Her face was on fire.
Lindsey gaped at her. “Oh my god. As good or better?”
Abby cleared her throat and made a show of packing her empty containers into her lunch bag. “Better.”
She stood and walked out of the lounge to the sound of Lindsey and Naomi cackling behind her.
Will was curled on the couch watching TV when she and Olivia arrived home.
“Hey, Bubs.”
“Hi, Mama.”
Abby brushed his hair back from his face and pressed a kiss to his forehead. He was warm. There was a small trash can in front of the couch, but it was empty.
Her mom was in the kitchen, washing a glass. “Hey, honey.”
“Hey.” She kissed her mom on the cheek and set her lunch bag next to the sink. “Has he thrown up?”
Her mom unzipped the bag and took the empty containers out. “No, but he said his tummy was hurting, so better safe than sorry. I gave him some watered-down apple juice to sip on. He didn’t seem too interested. I don’t know if that’s because of his tummy or because it’s watered down.”
“Mom, you don’t have to wash my dishes.”
She waved a sudsy hand. “Pssh. I’m here and I’m almost done anyway.”
Abby shook her head and rolled her eyes. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” She shut off the water and grabbed a dishtowel to dry her hands. “See? All done.”
“Thank you, Mom.”
She gave her a saintly smile. “I gave Will some Tylenol about an hour ago. You might want to get some Motrin as well. I noticed you didn’t have any.”
“I forgot to get some after the last time he was sick. I’ll run by the pharmacy later.”
“Okay. Well, I’m off. Call if you need anything.” Her mom gave her a quick hug and peck on the cheek.
“I will.”
“Is Olivia in her room?” she asked.
“She headed that way when we got home.”
“I’ll pop in and say hi on my way out. Oh, there’s some mail for you on the table.”
“Thanks.” Abby took some ground beef from the freezer and set it in the sink. Looked like it was spaghetti bolognese for dinner for her and Olivia. Will could have some plain noodles since his stomach was upset.
She grabbed the mail from the dining room table and headed back into the living room. She sat at the end of the couch and patted Will on the leg. “You hungry, Bubs?”
He shook his head, eyes glued to the TV.
Most of the mail was bills, account statements, and the postal equivalent of spam, except for the large manila envelope. There was a return address from Kentucky, but no name.
A sliver of unease slithered through her. She didn’t know anyone in Kentucky—except for Olivia’s aunt. She glanced down the hall toward the bedrooms.
A sense of dread settled over her. She was tempted to ignore it and give it to her lawyer to open. But that wouldn’t change the contents.
She patted Will on his leg. “I’ll be right back. Okay?”
