her head, held her for a minute, and looked at the clock on the stove. “Oh, my God. We’re running out of time. You finish washing the veggies, I’ll chop.”
Skip and Baldorf arrived at six. They brought two bottles of wine, one real and one of the nonalcoholic sort. They also returned my cell phone. With everything that had happened over the past two days, I hadn’t really cared to get it back. But when Skip placed it in my hands, he smiled. “I thought you might want to check voicemail.”
Having been freed of a virtual tether to the world for more than a few hours, I wasn’t sure if I was ready to dive back in. “I suppose.” I put the phone in my back pocket without looking at it.
“No, really, you want to check voicemail,” Skip said.
Baldorf nodded enthusiastically. “Dude’s totally correct.”
I peered at the both of them. “What’s going on here?”
They exchanged a conspiratorial glance and grinned at each other.
“Just check your voicemail, would you?” Skip said.
I rolled my eyes, pulled the phone out and checked. There was one message. It was from a number I vaguely recalled. When I glanced up, Skip pointed at the phone.
“Fine,” I huffed and punched the button to listen.
“Miss Tanner,” said a familiar female voice. “This is Mona Trask with Trask Realty. I’m calling about your application to join our team. One of our junior associates went out on maternity leave this week and informed me she didn’t think she’d be returning after she had the baby. I’d like to offer you her position. I understand it’s not the one you applied for, but I see you’ve been taking classes and you have the aptitude to deal well with clients. I’m convinced you have potential, Miss Tanner. Call me tomorrow if you’re interested.”
I stared at the phone, my breath caught somewhere between my throat and my stomach. “Holy cow,” I whispered. When I looked at Skip and Baldorf, they were both beaming at me. My jaw dropped, and I smacked Skip on the shoulder. “You knew! And you didn’t tell me?”
“I wanted to see your face.” He stood in front of me, put his hand under my chin, and tilted it upwards.
When he kissed me, I let myself melt into him. It was finally happening. I was getting a chance at a normal life. When I pulled away, Skip cocked his head to one side and gazed at me.
“Why are you crying?”
I swiped at my cheek. “You wouldn’t understand.”
Lily put her arms around me and gave me a hug. She looked up at Skip. “It’s like a girl thing.”
“Totally,” I snickered and kissed Lily’s forehead. Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes. “I’ve learned something these past couple of days. Life is fragile. So is love. Since the moment we met, you’ve always been there for me. And with one exception…” I put my arm around Lily’s waist, gave her a quick glance, and turned my gaze back to Skip. “You’re the one who helped turn my life around. So, Skip Cosgrove, I have a question for you.”
“Okay…” He glanced nervously at Baldorf, then asked, “What is your question, Miss Tanner?”
“Will you make an honest woman of me?”
“I’ve been trying to do that for a long time, so if you’re asking me to marry you, the answer is yes—on one condition.”
I swallowed hard. “What’s that?”
“That we make Lily a permanent part of our family.”
The room blurred. I turned to Lily, who had tears streaming down her cheeks. “Well?” I croaked.
She nodded.
I kissed Skip softly. Felt Lily next to me. For the first time in my life I wasn’t afraid to depend on others. At last, I’d found what had always been missing.
Shadows from the Past Page 27