Part 18 (2/2)
”Good. Love you.”
”Love you, too.” Jill gave her a quick kiss, then went upstairs to her bedroom and peeled off the clammy s.h.i.+rt, then her jeans. She was about to toss them in the hamper, but they felt heavy, and she realized she'd left her BlackBerry in her pocket. She pulled it out and checked the messages, but there were none. She slid into her go-to jeans and a thin white T-s.h.i.+rt under a navy cotton sweater, then found a barrette and clipped up her wet hair. She slid the phone into her back pocket and went downstairs to the kitchen.
”Hi, Mom.” Megan was writing in her binder, already doing her homework at the kitchen island. The pink troll doll that sat atop her pencil wiggled with each stroke, and her phone rested near her right hand.
”Hiya, sweetie. Why don't you put your notebook away and take a break, until after dinner?”
”I can't, I have to finish this dumb worksheet.” Megan wrote in her notebook while checking her phone.
”Honey, no phones at the table, okay?”
”We're not eating yet, and everyone's texting. They want to know how I am.” Megan looked up, eyes pleading, pencil poised. She had spent most of the ride home answering text messages, and Jill was guessing that the mystery boy was one of them.
”Okay, just for today.”
”Thanks. Can we have grilled cheese?”
”For dinner? I could make salmon, and we have brown rice.”
”Nah, I'm hungry, and I have to finish my homework.”
”Do you need more time? I can probably get you an extension, if we show them the ER doctor's note.” Jill realized it was the wrong thing to say as soon as she'd said it, and Megan winced.
”No, I can do it, and I don't mind grilled cheese. Is that okay?”
Sam came into the kitchen, with Beef trotting behind. ”Grilled cheese is fine with me, too,” he said, going to the island.
”Grilled cheese it is.” Jill went to the fridge, feeling a warm rush of love for Sam. He'd eat anything to make Megan happy.
”Mom, can we put the tomato inside, like last time?”
”Sure.” Jill rummaged in the fridge and retrieved a block of cheddar cheese, bread, and two tomatoes.
”Awesome.” Megan filled in a blank on her worksheet, and Sam looked over her shoulder, sliding his reading gla.s.ses on.
”What're you working on, kitten?”
”Health. It's so dumb.”
Sam eyed the worksheet. ”Ask me about fallopian tubes, go ahead. I'm an expert. I have five.”
”Eeeww!” Megan squealed, giving him a playful shove, and not long afterwards, the kitchen was filled with the delicious aroma of grilled cheese sandwiches, the merry noise of talk and laughter, and the sweet snoring of an overweight golden. Not to mention the occasional beep of a text message.
In other words, a family.
Or at least, most of one.
Chapter Twenty-eight.
Jill took her time tucking Megan into bed, because that was when they usually talked things over. She knew Megan had a lot on her mind, because she'd grown quieter as night fell. ”How you doing, sweetie?” Jill asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.
”I'm okay, I guess.” Megan pulled her covers up, watching Beef circle a few times before a.s.suming his customary curl on the bed. ”He's making his glazed doughnut.”
”He's beyond cute.”
”What a good dog.” Megan patted Beef's back, where his coat curled in waves.
”He sure is.” Jill moved some hair back from Megan's face, and her eyes glowed in the warm light from the lamp, on her nighttable. White dots of acne medication made a constellation on her chin.
”Did you throw my other sheets away?”
”No, Sam took them to the Laundromat. The comforter, too. Wasn't that nice of him? So I didn't have to.”
Megan grinned. ”Gross, right?”
”I'll say. What a guy.”
”You don't always have to tell me how great Sam is. I know he's great. I love him.”
Jill's throat caught. She hadn't realized she did that, but Megan was right. ”I love him, too,” she said, simply. ”So what's on your mind? I can tell those wheels are turning.”
Megan frowned, her smooth forehead creased by one tiny line. ”Like, I don't know what comes after you die. What do you really think happens?”
”Really?” Jill guessed Megan was talking about William, and maybe Gray, too. ”I think your spirit lives on, with G.o.d. I think all your emotion and thought and heart can't just vanish.”
”Do you think somebody killed William? Courtney says there would be more evidence, like CSI.”
Jill hoped to ease Megan's mind, not upset her before bed. ”I don't know, but I told the police about it, and they're looking into it.”
”You did? When?”
”Today. That's why I was late to the meet, and I'm sorry about that.”
”It's okay, Sam told me. Do you think Abby's okay?”
”I'm sure she is.”
”But she still hasn't called you. I saw you checking your phone, after dinner.”
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