Chapter Nineteen
Lily
As soon as they got to Phoenix, Lily sent Declan a quick text so he wouldn’t worry.
Just hit Phoenix. We’ll load up the truck tomorrow and be home in two days.
That done she collapsed on the bed at the hotel she and Emelise were staying at. “What do you say we rest a little then head over to The Kettle?” she asked. The Kettle’s full name was The Kettle Black Kitchen and Pub. It had quickly became her favorite place to eat during the short time she’d lived in Phoenix.
“Sounds good to me,” Emelise replied. “Oh, did I tell you I got a buyer for the house? The realtor sent me an email about it yesterday.”
“No, you didn’t. How do you feel about that?”
“Honestly? I’m okay with it. I put it on the market because I’m not coming back here, and there’s no sense in keeping it if I don’t plan on living in it. Mama wouldn’t want me to cling to the house out of some sense of loyalty to her memory. Besides, I don’t need a house to remember her.”
“True, you don’t.” Lily sighed softly. “You’re lucky you got as much time with your mom as you did, but I know it still hurts that she’s gone, Eme. You don’t have to put on a brave face for me. My mother has been gone over a decade, but it still hurts, especially around her birthday, the holidays, and the anniversary of her death,” she admitted.
“That’s just another thing we have connecting us, huh? Loss of our mamas,” Emelise said after a moment. “I know I don’t have to put on a brave face for you, but if I let myself think about it too much, I’ll start crying and won’t want to stop. I don’t want to do that right now.”
“All right, but when you want to talk, or when you feel like you can finally let yourself grieve the way we both know you haven’t but need to, you know I’m here for you, right?”
“Of course I do, girl.” Eme sat up from where she’d flopped back on the other bed. “Let’s go get some food and then stop in at Inferno for some drinks. I can say hello to my old co-workers.”
“You just want to rub it in that you’re following your dreams,” Lily teased. “Sounds like a plan to me.” She stretched to release tension from her limbs before she finally got up. She and Emelise stood shoulder to shoulder in front of the mirror in the bathroom so they could touch up their makeup and then they headed out.
Emelise
Emelise had mixed feelings about being back in Phoenix. She’d only been gone a few weeks but it felt like a lifetime had passed since she’d left. Her world was already very different: she was making progress on the club, she had a place of her own for the first time in her life, and she’d found the one thing she’d thought she would never find—her mate. So what if she was determined to fight letting the arrogant leopard control her, she still felt that connection between them.
As they drove through the city streets, she couldn’t help thinking about her mother. Having met her grandmother, she wished her mother was still there so they could repair the relationship between them. But that wasn’t an option and wishing for something that could never be wouldn’t get her anywhere. She mentally pushed the thought aside and focused on their destination. “Looks like the Kettle is jumping tonight,” she said as they found a spot to park. It was obvious there was a line waiting to be seated.
“Yeah, here’s hoping we don’t have a hellacious wait,” Lily replied on the way to the front door.
Twenty minutes later they were seated at a table. Emelise opened the menu and scanned it but she already knew what she wanted. “I have got to get their crab cakes and I think I’m going to go with their fish and chips,” she said and debated on dessert.
“Why am I not surprised?” Lily said with a soft laugh. “That’s what you always got whenever we came here.”
“Okay, Missy, what are you getting, huh? Let me guess, the Bavarian Pretzel, Citrus Chicken Salad, and top it off with the salmon?”
Lily stuck her tongue out at her. “Actually, no, I think I am going to be adventurous since the chances are this will be the last time I eat here. I’m going with the steamed mussels, no salad, and the Peppercorn Steak with fries.”
Emelise laughed. “Look at you, trying something different. What do you say we split dessert and get the apple crumble and the Whiskey Crème Anglaise?”
“Perfect,” Lily replied, and when the waitress took their orders, they both went with strawberry lemonade to drink with their meal. “So, do you miss Phoenix at all?” she asked once they had their appetizers.
“No. I’ve wanted to get out of this city for so long, it’s a relief to know that after this trip I don’t have to come back. Mama didn’t want to be buried; she was cremated and I sprinkled some of her ashes at her favorite spot out in the desert so I don’t have to come back to take care of a grave either. I have the urn and that’s enough.”
“I had no idea your mother wanted to be cremated. I used to think I wanted that but now I’m not so sure. I mean, if I ever have children, would they want to fight over who got the urn or would they rather visit my grave every now and then?”
Emelise threw a piece of ice at her. “Damn girl, you are so morbid.”
Lily rolled her eyes. “Maybe but it’s the truth. Of course, I guess I could just have my ashes split up between however many kids—let them each have an urn of their own,” she said with a wiggle of her brows that made Emelise laugh.
“Definitely fucking morbid.” A man seated at a table near them gave Emelise a look and she arched a brow. “What’s the matter, never heard a woman say a dirty word before? You’ve lived a sheltered life,” she said and turned her attention to her crab cakes. They were spicy and exactly what she needed. Food-wise anyway. She wasn’t even going to think about something else that was spicy that she needed, or wanted. Nope, not going there.
By the time they got to their desserts and split them between them she was almost full. “I’m going to regret eating this but it’s too damn good to pass up,” she said, taking a bite of the apple crumble.
“I know what you mean. Good thing we have higher metabolisms. It might add to my curves but not as badly as it would without the higher metabolism,” Lily said with a laugh.
