He’d been stuck to his chair the whole time he’d interviewed her, the whole time she’d answered his questions, not that he remembered what she’d said.
Until now, he never thought he’d see her again. Unless they both were no longer breathing. He’d hoped that one day they’d meet up in heaven, and he could ask her why she’d done what she had done.
Was that why she was here?
Was he already dead?
Chapter 30
One of the nurses rushed Annie and Meghan from the room, saying over and over that Kevin was fine, that what happened was nothing to be afraid of.
Reassurances aside, Annie knew that the sound Kevin had let loose with would be forever rooted in her mind.
“Perhaps come back later?” the nurse suggested. “Give him a few hours to adjust to his surroundings. He wasn’t aware that he was shot, was he?”
Annie shook her head. “It happened so fast. I think he was unconscious before he landed on the floor.”
The nurse smiled. “I know his reaction was startling, but . . .”
“No,” Meghan said, “it wasn’t a surprise. He didn’t expect to see me. He probably thought he was hallucinating . . .”
The nurse looked bewildered. Annie said, “It’s a long story. We’ll come back later.”
By then Meghan had opened the door and was trouncing down the steps, her footsteps echoing in the stairwell.
* * *
“He’s awake,” Annie announced as soon as Earl opened the back door of his house. “He’s okay.” She’d wanted to tell him in person rather than with a phone call.
Earl began to speak but clearly got choked up, his words stuck in the muck of his emotions. “Claire! Lucy!” he called out.
The ladies came running, and Annie repeated what she’d told Earl. Claire covered her face with her hands—she was either crying or thanking God. Lucy said, “Way cool. Does my dad know?”
“I’ll text him now,” Annie said, embarrassed that she hadn’t thought to let John know first, saying she’d been sidetracked by Meghan, who’d developed “a nor’easter of a headache,” as she’d called it. When they’d arrived back at the Inn and Annie had pulled into the driveway, Meghan had said, “I don’t know what I expected. Of course he was upset when he saw me. I was only thinking of myself; I should have had you break the news to him first. Stupid me.” She’d climbed out of the Jeep and gone inside to rest.
Annie’s next thought had been to get over to Earl’s.
John hadn’t crossed her mind.
She pulled out her phone now; if she texted and didn’t call, he’d see her message when he woke up and wouldn’t know he hadn’t been her first choice.
Texting, however, would be a cop-out.
No pun intended, Murphy could have said, but perhaps she’d decided this was not a good time to joke.
Claire wanted Annie to come in “for coffee and a decent breakfast,” but she declined.
“I’ll go tell John in person,” she said. “I came to Chappy first so Meghan could go to bed. She’s been through so much in these past few days alone.”
“As have you,” Earl added.
Annie waved, got back into the Jeep, and headed to theOn Timefor the third trip that day, despite that it wasn’t yet nine o’clock.
Her good intentions, however, were thwarted when she reached John’s house in Edgartown and Abigail answered the door. She was dressed in a striking white, gauzy jumpsuit that was splattered with multi-shades of summer yellows.
“Dad’s sleeping,” she said and began to shut the door.
“Wait,” Annie said firmly. If there had ever been a right time to be the grown-up in the room—or rather, on the porch—it was now. “I need to see him about something important. I think he’d want me to go upstairs and wake him.” Kevin was who mattered then, and John deserved to know.
