Tish’s accusation rattled his brain.Orchid is not a woman I want to break.
Laterthat morning, after working out and showering, Phoenix pulled on a white button-down dress shirt and tailored slacks. He was leaving his apartment to see Mom. She was in town for some flower show. Or a color seminar. And most of all, to be with her sons on the anniversary of their dad’s death.
Phoenix held the elevator door for Mrs. V and her dog. They chatted until the lift descended to the lobby.
“How’s Elton feeling today?” he inquired about her panting little terrier.
She told him about the pup’s joint issues. They walked out into the sunshine together. She bent to lift Elton’s paw in a miniature wave. Phoenix waved back, then turned right toward the subway station.
As he strode, he couldn’t stop thinking about Orchid.What makes her so different? Did something shift when she confessed her secrets? She had worked so damned hard to raise money for military vets; even when she couldn’t bear to see their injuries, it was like she felt their pain as if it were her own.
At the 86thStreet station, he descended the steps two at a time. Energy buzzed to his fingertips. Down below, the cavernous space echoed empty except for a homeless man seated on the ground. This guy looked worse off than most. Phoenix fished for a rumpled bill. The vagabond scowled over his bulbous nose at the lone single. Phoenix was distracted by a square of paper that tumbled out with the money. He walked towards the track and unfolded the note. It read,I’m going to miss you more than you know.Orchid had pressed a lip-shaped kiss print into the blank spot below the words.
He’d miss her too, until her return in six weeks.
At the edge of the platform, he punched up a song from Orchid’s playlist and plugged in his AirPods.
“Where have you been all my life?”wailed Rihanna.Indeed.
He stood without noticing his physical surroundings, lost in thought about Orchid.Sleek hair; slender; smart; strong.Orchid sparked tenderness and more. Like no one else he’d ever known. On a whim he texted Caleb, both thumbs a blur.
You were right about Orchid.
Eighty thousand pounds of steel mass squealed towards the station. Phoenix stepped forward. Rihanna belted out a ballad over the sound of metal on metal,“Are you hiding from me, yeah? Somewhere in the crowd—”
In his peripheral vision, he noticed a figure swaying towards the gaping hole in the ground. “Hey!” Phoenix shouted, turning as the beggar stumbled right for the open track.
Without thinking, Phoenix dropped his phone and bounded forward. He grabbed the guy’s coat to pull him away from the blurred train speeding towards them. The man jerked back. His bearded mouth screamed with fury. For a moment, they swung with wild centrifugal force. Suddenly, the guy yanked himself free. Phoenix tripped backwards. His feet scrambled to find purchase. Until there was just air over the edge of the platform.
With a split-second to grasp at nothing, Phoenix crashed through the empty space to thud onto the track. He could feel the train’s screech judder. The sickening crush of steel slicing bone.Fuck!He could barely breathe. The air filled with screams. He attempted to lift his head. Except he couldn’t move.Broken until there’s nothing left, he wanted to say.
CHAPTER 2
I JUST DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH MYSELF
Veronica
At Sarabeth’s Restaurant, Veronica Walker cut a fine figure, handsome and refined. Her graying hair was coiffed stylishly, and she wore a tapered cardigan.
She sat alone, wondering what could possibly be delaying her normally responsible son. Phoenix was already forty minutes late. She regarded her watch again, as if that could make him appear faster.
The young waitress checked her iPhone, with a different reason for noting the same duration. “I’m sorry, ma’am, Sunday mornings are our busiest time. If you don’t order, I’ll get in trouble with my manager.”
Veronica glanced at the menu. “Four Flowers mimosa, hold the flowers.”
“Anything to eat?”
“Okay, leave the flowers.”
When the waitress stayed waiting for an order, Veronica cleared her throat. “Please give me a few minutes.”
The waitress nodded politely. “Certainly,” she said, and left the older woman.
This was not like Phoenix. If it were Caleb, she could be confident he was most likely asleep in a strange woman’s bed, hungover and disheveled.But Phoenix?He’d texted he was running a little late. This was more than a little. Maybe the anniversary of her husband’s death was making her edgy.
Veronica’s phone vibrated on the table.Must be Phoenix. Thank the Lord.
She answered with no preamble. “Phoenix Walker, is that you? Do you know how long I’ve been waiting?”
