This time when she laughed, it wasn't smothered with tears.
* * *
It tookseventy-two hours of digging through every crumb of Monica's personal life and even her parents' and uncle's lives. I catnapped a few hours here and there but I stayed at it until I got everything Cam needed.
And I was more convinced than ever that Brody Murphy deserved a good woman in his life. And so did his daughter, Jacks.
His ex-wife was a piece of work and not in a good way.
When I finished my search, I hadn't slept more than a handful of hours in three days. My vision was blurry and my head ached. I wanted to call Ben because he'd asked me to call him days ago, but I was in no shape for the conversation that I needed to have with him.
So I chugged a bottle of water, splashed more water on my face, and collapsed in the bed. Cam was already curled up on my bed, snoring softly.
I'd have to tease her about that later.
With that last sleepy thought, I closed my eyes and passed out.
What seemed like five minutes later, my phone rang.
Ugh. Why hadn't I turned off the ringer?
I rolled over and felt around on the nightstand until my hand connected with the cell phone.
And knocked it off the table onto the floor.
"Shit," I mumbled.
I rolled over, my head hanging off the bed, and picked it up, squinting at the screen.
The caller ID readColette.
"Cam, why is your mom calling me?" I rolled back over and looked at Cam. The pillow had the indent from her head, but she was gone.
Crap. She was gone. I looked around, glancing at the clock on the nightstand. Where in the world was she at twelve-thirty on a Sunday? I only hoped that her absence meant that she was making up with Brody and not in jail for beating the shit out of his ex.
The phone stopped ringing before I could gather my thoughts enough to answer it. Before I could unlock the phone and call Colette back, she called again.
"Hello?" I answered. I tried to sound alert but I was pretty sure I failed.
"Are you sick, Sierra?" she asked.
"No, ma'am."
"Are you still in Dallas?"
I frowned. Why was she asking me this? "No, ma'am."
"Then why aren't you here for lunch?"
Oh. Holy. Shit. I'd forgotten about Sunday lunch.
"Um, I'm sorry, Colette. I was helping Cam with some stuff and I lost track of time."
"We're sitting down to eat in a half-hour. I expect your behind to be in one of my dining chairs."
"Yes, ma'am."
"See you soon, Sierra." With that, she hung up.
