She climbed into her car, and on the drive home, her thoughts went back to Cass. Had Cass spoken to Noah or Colt about how she felt? And did she really blame Addie, or was she just upset right now?
When Addie pulled onto her street, she saw the car outside her house. Jules.
She pulled into her driveway and turned off the car, and yep, Jules stood by the front door under the porch, dish in hand.
Oh no. Addie had successfully avoided Jules for the last week, always coming up with excuses as to why they couldn’t catch up—some believable, some not so much. It had been hard.
Holding her hot chocolate, she climbed out and headed toward the front door.
Jules straightened. “Hi, Addie. I hope it’s all right that I dropped by.”
“Is everything okay?”
“I was worried about you. I haven’t seen you in a week.”
Addie held back a frown. “You don’t need to worry about me. I’ve just been taking a few days to myself. So much has happened with Rhett and Noah that I thought it was needed.”
“I understand that.” Jules’s gaze shifted to the door, then back to her. “Can I come in? We can have a chat.”
Crap. She didn’t want to be rude, but she’d made a promise to Noah.
But then…what exactly made Jules a suspect? She glanced at the woman’s hair before moving back to her eyes. A wig? There could be plenty of reasons for it. Still…
“I’m actually expecting someone. Maybe next week?”
Jules’s frown deepened. “It’s my wig, isn’t it?”
Addie’s eyes widened. How did she know? “Um—”
“I know Noah saw it the other week. And when I saw you at the grocery store, you glanced at it a few times, and again just now.”
Dammit, she was too obvious. “Jules…I’m sorry. I don’t know what to think. I’m just trying to stay safe.”
Jules bit her bottom lip before resignation washed over her face. “I have brain cancer.”
Addie’s stomach dropped like she’d been punched. “What?”
“I have terminal brain cancer.” Jules swallowed. “I wear the wig because my hair fell out, and now it’s short and patchy, and I don’t look like the person I used to. I wear the wig to feel just a little bit more like my old self.”
Tears welled in Addie’s eyes. “Oh, Jules, I’m so sorry.”
“Thank you. It’s been hard. Really hard. But this friendship between us has helped me.”
Addie didn’t know what to say. She wanted to cry for Jules. “I’ve really enjoyed our friendship too.”
Jules nodded. “Good. I won’t force myself on you. I know you’re doing what’s best for you, which is exactly what you need to be doing, so I’ll go. Hopefully when this is all over, we can resume our friendship.” Jules handed her the dish before walking back to her car.
Addie opened her mouth to call her back but stopped. She believed Jules, but at the same time, she didn’t have any proof…and Jules was right. She had to protect herself.
God, she hated this. All of it. Not taking Jules into her home and wrapping her in her arms felt wrong.
As Jules drove away, the same words repeated over in her head—terminal cancer. It made Addie want to cry, and she hadn’t even known her for that long.
She just had to pray that they found the person doing all this. It wouldn’t be Jules.Thenshe could be the friend Jules needed her to be.
Noah pulled into his driveway.It was midafternoon, and the drive from Bozeman had taken longer than usual with construction slowing him down. He didn’t care. The session had been another good one. Hell, he’d only had four sessions with the new doctor and already he felt different. Lighter. The nightmares had still come, but not every night…and the biggest difference was, he didn’t wake up in a cold sweat. His heart didn’t race. He was able to open his eyes and breathe.
Was it possible there was another side to this PTSD? A side where he could function again? Sleep and have a healthy relationship? A few weeks ago, he wouldn’t have believed it. Now? Now there was this light at the end of the tunnel, and every therapy session brought him closer.
